S04.E15: Sex Ed

[AmandaPanda]

Quote

Jude places himself in a potentially dangerous situation when he tries to learn more about LGBT sex; the school administration asks Callie to remove her provocative art project.

[KaveDweller]

What kind of sex ed do they have in Fosters-land where they teach kids how to have sex? When I was in middle/high school in sex ed they taught us basic anatomy, but then spent most of the time teaching us about various STDs we could get. Then they made us watch a video of a woman giving birth. They didn't tell us anything that would be different for straights vs gays.

Just last week I was saying I missed Taylor and this week she shows up to give Jude terrible advice. Sigh.

I liked everything Callie did in this episode, she made no bad judgement calls at all. She didn't get upset when she had to take down her project and she was supportive to AJ. Figures the hit and run would come back to haunt her. I don't get why Troy gets to decide they are going to trial if the victim of the accident settled, but I am tired of complaining about this storyline.

Mariana is going to get outed as the person behind that Twitter account and then everyone is going to know she was talking about Emma. That's really a shame.

[Lady Calypso]

Good job, show. You allowed Callie to make some smart calls for once. I really enjoyed her this episode, the most in a long time. Maybe because Kyle and Aaron were not seen or mentioned. 

So, AJ's brother I know hasn't been in jail that long. He's only been in jail for three months, at most. How is he already positioned to get out for good behaviour? Even if it's only a couple of months, wasn't Ty sentenced to jail for a few years? To be honest, I totally don't know how the system works and I forget how long Ty is sentenced for. 

I already see the Twitter account being exposed by someone and Mariana's going to get so much hate and she'll get in trouble. She's getting stupider by the season and I don't like it. Emma's going to be pissed at her and Brandon, and I can't blame her. Brandon was wrong for telling Mariana, though. I do get that he didn't want Stef or Lena involved and knowing Mariana, she wouldn't have stopped. Unfortunately, she's too nosey and stubborn to just give up and if Mariana had told them that Emma was pregnant, things would be worse. I'm really not liking Mariana anymore. 

Also not liking Jude. Taylor gave him bad advice, but Jude's the one who chose to lie about his age, to go over to hookup with a stranger, and it was the stranger who sent him away. It looks like Jude will be needing more discipline and someone to tell him how dangerous his actions were. But I did laugh that the stranger didn't believe his age. He really doesn't look older, he looks exactly how old he is. I will say that I find it somewhat refreshing to show this perspective, where the main character is not in the right and doesn't fix their own mistakes. So having Jude not make the decision to not go through with the hookup was good. 

So, Jesus seems to be hiding the fact that he can't read. 

[JaggedLilPill]

18 minutes ago, KaveDweller said:

I don't get why Troy gets to decide they are going to trial if the victim of the accident settled, but I am tired of complaining about this storyline.

Seriously. This storyline makes no sense. Troy was driving and left the scene. Now he gets to be the deciding factor in Callie's fate?

Giant eye roll. He gets a pass leaving the scene because he was injured. Unless it was life threatening, he should have stayed at the scene until police and EMS showed up. But Callie has a record and apparently Troy just gets a pat on the back.

Oh, Jude. Not that I'm surprised and while I never went as far as Jude, I probably did more riskier things when I was his age than I'd care to admit. Not that I ever met up with anyone in person, but I didn't always use discernment.

I'm glad Callie didn't push back, but she still got her message across. 

Monte can GTFO. There's a part of me that still thinks she's into Lena and is just being spiteful. 

I enjoyed Mariana and Stef, although I agree the twitter is going to cause some major blowback. 

I'm really not hating Brandon anymore. I'm even enjoying him. It's a weird feeling. I'm happy he was there for Emma, but I can understand why Jesus thinks something is up (and to be fair, something is up. Just not what he thinks).

[ShortyMac]

2 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

So, AJ's brother I know hasn't been in jail that long. He's only been in jail for three months, at most. How is he already positioned to get out for good behaviour? Even if it's only a couple of months, wasn't Ty sentenced to jail for a few years? To be honest, I totally don't know how the system works and I forget how long Ty is sentenced for. 

Ty's sentence is 18 months.

2 minutes ago, JaggedLilPill said:

Seriously. This storyline makes no sense. Troy was driving and left the scene. Now he gets to be the deciding factor in Callie's fate?

Giant eye roll. He gets a pass leaving the scene because he was injured. Unless it was life threatening, he should have stayed at the scene until police and EMS showed up. But Callie has a record and apparently Troy just gets a pat on the back.

This.

***

Love mealtime scenes.

I can't believe Jude was stupid enough to potentially put himself in danger like that with the Pump app. And of course he lied right to his moms' faces when they confronted him.

That was cool of Talya to support Callie and organize the protest. I'm glad that Callie didn't snitch on her and that she and Lena found a way to include Callie's project. Hers deserves to be seen just as much as the others and I'm glad she let herself be proud of it.

Here for all the Mom/kid scenes in this episode. Yay for more Lena/Callie. I loved seeing Stef try to use a Snow White analogy with Mariana. lol I loved Mariana's, "You realize I'm the loudest in a family of seven."

Monte was a total bitch in this ep. She can go away any time now.

Seriously, why is Brandon allowed to observe any music therapy session? Because Jesus has a TBI? Because he knows piano? He's not a student or intern. And of course he gets the credit for making that nonverbal autistic kid laugh. 

Brandon tells Mariana to stay out of Emma's situation, and then, proceeds to tell her that Emma had an abortion. That's not for her to know or for him to tell. Emma trusted him. Ugh, these kids.

Of course Callie's case is going to trial because Troy won't take the deal because Callie must have a perpetual black cloud and is not allowed any forward motion. RME. I don't think she'll go to prison, though.

I wonder what's going to happen now that AJ knows why Mike asked to adopt him(not the whole reason, but, part of it)?

[Lady Calypso]

4 minutes ago, ShortyMac said:

Seriously, why is Brandon allowed to observe any music therapy session? Because Jesus has a TBI? Because he knows piano? He's not a student or intern. And of course he gets the credit for making that nonverbal autistic kid laugh. 

I'd honestly be more bugged by it, but these past two episodes are the most that I've liked Brandon in the entire series, so I'm ok with it. Plus, it seems like this will be his future career path which is way more interesting than playing music professionally. It seems like it'll be a true path of redemption for his character and hopefully they don't pair him up with Music Therapy Student (they probably will but I want it to be second tier to Brandon's personal growth). 

7 minutes ago, ShortyMac said:

Of course Callie's case is going to trial because Troy won't take the deal because Callie must have a perpetual black cloud and is not allowed any forward motion. RME. I don't think she'll go to prison, though.

She definitely won't, unless they do a time jump between seasons 4 and 5. The only way I want this story arc to end is with the judge looking at the entire case, laughing, throwing it out, and proceeding to explain how this case should have never been a thing because it makes zero sense. My ideal dream is that they find a way to sentence Troy, reprimand the police department and the Kyle case gets solved with the discovery that he did do it so I don't have to deal with this stupid arc ever again.

AJ was just getting all sorts of information thrown at him this episode. Now that he knows Mike wants to adopt him, will he think it's just so Ana and Isabella can move in, which will cause AJ to want to live with Ty? Or will he be actually torn between Mike and Ty and he is happy that he is wanted? Probably the former, although the latter would be a nice surprise. 

11 minutes ago, ShortyMac said:

Ty's sentence is 18 months.

Ah, ok. Now I'm kind of remembering how that ended. 

[KaveDweller]

31 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

AJ was just getting all sorts of information thrown at him this episode. Now that he knows Mike wants to adopt him, will he think it's just so Ana and Isabella can move in, which will cause AJ to want to live with Ty? Or will he be actually torn between Mike and Ty and he is happy that he is wanted? Probably the former, although the latter would be a nice surprise. 

But isn't that the reason why Mike wants to adopt AJ? I mean, I think he really loves AJ and thinks of him like a son, but adoption never seemed to occur to him until Steph pointed out the issue with Ana moving in.

[balmz]

this episode was kinda all over the place

 

jude's plot was stupid, didn't care for it

 

mariana was a brat, not listening to stef trying to teach her and doing that twitter thing, wished though that when stef scared her that mariana accidentally punched stef in her face, mariana not wanting to scream at night was a valid point so they don't bother the neighbors 

 

the jesus, emma abortion plot was a pointless plot, they should have focused full force with the tbi plot not just throw in the abortion and pregnancy plot in, it adds nothing

 

brandon is acting too ooc, no way would he ever be this nice or helping

 

someone needs to tell monte to shut up and to screw off, too bad nick didn't shoot her

 

aj should live with mike, ty was a real manipulative jerk before and aj can do better

 

don't care about callie's plot at all

[Lady Calypso]

1 minute ago, KaveDweller said:

But isn't that the reason why Mike wants to adopt AJ? I mean, I think he really loves AJ and thinks of him like a son, but adoption never seemed to occur to him until Steph pointed out the issue with Ana moving in.

I think that's what got him to really consider it, sure. Now that I'm really thinking about it, it's certainly a unique situation for Mike. He loves AJ, but he also loves Ana. He's trying to find ways to compromise so he can still have AJ as his son while being able to move forward with his relationship with Ana. We even see him try to compromise with having Ana first moving in across the hallway. Mike has to tell Ana that she can't move in right away because of the situation with AJ, but Mike doing this doesn't even mean that he loves AJ less. In fact, it goes to show that he wants AJ to be his son legally, even if it took the subject of Ana moving in to be the catalyst. 

I do think they could have introduced the idea of Mike adopting AJ with a less dramatic plot, but this is The Fosters, so I'm not really surprised they needed this drama to make it happen. 

4 minutes ago, hovegeta said:

the jesus, emma abortion plot was a pointless plot, they should have focused full force with the tbi plot not just throw in the abortion and pregnancy plot in, it adds nothing

I do think that they did not need all of this drama with Jesus on top of the TBI. Sometimes, the drama can just come within the injury. We don't need Jesus' fear of Brandon/Emma, we don't need the abortion storyline, and we don't need these secrets. I am wishing they took some more time with Jesus' healing. He's already having trouble reading. We could have had his temper be part of his TBI and his paranoia being mostly irrational instead of it being somewhat justified. I did have higher hopes of seeing a better TBI story being produced. However, Jesus' recovery is still my favourite part of this season and I hope it continues. 

[possibilities]

6 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

So, Jesus seems to be hiding the fact that he can't read. 

Is he? I thought they knew that. He had an app reading his texts to him out loud.

Callie's project being off school property would reflect badly on the school any way you look at it. It shows they have "a delinquent" around, as Monte put it* AND it shows that they unfairly exclude her. Terrible message to send to any parent.

Monte just gets worse and worse-- she was blatantly glowing at the guy who's subbing for Lena, exactly how she used to glow at Lena, leading to the grossly inappropriate kiss. She seems to have learned nothing. Also, referring to Lena's family medical leave as "administrative leave" makes it sound like Lena's been disciplined, not that she's on a voluntary suspension.

*This ability to cherry pick students is one of the problems with charter schools, and I do not agree with Monte's point of view, just referring to it wrt how Callie's solution really exposed the school even more than having let her keep it on display on campus would have done.

I think Troy is alleging that Callie caused the accident by grabbing the wheel from him. It's ridiculous, but that's what he told the cops, and I think that's what is implied in terms of him refusing a settlement. But this whole notion of a settlement implies civil court, not criminal court, right? So jail shouldn't be on the table at all. You can plea bargain for a lighter sentence in a criminal case (agreeing to a lesser charge rather than maintaining your innocence and trying to be declared innocent at trial), and you can offer a cash payment to resolve a civil case. I don't think you can offer cash to avoid prison. At least, not legally.

Mariana is really annoying lately.

Jude's anxiety over first time sex, to the extent that he's willing to do it with an adult stranger when he's 14, and thinks that doing so will help him be less anxious and awkward-- is really bonkers and for his moms to not address that level of anxiety other than to tell him to promise not to hook up with another random adult stranger, is even more nuts than Jude himself being crazy. I get that kids do crazy shit., but Noah isn't pressuring him, his friends aren't pressuring him, he himself doesn't seem to be burning with desire to actually do it, and so I pronounce him as anxiety-driven rather than just horny. I don't get why the moms just dismissed that and moved on. Also, if it is true that they are teaching kids about heterosex in a way that is not inclusive of  LGBTQ sexuality, and Lena acknowledges that as being a mistake, then why didn't they offer to answer his questions and concerns, not just focus on the recklessness of his failed hook up? I thought it was out of charactger for both of them to just say "we don't want you to be having sex yet" and leave it at that. I'm not saying they should encourage him to do it, but there's a whole lot else to sex an sex ed than total abstinence. The kid was upset enough to seek out a stranger, so he has some pretty serious things on his mind and they glossed right over that. I guess this will lead to Jude acting out some more, and become a way to show how stupid parenting leads to stupid teens, but it makes Stef and Lena look really bad.

I liked that they gave us an explanation for why Emma got pregnant, instead of leaving us to wonder if they weren't using protection. It does imply they weren't using condoms, though.

I did notice that the brief scene of the sex ed class had the teacher talking about "the girl and the boy" which sounded like he was not considering any other options. That's alienating and conveys a message that any other combination of partners is not valid.

Edited March 1, 2017 by possibilities

[Bobcatkitten]

So real question, how is gay sex ed different from hetero sex ed? They learn about STD's and safe sex; a little anatomy. Am I missing something? 

[ShadowFacts]

Mariana has been my favorite kid but she is really on my last nerve.  Brandon did not need to betray Emma's confidence, that reversed my improving opinion of him, too.  Jude has been insufferable lately, but I feel for him in that he is totally adrift in his anxieties.  All the chaos of the other kids doesn't help.  Callie can't catch a break, but I feel confident she will not be prison-bound.  AJ's brother's dream of becoming a firefighter might be hindered by his felony status, if he had an 18-month sentence, over 1 year usually means felony. 

[Aliconehead]

County Firefighter would not take him but I know some of the forestry service uses inmates to fight fires so that could be a possibilty

http://www.npr.org/2014/07/31/336309329/thousands-of-inmates-serve-time-fighting-the-wests-forest-fires

[ShadowFacts]

That's interesting, the last line was that some of them would try firefighting after they're released, but most say no way. 

[Lady Calypso]

8 hours ago, possibilities said:

Is he? I thought they knew that. He had an app reading his texts to him out loud

Well, he has Siri reading out his texts for him so unlike Jude, they wouldn't exactly know. We haven't seen Jesus say to his moms that he can't read, just that he's gotten frustrated when people have tried to get him to read. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, so maybe they do know. 

Interesting article about the inmate firefighters. I didn't know that!

[balmz]

9 hours ago, possibilities said:

 

I liked that they gave us an explanation for why Emma got pregnant, instead of leaving us to wonder if they weren't using protection. It does imply they weren't using condoms, though.

you do have to remember with condoms even and birth control it's still not always 100% effective, condoms can break or slip off or have flaws or so on

[maraleia]

I hope part of this story is a way to show that the charter school system is monumentally flawed because that would be fantastic. Having to appease donors is stupid and the fact that Callie's senior project (which I loved) was shunted aside and them being skittish about including LGBTQ inclusive sex-ed makes Anchor Beach look rigid and way too conservative for even San Diego.

Depending on what year we're in show-wise Anchor Beach (if it is a part of the San Diego public school system) might be violating state law. http://www.eqca.org/governor-brown-signs-lgbt-inclusive-sex-ed-bill/

[ShortyMac]

4 minutes ago, maraleia said:

I hope part of this story is a way to show that the charter school system is monumentally flawed because that would be fantastic. Having to appease donors is stupid and the fact that Callie's senior project (which I loved) was shunted aside and them being skittish about including LGBTQ inclusive sex-ed makes Anchor Beach look rigid and way too conservative for even San Diego.

Depending on what year we're in show-wise Anchor Beach (if it is a part of the San Diego public school system) might be violating state law. http://www.eqca.org/governor-brown-signs-lgbt-inclusive-sex-ed-bill/

It's November/December 2014 in the show.

[maraleia]

1 minute ago, ShortyMac said:

It's November/December 2014 in the show.

Thank you. This timeline situation is so stupid.

[Sdh1545]

I recently posted in a general thread about how I had stopped watching for awhile (just read recaps) because it was way too dark and wrenching lately (particularly Callie's plot, Mariana and Matt, and that poor kid in jail). I tuned back in tonight, and was glad I did, I found it light enough to handle, but still raised some great issues. I was horrified for Jude when he did something so dangerous to himself, and deceived another person about his age, which would have forced that person to unknowingly commit statutory rape-good thing Jude looks not a minute older than 14.

Also,  I have to say-what's with Callie's biodad's hair? Robert's a conservative guy, why does he look like he's bar-hopping at a hipster bar? I guess the actor must have had a different role while filming, but come on! It looks good, actually, but just saying.

[Zima]

Yay! I'm glad that Emma went through with the abortion!  However, I just have to say that I hated when Brandon said, "so it's not your fault" to Emma when she explained why her birth control failed. So if it was her "fault", she should be punished by having to carry an unwanted pregnancy to term? I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt, because I know that he was trying to comfort her and make her feel better, but still...the message that this sends to the audience doesn't sit right with me.

[tennisgurl]

31 minutes ago, Zima said:

So if it was her "fault", she should be punished by having to carry an unwanted pregnancy to term?

I don't think that's what he was saying. It seemed like it was more "this was out of your control, you couldn't have done anything different", which I think was a good thing to say in this specific situation, because it seemed like Emma was freaking out not only because she was pregnant, but because she thought she made a mistake somewhere, and she prides herself on being really prepared for everything. I don't think it had anything to do with being punished.

Hey, an episode I actually liked pretty well! At least compared to the last few weeks and their endless poor choices and stupid drama plots. Not that there weren't stupid drama plots (this Jesus/Emma/Brandon triangle  they seem to be heading for, plus the teen pregnancy/abortion, is just a waste of time. We already have brain damage, we don't need this abortion melodrama!), but it was mostly people dealing with the repercussions of what's already happened, and doing things that are basically in character. Plus we got Lena and Stef actually parenting! Maybe I'm just so sick of the show lately, I'm just happy to take what I can get.

Alright, the kids are still making bad life choices, but at least they seem like more normal kid things. For example, how does Marianna see this twitter thing ending? Its clearly not about letting her secrets out, its about complaining about crap in her life and telling secrets that are either pretty serious, or aren't hers to tell. Just get a diary Marianna! And Jude! That was practically the start of an episode of Criminal Minds or Law and Order SVU! Not that online dating is super dangerous on its own if done right (I met my last few boyfriends online),even just being used for hook ups, but doing it alone in a strange persons house, when your FOURTEEN and the person is much older, is majorly dangerous. That could have gone much worse, as Stef and Lena said. Stef looked like she was about to cry. Also, is it normal for sex ed classes to actually tell students how to have sex, be it heterosexual or homosexual sex? Don't most classes just give basics on how to use condoms and stuff, maybe talk about consent? That's how it was in my school anyway.

Wow, a whole episode where Callie doesn't act like a moron or an asshole! I actually liked her project, and her whole plot. It was nice seeing Talia show up and not be an antagonist. But then, the prison story rears its ugly head! Can this just end please?!

[Sdh1545]

Sorry, because I missed a few eps-why did Matt dump Mariana, exactly, if it wasn't even her pregnancy test? I knew he was mistakenly told it was, but why wouldn't that be cleared up?

[Lady Calypso]

1 hour ago, Sdh1545 said:

Sorry, because I missed a few eps-why did Matt dump Mariana, exactly, if it wasn't even her pregnancy test? I knew he was mistakenly told it was, but why wouldn't that be cleared up?

It's because it turns out that he still couldn't find himself to trust her after she cheated on him. It was an issue he put aside when they rekindled their relationship, but Mat thinking that she slept with Nick and it turned out to not be true just brought to light his issues with her were never going to go away. 

[KaveDweller]

14 hours ago, possibilities said:

I did notice that the brief scene of the sex ed class had the teacher talking about "the girl and the boy" which sounded like he was not considering any other options. That's alienating and conveys a message that any other combination of partners is not valid.

Yeah, it is an alienating message. They should just tell the teacher to refer to "two people" or something, which shouldn't freak parents out. If they are actually giving kids tips on what to do during sex as was suggested, I'd think the parents would be equally freaked out. I went to HS almost twenty years ago, and we had parents who were upset at the idea of sex ed.

Did Callie's project have something that explained her side of the story or was it just her file decorating the cell?

[Scarlett45]

13 hours ago, scribe95 said:

So real question, how is gay sex ed different from hetero sex ed? They learn about STD's and safe sex; a little anatomy. Am I missing something? 

From the brief scene we saw, the message in the beginning was very heteronormative "the girl and the boy", focusing on the anatomy and biological mechanics of heterosexual sex which can be a very alienating message to gay/bi/questioning kids. Also special concerns regarding STD transmission via anal/digital/oral sex may be excluded from the "straight narrative" with more of a focus on pregnancy, again not helpful to a gay kid. 

[Perfect Xero]

23 hours ago, hovegeta said:

mariana was a brat, not listening to stef trying to teach her and doing that twitter thing, wished though that when stef scared her that mariana accidentally punched stef in her face, mariana not wanting to scream at night was a valid point so they don't bother the neighbors

Not only bothering the neighbors but, seriously, telling someone to scream for help when she's not actually in danger. There's a popular fable about boys and wolves that explains why it's a bad idea to do that sort of thing.

Quote

the jesus, emma abortion plot was a pointless plot, they should have focused full force with the tbi plot not just throw in the abortion and pregnancy plot in, it adds nothing

It's a bit extreme, but I do think Jesus being insecure that is GF is going to leave him for an able bodied guy is a logical part of a TBI plot, so then they needed some excuse to get her and Brandon, who had previously barely been aware that the other existed, to start talking.

Quote

brandon is acting too ooc, no way would he ever be this nice or helping

I think that this is the Brandon that Stef and Lena always insisted that he was before the series started. This is just the first time that we've seen him where he wasn't caught up in some crazy drama that had him acting like an idiot.

[SimoneS]

This show must be written by people who grew up in the 50s and are determined to manufactured ridiculous drama. There is a thing call the Internet that is full of information on all sorts of sex so Jude doesn't need an app. Also, why would he want to have sex with a stranger when he can have sex with his cute sweet boyfriend? 

All this does is confirm my opinion that Lena and Stef are ranked among the worse tv parents, EVAH! Jude's problems aren't caused by Noah, but rather from having neglectful parents who have way too many children.

[possibilities]

9 hours ago, hovegeta said:

you do have to remember with condoms even and birth control it's still not always 100% effective, condoms can break or slip off or have flaws or so on

I do know that. But I still think the show explaining what happened was a good idea.

2 hours ago, KaveDweller said:

Did Callie's project have something that explained her side of the story or was it just her file decorating the cell?

I wondered that, also. I hope it did.

2 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

Also special concerns regarding STD transmission via anal/digital/oral sex may be excluded from the "straight narrative" with more of a focus on pregnancy, again not helpful to a gay kid. 

That info being omitted is also a disservice to straight kids.

Without knowing what they are teaching specifically, it's hard to say exactly what I'd want them to do to equalize it. But for sure framing everything in terms of boy+girl is exclusionary. And the brief glimpse we got of the teacher's intro seemed to indicate not only that they were doing that, but also that they were focusing on penis-in-vagina intercourse exclusively, and not just as "how babies are made"* but also as "piv = sex) which is in my opinion a disservice to all kids, but especially invalidating for any who are not exclusively cisgender hetero-oriented.

*there are other ways to make babies besides penis-in-vagina, too, as far as that goes. A school like Anchor Beach has no excuse not to know that and to try to hide if from the kids.

I take Jude's word for it that whatever they are teaching, it's heteronormative, especially since Lena confirmed it and Monte declared it not open to re-negotiation.

[paulvdb]

4 hours ago, SimoneS said:

Also, why would he want to have sex with a stranger when he can have sex with his cute sweet boyfriend?

That was at least explained in the show. He was nervous about the first time being bad so his friend suggested a practice hook-up to get over his nerves. Of course she didn't say that he should do that with an adult stranger. That part was Jude's idea.

[LisaM]

I really enjoyed this episode - until the last minute when Callie's terrific episode was ruined by the reemergence of the car crash/Troy/prison issue. I suspect that this will be the catalyst for discovering that Kyle is really innocent and that Detective Gray and possibly others in the police department were in league to cover it up. So glad that there was no Aaron/AJ/Callie.

I liked seeing Talya standing up for Callie (who would have thought?!) and seeing her classmates sympathetically question her about her project and her time in juvie. Having the art professor seek Callie out for praise was the icing on the cake for her. It's been so long since Callie had a triumph - possibly since the adoption ceremony - that it felt great for her - until the last minute.

Brandon's surprising rehabilitation was going so well until he spilled Emma's story to Mariana. I am liking this Brandon a lot; reminds me of the Brandon from the Pilot who took the bus with Callie to rescue Jude.

Speaking of Jude, I liked seeing the Moms parenting him. I thought the scene was very effective and Stef, the cop who has likely seen teenagers who have been raped in such situations, looked like she was going to burst out in tears.

After seeing Lena in her office at Anchor Beach interacting uncomfortably with Monte and her "temporary" replacement, I don't think she will be returning to the school. They moved very quickly to replace her and he seems to have made himself right at home. Moreover, Monte's attitude towards Lena was far from welcoming. My guess is that this will turn into Lena moving into a new job elsewhere.

What have TPTB done with Mariana? Where is the smart Mariana who led the STEM team and is so knowledgeable about computers? I know she likely has PTSD from the Nick situation but it is such a dumb move to post secrets on a website which could easily be hacked and lead to them being uncovered. This is clearly not going to end well.

Enjoying the Jesus TBI storyline. I hope that it we see more of his struggles.

I like AJ and it seems as if Mike really cares for him. I hope that he has a happy ending and doesn't see Mike's desire to adopt him solely as a vehicle for Ana to move in. Surprised that Ty has rehabilitated himself. If AJ goes to live with Ty, is that the way to write him off of the show?

[ShadowFacts]

2 hours ago, LisaM said:

I like AJ and it seems as if Mike really cares for him. I hope that he has a happy ending and doesn't see Mike's desire to adopt him solely as a vehicle for Ana to move in. Surprised that Ty has rehabilitated himself. If AJ goes to live with Ty, is that the way to write him off of the show?

I was surprised that Ana's mother seems on board with her moving in with Mike.  She was presented as pretty straight-laced and uber-Catholic.  Maybe she views it as stability for Ana and the baby, and Mike being a cop equates to extra security in her mind. 

[ChocButterfly]

Anna's mother said moving in was the first step, then marriage. I can see her happy with her daughter moving in with a good guy, even without marriage. It's a long way from being a junkie who had her kids taken away from her.

Why can't Lena and Steff give Jude themselves SexEd? I know he'll be embarrass with their moms, but they have to learn how to deal with it, and make Jude be more comfortable talking to them. I don't see why it necessarily needs to be the school. And this is something that has always bothered me, you cannot expect the school to teach them everything about life. The school cannot raise your child. Having a gay kid is precisely one of those times when maybe is better if you handle the sex stuff yourself.

[maraleia]

12 hours ago, ChocButterfly said:

Anna's mother said moving in was the first step, then marriage. I can see her happy with her daughter moving in with a good guy, even without marriage. It's a long way from being a junkie who had her kids taken away from her.

Why can't Lena and Steff give Jude themselves SexEd? I know he'll be embarrass with their moms, but they have to learn how to deal with it, and make Jude be more comfortable talking to them. I don't see why it necessarily needs to be the school. And this is something that has always bothered me, you cannot expect the school to teach them everything about life. The school cannot raise your child. Having a gay kid is precisely one of those times when maybe is better if you handle the sex stuff yourself.

I agree with you about Stef and Lena talking to Jude about sex ed but what about all those LGBTQ kids with hater parents who will only get this information at school. That's why CA made it mandatory for inclusive sex-ed to be taught at every school getting state funds to operate. That's why Lena hung up that sign. So she could help those kids.

[JaneSmith]

I agree as well that other kids aren't as lucky as Jude to have understanding parents so it is important for them to be able to get the proper education from somewhere if the schools wont do it

[izabella]

On 3/2/2017 at 2:35 AM, paulvdb said:

That was at least explained in the show. He was nervous about the first time being bad so his friend suggested a practice hook-up to get over his nerves. Of course she didn't say that he should do that with an adult stranger. That part was Jude's idea.

Isn't everyone nervous thinking about the first time, and of it being bad?  Would she suggest a practice hook-up to a girl? 

What happened to that teen group that Jude was part of for a while?  Was there not one person there he could talk with? 

[SimoneS]

5 hours ago, izabella said:

Isn't everyone nervous thinking about the first time, and of it being bad?  Would she suggest a practice hook-up to a girl? 

What happened to that teen group that Jude was part of for a while?  Was there not one person there he could talk with? 

Exactly. It made absolutely no sense. I think that Jude's story with Noah, smoking weed, doing silly things like going on the boat, and thinking about having sex, was too normal a teen story so they had that throw in a crazy unrealistic online gay sex hook up twist. 

[FrumiusManxome]

I feel like Stef and Lena really need to talk to Jude  (in general as well) about his anxiety. Like to me it seems that if this was more realistic we'd be headed towards Jude having some sort of anxiety disorder. 

He started up the weed in part because it was fun, but also because it made life so worry free. Like when he took it before that test. That implies he's normally fairly stressed out. And now we've got him totally jumping the gun in regards to this entire situation. 

Noah hasn't pressured Jude in the least, he's got about as much experience as Jude does in the BF department (Idk where the talk of Noah's experience came from. Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Noah say he only had one BF before now as well?), and they haven't even *talked* about sex, yet so Jude has no idea what Noah's real expectations are regardless. 

But, Jude thought it'd be better to have sex with a random stranger/adult instead? 

I have pretty bad anxiety and while I wouldn't be so stupid as to lie about my age, get someone convicted of statutory because I lied, or even meet someone on the Internet at all (except for special cases) I recognize that whole "Rather than admit vulnerability or talk about it with someone because then they'll *know* I will plan ahead so that I can overall sidestep the issue" thing. It's silly, and only somewhat helps because it throws my anxiety into overdrive until the 'ordeal' is over, but I can't help it most of the time. It'd be interesting if it was the case, because it would explain a lot about Jude's actions. I have done some ridiculous things to avoid what I perceive to be an embarrassing situation. 

I couldn't help, but laugh when Tahlia showed up. Haven't seen her in like 2 seasons, but whoop there she is. I wonder when we'll see Wyatt again.

 I loved Callie's project. I thought it was such an interesting, provocative way to catch people's attention. My only issue is how screwed up they've made the timeline. So Callie is a junior, but Lena has been harping on her to finish a project that isn't due for a year and that Brandon didn't do until his senior year? Yeah, because that makes sense writers. Glad she finally kept her head down, but managed to showcase her work and make her point regardless. Notice how she managed to do this with the *help* of her mom. I hope she files that away for future reference. 

Brandon's solo story seems nice. If we can keep him and the girl platonic (I know they won't but I can dream), then I think I'll really like where this line of work/education could take him. 

I hate the Brandon/Emma/Jesus storyline.

Spoiler

Especially since it looks like Jesus' 'irrational' fears are about to come true.

I like that Emma was allowed to make her own decision with no outside influences. Ultimately, it's all about her. If she thought Jesus could say anything to change her mind she would have waited, but as it was she knew this was not something they needed right now. Also I don't think Jesus if he was totally okay would have wanted her to have it anyways. But, I commend her for making such a difficult and scary decision almost entirely alone. In the end I truly believe, it was for the best. However, I hate that this led to this convoluted mess with Brandon. Especially since he apparently can't keep his mouth shut any better than Mariana, so we might as well have told her in the first place.

And now to Mariana. Honestly, screw her right now. I am so angry with her. So, so angry. Emma has made a hugely controversial decision at 16 years old. And even when you're 100% sure about the abortion, you can still feel weird about the whole thing and need some adjustment time. When this comes out, Emma is going to be thrown into an emotional tailspin, equal parts vilified and heralded. But, either way it will not be pretty and everyone will have something to say about it. Mariana only cared about her hurt feelings. And it's funny that she was mad Emma didn't trust her and responded by further proving why Emma can't trust her. Who responds to finding out their best friend had an abortion like this? She didn't even ask Brandon how Emma was doing. 

Really feeling for Jesus. I wish they'd put him in a facility. He's obviously not being watched enough and I hate how they're playing fast and loose with timeframe and just not showing him as if we won't notice Lena isn't there. 

Edited March 6, 2017 by FrumiusManxome
Language

[JaggedLilPill]

19 minutes ago, FrumiusManxome said:

So Callie is a junior, but Lena has been harping on her to finish a project that isn't due for a year and that Brandon didn't do until his senior year? Yeah, because that makes sense writers.

The timeline is a thousand percent screwed up as Callie is a senior along with Brandon, although Callie turned seventeen in the summer and Brandon is now eighteen.

Mariana and Jesus are juniors at sixteen.

Jude is in eighth grade at fourteen. At least, I'm pretty sure Jude is still in eighth grade since someone (Brandon?) mentioned the condom on the banana was ninth grade sex ed as opposed to whatever grade Jude is in now.

[izabella]

39 minutes ago, FrumiusManxome said:

Noah hasn't pressured Jude in the least, he's got about as much experience as Jude does in the BF department (Idk where the talk of Noah's experience came from. Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Noah say he only had one BF before now as well?), and they haven't even *talked* about sex, yet so Jude has no idea what Noah's real expectations are regardless. 

But, Jude thought it'd be better to have sex with a random stranger/adult instead? 

I have pretty bad anxiety and while I wouldn't be so stupid as to lie about my age, get someone convicted of statutory because I lied, or even meet someone on the Internet at all (except for special cases) I recognize that whole "Rather than admit vulnerability or talk about it with someone because then they'll *know* I will plan ahead so that I can overall sidestep the issue" thing. It's silly, and only somewhat helps because it throws my anxiety into overdrive until the 'ordeal' is over, but I can't help it most of the time. It'd be interesting if it was the case, because it would explain a lot about Jude's actions. I have done some ridiculous things to avoid what I perceive to be an embarrassing situation. 

I would think that Jude's anxiety would be 1000 times greater at the thought of meeting a stranger, an adult stranger, to have sex with, than of having awkward first time sex with a boyfriend. 

I just cannot fathom this story line.  Jude shouldn't be so dumb.  I am just glad the older guy sent him home.  Too often, gay men are depicted as predators of boys and young men, and that's not cool because they certainly are not as a matter of course! 

I was also pissed at the way the moms handled it.  I wish they had set aside some time to actually TALK with Jude about sex AND about what created his so, so urgent need to hook up with a stranger right now at 14 in order to be ready for sex with his boyfriend.  That is some fucked up thinking, so a discussion when they were all calmer could go a long way toward allaying Jude's fears, whatever they really are.

I have no words for Marianna except she has learned absolutely nothing about being a decent human being.  So much for her guilt about how her actions may have led to Jesus' trauma, because she got right back on her horse and is now busy doing things that will lead to someone else getting hurt. 

For the first time ever, I like Brandon and only Brandon on this show, though that may change next episode.

[Lady Calypso]

1 hour ago, FrumiusManxome said:

Really feeling for Jesus. I wish they'd put him in a facility. He's obviously not being watched enough and I hate how they're playing fast and loose with timeframe and just not showing him as if we won't notice Lena isn't there. 

Agreed. It's kind of funny, though, because we haven't seen Lena being that great of a caretaker with Jesus. The few times he's gotten angry and frustrated, she's reacted on that by yelling at him. Brandon's the one who found a way to help Jesus with music therapy, and Stef has surprisingly been the one to be there emotionally for Jesus, the only one to ask him if he's ok. I think that could stem from the fact that Stef was the only one to see Jesus seizing and being at his most vulnerable as well. I'm sure Lena's been a fine caretaker offscreen and I definitely think it's noble of her to go on medical leave to be there for her son, but I just noted that it's the onscreen moments that we haven't really see her help Jesus, besides doing the obligatory tasks to help him. 

1 hour ago, FrumiusManxome said:

And now to Mariana. Honestly, screw her right now. I am so angry with her. So, so angry. Emma has made a hugely controversial decision at 16 years old. And even when you're 100% sure about the abortion, you can still feel weird about the whole thing and need some adjustment time. When this comes out, Emma is going to be thrown into an emotional tailspin, equal parts vilified and heralded. But, either way it will not be pretty and everyone will have something to say about it. Mariana only cared about her hurt feelings. And it's funny that she was mad Emma didn't trust her and responded by further proving why Emma can't trust her. Who responds to finding out their best friend had an abortion like this? She didn't even ask Brandon how Emma was doing. 

Mariana is being 100% selfish right now. Just by reacting on her own feelings and how she feels, it just shows that she's really being a true teenager with not considering how Emma's going through all of this by herself. Mariana never even considered why Emma might have gone to Brandon, the reasons for that, and posting that on social media will come back to bite her in the ass. Mariana has not been written well this season at all. 

3 hours ago, SimoneS said:

Exactly. It made absolutely no sense. I think that Jude's story with Noah, smoking weed, doing silly things like going on the boat, and thinking about having sex, was too normal a teen story so they had that throw in a crazy unrealistic online gay sex hook up twist. 

That's pretty much the slogan of this show: Too Normal, Add In More Drama. Things that could be interesting to explore must have unnecessary drama added on top. Jesus' TBI story can't just be about him and his healing. It needs an Emma abortion story, an Emma/Brandon/Jesus triangle, and secrets. Mariana can't just go to therapy to fix herself, she needs to be causing more problems that'll happen at the end of the season. Callie can't just have a calm senior year; she needs to be involved in a love triangle, be a detective, and have her own jail storyline all at the same time.  

[SimoneS]

1 hour ago, izabella said:

I would think that Jude's anxiety would be 1000 times greater at the thought of meeting a stranger, an adult stranger, to have sex with, than of having awkward first time sex with a boyfriend. 

I just cannot fathom this story line.  Jude shouldn't be so dumb.  I am just glad the older guy sent him home.  Too often, gay men are depicted as predators of boys and young men, and that's not cool because they certainly are not as a matter of course! 

I was also pissed at the way the moms handled it.  I wish they had set aside some time to actually TALK with Jude about sex AND about what created his so, so urgent need to hook up with a stranger right now at 14 in order to be ready for sex with his boyfriend.  That is some fucked up thinking, so a discussion when they were all calmer could go a long way toward allaying Jude's fears, whatever they really are.

To me, the worse thing is that this story plays into the stereotype about promiscuous gay men craving to have sex with strangers. Jude has been such a compelling portrayal of a gay teen. It really annoys me that this show with at least two openly gay producers had to undermine their own story. It is already bad enough that Step and Lena have morphed into the worse tv parents ever.  Of course, they cannot take the time to talk to Jude about sex or anything else. They hardly spend any time with the children who run around unsupervised constantly getting into trouble. Worse parents, EVAH.

Edited March 6, 2017 by SimoneS

[JaggedLilPill]

1 hour ago, Lady Calypso said:

That's pretty much the slogan of this show: Too Normal, Add In More Drama. Things that could be interesting to explore must have unnecessary drama added on top. Jesus' TBI story can't just be about him and his healing. It needs an Emma abortion story, an Emma/Brandon/Jesus triangle, and secrets. Mariana can't just go to therapy to fix herself, she needs to be causing more problems that'll happen at the end of the season. Callie can't just have a calm senior year; she needs to be involved in a love triangle, be a detective, and have her own jail storyline all at the same time.  

This.

Bradley and Peter defend their choices by claiming it's a drama. Yes, we get that. It was also a drama in the first half of season one and they managed to balance the moms' relationship along with the mayhem the kids got into.

And then it started to get OTT. Especially considering it's only been a little over a year since Callie and Jude came into Stef and Lena's lives. 

Callie has: been in and out of juvie twice, at Girls United, confronted her rapist, slept with Brandon, met her biological father and half-sister, created FostandFound, was an accessory to a kidnapping....I could go on.

Same thing for Mariana, Jesus, Brandon, and Jude.

Don't these kids want a nice, calm boring life for a while? I know I would! 

[ShortyMac]

2 hours ago, FrumiusManxome said:

I feel like Stef and Lena really need to talk to Jude  (in general as well) about his anxiety. Like to me it seems that if this was more realistic we'd be headed towards Jude having some sort of anxiety disorder. 

He started up the weed in part because it was fun, but also because it made life so worry free. Like when he took it before that test. That implies he's normally fairly stressed out. And now we've got him totally jumping the gun in regards to this entire situation. 

Remember when Jude had selective mutism, an anxiety disorder, for two episodes in Season 2? I doubt the show is going there again.

[Jax7917]

remember when they were hinting at Jude being trans? Yeah, they dropped that story line too like a hot potato. I wouldn't mind the drama so much if the time line was different. The fact that everything has happened within 1 year is ridiculous

Edited March 6, 2017 by Jaclyn88

[KaveDweller]

9 hours ago, JaggedLilPill said:

The timeline is a thousand percent screwed up as Callie is a senior along with Brandon, although Callie turned seventeen in the summer and Brandon is now eighteen.

Mariana and Jesus are juniors at sixteen.

Jude is in eighth grade at fourteen. At least, I'm pretty sure Jude is still in eighth grade since someone (Brandon?) mentioned the condom on the banana was ninth grade sex ed as opposed to whatever grade Jude is in now.

The timeline is screwed up because the show has covered a year and a half. But the ages make sense to me. The standard age in the US is to start Kindergaten when you are five, or about to turn five. So most people are 17 when they start their senior year and turn 18 during that school year or in the summer before they start college. Brandon's birthday was probably just past the cut off date when he started kindergarten, and that's why he already turned 18.  I think Jude just turned 14 too, so he's either in the same position as Brandon.

[JaggedLilPill]

4 minutes ago, KaveDweller said:

The timeline is screwed up because the show has covered a year and a half. But the ages make sense to me. The standard age in the US is to start Kindergaten when you are five, or about to turn five. So most people are 17 when they start their senior year and turn 18 during that school year or in the summer before they start college. Brandon's birthday was probably just past the cut off date when he started kindergarten, and that's why he already turned 18.  I think Jude just turned 14 too, so he's either in the same position as Brandon.

No, the ages are fine. I know different states have different cutoffs so they make sense. 

It's more the pretending that all of this stuff has happened in less than a two-year time span that I find ridiculous.

When they were working out whether or not Callie should take the deal or go to trial, they mentioned she had another eight or so months before turning eighteen. Seeing as she has a July birthday, that puts us around November. 

But eh, it doesn't seem that the writers care much so I guess I shouldn't either. 

The only saving grace is that they have tabled the Brallie relationship (I wish forever, but I'm not holding my breath). 

[KaveDweller]

8 minutes ago, JaggedLilPill said:

No, the ages are fine. I know different states have different cutoffs so they make sense. 

It's more the pretending that all of this stuff has happened in less than a two-year time span that I find ridiculous.

When they were working out whether or not Callie should take the deal or go to trial, they mentioned she had another eight or so months before turning eighteen. Seeing as she has a July birthday, that puts us around November. 

But eh, it doesn't seem that the writers care much so I guess I shouldn't either. 

The only saving grace is that they have tabled the Brallie relationship (I wish forever, but I'm not holding my breath). 

When you add up everything that happened to them, it is just insane.  I know they want the kids to stay teens for maximum drama, but no one has that much drama.

[possibilities]

The moms did used to talk with and take time for the kids. That they aren't doing that anymore has to be in service to things spinning more out of whack, because I guess if the moms were around and paying attention and being involved like they used to, the supervision and functionalness would displace the insanity, and for whatever reason the show has decided they prefer the insanity.

Maybe it's that I'm too old to prefer this level of drama. Maybe the target demo for this show finds the functional stuff boring.

[maraleia]

I hate that this show has been co-opted for more drama at the expense of character development. I don't even feel Stef and Lena's love anymore because it's been shoved aside in favor of the kids.