S05.E12: #IWasMadeInAmerica

[Lady Calypso]

Quote

Callie and her friends support Ximena in a big way at a conservative anti-immigration rally and get a lot of buzz for Ximena’s plight. Meanwhile, an unlikely source offers a key piece of evidence that may help save Anchor Beach from going private and the family celebrates Stef’s birthday. 

[possibilities]

Stef is having panic attacks, and honestly-- if she didn't have PTSD by now, it would be superhuman of her. I can't even guess which of the many things she's been through is triggering it, but I'm glad they're giving the moms something to do lately, besides swoop in at the last minute after teen drama.

Hooray for Callie finding her voice in the obvious place! Not sure what I think about Ximena kissing her. It will depend on where they're going with that.

Very glad they've changed direction with Jesus. It might even redeem the original horribleness, by showing the contrast. Looking forward to seeing Jesus find his voice, like Callie is finding hers.

I also was surprised by not hating the resolution of Mariana's story. I actually agree that exclusivity after a singe date is a bit nuts, especially at their age, and also what she said about not giving Mat a pass for dumping her before-- it made sense, and showed she wasn't just being a crazy teen. It was actually fairly grounded of her.

Also pleased to see that Lena handled the Nick situation both by not going easy on him for where he was wrong, but also by helping to protect him and try to ensure he's at least minimally safe. Plus, seeing the teachers get together not only to save the school but also each other and Lena's job-- finally! Of course she didn't think she could fight alone! Where were they all this time????

I like Callie. I have always felt that she earned her dysfunctions and that it was understandable even if frustrating. And I wish more of us were like her, being unable to just ignore it when someone's in trouble. She's grown a lot-- way less impulsive. She actually formed a good plan, without sacrificing herself.

Edited January 24, 2018 by possibilities

[Lady Calypso]

I actually really liked Callie's scene at the forum. Her strength at standing up for Ximena and DACA was very well done. A great acting moment from Maia, for sure. Once she stopped her stuttering and awkward pauses, I felt myself smiling. Ok, so Ximena kissing Callie was a bit out of left field. It actually made me think, "are we going to start exploring a Callie sexuality storyline? Or was this a one off thing?" when it happened, especially with the spinoff coming up. Other than that moment, I thoroughly enjoyed the Callie scenes...because there were far less than usual. 

Lots of Lena, though. This was certainly a Lena-heavy episode, and that's what I'm here for. From her confrontation of Nick to her demanding to be principal and Drew be fired, I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of Lena. I also loved Timothy leading the charge to get Lena into the principal position. It just shows that when you've done excellent work and proven yourself, you could have people backing you up. I mean, theoretically, this could have happened when Drew first took over and started making waves, but I guess better late than never, right? 

It was nice to see things being corrected with Jesus, as well. Ok, so Brandon's the only one that didn't need that family talk on ableism and Jesus because he's the only one that's treated him normally, but it was a family meeting nonetheless. Also, I laughed at Jesus asking his mom to be his para, only to realize what that meant when she came into his class. I actually thought it was nice that we got to have the correction of Lena being there for Jesus like we were supposed to have when Lena first offered to be his caretaker, but also to have that corrected pretty realistically when Jesus saw that having his mom as his para was the worst idea for a teenager, especially with a mom whose job was already at the school. 

Any Jude scenes annoy me. It just doubled with Popular Gamer Dude throwing a shit fit over Jude having a boyfriend. Yes, Gamer, you aren't just going to get into Jude's pants because he's not single. No need to throw a hissy fit on stream. Also, I'm with Noah on the inappropriateness of their second stream. I've grown to tolerate Noah more and more, to the point where if he breaks up with Jude, I wouldn't be disappointed. I know it's only a fight and they'll be fine, but it's still an annoying storyline. Also, Taylor, you deserve better too! Jude's apology wasn't....great, to put it mildly. I wish it was more heartfelt. 

Mariana can go away with her many suitors. At least Nick isn't thrown in as well. Though, I will say, if this is the end of Nick, and I think it is, it was a solid way to end his story. There's a semblance of hope that he can be better. He's not totally irredeemable, and he really has issues that he has to fix himself, but at least he's not out harming other people. He also has a crap father, so good on Nick for doing the right thing, even without a support system. 

No, but back to the Mariana thing. I agreed with her reasoning when she talked to Mat on the swing. Other than that? I really couldn't care less about her. I just feel bad that Wyatt's been turned into this comic relief stoner character for her storyline, and Logan's been utterly useless, all so Mariana can get back together with Mat. What was the point of Logan, then?!

I hope Stef can figure out what is exactly triggering her panic attacks (I'm betting a whole lot of things) and that she can get some help for it. A bittersweet way to end the episode, as well. 

[Gulftastic]

If Callie realises she is bi-sexual, and they continue it to the spin off, won't that make her the first bi-sexual lead character in a show ever?

 

Obviously, aside from 'gay for sweeps' efforts?

Edited January 24, 2018 by Gulftastic

[Lady Calypso]

13 minutes ago, Gulftastic said:

If Callie realises she is bi-sexual, and they continue it to the spin off, won't that make her the first bi-sexual lead character in a show ever?

 

Obviously, aside from 'gay for sweeps' efforts?

Surprisingly, no. There may not be a lot of openly LGBTQ+ lead characters, especially bisexual ones, but there are some. Some examples of lead bisexual characters include Annalise from How To Get Away With Murder, Clarke from The 100, and Sara from Legends of Tomorrow. I guess you could argue that all three of these shows are more ensembles, and the spinoff may not be an ensemble like The Fosters is, but these women didn't have their bisexuality used as a sweeps thing. 

[Gulftastic]

Good lord. I am so ashamed. How could I forget Clarke and Sarah? I've not had my afternoon nap, so I'm blaming tiredness.

[Glade]

I wished they hadn't played that song at the end of the protest scene--it was distracting and overkill.  Meanwhile, I don't like that Matt went back to Marriana at all, let alone that he's going along with her immature plan where he's supposed to accept that she's also dating two other guys, including the person that she cheated on him with.  Marriana is so immature and self-centered, it's ridiculous. I also wish that Wyatt was taken seriously as a character again--is he still homeless, does he have post high school plans?  I was hoping he would run into Callie so they could have a real conversation, Marriana neither knows nor cares about such details.

[marinaalexis]

I guess I'm just a sucker for big group scenes with people coming together, but I loved Callie's speech at the forum and the teachers backing up Lena in front of the board. Those were both fantastic scenes. It was also great to see some forward motion with Jesus' storyline. I like how it feels like they're moving things along without making it all totally smooth sailing - Lena's stepped up to help him, but that's still going to come with its challenges (like Jesus' embarrassment in front of his peers).

I don't like Mariana's storyline at all. One thing I liked about her in the beginning was that she was smart and pretty but didn't always have a million boyfriends floating around her - it felt realistic and it was a nice difference from most other teen shows (I'm looking at you, PLL). It just makes me roll my eyes that she suddenly has three guys so desperate to be her boyfriend that they're willing to sit back and let her go out with all three of them. 

Stef's panic attack storyline is both interesting and very realistic. I'm excited to see where they're going with that.

[tennisgurl]

I thought the big scenes of Callie at the rally and Lena at the school board meeting were both awesome, and they nailed the whole "standing up against whats right" feeling that this show often goes for. What can I say, I am always a sucker for big crowds of people marching together to fight the good fight. Especially the teachers all coming together to stand with Lena. Its about freaking time.  They were also good acting moments for everyone involved, and it was actually Callie trying to save the world in a responsible way, not in a ridiculous self destructive way. 

Not a huge fan of the Mariana story, although at least we cut to the guys all finding out right now instead of later. Its ok wanting to date around, but be honest about it! I did laugh over two of the three guys being totally cool with it, and getting along together. I would laugh if they decide to start dating each other, and just walk off without Mariana at all. 

I was really happy to see the family meeting in the beginning. The family scenes are always my favorite, much more than most of the romance plots of the various kids. I also loved when Brandon and Jesus were talking about how embarrassing it was to have Lena in the classroom. He appreciates her being there for him, but having your mom around is still super embarrassing for a teenager. I like how the story is going now. 

Stef having panic attacks is totally understandable considering everything that has happened. All of her kids have almost died, been sent to prison, assaulted, and all kinds of crap over about the space of a year. Its amazing her and Lena get any sleep at all. Or dont have tracking devices in the clothes of all of their kids. 

So,  Ximena has more than friendly feelings for Callie, huh? Ximena definitely initiated the kiss, but Callie didnt exactly pull away, so...is this going to be a thing now? Because Callie exploring possible bisexuality isn't exactly a new story for the show, but it could still be pretty interesting. You know, I kind of got a vibe from them a few times, and I thought I was imagining things. Guess not. 

I assume this will be the end of Nick, and I think this is a good way to end his story. He did lots of awful things, but he is clearly a sick kid with a messed up home life, so I hope he gets better of screen. I liked the scene with him and Lena, and how she was first super pissed at just talking to the guy, then grew more concerned as she saw how bad things were for him, and called someone to actually help him out away from his evil father, and even stayed with him. 

[TLCHP1987]

I'm really starting to think that stef is suffering from anxiety, which is what is causing her panic attacks. If anyone has ever heard of the Rapper Logic. He specifically talk about his first anxiety attack and how it felt like he was dying. He really shed some good light now how anxiety makes a person feel. He stated in a verified interview, that it happened out of nowhere's and he didn't understand that he was going through was a panic attack. he said that he could clearly things for what they were but something felt horribly wrong, like his body was weak and failing. which scared him. 

 

He also said something that resonated, with ste'f situation. Which was that most people don't want to talk about mental health because they feel its a sign of weakness. That's why i feel stef took so long to tell Lena that something was wrong. She was afraid that if she admitted it, she would be considered/feel weak. 

 

If anyone wants to hear the song

[luckyroll3]

22 hours ago, possibilities said:

Not sure what I think about Ximena kissing her.

I definitely missed that!  Did the kiss happen after they learned about the "HuffPo" article?

10 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

especially with the spinoff coming up.

What spinoff????

Loved that Marianna was finally smart enough to stop trying to do stuff herself and letting Lena handle the Nick encounter.  I also enjoyed her wanting to assert her dating independence, but wished she would have just told the guys upfront instead of relying on them running in different circles.  Rookie mistake.  But glad she came clean and LOLed when the other two (not Mat) were all like, "hell yeah we're down for casual dating!"

I actually didn't hate Brandon this episode and loved the moment between him and his mom when they hugged and she started whimpering and he offered to cash in his piano playing coupon.  Very sweet.  Come to think of it, I actually haven't hated Brandon during the past couple episodes either.  

[possibilities]

5 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

I did laugh over two of the three guys being totally cool with it, and getting along together. I would laugh if they decide to start dating each other, and just walk off without Mariana at all. 

That would be a great resolution to the potential quadrangle of heartbreak!

I agree Brandon has been much less annoying, and sometimes downright likable, lately. I also loved his conversation with Jesus about how he needed to tell Lena what he felt about her behavior as his aide.

40 minutes ago, luckyroll3 said:

I definitely missed that!  Did the kiss happen after they learned about the "HuffPo" article?

Yes-- at the Church, Callie was telling her about the article and Ximena leaned over and  kissed her-- and not a peck on the cheek.

The spinoff is going to be Callie, Mariana, and an as yet unrevealed other cast member living in LA, if I recall correctly. It's being discussed in the Media thread.

[Perfect Xero]

I wasn't sure what they were going for with Jesus's aide last week, at first I thought he was just an asshole in spite of being a trained professional, but then he made Jesus stay to finish his work when the teacher was giving him a pass, so I thought maybe they were just showing that he was trying to help Jesus by not going easy on him.

Guess it turns out that he was just supposed to be an asshole and Lena had to step in and be his aide?

[possibilities]

They should be able to hire someone else if they could hire the first guy. I think it was a mistake for Lena to take the job, and hopefully she and Jesus will talk about it and hire the next person together, and communicate what they need and want the person to do, so they wind up with someone who does it right.

[Perfect Xero]

32 minutes ago, possibilities said:

They should be able to hire someone else if they could hire the first guy. I think it was a mistake for Lena to take the job, and hopefully she and Jesus will talk about it and hire the next person together, and communicate what they need and want the person to do, so they wind up with someone who does it right.

I don't know, this show is weirdly anti-professional ... anything.

[butterbody]

I am so distracted by Marianas footwear. I think I would also have a panic attack if my daughter wore platform stripper shoes. 

[TLCHP1987]

13 hours ago, possibilities said:

They should be able to hire someone else if they could hire the first guy. I think it was a mistake for Lena to take the job, and hopefully she and Jesus will talk about it and hire the next person together, and communicate what they need and want the person to do, so they wind up with someone who does it right.

I'm also guessing that if she becomes Principal of ABCC she won't be allowed to be his aid anymore. The teacher thought it unethical and unprofessional while she was a VP. I think her hands are pretty much tied at this point. It would be best to hire another aid, this time they should consider someone whose a little closer in age. Someone who can understand and relate to Jesus life in HS. I think if they did that, they would get better results. Plus he'll have someone who he can confide in who will not judge him like he thinks his family does