S05.E16: Giving Up The Ghost

[Lady Calypso]

Quote

Stef confronts her demons and finally comes clean to Lena about what’s been troubling her. Mariana and Emma find themselves going head to head, putting Poppy and Jesus in an awkward position.

[Lady Calypso]

So, I'm trying to figure out what they're doing with Emma. In particular, what they're doing with Emma's relationship with Jesus, and I'm not quite sure. I think they're leading to a break-up, but if they are, why does it need to be through some stupid love triangle with Poppy? Why can't Jesus/Poppy just be friends? They already hinted at Emma not wanting to be in a long-term relationship with Jesus past high school which I actually liked, but now it seems like they may want to break them up sooner, by the end of the series. It makes sense for a high school romance to not last, especially since they've only been with each other a year, at most, but having Poppy being dragged into it is not the way to end Emma/Jesus. 

As for Emma/Mariana, I don't mind their rivalry. It's nice to see them at odds, and having Emma apologize was the right thing to do. But yeah, Mariana's still annoying with her holier-than-thou attitude about stuff. 

The Brandon/Grace stuff was weird....but also really sweet? I just hate the death anvils being dropped around Grace. They're really going to make it tough on me when she dies, aren't they? 

THANK YOU, LENA. Finally, someone tells Tess off. Like, woman, go away. Have some few choice words from me and go. I can't stand Tess anymore. I wish the next episode has her saying that she's moving away, so we can get her off my screen. I am glad for Stef/Lena to decide to take some time away. They really deserve a weekend away (or longer, really). 

Hey! Jude gets time with Donald! That only took a bazillion years. I was afraid it was just going to be Callie getting the brunt of that story and Jude would be ignored. He's a main character too, show! And Donald is HIS biological father. If Callie can have hers hanging around, why can't Jude's? It was also nice to get some Callie/Jude scenes. Those have been lacking as of late. I liked hearing Jude's fears about Callie leaving. 

[tennisgurl]

I mostly really liked that episode, except for the Emma/Poppy/Jesus/Mariana drama. Emma being petty and jealous is a bad look, especially when Poppy doesn't even seem to be into Jesus that way. Plus, as Jesus said, her parents might be deported any day now. Cant she just have this one thing in her life that doesn't suck? But Mariana going after the scholarship was crappy too. I dont mind them having a rivalry over their college plans, but adding it to Emma being jealous about Poppy is super lame. It makes me want to just see Jesus and Poppy hanging out while the other two snip at each other. 

YES, tell her Lena! That was awesome! Lena is normally the Good Cop mom, but when she gets pushed, I wouldn't screw with her. Tess is just a mess, and she keeps trying to drag their family into her lies and drama, and blame them for her own life choices, and she needed to be told to step off. If she wants to explore her sexuality, thats fine, but she is handling the whole thing awfully, acting selfish and immature. And, as Lena said, the Adams-Foster clan has enough of their own drama without her adding more! 

Wow, Jude actually gets a good story! I really understood his feelings that Donald had ditched him and Callie to start over with a new family, or that he wasn't good enough to be a son, and his fear that Callie would leave him. They sometimes seem to forget how much crap Callie and Jude went through together, it was nice to be reminded that he did more on this show than play video games and complain about stuff. I also thought it was sweet that Jude told Donald that he should be a father to Caleb, and when Callie told Donald he should be happy. 

The Grace and Brandon plot was weird (Ghost Busters, Fosters addition!), but also pretty adorable. Their attempts at ghost interaction "Bad Ghost!" "The ghost might be traumatized." "Awww what happened?" "Death" were adorable, and they really do work really well as a couple. Not looking forward to her inevitable demise. Of course Brandon finally finds a girlfriend who doesn't suck, and she has cancer. 

I love how long Callie's name is now. Callie Quinn Adams Foster is a bit of a mouthful. 

[gaucho91]

I thought the roller derby scenes were laughably bad.   I don't know a ton about roller derby but Emma, Poppy and Mariana all seem way too petite to do roller derby.

[marceline]

Other than the stuff with Jude and Donald this whole episode confirmed to me that it's a good thing this is the show's last season.

[possibilities]

I wish Grace's and Brandon's relationship wasn't ALL him taking care of her, though. It seems like everything they do now is "because it's important to Grace" and she never does anything for him or even thinks of him. I understood when she was in the hospital, and when she was in major I-am-dying crisis. And I realize she still has a lot on her mind, and I get that. I also don't mind that he wants to do stuff like prom, or the music. But he always says they're doing it because it matters to Grace. He never says he just wants to do something, or that he wants to be with her-- you'd think he'd be into the music gig, but he just says it's important to Grace, never that he's looking forward to whatever they're doing, or to just being with her.

[dmmetler]

I wish someone had pointed out to Marianna that her non-traditional background is going to give her “hooks” in the application process (provided she writes a decent essay and has the test scores and grades) and Emma is going to have a much harder time standing out. Poppy may have needed to be jammer, but Emma needs the internship or some other major accomplishment more than Marianna does. 

[Scarlett45]

I did have so much sympathy for Jude during this episode. I know he was very young when his mother died, and Donald has consistently shown that he’s not invested in being a father.

 

He did the best thing for Jude when he consented to his adoption (forgive me for still being angry that he didn’t come clean about Callie’s bio dad BEFORE the fiasco at court); but he never seem to “get” what his emotional neglect (no calls/letters or simple words of I miss/love you) during his time in prison did to them. I think he’s kind of a punk- Caleb is easy because he’s not actually his and almost grown to boot. 

 

Callie told Jude how it was and I’ve so missed their bond. 

[LisaM]

I thought the Donald dinner would end badly because of the girlfriend - not because of Jude's feelings about Donald, Caleb and himself. Much preferred it the way that it went down. Jude has so many reasons to resent Donald's lack of contact in the past; nice to see that he didn't take out his resentment on Caleb. Glad we were able to see Donald again before the show ends. I also like how he asked Callie about her moms. 

Interesting that the art professor picked up on Callie's passion being in a different area. Foreshadowing much?

So glad that Lena finally told Tess to keep her business on her side of the fence. Tess is just awful. 

I keep seeing the black cloud hanging over Grace whenever she is on screen. The ghost banishing scene was cute; figures that Brandon would finally find an appropriate girlfriend and that she is doomed. 

The whole roller derby plot is odd -- but Ximena really comes off well. I hope that we find out that she has a happy ending.