When ABC Family announced its plan to make a show about two lesbian moms and their multiethnic gaggle of children, Lucy Hallowell and I whispered a secret wish to each other: That Stef and Lena of The Fosters would be like Coach and Tami Taylor of Friday Night Lights. We wanted them have comfortable, easy, sexy chemistry, and while the teenage drama orbited around them like so many hormonal satellites, we wanted Stef and Lena’s firm commitment to each other to anchor the whole show in place. And miracle of miracles, that’s exactly what has happened. Tonight, ABC Family will air the penultimate episode of season one, and here are five reasons you absolutely have to watch the final two installments.
1) The last two episodes are all Stef and Lena. Much of the first eight episodes of The Fosters has focused on the five teenagers living and loving and lying under the Foster-Adams roof, but [semi-spoiler alert!] now that Stef has been shot, the show is turning its attention to the moms. Sure, there are still some adolescent shenanigans, but the main focus is Stef and Lena’s relationship. Where they are, where they’re going, where they’ve been.
2) Flashbacks! Flashbacks! Flashbacks galore! Ever wonder how Stef realized she’s gay and how she met Lena and how she told Mike and when she and Lena decided to be superhero moms? Well, buckle up, because tonight you’re going to find out. (And you’re going to get to see some delightful ’90s hair.) 3) Sexytimes ensue. One thing we’ve been anticipating like crazy is seeing Stef and Lena romance each other without the kids around. The finale gives us plenty of delicious romantic moments between the two of them, one of which is so sweet and so lovely you’ll be reaching for a second box of tissues to dry your lezzer tears before the episode ends.
4) Annie Potts, yo. Annie Potts plays Stef’s mom, and it is such an inspired piece of casting that you’ll wish she’d stick around forever. In fact, there are parental interactions all over the place in the finale, and all of them speak to different kinds of relationship different kinds of gay kids have with their moms and dads. It’s really rare and wonderful to see them all reflected on screen, even the difficult ones.
5) ABC Family hasn’t renewed The Fosters yet. Despite the fact that she show’s ratings are growing and breaking records every week, ABC Family has been silent about a second season pickup. We need to watch it live and boost those ratings and help it trend on Twitter and do everything we can to make sure we’re getting more episodes. We will be positively bereft if it doesn’t come back next year.
Live tweet the episode with our AfterEllen writers and readers with the hashtag #GaydyBunch. We’ll see you tonight at 9:00!
