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The Fosters S4 E16 Recap: “The Long Haul”

The road has been long, winding, and exhausting so far this season on The Fosters, but this week the show decided to slow down and enjoy the journey. Wedding bells are ringing, and everyone briefly puts aside their catastrophic teen woes to come together and watch two people pledge their lives to one another. Here’s what happened:

Stef’s mother Sharon is visiting, and she’s always an enthusiastic breath of fresh air. During dinner her boyfriend Will announces their engagement, and they all agree to hold the wedding at the Foster home. After dinner, Callie helps Stef wash dishes as they discuss Callie’s upcoming trial, Stef reminds her that proof is much more important in adult court than juvenile, and her father’s lawyers will prove the prosecution simply doesn’t have any. As Callie goes to bed, Sharon approaches Stef with a request to deny Will the permission for her hand in marriage. Stef denies and tells her mother she needs to deal with the conundrum herself like a grown woman.

At school, A.J. and Callie discuss his flirtation with another girl and the prospect of them dating while Callie is at the women’s prison. A.J. and a girl named Dawn had been talking about liking one another’s buns, and Callie’s eyes practically roll back into her head over approaching the tail end of the conversation. Because who cares about hot buns when you might be going to prison?

Emma writes Jesus a letter to explain her secret, but he can’t read the words on the page even though he has insisted on abandoning his physical therapy. While Jesus is struggling with his inability to read upstairs, Lena prepares permission slips for students who want to attend the LGBT sex education class she’s holding at their home, and expresses to Jude that Noah should also attend. Just, obviously dismayed, convinces Lena to hold the class someplace outside of their house.

Callie takes A.J. to the store Troy Johnson claimed he was working during the time of the murder, and they discover Troy’s alibi is his own girlfriend Vanessa, who used to work there. A.J. is stuck talking to Troy when he finds out Vanessa isn’t there, causing Troy to become skeptical and follow him out to the car where he threatens Callie to call the police. It’s quite possible Callie will manage to ruin A.J.’s life while trying to prove Troy’s guilt.

 

Will holds a dinner for the family and makes a toast in honor of the upcoming wedding before asking for Stef’s blessing, which she provides. Sharon decides to give the wedding a shot, because how could you possibly not want to marry that adorable man? Kindness and respect just flow from Will’s energy in waves, the two are a perfect, fun loving match.

As Jesus sits in his room after dinner, fruitlessly attempting to read Emma’s letter, Sharon comes in and offers to read it to him. In the letter Emma admits her pregnancy, but Sharon skips over that part, telling Jesus he should read it himself once he feels better. Jesus promptly responds to Emma’s letter through a text message, telling her they don’t need to discuss the letter and can just move forward, so he still has no idea about the pregnancy. Why does no one feel the need to tell Jesus what actually happened? It’s only a matter of time before this news gets delivered to Jesus in a less than desirable setting.

Lena and Stef show up to hold the sex education presentation, only to discover that several more kids have attended than had completed permission slips. Some of the teens express they felt ashamed or afraid to come out to their parents. Noah asks the first question to break the ice, and Lena realizes how much the kids who aren’t out to their parents need the class the most.

Afterward, Noah asks Jude what he thought of the class, and Jude expresses that he assumed Noah already knew everything because he’s more experienced. Noah tells Jude he hasn’t actually had sex yet, because he’s not ready. These two are the epitome of cute and coy, and I can’t give Lena and Stef enough praise for ensuring their son and every other LGBT teen becomes educated rather than lectured on safe sex practices.

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Emma arrives at Jesus’ house, and they share a reunion hug before she heads outside to discuss his response to the letter with Brandon. Sharon asks Emma to help her with her dress for a chance to talk to discuss the content of the letter alone. Sharon explains to Emma that she didn’t tell Jesus about the pregnancy, and that she supports Emma’s decision. Once Emma returns to be with Jesus and ask him if he actually read the letter himself, she discovers Jesus can’t read at all when he stands right in front of their place cards for the wedding. Oh Jesus, how stubborn you are, just please let someone help you! At this point your’e only being kept in the dark because you’re refusing to acknowledge that you still have a road ahead of you to recovery!

A.J. catches Callie requesting to friend Vanessa under another name, and he abruptly walks away again, obviously sick and tired of Callie’s obsession. We’re all sick of her self sabotage too, A.J. Finally, he expresses his annoying over her obsession and refusal to talk about anything else but her own problems when A.J. is facing some insecurities over Mike’s motivations for adopting him. Callie response to A.J.’s worries by, you guessed it, turning the conversation back to herself.

Meanwhile, the divorce papers arrive at the Foster home, prompting Lena to mention her indifference over ever getting married again. This conversation is cut off once Stef learns that her mother is hiding upstairs from her groom, refusing to go through with the wedding. Sharon explains that after she married Stef’s father, she began to hate him and she fears the same thing will happen with Will. After Sharon finally explains to Will why she doesn’t want to get married, he reassures her that they will always be best friends. Oh Will, seriously, you’re perfect. If Sharon does end up hating you, I have a couple of aunts who would be more than thrilled to walk down the aisle again.

While Sharon and Will are talking about their future together, Stef asks Lena why she doesn’t want to remarry her. In a role reversal of the first time the two wed, this time Stef gets emotional while expressing her desire to have that piece of paper to give them the same rights as a couple that everyone else has. She also makes a subtle political dig that I literally applauded, mentioning in passing that even if they take marriage equality away from us again, she will fight while she still has it.

Will and Sharon dance down the aisle together and, to the surprise of everyone, take seats in the front row instead of continuing to the front to recite their vows.

In come Stef and Lena arm in arm, ready to get married all over again.

The rain starts coming down as the two hurry through the ceremony, and they share a passionate kiss under the downpour. When I say passionate kiss, I mean it was a solid twenty seconds that I’ve replayed seven times while writing this recap. It’s sexy, emotional, full of love, and definitely relationship goals. Lena and Stef have been through the ringer over the last year, and it’s encouraging to see the show remind us all that the couple remains as solid as ever.

What did you think of this week’s episode?

 

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