When we last left the Foster fam, Mariana had signed up for the roller derby team by forging Lena’s signature because she needed an outlet not that STEAM club has shunned her. Mariana’s new roller derby endeavor doesn’t dull the pain or seeing the trophy STEAM club earned without her name on it, and Emma capitalizes on the opportunity to twist in the knife a bit. Also in the halls of the high school, Callie sees her ex making out with his new boo by the lockers. These are just two of the reasons you couldn’t pay me enough to ever go back to high school.
At her first practice, Mariana realizes the derby might be a bit more than she bargained for. The sight of her skating wobbly around wearing a butt pad is one that I never knew I needed to see. But sure enough, Mariana’s perfectionist nature sparks some conflict between her and another veteran member of the team. Mariana gets awarded the Jammer position, one that Ximena had just informed one of the other teammates wasn’t up for grabs. It looks like they’ve risen above it all by the end of the episode, but sometimes even derby girls need other outlets for aggression, so we’ll see. One thing is for sure though, and that’s the pride Mariana feels over her bumps and bruises. Mama Lena catches her admiring them in the bathroom mirror, so I give it another episode or two before that comes to a head.
At the doctor’s office, Jesus confronts Lena about overhearing her confession of fear over his emotional outbursts. The doctor adjusts Jesus’s meds to hopefully help him with his impotence, but when he excitedly delivers the news to Emma, she mentions her fear of his recent violent tendencies. He assures her he’d never hurt anyone, but that’s got to be up in the air at this point. Basically, everyone is scared of Jesus, including Jesus himself, who just wants his life back.
My suspicions are confirmed pretty much immediately when Jesus storms outside and shoves Brandon after he finds out Emma knows about the bedroom incident. Brandon pushes back, so of course he’s the one who gets in trouble. Grace offers up her place for Brandon to stay for a few days, but after having dinner with his dad and A.J., a discussion about monogamy sparks Brandon to stay with his bio dad instead.
Brandon continues down his constant road of self sabotage when Cortney calls with a babysitting request. Grace, who has given up technology for the day, doesn’t get Brandon’s cancellation text, so she shows up and decides to stay and hang with Brandon along with Cortney’s son Mason. Just as you might think Brandon is finally maturing by having a self aware chat with Grace about his tendency to jump in to the caretaker role too quickly, he backslides by offering Cortney and Mason a place to stay.
Callie and Aaron have a smooch sesh interrupted by Stef, which sparks Aaron to invited Callie over to his loft where they’ll be uninterrupted. She seems hesitant to be alone with him, and if this goes awry I’ll kick Aaron’s ass myself. Stef had popped in to tell Callie that Cole is working at the LGBT center full-time, and he stops over to visit and talk about Callie’s hesitations for having sex with Aaron. It turns out she’s just unsure about what Aaron’s sexual likes and dislikes are as a trans man, and I’m so glad to see this conversation unfold on this show.
However, one person isn’t happy about this chat, and that’s Aaron. Because why would Callie assume trans guys all want the same thing. Do all straight girls want the same thing? Eventually they work it out by opening up and both admitting that neither one of them is ready for sex quite yet, but the communication between the two of them rather than anyone outside the relationships is the only way to move forward. Bravo, The Fosters, for handling such a delicate conversation so gracefully.
Sex is sex, and even though the ins and outs vary for every couple, the only way it works is for each person to take it seriously and discuss it honestly, whether you’re gay, straight, in between, trans, or any other identification. On a side note, part of Callie’s evolution as a mature partner involves finally having a conversation with her ex about both of their roles in the messy breakup. I feel like a proud Mama watching her in this episode.
The theme of heavy, necessary conversations this week continues as Jesus and Emma finally get real about her abortion decision. Emma confronts Jesus about a statement he made regarding how he could never give up a child while she explains to him her decision not to discuss her pregnancy with him before getting the abortion. When Jesus puffs out his chest and insists he should have been involved, Emma reminds him of the vital fact so many people who want to involve themselves in a decision that isn’t theirs often forget: her body, her choice.
The Foster family has been through some serious changes over the last year, and everyone is trying to deal with the growing pains. The focus on personal growth on this episode is refreshing and relevant to their individual journeys, and it’s nice to take a break from the Anchor Beach saga and all the surrounding politics and any Mama drama to focus just on the kids. They deserve it.
What did you think of this episode of The Fosters? Let me know in the comments!
