Fosters: The Fallout

[talkswithwind]

So we got the Liam story.

In case anyone was unclear, this is a Drama. A damned good one, though. We're still on track for the #1 Taboo Subject which hasn't come out yet, but we still have two episodes to go.

• Callie was victimized by Liam to the tune of Criminal Sexual Conduct in the 2nd degree. Not that I'm counting. 
• Lexi's family are all undocumented, and from Honduras. Something Lexi didn't know about.
• I can't crack Jude yet, but he has a friend who is doing everything possible to tell him you are awesome and he still isn't getting it. I'm not sure how to parse that whole relationship yet, the actors are still very young.
• Lena's job is on the line (or could be, if the right complaint is filed) which is showing some of the very significant problems that someone In A Position Of Authority can have as a parent. And there are two of 'em in this relationship.
• Mariana is not buying what her birth-mom is selling.
• Jesus was sort of there this episode but not much; everyone else was getting plot.

Callie OMG Callie. She's got a protective streak like whoa, and is beginning to learn that she can't do it all herself. Telling the Moms that she's been raped was a big, big move. Not a lot they can do about it, but Stef is sure as hell going to try because her protective streak is as wide as Callie's is, and parents are kind of funny about the R word. The odds are, what, about even that either Stef or Lena has a sexual assault in their past.

I'm reading a lot of young-Stef in Callie, at least in terms of how she reacts to the world. They certainly had completely different upbringings, but I'm seeing similar character-traits there. Stef is a full adult now and in firm possession of her agency, Callie is still figuring out what resources she now has, and is building the confidence to actually use them.

Lexi made a biiiiig mistake with that INS threat at the end of the episode. You just don't do that to parents, they react unpredictably. And as a teenager, you want predictable parents. Bad-decision-bears moment, confirmed by the teaser for next week.

We're still on track for Callie to have had an abortion in her past. We have confirmed sex, and we've already had our reminder that young people are amazingly fertile. They may yet go there before the season ends, or they could hold out for an Oops later on. We shall see. But they look like they're willing to go there.

Comments

[likeadeuce]

I was really heartbroken for Callie -- the way she told the Liam story earlier made it seem like there was mutual affection, but when we met him last week, everything screamed 'abuser/predator'. I was afraid it would turn out to be this (afraid for Callie's sake, not because it's a bad storytelling choice.) And when it turned out that her concern about the girl in group therapy was that she would be victimized, and the way she solved it -- this show is really good about dealing with complex motives. I'm admiring how nuanced the portrayal of Lexie's parents is, too. And Jude, man, I love that kid. I am trying to think if I've ever seen a show deal with the idea of queerness -- or at least questioning -- in a kid who is (if I'm reading his age right) not in his teens yet. Gay teens on TV tend to emerge fully formed but of course that's not how it works.