Lena supports Brandon as he unloads a long-held secret that could tear the family apart. Callie brings Jude for a visit with the Quinn family. Jesus is torn between his feelings for Emma and Hayley. Mariana's dance team prepares for an upcoming competition and her insecurities threaten to get the best of her.
Finally, there's a show out there that doesn't want to glamorize the illicit affair between a high school student and an adult. The Fosters boldly proclaims what it actually is - statutory rape. A crime that needs to be swiftly dealt with by having the adult in question be punished. When that hookup between Brandon and Dani initially occurred, I groaned because it was something that I didn't want to happen at all. So much stuff was happening around Brandon and he just got to be sulky. This season has done a fantastic job of making that character interesting again. He's viewing Callie as his sister and he is owning up to his past mistakes. The show handled this story wonderfully. It rightfully kept it confined to the Foster house and just Brandon and his three parents. Lena especially was his greatest advocate. She's known about this for a little bit and she's able to approach it with a bit more of level head and making sure everyone remembers what Brandon must be feeling. Talking about stuff like this is hard for any teenager to admit to a parent. Stef and Mike quickly just want to assign blame. They need to act or hear the full story from both people. Nothing Dani could have said would made this situation okay. So, she gets exactly what she deserves in the end. And the Fosters? Well, they continue to have each other. And that is a great love that is wonderful to watch evolve.While that story was the prime focus, "The Longest Day" tells the story of what each kid is doing on a typical Saturday during the school year. Callie and Jude go out on a boat with her other family. Mariana has dance practice as they gear up for the start of their season. Lastly, Jesus is finishing out his year on the wrestling team. All these stories have various degrees of success. The Jesus stuff continues to be horrible - so I won't even mention it until the abbreviated thoughts below.
Strangely, I still don't have quite a good read on Callie's biological father, Robert, and his family. They have a great lifestyle. He is able to provide college for Callie - something she thought she would need to work hard to get. And yet, Sophia isn't happy with her life. She has been given amazing opportunities. She got to travel to Barcelona, Spain for school. That sounds amazing and she almost thinks nothing of it. She almost seems trapped in her life and a bit obsessed with her newfound sister. She's curious about Callie's life and wants to learn more. She's an exciting and new experience. She opens up her worldview. I'm still unsure of where this is heading. But I really like Kerr Smith and Bailee Madison. So, I'm eager to find out. Also, how great is Jude for that final speech? He continues to be my favorite person on the show.
I'm also finally starting to like Mariana. It is so weird. I think it's largely because her story this season is about dance - and I miss Bunheads. That dance number was a lot of fun but I'm just as interested in the practice of it all and Mariana having to work harder when it seems like everyone else on the team can do it so easily. They have to work hard too but this whole story has been about Mariana trying to fit in. A team sport has given her balance in life but she is still struggling immensely with insecurities. And that, strangely, is a direction I fully support for the character.
Some more thoughts:
- "The Longest Day" was written by Marissa Jo Cerar and directed by Nzingha Stewart.
- Jesus is so pompous and cocky and he has no reason to be. It's largely just because he's made so many bad sexual decisions. When he did have a decent girlfriend who was independent and stood up for herself, he ruined it quickly only to then replace her with a psycho one. Ugh!
- For a brief moment, I thought Mariana's story was going to become about race yet again and then, thankfully, it didn't. That moment was so awkward.
- Is Sophia going to convince her dad to not let the Fosters adopt Callie so she can come live with them?
- Stef and Brandon lying in bed together as the credits roll says so much without a single word needing to be said.
