The kids attend a Mexican street festival, but the fun day takes a turn when emotions flare up. Callie works to overcome her recent bout of panic attacks but an encounter with someone from the past threatens to derail her progress. Mike and Ana make plans to right past wrongs.
Callie and Stef are alike in a lot of ways. They are strong woman who put out a tough exterior because they have to be the ones who have it together. Losing the baby was incredibly hard on Lena but she's had the opportunity to relax and come to terms with it on this trip with Jude and his class. Stef has had to hold herself and the family together even though she's entitled to just as strong emotions over the loss. She is finally allowed that moment to just let go and cry. It's a rare moment of vulnerability for her. The kids are all at the Mexican street festival and she's at home - fixing the leaky faucet in the bathroom. It's frustrating but she's slowly getting the job done the more and more she digs. Callie, on the other hand, is trying to trust herself again. So much has happened to her already. It seems like the odds are stacked against her for ever being adopted by the Foster family. When one complication is dealt with, another one pops up to take its place. It's so frustrating and she just wants the people in her life to be with her and support her. She doesn't want Wyatt and Brandon to go off and fight Liam. She wants them next to her to protect her. That's the kind of intimacy she craves and it's ultimately not what she receives which is devastating. Fortunately though, the two have each other. Callie has this maternal figure willing to understand and be there for her. That's what she's wanted for so long and finally has.Brandon, too, needs to figure stuff out in his life. Lately he's had to deal with a lot and he's adrift not knowing how to feel or how to open himself up to something new. He's been working hard to treat Callie as a sister. And then, his hand is crushed. And then, he reveals the truth about having sex with Dani. He has this connection with Lou but he's unsure if he should act on it because of how well his last relationships have gone. He needs to take some time for himself and figure out his needs right now. He needs to find himself in music again.
And then, there's Mariana who unknowingly goes to the festival with Mat and it's just this remainder of the culture that she is apart of but knows next to nothing about. She believes Mat brought her here as a way to push that aspect of her identity forward. He doesn't think she should try to fit in with the popular girls on the dance team. She should just be herself. This is a part of her but it's one that brings up a lot of painful issues. Not making things any better is her running into Mike and Ana. It's bringing all of these issues within her up into physical form. Seeing Ana, she just has hate. Hate for what she did to her real family. Ana is trying to get better but Mariana doesn't know that. She sees Ana and doesn't want anything to do with her. But owning up to past wrongs is something people secretly crave. Mariana still wants to hear her birth mom say "I'm sorry." And now, thanks to Mat, she's willing to take that step. It's a story I didn't foresee enjoying as much as I did. But I'm really glad it's happening.
Some more thoughts:
- "Leaky Faucets" was directed by Lee Rose with teleplay by Bradley Bredeweg & Peter Paige and story by Cristian Martinez.
- I'm sorry but that therapist didn't seem all that helpful at all. Wyatt is this great guy and it feels like the show is making up an excuse for Callie to break up with him.
- Jesus, just stop making bad decisions! Because getting a girl's name tattooed on your body is almost always a good thing. I hate Hayley but she does have a point about him not knowing a single thing about romance and how he's coming across.
- Mike is quick to make Brandon punching Liam into Brandon's anger towards him. That felt like stretching. To me, Brandon did it because he wanted to protect Callie. Which does concern me a little bit.
- Liam trying to make this whole situation as Callie's fault was basically asking for him to be punched.
- Please don't let there be any kind of romantic undertones to Mike and Ana's dynamic. Just please don't go there.
- Callie states that she's having panic attacks about three times a week now which is interesting considering we don't ever really see one onscreen. We did when she tried to have sex with Wyatt and then she had that traumatic experience at Girls United. But this week, she's always seen almost at the start of a panic attack before the show just cuts to somewhere else.
