Apparently there’s this thing where people don’t like Mondays. It’s the beginning of the work week (unless, like me, you work retail and every day is game for working!), the joys of the weekend are in the past, and you’ve got five more days before you can get back to the calm relaxation of a nice Saturday on the couch. Don’t get me wrong, I used to not like Mondays too. Then I started watching The Fosters.
Oh, how cynical I first was when I heard Jennifer Lopez was producing a show on ABC Family about a mixed race lesbian couple and their multiracial foster children. The last time I’d encountered something so clearly meant-to-be “progressive” was the pilot of The New Normal. I can’t speak any more on that program (rest in peace), because I was so turned off by the blatant stereotyping of literally every character -- somehow including even the extras -- that I decided to discontinue my viewership. ‘This is just going to be another hour-long PSA!’ I thought to myself as I watched a Fosterspromo. ‘Their last name is literally ‘The Fosters.’ They’ve already killed the art of subtlety.’ And then, ‘Oh, it’s on right before Teen Wolf? Might as well check it out.’
It doesn’t hurt that in the first 2 minutes I developed the biggest crush on the adorable Maia Mitchell who plays Callie, the bad girl with a heart of gold and newest addition to the Foster Family after an attack cuts her mysterious stint at juvie short.
Maia Mitchell
Sure, there are plenty of shows I only start because a lead actress is cute, but there’s only so long I can hang on before its flaws overpower my shallow fun (here’s looking at you, Revolution). And for the first couple episodes, I really did believe I was only enchanted by Maia’s uncalled for cuteness and soon I’d give up. And then I started caring about all of the characters. Deeply. So much so I began to doubt that my passion for an ABC Family show was as ironic as I was letting on around my friends and coworkers. Now, I’ve finally faced the fact I genuinely enjoy this program. I want to thank it for taking big issues and, though still teetering greatly on preachy, working them out in a way that makes sense for the characters and within the reality of the show. Every week I’m astounded at how many issues this show manages to tackle. Seriously. J-Lo, you are going to run out of issues, slow down.
If you are unfamiliar with The Fosters, which -- if the people I encounter at work are any indication -- most of you are, here’s the basic rundown: Lena and Stef have been in a domestic partnership for several years. Lena is vice principal at her kids’ charter school and Stef is a policewoman. Stef’s partner on the force happens to be her jealous, alcoholic ex-husband Mike, with whom she has an appropriately hunky teenage son, Brandon. Stef and Lena have also officially adopted two children they’d previously fostered, twins Jesus and Mariana.
The pilot episode has them exchanging fun, clever banter over breakfast so we know they’re a very happy family. Without Stef’s knowledge, Lena agrees to temporarily foster the angsty and potentially dangerous Callie, who has trouble (for about a split second) fitting in with the picture-perfect family. If you need a visual, the actual promo shot for the show is literally the picture-perfect family sitting on a chair together while Callie’s off a bit to the side. ABC Family, once again, not one for subtlety.
Stef is concerned Callie’s going to be a threat to the family since she was in juvie for damaging her last foster father’s property. Turns out Callie only damaged the property because she was defending her little brother Jude after said ex-foster dad attacked him for wearing a dress. If you did a shot for every time The Fosters steps out of the white, heteronormative box that TV normally adheres to, you’d be hospitalized by episode three.
In the end, It turns out Callie is only about 5% rebel and 95% cause, and she and Jude get very comfortable with the family despite the understanding that they are only temporary inhabitants.
Once the overall plot is neatly established, The Fosters begins to deal more with the individual characters. Jude is warned that painting his nails might get him made fun of in school, but ultimately learns being himself is most important. Mariana’s quinceañera is ruined when she discovers Jesus and her best friend Lexi are hooking up. Mariana eventually learns to get over it and herself, especially when she’s overwhelmed with guilt after dancing with Stef’s ex-husband during the traditional ‘father-daughter’ dance instead of her two moms. Come on, Mariana, you’re on The Fosters. There’s no time for social norms.
Jesus and Lexi have unprotected sex, and Stef decides to follow through on giving Lexi Plan B without her parents’ knowledge and behind Lena’s back. When Lexi’s parents do find out, they shun her. Lexi tries to run away but is forced to return when she discovers both she and her parents are undocumented immigrants. Mariana has been in contact with her birth mom Ana but decides she needs to end the relationship when she realizes it won’t get past Ana asking for drug money. Brandon breaks up with his girlfriend Talya after she blackmails Callie and acknowledges his romantic feelings for his new foster sis. Callie starts semi-dating bad boy Wyatt (the biggest stereotype on the show with his long hair and too-cool-for-school attitude) though his tendency for illegal violence and her secretive nature get in the way of their young love. Brandon’s jealous of the relationship, which Callie may or may not only be in as a way of staying away from him romantically.
Turns out Callie, who’s been harboring a dark secret about a boy named Liam, was sexually assaulted by her last foster brother and only finally opens up about it when she encounters a girl in the same situation. We get a very emotional speech here about how occurrences like this are fairly common in the foster system and often ruin children’s lives. If there’s any hint of romance between her and Brandon she could get removed from the family and sent to a group home, from which she’ll never be fostered again. I never even thought about unfair occurrences that, and now I’m concerned. Could it be PSA-TV is actually working on me?
Monday’s episode ‘Clean’ starts with a lovely family dinner because it is not an episode of The Fosters until they’ve all eaten a meal together. Stef informs Callie that the girl has been removed from the foster home where Callie was assaulted by Liam and that people are looking into the case. Before dinner is over we learn all the major plot points for the episode. Lena’s ex-girlfriend from years ago is coming to visit, and Mariana receives a call from her birth mom that forces her to officially cut things off. In the next scene, Brandon struggles to understand the concept of using emotion in his piano playing because he doesn’t really feel like he has much pain in his life to work from. There’s a lot of things I love and care about in this show, and more power to Brandon, but he and his barely-there piano struggles are not any of them.
Back at school, Callie tries to make things right with Wyatt, but he’s unsatisfied with her vague apology for being secretive about Liam and thinks their relationship might not work out if Callie doesn’t tell him the truth. Poor Callie has done a lot of opening up lately, can someone please give her a break? Meanwhile, Brandon’s desperate ex-girlfriend Talya gives him concert tickets she bought before they broke up, but he’s not having any of her nonsense, though he does come to her rescue when a video of her drunk-stripping is shown in algebra class. Callie tries to comfort Talya and urges Brandon to forgive Talya for feeling jealous of his feelings for Callie. Brandon ends up going to the concert with Talya, which is sweet even though I believe I can safely say no one is rooting for Brandya to happen.
Mariana and Jesus go visit their birth mom to break things up in person, but a scary boyfriend and sketchy living situation prove that this might not be as easy as, ‘We’re no longer going to supply you with drug money. Bye!’
In the more adult world, an incident on the job presumably due to Mike’s alcoholic tendencies gets him removed as Stef’s partner (though why ex-spouses were ever partners in the first place will continue to make no sense to me). Later, Brandon admits to Stef that he’s known about his dad’s alcohol problem for a while and that he didn’t tell her because he was afraid Stef would stop him from seeing his dad again. See Brandon, you do have feelings. Now use them to do better at piano, damnmit.
Stef later meets Lena and her ex-girlfriend Gretchen for dinner, where Stef and Gretchen get a long a bit better then Lena would like.
Stef invites Gretchen for dinner at their house the next night, but things end shakily when Stef learns that Lena has secretly always wanted to get married, an institution Stef doesn’t believe in. Someone somewhere is gasping in disbelief that a gay person isn’t interested in gay marriage, but that’s part of the reason I love The Fosters. It’s not one giant rainbow flag waving proudly for mass equality. It takes many different sides and studies them in a way most people don’t understand or get to experience. I have plenty of friends who don’t believe in or want to get married. It doesn’t mean marriage equality isn’t important or shouldn’t be fought for, but it is a belief that is nice to see represented on TV.
But, of course, there are bigger issues then Lena’s lost wedding dreams. Jesus, who has become interested in trying to get his birth mom to go to a shelter, has gone off to encounter her alone. Remember the drugs and the evil-looking boyfriend? This cannot go well. Mariana, whose inability to keep a secret would have either gotten her swiftly killed or solved a lot of problems on Pretty Little Liars, spills the beans on Jesus’ whereabouts and Stef immediately jumps into policewoman action to go retrieve her son. She’s met at the sketchy house by Mike, and as soon as they enter the house, they’re met not with Jesus but hard drugs. If you were thinking Jesus’ whereabouts within the house was the cliffhanger, think again. Before we’re allowed to take a breather from this intensity we hear several of gunshots from inside the house.
And that’s all, folks. Oh wait, Callie ends up going on a date with Wyatt, who’s forgiven her for not telling him her life story in detail. See, I almost totally forgot about Callie’s plot. That’s how much I love The Fosters. Next week’s promo shows a lot of bloody post-gunshot hospital action and Brandon being angry about Jesus and Mariana’s interference within his blood-related family, and I already find myself eagerly awaiting next Monday. Until then, looks like I’ll have to supplement my need for both quality TV and Maia Mitchell’s adorable face with world’s strangest entertainment cocktail of Orange is the New Black and the Maia-centric Disney Channel Original Musical Teen Beach Movie (which I will immediately stop talking about lest I go on forever).
The Fosters is not for everyone. It’s still very much an ABC Family show in tone, and perhaps its approach to hard hitting issues will be a little nail-on-the-head for many viewers. Still, I love tuning in every week to watch two awesome, powerful lesbian moms with their own flaws and triumphs raise a family together without having to stop and say, ‘Look how normal lesbians are!’ every two seconds.
Yes, there is much acknowledging of their sexuality and relationship within the show, but only in ways that make sense realistically, i.e. the confused pre-sharing is caring Callie calling them dykes, or the quinceañera dancing incident. But these moments are not here to point out how okay it is that Lena and Stef are together. These are moments where the two acknowledge that yes, they are same-sex partners. Now, let’s move past it. Let’s watch a show about a family, not a show about lesbians. The Fosters is not about sexual orientation, it’s about people, and that’s what makes it special. That’s what makes Mondays awesome, and that’s why The Fosters is worth a shot. Thought not a literal one. Or several into a run-down house with Jesus inside. Oh no, do I really have to wait another week?
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