Recap: The Fosters Summer Premiere Threatens to Rip Our Hearts Out

SPOILERS if you haven't watched.

Let's just get this out of the way right off the back: no one died in the car crash we were informed was "fatal" in the spring finale. Despite the opening sequence in the summer premiere that nearly tore out our souls for nearly two minutes while Stef watched Ana and Jesus get pulled from the car in stretchers while an angsty song moaned, "It's gone, it's gone, it's never coming back," everyone ultimately made it out okay, baby included. This sequence turned out to all be a memory/dream Stef was having, and shortly after she came downstairs to call Jesus at boarding school and chat with Mariana before Mariana went over to Ana's to help take care of the baby. Of course, right before they called Jesus they slipped the dialogue, "I'm going to miss Jesus," "I'm going to miss him too," in between Stef and Lena, so we got especially anxious and emotional. But hey, he's just at boarding school so you can put that worry away, and you can give The Fosters a really good scolding for dragging that drama out for weeks. 

We're going to be breaking things down by characters in these recaps from here on out, because everyone seems to basically be on a very different path this season. Now, let's move 3 weeks past the crash...

Mariana tries to help: Mariana is spending her summer break with Ana helping take care of Ana's baby and her own half-sister, Isabelle. She's also decided to lose her virginity to her BF Mat before he leaves on the tour. Only thing is Mat thinks she's rushing it and decides it's more important to head out to his midnight gig than take a quick moment for a first time with Mariana. We're not saying that was a bad choice, but Mariana isn't so thrilled. Even worse, Ana tells her she thinks she should stop coming by so much so Ana can bond with her baby alone. It's not Mariana's week, nor was there a dance team in sight, so it wasn't as much our week as it could have been either. 

Brandon goes to Idyllwild: But there's a hitch! Brandon didn't exactly read his admission letter and wasn't accepted into the piano-playing program he thought he was. Instead, he'll be in the composing program even though he's very new to composing. He also meets Kat, a stuck-up piano playing genius who thinks she's might high and mightier than fledgling composer Brandon. But of course the two are paired together for a composing assignment in which the winner gets to have their piece played by the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Kat tries to fight it, but Brandon stands up to her, telling her that as the oldest of 5 kids, he's seen it all. Consider Kat quelled, and consider a love interest on the horizon...

Callie has a lapse in judgement: Callie is living that summer school life and is hard at work trying to fit in everything she needs to graduate. On the way to hang out at the foster center she volunteers for, she runs into an aggressive young fellow who asks her for money. Later on, that same aggressive young fellow, A.J., shows up at the center looking for help. Despite their previous interaction, Callie helps him out and even learns that he was separated from his brother in the foster system, a situation that clearly she feels pretty strongly about and bonds with him over. One night, A.J. comes to her for help asking for a place to stay, and Callie decides to go against foster center rules and lets him stay there. However, in the morning she discovers the spray paint she'd been specifically told was a target for getting stolen has been, naturally, stolen, and A.J. is nowhere in site. But it gets even worse, because Callie is not allowed to be happy. Callie is fired from the center, even though she needed to volunteer there in order to graduate. So Callie can't graduate now? Okay. Well. At least she's still getting adopted. 

Jude defies labels: There's some trouble in Jude and Connor paradise. Even though they've started being boyfriends, Jude is shutting Connor out and even tells him he doesn't want to be public about dating. Their two gal pals notice something's up, but when they tell Connor and Jude they wouldn't care if they were gay, Jude yells that he isn't and runs off. Connor, clearly concerned, follows after him and Jude explains that while he does like Connor and he does want to be boyfriends, only he's sick of being labeled. All his life he's been the 'Foster Kid' or the 'Kid with the dead mom' and now he just wants to be Jude. 

Stef makes us all cry: Stef is on a mission to find the person responsible for the hit and run Jesus, Mariana, and Ana got into. If she doesn't find the culprit, the case might close and she's clearly worried this person might be dangerous. Finally, Stef breaks down and admits that she keeps reliving the day she responded at the crash site and the fear is haunting her. And when Stef cries, we all cry. 

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