The Fosters – Cruel and Unusual

By starrymag | February 20, 2017

By: Taylor Gates

 

Brandon (David Lambert) tells Stef (Teri Polo) about cheating on the SATs and being unable to go to Juilliard. She is predictably enraged—So enraged, in fact, that she takes the doors off of all the kids’ rooms because she’s sick of all the secrets. Can’t argue with that, but still…harsh. She realizes she has to get back to the hospital with Jesus (Noah Centineo) and orders Brandon to remove the remaining doors. Mariana (Cierra Ramirez) wants to see Jesus, but he’s not up for visitors. Jude (Hayden Byerly) can’t see Callie (Maia Mitchell) either, as it’s only parents at this time.

 

Robert Quinn (Kerr Smith) stops by, demanding to know why Stef didn’t tell him Callie was back in juvie. Apparently, Mariana told Sophia (Bailee Madison) who then told him. Stef tells Robert that they didn’t want the whole world to know Callie is in juvie. Plus, Robert is just her birth father. Steph says that she and Lena (Sherri Saum) are taking care of everything. Stef tells him Callie has a public defender who she knows and trusts who is specialized in the juvenile justice system. The last thing they need is Robert’s arrogant lawyer coming in and pissing everyone off. Still, Stef feels bad about losing her temper and promises to keep Robert in the loop from now on.

 

In juvie a guard, Joey (Link Ruiz), tries to pressure Callie into partying with him that night. This makes Trista (Aziza Scott), one of Callie’s fellow inmates, jealous as Joey is “her man.” Another girl, Leisha (Caroline Hebert), tells Callie that Trista is delusional—Joey bags every girl he can. Plus, his drugs are potentially lethal.

 

At Mike’s (Danny Nucci) house, AJ (Tom Williamson) plays with Ana’s (Alexandra Barreto) baby before school and reminds Mike to get him on the list to see Callie. Ana wonders if Mike not telling him about Callie possibly being tried as an adult is the best way to go about things, but Mike doesn’t want to freak him out more. Ana wants Mike to ask Stef about possibly seeing Jesus. Mike agrees and asks Ana and Isabella to move in with him. Ana excitedly agrees.

 

Lena isn’t a fan of Stef’s impulsive door decision, but she agrees to present a united front. Stef assures Lena she didn’t tell Robert about the fitness hearing; she probably should’ve, but she couldn’t risk the kids overhearing. A doctor (John Prosky) tells the two that Jesus’ injury is unpredictable and will likely be full of ups and downs. However, what Jesus needs now is to see that Stef and Lena fully believe that he will make a full recovery. The doctor asks Jesus his name and to tell him what object he is holding up. With slowness and difficulty, he manages to get his name and the category the objects are in, though he mixes up a hammer and screwdriver. His short term memory is also impaired and he will need a cane or walker for a while. The doctor is optimistic he will make a full recovery, but it will take time. He will also need around-the-clock care: something they can’t provide if they both work. It looks like a rehab facility is their only option.

 

At school, Mariana confides in Mat (Jordan Rodrigues) that she’s scared for Jesus. Mat hugs her, assuring her it’ll be okay. Brandon sees this embrace and asks Mat about the possibility of Mariana being pregnant. Mat says he wore a condom when they had sex, so if she is, it couldn’t be his baby.

 

Lena tells Monte (Annika Marks) that she’ll be working from the hospital that day, admitting that she hasn’t gotten the budget report done yet. Monte tells her the delay is no problem, but she reassures her that she can take a leave of absence if need be. Lena thanks her for her support, but she can’t take a leave—they’re going to be paying a lot of medical bills out-of-pocket and they need both incomes. She spies Noah (Kalama Epstein) handing Jude an envelope from her office window and is suspicious that it might be full of pot. Lena looks up Jude’s locker code and opens the envelope to check it out. She’s relieved that its contents contain only a sappy, poorly-written poem.

 

Callie’s public defender, Kate (Shi Ne Nielson), tells Stef and Callie that the prosecutors will drop the fitness hearing if Callie pleads guilty. She would have to stay in juvie until she was eighteen years old, but then she would get to go free and her record would be expunged. Callie isn’t keen on this deal considering she did nothing wrong and Stef reminds Kate that Callie won’t turn eighteen years old for another eight months. The problem is it’s a he said/she said, Callie has a criminal background and if she doesn’t take this deal she could go to jail for five years and have a record as a felon.

 

AJ tries to convince the woman working the front desk at juvie to let him see Callie, but he’s not on the list. She won’t even give her the letter he wrote and it looks like he’s going to have to mail it. However, Robert happens to be there at the same time and is allowed in. He also agrees to deliver the note. Callie admits to Robert that her moms knew about her investigating the murder case to an extent and Robert feels like he made a big mistake letting them adopt her. He tells her that if she feels like she needs a lawyer other than her public defender, he can help. Callie catches him up on her situation and asks him what she thinks she should do: take the deal or risk it all for a chance to tell her side of the story and get the charges dismissed?

 

Mike and Stef have lunch. Mike tells Stef that he asked Ana to move in with him, but Stef is worried about how CPS will take him letting a convicted felon live with him while fostering AJ.

 

Despite Stef’s instructions, Mariana sneaks in to visit Jesus at the hospital. He starts stuttering uncontrollably, which freaks Mariana out. She begins to cry, which in turn makes Jesus panicked. Lucky, Stef swoops in and intervenes, calming both of them down. She quickly ushers Mariana outside, telling her that—although its hard—she can’t let Jesus see her upset as it could scare and discourage him. Stef tells Mariana that she has to stop disobeying them and doing whatever she wants. She pulls her into a hug, saying she needs to get back into therapy to figure out why she’s making reckless decisions.

 

Callie reads her sweet note from AJ, but it’s interrupted by the sound of Trista throwing up. Trista tells her not to tell anyone, but Callie gets a guard anyway. A nurse tells Callie they’re taking Trista to the ER, asking Callie where she got the drugs. Callie doesn’t rat out Joey, but Joey doesn’t care. He corners her as she’s mopping, angry that they now know there are drugs in the facility. He gets his revenge, taking the mop bucket and throwing it against a window. He lies telling the guards Callie threw it at him and they take her to solitary confinement.

 

Lena wonders how much longer she and Stef can swing staying at the hospital all day and worries about leaving Jesus alone at night at the rehab center. She also tells Stef about the note Noah left in Jude’s locker. Though they forbade Jude from seeing Noah, they agree that they should lift the ban—the last thing Jude needs is someone else taken from his life.

 

Mat shows up at the house, asking Mariana if she had sex with Nick. Mariana freaks out, swearing she never did and is frustrated Brandon would imply otherwise. Mat doesn’t think he can trust Mariana anymore, as she’s lied to him about lot. He breaks up with her and Mariana is devastated. She takes out her anger out on Brandon, who caused this whole mess in the first place. Brandon tells her about seeing Emma give her a pregnancy test, but Mariana furiously tells him that Emma was just buying her tampons.

 

Mike tells AJ that although they’ve had their disagreements about Callie, he loves her like family. He then tells AJ he wants to adopt him. Mike takes AJ’s stunned silence to mean he’ll have to think about it.

 

Robert shows up to Callie’s fitness hearing, irritated at Stef for not telling him it was happening. He threatens to sue her and Lena for custody by proving they’re unfit parents if they don’t allow him to participate in the case. This is enough for them to allow Robert and his attorney into the meeting with them, Callie and the public defender. Stef and Lena urge Callie to take the plea deal, but Robert disagrees. They begin arguing before Callie cuts them off. She can’t go back to juvie so they’re going to have to fight.

 

The prosecutor tells the judge Callie has a long record and none of the programs she’s attended have made an impact. Her public defender; however, argues that Callie has turned her life around. She has a loving family, artistic ambitions and had no idea she was doing anything wrong by leaving the scene of the accident. The judge sides with the prosecutor, saying Callie continues to find and make trouble even with her advantages. Her case is going to adult court, but she gets to stay at home on bail until the next hearing.

 

Stef and Lena tour a potential rehab facility for Jesus. There are no private rooms and families can’t stay overnight, but there are plenty of visiting hours and a full-time nursing staff. They can’t follow through with it, instead deciding to take him home and set him up in the living room. Stef and Lena go into the kitchen to grab pizza and Stef thanks Lena for taking a leave of absence from work so Jesus can remain at the house. Mariana asks Brandon if he’s certain he saw Emma (Amanda Leighton) buy a pregnancy test and he’s pretty sure he did.

 

Lena serves Jesus a slice of pizza and he’s confused by the pepperoni. When he refuses to eat it, Stef calmly removes them so it’s a plain cheese pizza. But Jesus becomes irate anyway. He throws the plate to the ground, shattering it.