The Fosters – Kingdom Come

By starrymag | March 29, 2016

By: Taylor Gates

 

This episode begins on the beach with the Adams Foster family paying their respects to Jack. Jude (Hayden Byerly) reads the lyrics to one of Jack’s favorite songs. He explains that, while Jack never found his kingdom on Earth, The Bible says the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to people like him.

 

Callie (Maia Mitchell) takes a walk with Daphne (Daffany Clark) and Justina (Kelli Williams), fuming about the fact that Jack was placed with Pearson, her abusive ex-foster father. She thinks they should cancel the Fost and Found launch party the next day in light of the tragedy, but Justina disagrees. The event is pushing to change the legislation of the foster care system and moving forward with that is the best way to honor Jack.

 

Jude and his friend Taylor (Izabela Vidovic) talk after the ceremony. Jude tells her he thinks Jack wanted to be more than friends, admitting that he kissed him. However, he isn’t totally sure that he, himself, is gay. Taylor asks if he’s into girls and he replies that he’s not sure as he’s never even kissed one so how would he know?

 

Stef (Teri Polo) and Lena (Sherri Saum) invite Brandon (David Lambert) to sit with them to discuss plans for his birthday the next day. Brandon just wants a simple dinner at home with the family and Cortney (Denyse Tontz). Lena wonders if there is anything they need to know about Cortney—likes, dislikes, allergies, etc. Brandon says, while there’s nothing like that, there is one thing they should know: Cortney has a three-year-old kid and it’s not open for discussion.

 

Mat (Jordan Rodrigues) and Mariana (Cierra Ramirez) talk in the garage. Mat admits he only had sex with Zoey because Mariana never said anything about his love letter. Mariana guesses that Zoey took it, hoping to eliminate her competition and knowing that Mat is a good guy that wouldn’t have sex with a girl and dump her shortly after. Neither of them want to dump their current significant others and hurt them, but they wonder if being with someone while loving someone else is even worse. Mariana reminds Mat that Nick (Louis Hunter) even saved the play, but Mat says that’s irrelevant since the play is over now.

 

Just then, Brandon joins them saying he wants to hold off on striking the sets. There’s been a lot of buzz about the production and a few papers even want to review the show; maybe they could keep the play going for a real run.

 

Stef goes to Mike’s (Danny Nucci) apartment, asking him to talk to Brandon about Cortney having a kid. She wants him to help Brandon see that dating her is a bad idea. Lena is afraid that Stef talking to him will make him shut down, thinking if Mike talks to him man-to-man about the mistakes he’s made with women maybe Brandon will listen. After all, they are both vulnerable to needy women like Dani and Ana. Stef doesn’t want him jeopardizing his future for Cortney. Mike finally agrees. Once Stef leaves; however, Ana (Alexandra Barreto) is seen walking out of the bedroom wearing only a large t-shirt. “We shouldn’t be doing this, should we?” she asks Mike.

 

Lena informs Stef that she will meet her at Callie’s launch party because the Department of Education wants to meet with her about the Monte/Sally situation. Jesus (Noah Centineo) bombards Stef with questions about Gabe (Brandon Quinn). Stef says she offered to talk to his parole officer, but Gabe refused so there’s nothing more they can do. She admits that if the judge doesn’t believe him about not knowing Mariana was going to walk in the warehouse that he could go back to prison. Stef promises that if it comes down to jail time, they will step in and do something, but right now there is nothing to worry about. She then gets an email from a coworker that says they found out why Jack was placed with Pearson.

 

In his car, Nick (Louis Hunter) tells Mariana his dad will definitely say yes to letting them use the warehouse for an extended musical run. He says that maybe she’ll even get discovered and become a huge star since she’s so gorgeous and talented. He tells her to open up the glove compartment and inside is a belated birthday present. Mariana argues that he already gave her a birthday present by throwing her a party, but he says he wanted to get her something special. Inside is a gorgeous necklace encrusted with a diamond “M.”

 

Monte (Annika Marks) and Lena go in front of the school board. Monte says she realizes she should have reported what Sally did, but she didn’t want to embarrass the girl. Afterwards, Monte is dismissed from the room so Sally (Pepi Sonuga) and her mother (Hilary Ward) can come in. Instead of confirming Monte’s story; however, Sally says she tried to kiss Monte so that she would write her a letter of recommendation to Brown where she is an alumnus. Monte was always flirting and hinting that if Sally gave her what she wanted, Monte would give Sally things in return.

 

Lena interrupts, saying this is not what Sally told her. Sally’s mom accuses her of cornering Sally at Mariana’s birthday party and trying to convince her that she was a lesbian. She also says that Lena is covering for Monte because they are lovers.

 

Cortney and Brandon lay in bed together. Brandon thanks her for making an exception about not bringing guys home. Cortney’s ex-boyfriend Eddie (Tip Scarry) walks in on the two of them and is furious. He tells Cortney that by the time he gets back home she better be moved out. He calls her a whore and taunts her, telling her to go live with Brandon and his parents.

 

Lena storms down the hallway with Monte following her. Monte asks her what’s going to happen, but an irritated Lena says she’s done everything she can for her. However, Monte’s lack of boundaries has made it so Sally has gotten the wrong idea and Lena can’t do anything else to defend her.

 

Stef and Callie talk in the kitchen. Stef informs Callie that Pearson got Jack through a nonprofit organization. The nonprofit though is a scam because they then hire a for-profit organization called Arbiter to place kids, thus giving themselves the money and making a profit. What’s worse is that it’s traded on the stock market every day—people can literally buy stock in foster care. With shareholders, there is a lot of pressure to make a profit. Callie is furious, asking if they can sue the companies or the CEOs. Stef informs her that would be difficult since the companies have liability insurance and CEOs are a protected class. Besides Pearson, they’re probably not going to be able to hold a single person responsible.

 

Cortney sees that Eddie has taken all of her money since she never took his name off the account. Brandon says he can get Stef involved since she’s a cop, but Cortney says it’s no use—they’re still legally married so he can claim the money is his. Brandon tries to think of solutions, but Cortney doesn’t want him getting dragged into this as it is not his problem. Brandon leaves to go to the Fost and Found launch party while Cortney picks Mason up from daycare.

 

Callie talks to Justina about her newfound privatization knowledge. Justina is still defending it, saying the new bills are to weed out the bad apples in privatization. She explains that government employees aren’t held accountable when they mess up, but this push for privatization will make meaningful reform and accountability happen soon. She says that Callie just has to trust Justina.

 

Justina informs her she made a few changes to Callie’s speech. When Callie views it; however, she is confused to see it is not about Jack. Wasn’t it Justina who said sad stories make people write checks, after all? Justina says that story is too sad for this day of celebration and success stories like hers will bring them better attention today. Justina takes Callie to schmooze and get photographs with some important people while Taylor thanks Jude for inviting her to the event. Lena joins Stef, informing her the meetings didn’t go well.

 

Brandon confronts Mariana, asking if she’s getting back together with Mat. Mariana says she really loves him, but Brandon tells her that it doesn’t make it okay to hurt other people. Plus, without Nick they don’t have a show anymore.

 

Daphne finds Callie in the crowd. She has some urgent information she needs to share with Callie and the two go in to Justina’s office.

 

Mike asks Brandon about Cortney. Mike says the fact that she has a kid means she comes with a lot of baggage and Stef is concerned about him. Brandon pulls the “I’m 18 so I’m an adult” card, saying Stef doesn’t get to decide who he dates. Brandon also accuses Stef of being really hard on Mike and Mike just standing there and taking it. Mike gives him the fatherly advice to keep his head on straight and not play dad to her kid.

 

Daphne says that she saw an envelope with the Arbiter logo addressed to Justina. Daphne finds the envelope and, seeing that it is already open, Callie decides to sneak a peek. Inside is a check—Justina is getting money from Arbiter even though she acted like she had never heard of them. Daphne wants to ask her about it, but she could possibly use lose her job and Tasha if she does. Justina walks in, catching them in her office. The two lie, saying they just wanted to check out the crowd and go over her speech one last time. Justina nods suspiciously, saying it’s time to get started.

 

Back at the event, Justina starts her speech where she is gushing on Callie and her Fost and Found app. Callie zones out and keeps thinking she sees Jack in the crowd, shaking her up. Justina invites Callie up to give her speech and Callie hesitates before immediately going off-book. Much to Justina’s dismay, she starts talking about Jack. She says the first time she met Jack, he asked her to talk out about some of the evils of privatization. She informs the crowd that these companies aren’t picky about who they place kids with in order to make a profit. They also don’t have to be since they operate outside of the government. She explains how Jack fell into the hands of her old foster father through the Arbiter group. She exposes Justina, saying she works with Arbiter who is paying her to get this bill passed. She storms off the stage where Justina is waiting for her. Justina is livid, asking Callie if she realizes what’s she done. She grabs Callie’s wrist, but Stef steps in ripping Justina’s arm away and demanding she get away from her daughter.

 

Back at the house, Callie is sulking in her bedroom. Brandon walks in, asking if she is okay and telling her she did the right thing. Callie says she didn’t do the right thing in time for Jack before apologizing for ruining his birthday. She hands him a birthday gift—a framed photo she took at the musical. Callie tears up, overwhelmed by the lies Justina told her and the secrets she has been keeping from the family about her and Brandon.

 

Lena comes in to check on Callie. Callie, still deflated, tries to wipe her tears away. Lena tells Callie how proud she is for having the courage to do what she did.

 

Mike, Ana and AJ (Tom Williamson) arrive for Brandon’s birthday dinner. Stef is surprised to see Ana come in with Mike, but Mike informs her they are dating now. Stef is concerned since Ana just had a major slip, but Mike says one slip doesn’t mean you’re back at zero. Plus, who he dates is none of her business.

 

Nick and his father (Mark Totty) show up at the warehouse. His dad is angry that Nick used the space to put on a play as that exposes him to a lot of liability. Nick says his girlfriend is in the play and he wanted to impress her by showing her how wealthy his dad is. He informs his dad that Mariana is smart, leading his dad to question why Mariana is with him. Nick says she likes him for who he is, but his dad is skeptical. He just hopes Nick is getting laid, but Nick says that’s not what their relationship is about. Nick’s dad insults him some more, saying he is not special and the gravy train ends once he graduates high school. He says that he better make something of himself, that is, if he can even get into college. Nick wants to be an entrepreneur and continue running the musical, but his father just laughs at him, having no faith in his son.

 

Cortney told Mason that she’s having a sleepover with Aunt Susan as an excuse to go to Brandon’s house. She also hasn’t spoken to Eddie yet as she just wants to have a good time with Brandon on his birthday. Lena comments that Cortney seems lovely, but Stef groans in response.

 

Callie gets a phone call and freaks out. She informs Stef that a reporter called to ask her about her allegations against Justina and Arbiter. Stef tells Callie she is not the one in trouble, Justina and the company are, and the next time someone calls she should just tell them “no comment.” She spies Taylor and Jude sitting on the porch swing together, asking Callie if she thinks something is going on between them.

 

Nick excitedly tells Jesus his dad said yes about extending their play run. Jesus informs him Mariana is out back so he can share the good news with her. Unfortunately, Nick spies Mariana and Mat kissing through the garage window.

 

Stef and Lena present Brandon with his birthday gifts—a plane ticket to New York for his Juilliard audition and the $7,500 from his hand settlement. Brandon isn’t so sure he’s going to get it, but Lena has faith he will. Stef says as long as he stays focused, he can achieve anything.

 

Lena answers the door to see Gabe, who demands to speak to Stef. He asks if she talked to his parole officer, but she swears she didn’t. Jesus comes down the stairs, admitting he was the one who told Gabe’s officer about him building sets. Gabe freaks out. He says that he’s not allowed to live within 500 feet of a school and not telling his parole officer was a huge violation. Jesus says he was just trying to help and explain, but Gabe tells him he made it so much worse. Stef begs him to let her talk to his parole officer, but Gabe refuses her help. He says now he’s probably going back to prison before storming out, Ana and then Mike trailing behind him.

 

Callie asks Jude is he is interested in Taylor. Jude says he might be, confusing Callie since he has been identifying as gay. Jude says he doesn’t have to be and Callie says he can be whoever he is, but it is not something he can choose. Jude explains that God gave them free will, wondering if God doesn’t want him to be gay. Maybe taking away the two boys he’d ever kissed away from him is a sign. Callie says she doesn’t think God works that way. Besides, Jack wasn’t gay so he wasn’t taken away to punish Jude. Jude doesn’t believe her, saying she lies about a lot of things.

 

Nick stands alone in the warehouse, reading the love letter he intercepted from Mat to Mariana. He burns the note before dropping it on the floor, burning the whole warehouse down.

 

While walking into school, Callie is harassed by a reporter. She wants to know if Callie has proof that Justina works for Arbiter or if she is making up these allegations because Justina found out she was having sex with Brandon.

 

Brandon takes Cortney to a house, saying it’s hers once she signs the lease. She informs him she doesn’t have any money, but Brandon says he does. She doesn’t want to take money from him, especially since he needs it for Juilliard, but Brandon says he doesn’t and will never have enough money for there. The only way he would be able to go is with financial aid. Money doesn’t make a huge difference to him, but it will to Cortney and Mason.

 

The school board comes to the decision that they are inclined to believe Monte’s side of the story. However, they are now faced with a new problem—a registered sex offender helped build sets for a school play.

 

Back at school, Jude kisses Taylor by their lockers. Brandon finds Mat, telling him Mariana said they were taking a break for various reasons. Zoey (Anna Grace Barlow) meets Mat in the hallway, giving him a kiss. Mariana asks Jesus if he has seen Nick recently, but Jesus says he hasn’t seen him since he came over the previous night.

 

Stef and Lena talk while Callie sits on the couch in Lena’s office. Stef is furious that Justina posted the restraining order they took out against Brandon on the Fost and Found website. Stef wants to hire a lawyer and sue Justina for libel immediately, but Lena doesn’t want them to overreact. Stef gets even more fired up, saying she won’t allow Justina to drag her daughter’s name through the mud for speaking the truth and destroy their family with her lies.

 

Upon spying a quietly crying Callie, Lena motions for Stef to calm down. Stef softens her voice, explaining to Callie that they are going to fight this. Callie’s voice cracks and says they can’t sue her because it’s true.

 

Looking broken, Nick sits outside in the school parking lot. He opens his glove box to reveal a gun.