The Fosters – Prom

By starrymag | September 11, 2017

By: Taylor Gates

 

 

At the protest, Ximena (Lisseth Chavez) give a passionate speech about being undocumented and how hate speech against immigrants incites violence. All the protesters form a line and chant when the speaker arrives on campus. Things escalate once someone throws a small explosive. Callie (Maia Mitchell) grabs AJ (Tom Williamson) and bails, leaving Ximena.

 

Mariana (Cierra Ramirez) tries to cheer up Jesus (Noah Centineo), as he is still upset from Gabe (Brandon Quinn) leaving. Mariana says she tries not to expect too much from him and Ana (Alexandra Barreto)—Stef (Teri Polo) and Lena (Sherri Saum) are their real parents, not them. Stef and Lena ask Jesus again if he broke the Anchor Beach Academy model, and Jesus insists he didn’t Lena shares both good news and bad news. Good news: they only need to convince one more board member in order to keep the school a charter. Bad news: Drew (Jared Ward) is canceling prom. Mariana is determined to raise the money herself and throw their own prom. Luckily, she calls Ximena and she agrees to let them rent out the derby warehouse.

 

Grace (Meg DeLacy) tells Brandon (David Lambert) her mother is making her move back home. Although she’s 19, her mom still pays for everything so her hands are tied. The next day, Brandon and Grace’s mom find themselves alone again. Her mom defends herself, saying that she’s not an overprotective mother—Grace can’t take care of herself because she’s not well. Brandon pushes for more details, and Grace’s mom finally admits that Grace has leukemia but didn’t want Brandon to find out. She was diagnosed when she was nine but has been in remission. However, it recently came back and the prognosis isn’t good so she’s going to undergo some chemotherapy. Grace’s mom begs Brandon not to tell Grace he knows.

 

Callie tells Aaron (Elliot Fletcher) about the riot and her guilt about abandoning Ximena. To make matters worse, Ximena isn’t answering Callie’s calls and allowing her to apologize. Aaron tells her that, considering Ximena’s status, she took a big risk by not leaving too. Callie tells Aaron he doesn’t have to go to prom no matter what Mariana says. Her words mixed with seeing AJ at the protest make Aaron suspicious that Callie still has feelings for her ex.

 

Logan (Christopher Meyer) brings Olivia (Joi Liaye) over to Mariana’s room to talk about the dance. During their conversation, Olivia makes subtle digs at roller derby as a sport and that fact Mariana doesn’t have a boyfriend. Mariana lies and says she just got back together with her ex who will be taking her to prom. The next day at school, Mariana ambushes Wyatt (Alex Saxon), saying she needs him to go along with the plan so Olivia doesn’t still think Mariana is after Logan and bash her head in. Mariana guilts him into it by reminding him he took her virginity on the beach.

 

Stef is irritated that Tess (Kristen Ariza) will also be chaperoning the dance, especially considering Lena won’t be with her since the dance is not technically being put on by Anchor Beach. Tess comes over to take group photos with Logan and the Adams Foster kids and asks Stef if she wants to drive to the dance together. Stef hesitantly agrees.

 

At the dance, Tess confronts Stef about the tension she feels between them. Stef tells her some of the comments she’s made have been homophobic. She’s also confused that Tess says she never had feelings for her considering they used to cuddle and have long talks. Tess says she never meant to open up a can of worms and says the prom isn’t the time or place to discuss it. Later that night, however, the two sit down and have real talk. Tess tells Stef that seeing her again brought up a lot of repressed emotions. She did have those feelings for Stef and wonders if that’s why she’s unhappy in her marriage. There’s always that lingering question of “what if?”

 

Grace and Brandon have a magical night together, agreeing to enjoy the dance and not dwell on anything sad. They dance and Brandon even gives Grace a tiara, calling her his prom queen. However, Brandon’s happy front crumbles a little and he confides in Callie about Grace’s illness. Callie comforts him and promises not to tell anyone else. Grace and Brandon end the night cuddling in bed. Grace tells Brandon that if for some reason she can’t go to Coachella she wants him to go. Brandon says they will go together and the two exchange ‘I love you’s.

 

Aaron asks Callie to take a road trip with him that summer, revealing that he decided not to take the New York internship. The two of them have an awkward run-in with AJ and his girlfriend, which leads to a headed conversation between them. Aaron confronts Callie about going to the protest with AJ, and Callie retorts that she doesn’t appreciate being spied on. She tells Aaron he has no reason to feel threatened by him, but Aaron responds that it was pretty easy for him to steal her away from AJ—why would stealing her back be any harder? Callie blows up, saying she’s not a piece of property and their relationship is over.

 

Callie eventually finds Ximena and apologizes for leaving the protest. Ximena tells Callie the real reason she’s mad is that her parents work extremely hard for her and Poppy (Nandy Martin) but people still put them down and want them out of the country. She says that with all the hateful people coming out of the woodwork, maybe the country was never great.

 

When Mariana finally locates Wyatt on the dance floor, she realizes he’s drunk and high and frustratedly looks for a plan B. She spies Mat (Jordan Rodrigues), who congratulates her on saving prom. He also apologizes for how things ended between them. She feels a glimmer of hope but is quickly heartbroken when, shortly after she works up the courage to ask him to dance, she realizes he came with Zoe (Anna Grace Barlow). In order to cover for herself, she lies and says she just came over to ask if the two of them wanted to buy raffle tickets.

 

Emma (Amanda Leighton) asks Wyatt for some of the vodka he snuck in after seeing Jesus take a picture with Poppy at the photo booth. She asks Mariana if Poppy is his new girlfriend, but Mariana assures her she’s just her friend from derby. Mariana tells drunk Emma about her boyfriend dilemma (and disappoints her when she reveals the raffle is fake). Still pining after Jesus, Emma has the bright idea that she and Mariana should pretend to be a couple. The two of them walk up to Logan and Olivia and make out to prove their legitimacy. It works, as Jesus is angry they’re friends again right after he and Emma broke up. Their partnership doesn’t last long, however, as Emma has to throw up shortly after they start dancing.

 

Jesus finds Emma and apologizes for the way he acted. He says he wants to start acting like the man she deserves and begs for a second chance. Mariana sees the two of them dancing together and is ecstatic. When Logan and Olivia ask her about it, though, he pretends to be betrayed and horrified. An incredibly intoxicated Wyatt makes things worse by pretending to be Mariana’s current boyfriend and telling everyone he took her virginity.

 

Mariana sits alone at a table. Mat comes over to talk to her, inquiring about the raffle. Mariana tells him the truth about asking him to dance, and Mat tells her he and Zoe are just friends and that he would love to dance with her. Mariana gets a text from an unknown number, saying they know who broke the model and that they can help save Anchor Beach. Mariana pressures the person to tell her who they are, and it turns out to be Nick.

 

Monte (Annika Marks) drops by the Adams Foster house to talk to Lena, telling her about the offer she received to be principal at a new charter. Not only is it headed by a progressive school board, but it would be mean money as well. She even offers to let Lena be her co-principal. Monte doesn’t want to keep working with a target on her back, worried if they don’t jump ship they’ll be fired. Lena doesn’t want to make her kids transfer, but Monte insists they would understand. Jude (Hayden Byerly) hears the conversation take place from the stairway.

 

A little later, Aaron asks Callie if she wants to talk about their fight, but she says she’s sick of having dumb arguments with jealous boys. He tells her he’ll be in the car if she changes her mind. Callie finally decides to follow him out, but once she gets outside she sees the police asking people if Ximena is inside.

 

Callie enlists Stef to help her out. Stef handcuffs Ximena and tells ICE agents she’s bringing her in for underage possession of alcohol. The ICE agents aren’t happy, saying after Ximena is processed she’s all theirs since she made threats against the United States at the protest. Stef finally convinces them to leave Ximena alone for the time being, but when she gets in the car, Ximena is nowhere to be found.

 

Callie calls Stef to tell her Ximena is hiding in the back of the car with her and AJ. Stef tells them to drive carefully under the speed limit. Aaron sees Callie and AJ drive away together. Callie calls Jude and tells him to ask Noah (Kalama Epstein) if his mom’s church will give her sanctuary, as immigration agents don’t go into churches. Noah’s mom gives them permission and promises to be there as soon as possible. The three manage to sprint inside without getting caught, and hey make a pact not to leave until Ximena can walk out without being detained.