The Fosters – Scars

By starrymag | February 12, 2018

By: Taylor Gates

 

Declan (Tyler Alvarez) and Taylor (Izabela Vidovic) attempt to make their video game conversation sexy and flirty, but Jude (Hayden Byerly) keeps it strictly strategy-oriented as to not upset Noah (Kalama Epstein). Declan tells him they have to keep giving the people what they want or else they’ll lose sponsors and stop getting free headphones and other gifts from fans. Declan tells him to talk to Noah and explain the situation so they can retain their viewers and sponsors. Jude doesn’t think Noah will understand if it comes from him and asks Taylor to talk to him instead.

 

Lena (Sherri Saum) asks Stef (Teri Polo) about a bottle of pills she found in their room. Stef tells her it’s a minor sedative she got for anxiety. Her gynecologist thinks she might be having pre-menopause symptoms. She doesn’t see the point to continuing to see a therapist if everything she’s feeling is illogical.

 

Dean (Reggie Austin) shows up to return the tool he borrowed from Stef. While there, he tells her that Tess (Kristen Ariza) asked him for a separation. He says he loves her and can’t imagine his life without her. He doesn’t understand why she’s so unhappy. He’s clearly extremely upset, and Stef earnestly says that she hopes the two of them can work it out.

 

Stef is doing some grocery shopping when she starts to have trouble breathing and gets blurry vision. She abandons her cart in the middle of the aisle and goes outside to call Brandon (David Lambert), telling him she needs him to come pick her up. Brandon takes her home, remembering the time he was five and he and Mike (Danny Nucci) had to pick her up from the bank because she wasn’t feeling well. Stef tells her not to worry about her and go back to be with Grace (Meg DeLacy), but he tells her he’ll stay with her as long as she wants. Later, Stef lies to Lena about the groceries, saying she didn’t have time to pick them up instead of admitting what happened.

 

Stef talks to her therapist, saying Brandon reminded her that she did have a panic attack around the time she was struggling with her sexuality and after she had just left Mike. The grocery store, however, didn’t have any of those same triggers. After a little more conversation, her therapist thinks Tess moving back might have something to do with the stress and anxiety.

 

Callie (Maia Mitchell) is walking down the street when an ICE agent comes up and apologizes to her for prosecuting Ximena (Lisseth Chavez). He honestly thought she was a threat, but after seeing the video of her speech, he realized that wasn’t the case. He tells her ICE is planning a raid at a high school later that week and wants Callie to document it in order to get the kids they’re targeting exposure.

 

Callie tells Aaron (Elliot Fletcher), Ximena, and Mariana (Cierra Ramirez) about it all that night. However, wants to take it a step further and warn the kids before they get to school so they can’t be arrested. Aaron doesn’t think they can get in trouble for this unless they actually obstruct justice. After Aaron leaves, Mariana asks Callie if the two of them are still just friends. Callie isn’t sure what they are.

 

A doctor tells Grace (Meg DeLacy) that she’s ready to have her t-cells put back in. Her mom (Nia Peeples) starts worrying about worst-case scenarios, but she’s interrupted by Grace’s dad (Vincent Ventresca) unexpectedly arriving. He wants to be there for Grace’s procedure and get to know Brandon, which Grace’s mom is less than thrilled about.

 

When they get a second alone, Brandon asks Grace why she doesn’t have a relationship with her dad considering they get along well and he’s a great guy. Grace says that when she got sick the second time, her mom got stressed and controlling. Over time, Grace’s dad couldn’t take it anymore, and her mom was devastated. Grace was worried that if she saw a lot of her dad, it would seem like she was taking his side. There’s even more tension when Grace’s dad starts talking about his daughter with his current wife. Although Grace is great friends with her step-sister, Grace’s mom is still clearly hurt and bitter.

 

While Grace is in the operating room, Grace’s mom and dad have a fight about Grace’s dad talking to her doctors, not being there during her last procedure, and having an affair with the nurse. Later, Grace tells Brandon not to tell Grace about her father cheating. Brandon compliments her for being a good person but hints at what Grace told her about feeling like she had to choose sides. With this in mind, Grace’s mom goes home so she and her dad can spend some time alone together. Grace figures Brandon had something to do with this and thanks him. She then asks him to get her a drink and secretly signs over her Power of Attorney for healthcare to Brandon.

 

Callie draws a shirtless Aaron for her art portfolio. Aaron is impressed with the portrait, telling Callie to stop selling herself short. He asks why she didn’t draw the scars on his chest, and he tells her he’s not ashamed of them—he finally loves his body. She says she didn’t want to out him, and he says he’ll think about whether she wants her to draw them in.

 

Stef and Lena freak out when they find out Jude has been getting gifts from fans. They’re afraid it’s crossing boundaries and a privacy issue. They force him to send the headphones back to wherever they came from.

 

Noah tells Jude that he wishes he would have talking to him instead of sending Taylor. It wasn’t the shippers he was pissed about—it was his behavior with Declan. Jude tells Noah that the gaming world is ruled by straight people and he just wanted to be a good gay role model. Noah tells him that, as long as the flirting is only onscreen, he’s okay with him working with Declan.

 

The next time they play together, however, Declan grabs Jude’s butt as they hug goodbye. Taylor tells Jude that Declan is clearly into him, but Jude defends himself, saying he only has eyes for Noah. He gives her his headphones, saying a fan sent them for her.

 

The ICE agent calls Callie to let her know the raid is going to happen in mere minutes. She, Aaron, and Mariana rush to the high school, yelling that any undocumented kid should get out of there immediately. Unfortunately, one of the kids is ambushed and arrested on his way from the bus. Aaron gets pushed into one of the agents while another student flees, and a cop arrests him for obstructing justice.

 

Aaron calls Callie a little later to let her know he’s in a holding cell. He needs to get out of there quickly or else there going to strip search him and he won’t be safe in central jail. Callie calls Stef, who promises to stay with him as long as he can while he’s being booked. She also encourages him to disclose the fact that he’s transgender, which he fearfully does.

 

Callie meets up with the ICE agent again, angrily telling him about them arresting Aaron. The agent doesn’t feel like he can help, as him suddenly defending Aaron would set off alarms. Callie thinks someone needs to start setting some alarms off. The ICE agent says it could cost him his job. He has a family to provide for and can’t risk it.

 

That afternoon, Ximena inquires about Aaron. Callie tells her the discouraging news, and Ximena thinks Callie is truly in love with him. Just then, Aaron calls her and tells her he’s being let go because of an ICE agent corroborating his story.

 

Callie visits Aaron’s apartment. He tells her he was put in solitary confinement for his own protection, which is a dehumanizing solution to a problem. He tells Callie that he wants her to draw in his scars on his portrait. He wants to tell people his story because he thinks if they don’t put a human face on the issue, nothing’s going to change. The two begin to make out, but Aaron stops it. He says he went out with someone but will never see her again if she wants to get back together. Callie says she’s still not ready to get back together and that he should do whatever he needs to do.