The Fosters – Sixteen

By starrymag | March 9, 2016

By: Taylor Gates

 

Another breakfast table opening has Jesus (Noah Centineo) acting salty about his and Mariana’s combined sweet sixteen. Stef (Teri Polo) pretty much tells him to suck it up while Lena (Sherri Saum) hands Jude (Hayden Byerly) a train ticket so he can visit Connor in LA. He feels bad about missing the twins’ party, but it’s Connor’s homecoming.

 

Nick (Louis Hunter), who is there to drive Mariana to school, suggests they use his dad’s warehouse for their party. Mariana can have her dance party upstairs and they can build some skateboarding ramps downstairs for Jesus and his friends. Brandon (David Lambert) warns them to be super careful around the Romeo and Juliet sets.

 

Seeing a text pop up with a nude picture, Jesus quickly picks up what he thinks is his phone. However, the phone turns out to be Jude’s, who is caught off-guard by Connor’s message.

 

Brandon asks Callie (Maia Mitchell) if AJ will be attending the party and she thinks Mariana has invited him. Brandon won’t be inviting Cortney (Denyse Tontz) for fear it would be uncomfortable. Callie says they both need to get used to the two of them seeing other people and Brandon reveals he saw her and AJ (Tom Williamson) kissing in the garage the other night. Brandon tells her not to worry or feel weird about it; he just thinks it would be better if they didn’t bring their significant others to family events. Callie agrees and the two awkwardly part.

 

Lena sits down with Monte (Annika Marks), informing her of Sally Benton’s accusation that she tried to kiss her. Monte says it was the other way around—Sally tried kissing her. Perhaps she misinterpreted her interest in her as a mentor for something else. Monte promises she made it clear that Sally’s advances were unwelcome and inappropriate. She didn’t want to report it to the school board and humiliate Sally (Pepi Sonuga) further. Monte thinks maybe Sally is lying because she thought Monte would tell her parents. Lena says now that Sally told her parents, they’re going to have to deal with it, even if Sally is eighteen years old and there’s not technically a legal issue.

 

Back at the house, Jude asks Jesus if he’s ever had sex. Jesus says he has and questions if he and Connor were thinking about hooking up that weekend. Jude says he wasn’t, but he has no idea what Connor is thinking. Jude wonders how Jesus learned how to do things in bed. Jesus tells him he learned by watching porn. He says if Jude wants to do a little research and have a little Jude time, all he has to do is put a sock on the door and Jesus will keep out.

 

Ana (Alexandra Barreto) and Mariana (Cierra Ramirez) meet with Ana’s mother, Elena (Marlene Forte), asking her to write a letter to try and get Gabe off the sex offender registry. Elena is pretty against the idea, but Mariana says it would mean a lot to Jesus to get the chance to know his birth father. Ana doesn’t think he deserves to be on the list, and Mariana believes everyone deserves a second chance. Elena finally caves, saying she’ll discuss it with Ana’s father.

 

Callie and AJ make out on the couch for a bit. AJ says he’s excited to go to Mariana’s party, as the dancing and skating combination sounds like fun time. AJ tells her if she wants to keep up with him, she better practice her dance moves. Callie laughs, but is afraid of breaking her deal with Brandon.

 

Jude makes use of Jesus’ offer, putting a sock on the door and searching for gay porn. After about two seconds, he quickly shuts his laptop, deciding he’s not ready for this yet.

 

Brandon and Cortney makeout in a car behind the Smokehouse. Cortney has to go, as she’s already spent too much time on her break. Frustrated, Brandon asks if she can ever take a night off so they can go on a real date. She’s on the early shift tomorrow, but Brandon has the twins’ party. She has a rule about bringing guys home because of her son Mason, plus her house is full of toys, sippy cups and other mood-killing things. So, him coming by after the party is out of the question, too. Brandon says the party won’t be at their house so she can come over and he can sneak away early.

 

Lena tells Stef about the situation with Monte. Stef is afraid that Monte’s behavior sounds like classic grooming behavior. They are interrupted by Jude asking if they can get a refund on the train ticket. He doesn’t want to miss the twins’ party, plus Connor has football so Jude would just be sitting in the bleachers the whole time. He offers to do chores to pay them back if they can’t get a refund. Lena thanks him for the offer, but she and Stef are clearly not buying his excuse for the sudden change of heart.

 

Lena meets with Sally and her parents to discuss the situation with Monte. Protocol states that Sally and Monte will go in front of the school board separately to tell their sides of the story. Mrs. Benton brings up the fact that Sally has a boyfriend and Monte is bisexual to help her case. Apparently, Sally saw Monte’s profile on a dating website. Sally’s parents refuse to let Sally go in front of a board, saying she’s worked too hard to have her reputation questioned. They want to see Monte fired, but Lena says they can’t fire someone without documented cause and Sally isn’t even willing to tell her story. Mrs. Benton threatens Lena, saying she better find a cause before Monte ruins the reputation of the school.

 

Mariana and Ana go to visit Gabe (Brandon Quinn), sharing their plan to get him off the list. Gabe is skeptical that Ana’s parents will follow through with writing the letter, but Mariana reassures him that she can be very persuasive and everyone thinks she should be a lawyer someday. Mariana hands him a petition to sign asking the court to pardon him. Gabe says he’ll think about signing it, still not sure why Mariana is helping him like this. Mariana needs to get going to her party. Gabe (not recalling it was the day the twins were born) wishes her a happy birthday and tells her to tell Jesus as well. Ana stays at Gabe’s house to catch up, where he offers her a beer…

 

Lexi (Bianca Santos) is impressed with the cool party Nick managed to set up for Mariana and Jesus. Mariana implies she’s forgotten all about Mat and is 100% Team Nick now. However, she’s a little salty Nick has been hanging out with Jesus all night instead of her.

 

AJ greets Callie, who feels bad when she spies Brandon looking at them from across the room. Brandon sees Sally Benton arrive, confronting Mariana about inviting her after she got his play kicked off campus. Mariana says they can’t be petty because she still has to work with her at honor board. Plus, she’s really popular and none of the senior girls would’ve shown up if Sally didn’t come.

 

Stef sees Sally arrive, observing that Monte sure has a type, as Lena and Sally look alike. She asks Lena if she still thinks Monte is telling the truth, but Lena still doesn’t know what to think.

 

Callie and Jesus chill at the skatepark. Callie says that Jude is upstairs sitting by himself, confused as to why he decided not to go to LA. Jesus admits that it probably has something to do with the picture Connor sent him. Callie seems pretty horrified at the prospect of her little brother thinking about sex. Their conversation ends when the girls yell at the boys to come dance with them, much to Jesus’ dismay.

 

Lena sees Sally and another girl getting rather cozy on the dance floor. Embarrassed that Lena has spotted her, Sally puts some distance between the two of them.

 

Stef compliments Victor (Tony Plana) on the cupcakes he made for Mariana’s party. Victor tells Stef that she and Lena have done a great job raising Mariana, but he wonders if helping Gabe is really a good idea. Stef is blindsided by this information.

 

Callie and Jude sit together while everyone else dances. Callie offers to dance with him, but Jude wonders why she’s not dancing with AJ. Callie reveals that she’s avoiding AJ because she thinks he wants to have sex and she’s not sure she wants to. Jude asks if she worries she won’t know what to do and she says she totally is. He says he’s watched porn, but isn’t sure what to think of it. Callie reassures him it freaks her out too—it’s so aggressive and impersonal, not like with someone you really love. Callie says she doesn’t love AJ the way Jude loves Connor, but even if you do really love someone, you don’t have to do anything you’re not ready for. Jude says she should just tell AJ how she feels and Callie agrees. Suspicious, Jude asks if Jesus said anything to her. Callie sets his mind at ease, reminding him that she and Jesus never talk.

 

Brandon tells Lena he’s going to head out early, making up an unconvincing lie about how he has a stomach ache.

 

AJ asks Callie if she’s avoiding him. She lies, saying it’s just because her family is around and she’s not super into PDA. AJ suggests going back to her house so they can be alone—Jesus won’t mind and Mariana is so distracted with Nick she won’t even notice. Callie agrees, and the two head out.

 

Lena spies Sally texting in the corner. Sally says she needs to head out soon since she has a paper due Monday. Lena observes that her parents expect a lot from her, but Sally assures her they just want her to succeed. Lena says she has the right to be proud of who she really is, not who she thinks her parents want her to be. Lena says it occurred to her that, in order to have found Monte’s dating profile she had to have been registered on the site as a woman looking for other women. Sally tears up, begging Lena not to tell her mom. Lena tells Sally to consider the fact her lie could ruin Monte’s life.

 

Mariana is dancing with Nick when she spies Ana across the room. She goes up to her, asking how it went with Gabe. Ana says it went fine, but it’s clear she’s a little out of it.

 

Stef goes downstairs to talk to Jesus, who is still skateboarding by himself. Stef asks him to join the rest of them, but Jesus says Mariana will just brag about her party being better because she always gets what she wants. Stef says, although that’s true, Mariana has his back. She tells him she’s been trying to get Gabe off the list so he and Jesus can get to know each other better.

 

Jesus says there’s no point, as Gabe wants nothing to do with him. Stef obviously feels bad about the comment she made about Gabe not wanting a relationship with him. She says Jesus was eight years old when he asked Stef how many people someone was allowed to marry so he could have a dad. They asked him what he felt like he needed from a father, but he didn’t have an answer. Stef says it’s hard to know what you want from something you’ve never had, but it’s okay to be curious. Jesus says that Gabe liked him until he knew he was his son. He asks if she thinks Gabe would want a relationship with him if he got off the list. Stef honestly replies that she doesn’t know, but her main concern at the moment is Jesus feeling like he has enough love from her and Lena to start handling things better.

 

Stef coaxes Jesus to come dance with the rest of them. Jesus assures her that he loves having two moms and Stef says they love having him too, kissing his forehead. As they’re making their way upstairs, Mariana stops them, saying she thinks Ana is high.

 

Brandon lists everyone in his family to Cortney as the two of them walk into the garage. Cortney thinks her life is boring compared to his considering his huge, blended family. Brandon replies that she’s anything, but boring to him.

 

Callie and AJ walk through the front door. Callie says they just came home to be alone, not necessarily to do anything. AJ is insulted this is all she thinks he thinks about, but Callie promises she didn’t mean it like that. The two go upstairs for more privacy.

 

Back at the party, Ana is yelling at her parents. She says they ruined her life by getting Gabe arrested—She, Gabe and the twins could have been a family. Stef calmly tells Ana she needs to chill, but Ana snaps that she stole her children from her. Stef escorts Ana out, promising she’ll get her home safely. Jesus accompanies her. Victor and Elena don’t understand what happened since Ana was doing so well. A teary-eyed Mariana says it’s her fault since she left Ana and Gabe alone. Victor tells Mariana it’s not her fault; it’s Gabe’s fault and he doesn’t deserve their help to get off the registry.

 

Callie and AJ are making out on her bed when they hear a crash. Callie goes downstairs to check if anyone is home and it turns out Brandon dropped a glass in the kitchen. Seconds later, both Cortney and AJ join them in the kitchen, leading to a highly uncomfortable meeting between the four of them.

 

Brandon and Cortney go back to garage and Callie asks AJ if he wants to go upstairs. AJ says no; he still thinks something is going on between her and Brandon. That encounter they just had didn’t feel like nothing to him. Cortney confronts Brandon in the same manner. Brandon explains the whole situation, including the part about him and Callie having sex. He says nobody can ever know and Cortney promises not to say anything. Brandon says if Cortney thinks this is too weird, he would understand. Cortney assures him it isn’t—the sacrifice he made was mature. Plus, she still lives her with ex as well. She’s trying to save enough money to get her own place, but everything is so expensive. She understands if it’s too weird for Brandon, but Brandon says she’s amazing.

 

Stef and Jesus arrive home, informing everyone that Ana is safe, but passed out. Mariana asks if they really think Gabe got Ana high, but Stef isn’t certain. Lena suggests they all eat cake now since they didn’t have time at the party. However, Lexi stops Jesus, giving him a birthday kiss even though she’s still a little mad at him. Just then, there is a knock on the door. Jesus opens the door to see Gabe. He asks him if he wants to come inside, but Gabe declines the offer. He hands Jesus two gift bags, telling him happy birthday.

 

Jude and Connor (Gavin MacIntosh) video chat. Although they won homecoming, Connor wishes Jude would have been there over the weekend. Jude asks if he really means that, but Connor doesn’t understand what he’s talking about. Jude admits that being apart is really hard for him.

 

Connor asks if he’s upset about the picture he sent Jude. Jude replies he just doesn’t understand why he sent it. Connor says guys on the football team send pictures like that to their girlfriends all the time and he thought Jude might like it. Jude didn’t dislike it, but he just wasn’t sure what it meant. Jude asks if Connor thinks the only reason they got together was because they were the only two gay boys in their grade. Connor replies they were friends first, but Jude thinks that’s part of the problem—Connor doesn’t feel like his friend anymore. Connor asks if Jude wants to break up.

 

Callie and Brandon cut the cake while Stef and Lena bring the twins’ presents over. Jesus gets a tool belt from Gabe; Mariana gets a mug decorated with the Scales of Justice. Stef and Lena stand back, watching them open their gifts while wondering where the time has gone.