5 Things to Know About The Fosters 5×14 – Scars

Aptly titled “Scars,” The Fosters 5×14 dealt with both the emotional and physical variety. Read on for 5 things to know about The Fosters 5×14, “Scars.”

1. Stef’s anxiety reaches a boiling point.

In the true fashion of a self-sufficient butch, Stef continues to downplay her anxiety for as long as possible in The Fosters 5×14. She deludes herself into believing that an anxiolytic prescribed by her gynecologist will solve the problem, then promptly has a panic attack at the grocery store after neighbor Dean drops by to reveal that he and Tess are separating. One breathless call to Brandon later, she again tries to insist she’s OK, but Brandon thinks otherwise. He even reminds her of an incident that occurred shortly before she and Mike got divorced, when the fallout from acknowledging her sexuality led to a similar breakdown. This recollection inspires her to consult a therapist after all, who explains that panic attacks have a cause (unresolved trauma) and a trigger (a specific thought or feeling). Stef shrugs off suggestions of potential triggers, but as her therapist points out, “Your first love moved in next door – that’s something.”

2. Jude is an influencer – in more ways than one.

Well, in his own mind, at least, although Lena and an embattled Stef beg to differ. It seems the notoriety, money, and other perks associated with being part of 2 Gay Guys & A Girl are not only going to Jude’s head but also threatening his relationships. First, he’s too preoccupied with gaming to fold his laundry, and then he dispatches Taylor to placate Noah about his onscreen flirtation with Declan. Essentially, the formerly sweet little Judicorn seems entirely too self-involved and manipulative during The Fosters 5×14. In a touching scene that calls back to when Noah and Jude first met, Noah says he’s OK with Jude pandering to the Declude shippers as long as the flirtation ends with the streaming session. However, Declan’s off-camera behavior indicates he’s looking for more.

“If all these gaymers need somebody to look up to, I think it should be you. As long as the flirting’s only onscreen, I’m cool with it. I trust you.”

3. Grace is getting her affairs in order.

The Fosters 5×14 sees Grace’s largely uninvolved father appearing at the hospital ahead of her experimental treatment procedure. Brandon does his best to navigate the turbulent family politics, from Grace’s fear of seeming to favor one parent over the other to the fact that Grace’s dad once had an affair with her nurse, and his presence ultimately seems to do some good. By the end of the episode, Susan is comfortable enough to let Grace spend some one-on-one time with her father! Grace declares Brandon an “angel” – and, unbeknown to him, grants him medical power of attorney. That means he’ll be called upon to make decisions about her care if she’s unable to, a plot point that seems to be a harbinger of… well, nothing good.

4. Callie’s not here for any BS.

At the end of last week’s episode, Agent Allen menacingly followed Callie home, but, surprise! Her friendly neighborhood ICE representative is eager to atone for his employer’s actions. Callie cuts right through his pretty words, asking, “What are you gonna do about it? Because, frankly, an apology doesn’t cut it.” In another nonsensical Riverdale parallel, she’s enlisted to capture footage of an upcoming ICE raid outside a school along with Aaron and Mariana. Needless to say, things get out of hand when Aaron is pushed into an ICE agent and summarily arrested. After Stef respectfully advises him to disclose he’s trans for his own safety, he explains to a guard that he won’t be safe in a men’s prison but doesn’t belong in a women’s prison either – and he ends up in solitary.

When a distraught Callie meets with Agent Allen post-Aaron’s arrest, she has even less time for him than she did previously. Although he saw Aaron get pushed, he’s unwilling to say so in case sticking his neck out has a negative impact on his job, pension, family, etc. Essentially he wants to talk the talk without walking the walk, and he has no intention of backing up his words with actions that put him at personal risk. “What was your big apology all about?” Callie demands. “You feel bad for Ximena, but not bad enough to actually do something about it?” Surprisingly, the agent exceeds expectations and actually comes forward to corroborate Aaron’s story.

5. Aaron wants to step out of the shadows.

Speaking of Aaron’s story, the events of The Fosters 5×14 inspire him to be more forthcoming about telling it. He acknowledges that although he was only in solitary for a short while, most incarcerated trans people aren’t so lucky. Moreover, he contends that “putting trans people in solitary because you don’t know what to do with them… that’s not a solution, it’s dehumanizing.” He tells Callie to include the scars from his gender affirmation surgery in the portrait she’s drawing, and announces he wants to be more open about being trans.

Callie: “So, you want to come out?”
Aaron: “Telling people you’re trans is different than coming out as gay. You come out as gay, people see you as being more authentic, whereas when you tell people you’re trans, people sometimes think you’ve deceived them, you’ve pulled something over them. I don’t really wanna deal with it, but if we don’t put a human face on this, I don’t think anything’s gonna change.”