The Fosters made history this week with the youngest same-sex kiss ever seen on TV. Yup, after a lot of back and forth, dancing around each other, awkward dates with girls and off-screen tent hijinks, Connor and Jude finally seal their blossoming romance with an on-screen kiss in The Fosters 2×18. Read on for our full recap of That Lip-Lock and more.
Protests & confessions
The Fosters 2×18 opens with Stef and Lena breaking the news to the kids that Callie will be moving in with the Quinns. Mariana takes it particularly badly. Brandon asks if Callie’s sure, and she repeats that line about being tired of fighting. (She also doesn’t want Daphne, Brandon or herself to get in trouble with the law on account of that little kidnapping incident, but she doesn’t bring up that part.) Speaking of Daphne, Callie finds out that she told the police what happened with daughter Tasha and said she was the only one involved, so now Callie doesn’t have to go live with the Quinns. The only problem is that Callie already made her decision and told the judge. Too little, too late?
Remember how unorthodox English teacher Timothy got fired in The Fosters 2×17 after refusing to adhere to curricular requirements, and his English class walked out in a show of support? Turns out the student body isn’t done protesting: Members of the sophomore and junior classes at Anchor Beach are refusing to show up for school – including Mariana, Jesus and Brandon – and there’s a rally being planned. Talk about the last thing Lena needs right now, but she’s not backing down: If the kids are staying home, then they’ll be doing so without their phones, TV, video games, computers… and even the Internet.
Brandon: You’re taking the Internet?!
Jesus: You can’t do that.
Mariana: Yeah, I’m pretty sure this is, like, unconstitutional.
You know what, Mariana, if it’s not, it should be.
Finding a loophole
Despite the fact that half of the sophomore class and two-thirds of the juniors are absent from school, Principal Monte isn’t backing down and orders Lena to send an email threatening anyone who’s absent the following school day with suspension. Later, Monte calms down and asks Lena for advice, and Lena recommends hearing the kids out so they feel respected. She also opens up to Monte about losing baby Frankie, and Monte says it’s understandable that she isn’t ready to adopt Ana‘s baby because she needs time to grieve. (I really hope the show doesn’t go down this road because I love Stef and Lena’s relationship, but is there a little chemistry between Lena and Monte, or is that just me?)
Over at the Fosters’, Brandon gets around the no-technology rule by getting busy with girlfriend Lou, while Mariana spends her time trying to figure out the neighbor’s Wi-Fi password. Mariana and Brandon talk about Callie’s announcement, and Mariana says they won’t be a family if they don’t live under the same roof. Brandon reassures her that won’t be the case even when they all go off to college, and Mariana says she isn’t ready for things to change. Of course, if Jesus’ scholarship pans out, Callie’s imminent departure may not be the only loss Mariana has to deal with…
Later, during dinner with Mike, Brandon admits things are getting serious with Lou and says he’s still leaning toward going on tour rather than accepting his place at prestigious music school Idyllwild’s summer program. The only problem is that he still doesn’t have the money, so he’s considering selling an autographed baseball given to him by his late grandfather. He ends up putting up the baseball for online auction, and it sells… to Mike.
JONNOR!
Things are understandably weird between Jude and Connor since the whole holding-hands-at-the-movies thing, so Jude backs out of another group date by claiming his family’s going camping. Connor soon sees through the lie when his father gets stuck on a business trip and asks Lena if Connor can sleep over. Oooohhhh, this is gonna be good.
That night, Stef and Lena talk about how Jude’s questioning his sexuality, and Stef mentions that he seems to have a crush on Connor. Lena counters by suggesting Connor has a crush on Jude.
Stef: Really? Connor doesn’t seem gay to me.
Lena: No one ever seems to think I seem gay.
Stef: Oh, unlike me, I guess.
Lena: Well, the cop uniform doesn’t exactly help.
Stef: I’m afraid I’m gonna have to arrest you, then.
Lena: For what?!
Stef: For profiling. And for perpetuating sexual stereotypes.
Lena: You’re gonna have to cuff me first.
…I love them.
Elsewhere in the house, Jude’s still being awkward around Connor, but agrees to let the other boy help him with a Star Wars Commander level he can’t beat. Connor sits on Jude’s bed so they can work on the battle together, and they REALLY ADORABLY high-five when they beat the level. With the tension between them broken, they toss a ball around in the garden the following day, and Connor ends up playfully pinning Jude to the ground. There’s a charged moment between them before that classic trope of interruption by phone. It’s Connor’s girlfriend, and she wants him to come over. Talk about a buzzkill.
Jude storms upstairs and Connor eventually follows with the news that he canceled on his girlfriend. “It’s not nice to lead people on,” Jude tells him pointedly. He’s stretched out on his bed, and when Connor grabs his feet, Jude tells him to stop and accidentally kicks him – hard.
Jude: Are you OK? I didn’t mean to kick you that hard.
Connor: Why’d you kick me at all?
Jude: You kissed me, remember? In the tent. And then at the movie theater, you held my hand. And now all day you’ve been… I just, I don’t get this. I don’t get you.
Connor responds by kissing him. I respond by SHRIEKING.
Brotherly love & sisterly support
Mariana still isn’t handling the news of Callie’s move particularly well, and Callie finally snaps after too much of the silent treatment, saying there are some things she can’t explain and asking that Mariana refrain from making her feel any worse than she already does. The effect of Callie’s news on Mariana hasn’t escaped Jesus’ notice, and he tells Lena he’s decided not to go to boarding school.
I can’t leave her, Mom. She’s already freaking out about Callie. If she finds out you and mom aren’t adopting Ana’s baby, she’ll have a meltdown. It’s like she’s losing two sisters. And then if I go away… I can’t do that to her.
Of course, because this is The Fosters, it’s Mariana who answers the door when Jesus’ recruiter drops by. She confronts Jesus about it and says she’s mad he didn’t tell her about the opportunity, even though he says he isn’t going. In a surprising display of maturity, Mariana tells Jesus she looked up the school online and while she doesn’t want him to go, she thinks he should because she wants what’s best for him.
(Some) Girls re-United
It turns out Rita pulled some strings to ensure Daphne can stay at the Girls United house until her court date, and when Callie goes over to visit her, there’s a surprise waiting for them both: Carmen‘s back. Now all we need is Becka, Cole, Gabi and Kiara, and it’ll be just like old times.
According to Carmen, Becka’s at a drug rehab, Gabi’s back in juvie, and runaway Kiara was last seen in a baaad part of town. “Selling drugs?” Callie asks. “Worse,” Daphne responds. Yikes. Callie wants to track her down, but Rita says it’s up to Kiara to turn herself in when she’s ready. Callie argues that she was in a bad situation with her foster family and didn’t have a choice, to which Rita responds, “We always have a choice, you know that. Sometimes the choice sucks.”
Later, despite her assertions that Kiara needs to save herself, Rita seeks out the girl and urges her to come back to Girls United. Kiara spits in her face, calls her a bitch and a dyke, and tells her to go home. Damn. The next day, Kiara visits Callie at the youth center, tells her what happened with Rita and claims she has it good on the street. Callie says that if Kiara turns herself in, Rita will ensure she gets placed at Girls United until she’s 18 and ages out of the system. Kiara eventually agrees, but wants to go back to retrieve some clothes and a necklace that her pimp gave her. Callie insists on going with her, but while she finishes her shift, Kiara calls her pimp to pick her up. What she doesn’t know is that Callie also made some phone calls – to Stef and Rita.
Callie breaks her silence
After Kiara heads off with Rita, Stef confronts Callie, asking what’s going on with her.
Callie: I did something wrong. I couldn’t tell you because I was afraid.
Stef: Afraid of what? Afraid we were gonna get mad, afraid you were gonna get in trouble, what?
Callie: Both, I guess. I just thought… I was afraid because I lied again and because I didn’t come to you again and because I messed up again, I thought that maybe that would mean you wouldn’t want me anymore, like you would just finally give up on me.
Stef: OK, and is this why you’re going to live with Robert?
Callie: I just thought that if I left on my own, it wouldn’t hurt as much as if you told me to go, but it does. It hurts so much.
Stef: Look at me. Nothing you can do is gonna make us not want you, you hear me? Nothing.
Back at home, Callie asks Brandon if he hates her for telling the truth, and he tells her he would “give up the tour and just about anything for [her] to be a part of this family.” Awwwww. Meanwhile, Stef confronts Robert about his part in the situation and says she’s not going down without a fight. And the stage is set…
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