4 reasons why we can’t stop thinking about ‘The Fosters’

It’s been more than a month since season 2 of The Fosters ended with one of the show’s trademark shocking cliffhangers, in which Jesus, Mariana and birth mom Ana were involved in a serious car accident. Season 3 is set to premiere on June 8, but we can’t stop thinking about the show in the meantime. Here are four reasons why:

Brallie

The dynamic between Brandon and Callie is much more complicated than your typical on-again/off-again. Ultimately, if Callie gets legally adopted by the Fosters, she won’t be able to have a relationship with Brandon. Over the past two seasons, we’ve seen the couple make up and break up as both Brandon and Callie’s circumstances changed. Brandon broke up with then-girlfriend Talya for Callie in season 1, then got romantically involved with Someone’s Little Sister singer Lou in season 2. Meanwhile, Callie briefly pursued the idea of getting involved in the Independent Living Program for foster kids in season 1, then tried to protect fellow Girls United alum Daphne from being charged with kidnapping by telling everyone she wanted to live with her birth father, Robert. Season 2 ended with Robert officially withdrawing his custody suit, thereby allowing Stef and Lena to go forward with the process of adopting Callie… so does that mean the Brallie ship has permanently run aground?

Jonnor

Brandon and Callie aren’t the only characters in The Fosters whose relationship has been fraught with complications. From the early days of their friendship when Connor touchingly wore blue nail polish to show his support for Jude, the Jonnor pairing has always been tinged with an “us against the world” mentality. As their feelings for each other deepened beyond friendship, Connor’s father, Adam, made it clear that he was not OK with the idea of his son liking boys – or even just one boy. Things came to a head toward the end of season 2 when Adam tried to prevent Jude from visiting Connor in the hospital, but some wise words from Lena helped turn things around. In the season finale, Jude told Callie that Connor was his boyfriend(!!!!) We hope the fledgling couple faces less drama in season 3!

The show’s trailblazing diversity

The Fosters is hardly the first show on TV to feature a lesbian couple, a biracial character, a transgender character, or a young adult trying to get to grips with his or her sexual identity, but the fact that it includes all of those elements and more is unusual and laudable. Remember when Lena called out Stef for her “heteronormative thinking” during the family camping trip in The Fosters 2×14? How about when Mariana told Emma that she shouldn’t let “a bunch of boys decide what kind of girl [she wants] to be” in The Fosters 2×20? We love that the show tackles these kinds of themes and can’t wait to see what’s up next in season 3.

That theme song

So, who else has cried during the opening credits of The Fosters because of that theme song? Anyone? Anybody at all. No? Me neither; I don’t know why I brought that up.

In case you were wondering, Where You Belong by Kari Kimmel is available on iTunes and tissues are available at your local drugstore. (Speaking of songs from The Fosters, Brallie anthem Outlaws is also available on iTunes.)

Tune in to ABC Family at 8/7c on Monday June 8 for the premiere of the third season of The Fosters!