‘The Fosters’ season 4, episode 2 review: The Nick – Mariana crisis escalates

The second episode of “The Fosters” season 4 had an uncomfortable tinge to it from the beginning, mostly because we started watching it with the knowledge that Nick was still out there, and as long as that remains, everyone was in danger.

It took some time during the second episode for Nick to turn back up, but when he did, it was in a way even more terrifying than in the premiere. While the school was pretty well in lockdown, Nick found his way into the Adams Foster home, and locked himself in a room with Mariana before threatening his own life with the same gun he had at the school. She pleaded with him to stop and not kill herself, and in what was a true hero moment for Mariana, she managed to convince him to not take his life.

We know that many of the headlines surrounding this episode may focus on the violence aspect of it and the potential shooting that never happened, but we do feel like this is more of a story about mental illness, and a young kid who was abused and never properly treated. It led him to this point, and it is something we have to be mindful in this world that there are ways to stop things before they get to this point if we are attentive enough. It was appropriate for the card to be at the end encouraging those who have contemplated suicide to seek help.

In the end, this was incredibly powerful, and we cannot imagine Mariana ever being the same after this.

Elsewhere in the episode, Callie sabotaged the Fost and Found website to get justice for Jack, while Brandon, feeling the sting of his moms’ reaction to him and Callie being together, left to live with Cortney. Maybe in time he will come around, but for now, we’re moving into a time of healing for these people. A time of recovery. They are mourning who they lost in Jack, and feeling the reality who they could have lost. Once again it feels hard to grade something so emotional from a critical point of view, but we appreciate the realistic, pointed take on these events. Grade: A.

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