The Fosters season 5 episode 6 review: Gabe and Cortney’s complications + more
Take, for example, Callie continuing to get involved in political movements when one of the primary goals of said movement is to get people arrested. Sure, this may be the sort of thing that makes a huge statement and gets people to take notice of you, but there is also no denying that this is also the same sort of thing that would kill Callie’s future. She’s not some average protestor, and has her own history with the law as it is. A reasonable person would back away, but Callie does have some imbalances in her life. Her desire for justice and helping others, for example, supersedes at times that part of her brain that screams for her to do the right thing.
Meanwhile, you also had Brandon thinking for some reason that his former girlfriend Cortney would want to spend time hanging with him and Grace — while also watching them perform. Whether or not Brandon wants to admit it, the reality is that he still has feelings for Cortney and wants to be that protector in her life and surrogate father to Mason. His hero complex drives him to make questionable decisions on a fairly regular basis. What he doesn’t realize in turn is that this complex does cause him at times to make some other questionable decisions, as he made Grace feel uncomfortable and a little bit jealous. He also failed to recognize that maybe Cortney doesn’t need him, given that he caught her with Gabe at the end of the episode.
If Brandon was anyone other than a young guy, we’d question the story for having characters do things beyond their own self-interest. Yet, in The Fosters, this is a part of the fabric of what makes some of these people who they are at the end of the day.
Finally, a good Jude and Noah story
These two have gotten close and gotten into gaming, but there was some serious tension that arose as a result of them having a video that tagged a well-known YouTuber known for homophobic and terrible comments. While we’d stop short of saying that this storyline went full Gamergate, it did show the sort of terrible behavior that does occur sometimes in this world. It also enabled them to consider some alternative voices.
Is Mariana really about to join roller derby for good?
Lies tend to come out in time, and we saw that with this character tonight as Lena finally learned the truth about the forged signature. This was the biggest flaw of the hour to us, given that it feels as though Lena should’ve been even angrier about this than she was. It’s one thing to be resistant to the idea of Mariana joining before learning about the forgery. Did hearing about the lack of serious injury risks really turn the tide, given that you were also throwing this into the fray?
Odds and ends
One of the things that we appreciate about this episode is Stef getting so invested in a case that it’s starting to push her from her family — while we obviously don’t want to see that happen given that the entire clan does need their mother, it makes some sense given that she is so good at her job. There are more situations than we can count where this sort of thing does happen.
Meanwhile, was the whole Jesus playing The Parent Trap on Gabe and Anna a little absurd? Not really. It makes some sense when you consider both his TBI and his desire for certainty in an uncertain world. It’s the same reason why he proposed to Emma while in high school of all places — he wants to know that the future for the two of them is completely taken care of for good.
Our overall take
The Fosters season 5 episode 6 was a story of a lot of different things, whether it be heartache, fighting back, or making tough ethical decisions. We don’t agree with every character choice that we saw in the hour, but it was nonetheless a compelling watch. Grade: B.
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