The Fosters season 5 episode 5 review: Mariana, Jesus’ secrets come out
Mariana and Jesus have been unlikable at times this season, but the back and forth they exchanged this time over their secrets was almost unbearable. Jesus goaded Mariana to take him to a party he had no business being at, and when things turned sour, he threatened to tell Lena and Stef about her playing roller derby. Meanwhile, she threatened that she would tell about him dancing and putting himself at risk. These are two characters who really want to reinforce their own point of view just as much as they want to do anything, so nothing in terms of their behavior surprises us.
Do we understand why they both want the validation? Sure, given that they’ve each gone through a lot and desperately want an escape. Should they also know by now that secrets get them nowhere? Also yes. We will still admit that we felt rather bad when we first saw Lena telling Jesus that if he didn’t start improving his behavior, she would send him off to a school that could better manage him away from the family.
This episode ultimately ended a little calm before the storm almost all across the board, given that we saw one of Mariana’s friends dealing with immigration issues, Callie trying to figure out how to best stay out of trouble after such a history of it, and Stef pushing herself to the limit with a case she felt personally connected to. As gut-wrenching as it may have been seeing her try to deal with Jesus, they have another problem: Lena feels like she is alone trying to deal with Jesus, and with Stef getting more involved at work, she’s not around. She’s putting the needs of others ahead of the needs of her own family, and we don’t have to explain why that is a problem. It’s going to bury her whole family if she cannot figure it out. (Oh, and Stef getting fairly wasted while hanging out with the new neighbors probably was a cause for concern, as well.)
This episode also showed that for Brandon, trying to balance a current and former relationship is problematic in its own right. He and Grace decided to perform for the first time publicly (to middling reviews) while at the same party featuring Callie and the police. Meanwhile, he also tried to be there for Cortney and Mason as she continues to wrestle with her grief that comes with staying at Gabe’s place. Gabe even showed up in the closing minutes, but said it was fine for her to crash there a little while longer. Is anyone else worried about something with Cortney and Gabe now?
Overall
This was another solid episode of The Fosters that moved the needle forward in some interesting ways, but also showcased at the same time precisely how some of these characters are struggling with the realities of their present and being their true selves. Stef’s hiding her frustrations with Jesus by taking on more work, we think there’s a part of Mariana that likes having secrets, and Brandon cannot stop from trying to be a hero — even if he’s burning the candle at both ends. Grade: B.
What’s coming up…
If you do want to get some additional news related to the series, including a preview for what’s coming up next, you can do that by heading over to the link here. (Photo: Freeform.)