The Fosters - Recap: The Mother We Share

"Mother" seeks to tell the story of how Lena (Sherri Saum) struggles to allow herself to let go of her unborn daughter in order to be there for her children, whom she constantly fears are just one argument away from condemning her for not being their "real mom." In many ways, it's a rumination on the nature of sacrifice, as Lena holds fast to the remote possibility of her unborn daughter -- whom she and Stef (Teri Polo) decide to name "Frankie" after Stef's late father -- surviving a premature birth at just 20 weeks. It's a punch to the gut when it becomes evident that Lena is going to lose Frankie, and that she's going to make the choice to allow Frankie to pass, since the risk is too great that she'll die in the process of bringing Frankie into the world. And whether she believes the kids love her unconditionally or not, the truth of the matter is that they still need her, and that they do love her in their own way. As Lena's mother (Lorraine Toussaint) explains, a mother can't concern herself with whether her children love her as much as she loves them, because that's just not the way it's supposed to work. A child isn't supposed to love a parent more than the parent loves them, because being a parent means loving the child enough to make the sacrifices necessary to put them first in all matters. In a sense, the entire episode is a slow unraveling of Lena's expectations for her life, as she comes to discover what it truly means to be a mother while tragically losing what could be her one shot at being a biological mother. It's a hammer blow to the emotions that is among the most powerful episodes the series has ever done.

Credit: ABC Family

Naturally, what's stunning about this is that the first half of the episode is of very little consequence. Jesus (Jake T. Austin) and Mariana (Cierra Ramirez) go into business together to sell Stef and Lena's beds, leading to some humorous scenes with various weirdos invasively inspecting the goods; Jude (Hayden Byerly) is still keeping completely mum; and that big cliffhanger from last week where Mike (Danny Nucci) is discovered at a motel with Ana (Alexandra Barreto)? Turns out Mike is her sponsor, and is attempting to get her clean as a way of making amends for the darkness in his heart on the night of Ana's "disappearance". As it turns out, he really did want to kill her that night, and parked outside the shelter in order to confront her. When he woke up the next day with blood on his knuckles and no memory of what happened, he feared he'd actually gone through with it. However, after tracking her down to a crackhouse, he was so relieved that he took it as a calling to help Ana straighten out her life. Is it contrived? Probably. But it gives us one of Nucci's best scenes in the show, as he explains the entire story to Stef, shocking even himself with how badly he wanted to kill Ana on the night Brandon (David Lambert) confessed to having bribed her. And I would be remiss if I didn't mention that this opens the doorway for some interesting story possibilities, as Stef doesn't exactly approve of Mike's sponsorship, nor does she necessarily think it's going to end well for any of them, even if Ana seems to be well on her way to recovery (claiming this is the cleanest she's been since she was 15).

I also suppose we did get some other stories of import, as Wyatt (Alex Saxon) confronts Brandon about what's going on with Callie (Maia Mitchell). Brandon doesn't have any idea, so he goes right to the source, learning that she's still not over having been raped by Liam. However, Callie really doesn't want to talk about any of this, which prompts Brandon to accuse her of always running from discussing the hard things in life. He argues that all she really accomplishes in keeping things bottled up is to hurt the ones she loves by locking them out. This brief bit of insight serves as an awakening for Callie, who not only tells a very understanding Wyatt the whole Liam story, but also gets Jude to give up his vow of silence by saying that he's being selfish by shutting people out, which isn't like him. In essence, we learn that Jude is silent as a means of coping with his frustration that he and Callie don't share a birth father, and that she went to visit Sophia. Callie offers to give up her friendship with Sophia if Jude wants her too, but he doesn't answer. He simply offers a response to Callie's insistence not to be selfish anymore with a single "Okay." It's simple storytelling, but I think the heightened drama of the situation surrounding it adds to the emotion of it all.

And there's a lot of emotion to go around.

Credit: ABC Family

The quiet, subdued first half of the episode goes a long way in building upon the notion of the Fosters as a family, a single unit that is more interrelated than even someone like Lena realizes. When she faints and ends up in the hospital, the diagnosis is tragic: Lena is headed for the early stages of preeclampsia, which can be fatal to a mother. The only way to save her life is to get the baby out of her as soon as possible. Unfortunately, little Frankie is only 20 weeks old, and the earliest a premature child can survive is at roughly 24 weeks old. Lena wants to fight this, having faith that Frankie will be okay after having seen her in a dream at the start of the episode. But Lena quickly learns about the devastating nature of sacrifice from her mother, who offers an impossibly beautiful explanation of motherhood, whether you're a biological parent or an adopted parent:

"Mothers and fathers, we have to love our children more in order to make the sacrifices it takes to put them first. But one thing is true: love will always be a stronger bond than blood. Trust that. And those children out there love you. They need you. They can't lose you. Their needs trump your wants. And that's what being a real mother is all about."

Credit: ABC Family

It's a stunningly elegant explanation of parenthood, and one of the crowning gems of the entire series as far as emotional, gut-punching scenes go. It's in this moment that it becomes clear what Lena must do. She must put her family first and let go of Frankie, which she does (to the devastation of the entire family, although they all understand). And it's a real shock to the system, honestly. I never expected The Fosters would go there, yet they have, and it made for one of the most unmistakably heartbreaking episodes of the series. And as if that weren't enough, Lena is visited the next day by a wandering child who looks like an older version of how she imagined Frankie to be. As a way of comforting her, the little girl offers Lena her stuffed unicorn...whose name is Frankie. Again, is it contrived? Absolutely. But did it hit me right in the feels? You bet your ass it did. As did the closing moments of the episode, in which the family plants a tree in Frankie's honor while Jude delivers a lovely speech about what it means to be a family. I swear, this show is operating on a whole other level of family drama, and I absolutely adore it.

"Mother" is as good as The Fosters has ever been, which is saying a lot. In fact, I'd argue it's worth going out of your way to see even if you're not someone who's always kept up with the show. Sure, I recapped most of what happened, but it's all in the performances here. Toussaint is always dependably excellent any time she guest stars (I really can't stress that enough), but the regular ensemble also rose to the occasion around her, particularly Polo, Saum, and Mitchell. This was a terrific hour of television from a show that is having a pretty damn wonderful second season.