The Fosters - Recap: Kiss Me Goodbye

Credit: ABC Family

It isn't an entirely organic series, as there's a lot of writerly drama thrown in to keep things dynamic, but it feels far more grounded in reality than most shows on ABC Family. Gay couples are a fact of American life in the 21st Century, as are blended families, undocumented citizens, and teen sex, all of which are addressed in tonight's finale. "I Do" isn't the best episode out of this first ten, but I'd argue it's pretty close. There's a lot more going on here than the developing feelings between Callie (Maia Mitchell) and Brandon (David Lambert): there's the exploration of gay marriage, the politics of rape, and the question of what constitutes selfishness. It's a richly plotted hour that ties together some of the overarching themes of these first ten episodes, in addition to simply being a genuinely entertaining episode that builds a lot of intrigue for the show's return in January.

Credit: ABC Family

Much of the episode deals with Callie's personal journey, as not only is Wyatt (Alex Saxon) moving away, Brandon is officially back together with Talya (Madisen Beaty). But all this pales in comparison to the real point of anxiety in Callie's life, the trial against Liam (Brandon Jones) for sexually assaulting her nearly two years ago. The lawyer states that Callie will have a better chance of ensuring that Liam goes to prison if she says the sex was consensual, since they would be able to get him on statutory rape. However, there isn't enough evidence to win on a straight-up rape charge. To make matters worse, even if she did lie and say it was consensual, Liam would likely only get, at most, a year behind bars. Callie ends up taking out her frustration over the unfairness of the legal system on Brandon, of all people, as she's beginning to resent his encouraging pep talks. He doesn't know what it's like to be in her situation, Callie says, adding that she's not from the same hopeful, optimistic world as Brandon is. This culminates in the trial, in which Callie refuses to lie, saying that her dignity is pretty much all she has left, and she won't sell out. Liam knows what he did to her, and that it was in no way consensual. It's a terrific moment for Maia Mitchell, who's really done the most in shaping her character out of anyone in this half-season, I would argue. All that's left for Callie is to move on with her life, as Liam is likely to be acquitted. However, there's a silver lining in all of this, as Lena (Sherri Saum) and Stef (Teri Polo) ask Callie and Jude (Hayden Byerly) if they'd like to become permanent members of the Foster family. When Callie asks the siblings if this would be okay, Brandon harkens back to last week's conversation about how he responded when his parents first asked if it would be alright for Jesus (Jake T. Austin) and Mariana (Cierra Ramirez) to move in with them: "There's enough to go around."

Credit: ABC Family

It's a sweet moment that's immediately complicated by the romantic tension between Callie and Brandon, which comes to a head at Lena and Stef's wedding. The wedding itself is a beautiful, subdued affair, and provides some amusing guest turns, such as Stephen Collins as Lena's preacher father (Reverend Camden lives on!), Lorraine Toussaint returning as her mother, Sam McMurray also returning as Stef's father, and Annie Potts making her first appearance as Stef's mother. The scenes all explore the dynamics between the daughters and their parents, as Stef resists her mother's attempts to get her to wear her old wedding gown, while Lena comes up against the similarly overbearing tendencies of her own mother. In fighting their own battles, Lena and Stef end up butting heads when Lena feels that Stef doesn't actually want to get married, due to her repeated disparaging remarks about marriage itself. Ultimately, Stef recognizes that her issues about marriage don't stem from Mike (Danny Nucci, who gives a brief but solid performance in the scene dealing with the reveal that he shot an unarmed man), they stem from her own father, Frank. He doesn't support same-sex marriage and believes that matrimony should be strictly between a man and a woman. And so Stef confronts him and tearfully disinvites him from the wedding, in Teri Polo's best scene in the series so far. A straight recap doesn't do it justice, but she essentially declares that she hates the side of her that feels the slightest reservation about declaring her love for Lena to the world, because it's a side she got from her father. She states that she doesn't want anyone at the wedding who doesn't fully support their right to be married. She's heartbroken to be disinviting her father, but once it's done, she leaves without looking back. It's powerful stuff that Polo really nails. With everything in order, Stef and Lena can proceed down the aisle, but not without complications...

Credit: ABC Family

Callie pulls Brandon aside at brunch to thank him for not giving up on her, and for being there for her. She recognizes that she deserves to be happy now, a sentiment with which Brandon agrees. As they get closer, the inevitable finally happens: they have their first kiss, which quickly escalates into a full-on makeout session. The show cleverly fakes out the viewer by making it seem as though Talya is the one who's about to discover the kissing couple, but it ends up being Jude, who's finally had it with his sister. He storms off while she gives chase, and eventually chews her out for screwing up their lives, essentially saying that she's selfish and has a way of messing things up for the both of them. So Callie promises Jude that she's going to stop being selfish. Of course, it's not like she can just wish away her feelings for Brandon, so she does what any rough-and-tumble teenage girl with conflicted feelings and a little brother to protect would do: she hitches a ride with Wyatt to Indiana. Wait, what? I mean, I suppose her objective is to leave so Jude can be adopted and can have a life without her screwing it up by hooking up with their adopted brother, but why Indiana? That's a hell of a long ride from California. I suppose we'll see in January. But hey, at least she got to have a good time at the wedding before she left. "Same Love" was a perfect, if on-the-nose, choice for a first wedding dance. I just loved that bit, as well as Stef and Lena's vows, and their attempts to include everyone in the festivities, even Callie and Brandon. It was one of those rare scenes that goes for heartwarming and actually achieves it.

Credit: ABC Family

There are other matters in the episode, such as the reveal that Lexi (Bianca A. Santos) is going to Honduras to visit her sick grandmother. Lexi's father states that he has a way of getting them there and back without detection by immigration, but as Lexi's mother inevitably reveals, they have no intention of actually coming back. And poor Lexi doesn't know. Nor does Jesus, for that matter, who's already worried that he might not see Lexi again if they're caught. Their relationship also takes a bit of a hit when a confused Jesus refuses to sleep with Lexi again, not understanding why she wants to feel so close to him again. But it's a matter that's quickly resolved, and in relatively mature fashion, as they talk things out without all the histrionics and drama you'd expect from a teen show. It's a choice I genuinely respected. As for the Lexi immigration plot itself, I guess the jury is still out on that one.

Credit: ABC Family

"I Do" is about as good a finale as I could have hoped for, as The Fosters ticked all the boxes it needed to tick in order to resolve the lingering issues of the first ten episodes, while keeping some narrative momentum to build towards the next half in January. I'm not sure I would say The Fosters has been one of the summer's biggest surprises, since I expected it to at least be very family-oriented, but it's certainly turned out to be one of the summer's biggest delights. Hopefully, it can carry that goodwill into the winter months.

Oh, and one last thing, but I think I finally realized tonight that while it may be one of the most syrupy ballads in the world, I'm absolutely in love with this show's theme song:

Thanks for reading! Reviews will be back in January!