The Fosters Season 4 Episode 16 Review: The Long Haul
Jasmine Blu
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Mazel Tov to the happy couple!
The Fosters is known for bringing on the drama at a break-neck pace. That's why when they choose to slow things down and give us a drama-lite installment, you cherish it for everything that it is.
There were so many feel-good feels on The Fosters Season 4 Episode 16. There were adorable couples and precious moments to be treasured throughout the entire hour.
I love the moms so much. My heart is bursting and my eyes are teary.
Every time we're graced with the presence of legendary Annie Potts, it's bound to be an absolute delight. Sharon is such a fun, lovable, eccentric character.
She's the epitome of the "fun grandma" and she always comes with pearls of wisdom, heaping doses of wackiness, and a whole lot of love.
This time, she came with her beau, Will, played by the equally as lovable Rob Morrow. Of course, spontaneous Will popped the question to Sharon publicly and forced her to agree so as not to embarrass him.
I understand why that could be a tough predicament. Public proposals can be great sometimes but super risky. Also, if you're one of those overly considerate types you end up going along with it just to spare the person the public humiliation, and then you feel like a cad when you have to back out later.
It was a plausible scenario. Every time Sharon wanted to tell Will, something would suddenly come up, or off, and they'd get a bit preoccupied and never address the issue.
Sharon wanting Stef to not give her blessing as a way to call it off was pretty darn funny. Poor Stef, being asked to call off a wedding on her mother's behalf.
I need you to tell him that he doesn't have your blessing. Because I really need you to get me out of this.
Sharon
Thankfully, Sharon worked up enough courage to tell Will the truth. Although, she did wait until seconds before the wedding and had everyone outside waiting moments away from a storm.
Sharon looked absolutely beautiful in her dress. She was worried she was too old to be wearing it, but she's so young and full of life. Who says you have to be a certain age just to pull off a dress?
Sharon's reasoning was understandable. Despite being married to Stef's father for years, she has always come across as a free-spirit. The commitment and ties that come with marriage can be confining for someone like her.
I loved your father, until I married him. Then moment by moment, day by day, year by year, I started thinking of ways I could kill him.
Sharon
She was also fearful that she'd somehow fall out of love with Will and grow to hate him like she did with her last husband.
Will was so supportive of her. He reminded her that she was his best friend and he'd never stop loving her. As long as they were committed to one another, he could take or leave the actual marriage.
They are such an adorable couple and they warm my heart. It's also pretty darn awesome to see a relationship between an older woman and a younger man, and it not be mocked, downplayed, or treated like some anomaly that should be frowned upon.
They're two people who genuinely love and support each other. Their relationship is as healthy and strong as any other type of relationship. They're a beautiful, funny, quirky, happy couple.
Just being in the vicinity of them makes everyone smile.
I loved that their wedding turned into a wedding for Stef and Lena. Moms really needed that.
So much has happened since they divorced just so they could keep the house, that the fact that they were divorced slipped my mind. It was surprising that Lena was the one who was indifferent to the fact that they were officially divorced.
Should I be worried...that you don't want to remarry me?
Stef
Lena is typically the more sentimental one. It was so unusual that Stef was left wondering if there was something wrong. She didn't know why Lena didn't want to remarry her, or why the thought of getting married again didn't cross Lena's mind.
Stef's impassioned speech/proposal in the bathroom was touching, empowering, and also sad. So many people fought like hell just so that they could have the right to marry whomever they want and receive the same benefits and treatment as straight couples.
It feels good to have the same rights as every straight couple. I want to be equal. I want our love and our family to be out and be proud.
Stef
Stef wanted to have the same rights as every other straight couple. She was proud of her family and she wanted her family to be proud too. She wanted the benefits that came with marriage.
She wanted their love to be treated like it was normal because it is normal. She wanted Lena to marry her, again.
After a speech like that, how could Lena deny Stef that? She was practically crying. Hell, who wasn't?
Everyone was so happy to see the moms walk down the aisle and get married all over again. It was amazing watching them have a brief reprieve from all the drama and stress and just reconnect with one another.
They needed that. They deserved it. Moms smiling and kissing in the pouring rain was easily the best moment of the night.
Keeping up with the adorable couple train, Noah and Jude were too precious for words.
Jude was catching a little hell from others because Lena was going to have the LGBTQ sex-ed course at their home. Unfortunately, that led to some sexist and ignorant comments from some of the students.
Stef had the best response to a frustrated Jude though. Stef is the best.
Lena was afraid that the turn out would be low or that no one would show up. She was so wrong, though.
Monte did everything she could to cover her ass, and that included making kids have signed permissions slips, which was absurd because it defeated the purpose of having the sex-ed class without judgment.
Many of the student's hadn't come out to their parents, so how on earth were they going to get a signed permission slip from them to attend the class?
Lena: I should have just canceled this class.
Stef: Why?
Lena: I only have three kids, with Jude, and that's assuming the others show up.
Thank God Lena didn't turn anyone away. All of these kids there just wanted to learn.
I just knew Noah would be the one to get the ball rolling with the questions. He's good at breaking the ice. It's one of the best things about his character.
But the best moment between Noah and Jude was when they discussed their sexual history in more detail. Jude was a bit insecure about the fact that he lacked experience compared to Noah. He assumed Noah knew everything.
Noah finally revealed that there are different types of sex (different levels) and that even though he has done more than Jude, he hasn't done it all. He's not ready for that just yet.
I think it's adorable and great that they had this talk and were so honest with each other. It was such an honest and mature discussion. Love. Them.
As far as couples in limbo, well, we have Emma and Jesus.
He's not the one that should be sorry. He isn't paranoid. There is something between you and me. There's this secret.
Emma
Sometimes talking to someone face-to-face can be difficult, especially when it's important. Some people are better at writing things down. Hell, I can relate to that.
I just didn't agree with Emma using a letter to tell Jesus about her abortion. It also was weird that she had Brandon give it to him.
Obviously, this whole thing was to get to a point where Emma realized that Jesus has issues reading right now. It just was sort of contrived.
I would have bought her sending him a text message or an email before writing an actual letter. I didn't care for that, and I have mixed feelings about the fact that Emma is the one to notice that Jesus has issues reading.
It did lead to a heck of a moment when Sharon made the choice to not reveal it all to Jesus. You know you have a cool grandmother when she can read a letter from your girlfriend talking about your sex life.
It also led to a really great moment between Sharon and Emma. Emma hasn't had anyone outside of Brandon to lean on regarding the abortion thing.
She needs support, and she can't quite get it if no one even knows what's going on with her. So it made sense that Sharon reassuring her that there was nothing wrong with her choice and being genuinely concerned for her well-being was enough to make Emma break down.
The Fosters has handled the abortion issue and teen pregnancy issue with aplomb, and they deserve kudos for that.
Jesus still doesn't know the truth, and Emma now knows his secret, which pertains to his overall well-being. I know she can't hold that in. She'll want to share it. She probably should.
Callie is...Callie.
AJ was the MVP of the night. I appreciate the fact that he's finally fed up enough to call Callie out on her bullcrap.
She's a trouble magnet, and she doesn't learn from her mistakes at all. What good is making so many mistakes if you don't ever learn from them? That's not growth.
Callie going after Troy is a huge mistake. You know it. I know it. AJ knows it. Everyone knows it except for Callie. Is the revelation about Troy's girlfriend important? Yes. Should Callie be anywhere near it? No.
Now is the time where she needs to be laying low the most, and she's running headfirst into more freaking trouble.
This time, she's endangering AJ. Much like how she was endangering Aaron. Except now, AJ finally pointed out that as awful as Callie has had it, and as screwed up as it is that her rap sheet is used to judge her, he, in some ways, has it a lot worse.
I'm a black man in America, with a juvenile record and I don't have a rich daddy who can keep me out of trouble. If I get caught, I go down, just like Ty. I'll do anything for you, but I'm not gonna follow you down a rabbit hole.
AJ
He's a young, black male with a juvenile record. The system doesn't work in his favor at all, and he doesn't have a Robert to bail him out.
He can't afford to willingly hurl himself in the path of trouble at every turn. Things will work out differently for him.
Callie is known for being self-righteous and calling out injustices and other people's privilege, but AJ finally gave her a reality check of her own.
He also finally addressed one of the most irritating aspects of their relationship. Everything is always about Callie. She's always dealing with something, and most of the time it's her own doing that she ends up dealing with so much.
She barely even knows what's going on with AJ anymore, because she doesn't bother to ask him. She's too busy dwelling on her own issues. He has every right to be concerned that Mike only wants to adopt him so that he can move in with Ana.
He's been dealing with this for a while and Callie has had no idea because she's always focused on her own issues. Her treatment of AJ has always been irksome, and I imagine the new girl might pose a threat to their relationship.
No, no, Callie your trial is coming up! You need to be worried about that, not some murderer. Isn't that how you got into all of this?
AJ
Is it wrong if I say, for AJ's sake, I wouldn't mind it?
Callie needs to binge-watch Veronica Mars so she can get a feel for the proper ways to sleuth without blowing everything to bits all the time. Because now that Troy knows she was harassing him again, it's bound to get ugly.
Grace is such an adorable character. She's so bright and sunny. It's refreshing, and I think Brandon could benefit from her presence.
Just as friends, though. That kiss means it could be going further, but Brandon does not need to be thrown into another relationship at all. Why can't he just have a nice platonic friend? Sheesh.
Did you love "The Long Haul?" How amazing was that wedding? Are Noah and Jude the cutest cuties to ever cute? Is Callie exhausting? Hit up the comments and let us know what you think.
You can watch The Fosters online right here at TV Fanatic.
Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. She is an insomniac who spends late nights and early mornings binge-watching way too many shows and binge-drinking way too much tea. Her eclectic taste makes her an unpredictable viewer with an appreciation for complex characters, diverse representation, dynamic duos, compelling stories, and guilty pleasures. You'll definitely find her obsessively live-tweeting, waxing poetic, and chatting up fellow Fanatics and readers. Follow her on X.
