Freeform's The Fosters mid-season finale aired Tuesday night, and I don't think it's timing could have been more perfect. First I should say that if you are not watching this show, you are truly missing out. This show knocks down every wall (pun intended), and is not afraid to get real, so you need to watch now.
One of the main themes of the episode was immigration and deportation, and with the white house administration potentially ridding of DACA, it was perfect timing.
the episode titled "Broken Hearts" starts right where the previous left off. Callie, Ximena, A.J., and the rest of the progressive student club are protesting a conservative woman that was hired to speak at the local college Callie takes her art class at. One of the speaker's main talking points is anti-immigration, so naturally, Ximena, an undocumented immigrant, is a part of the protest to disallow the woman from spreading her "hate speech." During the protest, Humana stands up and proclaims her undocumented status with a megaphone with many police officers around to here it. Nothing comes of this situation right away, until prom.
During the prom, Ximena and Callie are arguing over Callie leaving the protest when an arrest was threatened, which for Callie was a smart move. But Ximena brings up the hate and bigotry that has erupted in the country over the last year and says, "If this is what America stands for, maybe it was never great." Applause for the writers for this not so subtle dig at the current president.
Among all the fun (or not so fun) drama happening at prom, I.C.E. shows up looking for none other than Ximena. Callie immediately informs Stef and "arrests" Humara for underage drinking, so I.C.E. doesn't have jurisdiction anymore. while Stef is trying to drive Ximena away, she turns back to ask Ximena for her DACA card, and Stef sees that Ximena has fled. Cue the call from Callie.
Stef answers the phone and knows immediately that Callie has Ximena, and tells her to be careful. Unsurprisingly, A.J. is driving the getaway car as the trio flees to Noah's mother's church where they can hide out because I.C.E. won't enter churches. As Callie, A.J., and Ximena barely out run the cops and enter the church, the episode ends with a (slight) cliffhanger: thee three won't leave until they know Ximena will not be detained.
Now what happens when the b-season picks up could actually be affected by what happens out here in the real world. The Fosters haven't started shooting the second half of season five yet, so the writers may edit what happens based on if DACA is revoked. As stated throughout the season, Ximena is undocumented but has her DACA card, but if congress decides to pass the act that would send any "dreamers" back to "where they came from," Ximena could be sent back to her country of birth; a place she has no recollection of.
The real and television colliding like this are great for discussion and conversation, and it is definitely something that The fosters has done before. I am sure whatever the writers do with the new episodes.
And as we wait for the season to return in 2018 (and for congress to make a decision), we can just binge watch The Fosters again, or for the first time, and just appreciate the much-needed realness that this show brings to television.
