TV Review: ‘The Fosters’ 3×20 “Kingdom Come”

The season finale of The Fosters had everything we expected! It was emotional and riveting and heartbreaking all at once. The episode starts with the family mourning over Jack’s tragic death, Jude giving a beautiful speech, at a beach memorial, about what Jack meant to him. Jude’s good friend, Taylor, joins him as he continues to question his faith in things. Having lost both his boyfriend and a new friend/love interest, Jude begins to question what he thought he always knew about his sexuality. He thinks God is somehow punishing him by taking away the only boys he ever liked. Callie notices Jude has begun spending a lot of time with Taylor and worries that he is trying to somehow repress who he is because of the tragedy he has suffered. Later in the episode we see Jude kiss Taylor and his reaction leaves us a bit confused. Whether this is Jude’s way of dealing with his grief or if he is still not sure about his sexuality, it will be interesting to see how he continues to find his own in season four.

Callie finds herself occupied with the official launch of her Fost and Found app. Knowing that Jack was killed at the hands of the foster parent that abused her and Jude, it leaves her feeling completely off balance. With Stef’s help, Callie finds out that Jack ended up in that home because of the severe flaws of the privatized foster care system; one that cares more about profit than finding kids safe homes. When Callie asks Justina to include Jack in her launch speech, she is immediately shut down. Callie’s suspicions about Justina lead her to find, with Daphne’s help, a check that proves that she was working with the privatized company that basically sold Jack into the foster home that got him killed. In a courageous moment, Callie decides to tell the real story during her speech and calls Justina out on what she did. Justina’s threats to Callie prove real when she leaks information about Brandon’s prior restraining order, and Callie feels that her only choice is to the her moms what really happened between her and Brandon. This shocking revelation will be sure to bring the family more trouble in the next season.

Brandon deals with his own share of issues as he decides to tell his moms about Courtney’s son and stands his ground about his relationship with her. Courtney decides to let Brandon spend the day with her because of his 18^th birthday. Although, things turn south when Courtney’s ex, who she still lives with by the way, barges in on the scene, immediately kicking her out. With no money and no place to live, Brandon decides to give Courtney his insurance money to get her a new place. His decision proves his mom’s point about Brandon’s incessant attraction to girls who “need” saving. Despite now being 18, Brandon is far from being an adult. The naivety with which he dealt with the situation really shows the obstacles that await him in the future.

This episode addresses the big decision that Mariana and Mat make about their relationship. Although they continue to love one another, they do not want to hurt their significant others who have grown to be such a big part of their lives. When Brandon informs them that he wants to continue running the play, the two are thrown a curve ball and are obviously uncomfortable at the idea of having to continue with what shook up their emotions so much to begin with. In this episode, we learn a little more about Nick’s home life. His constant desire to please everyone and show off is clearly an act triggered by the mistreatment he receives from his father. When Nick arrives at the Foster’s house, he sees Mat and Mariana kiss. In another scene, we see Nick with the secret love note that Mat sent Mariana and so it is revealed he knew about their secret for some time. Clearly heartbroken, Nick goes back to the warehouse, burning down all the sets for the Romeo and Juliet play. The last scene shows Nick arrive at Anchor Beach, a gun in his glove compartment.

The finale complied so many storylines for each of the characters, leaving everything up in the air. Their futures hang in the balance, but we will get to see how everything plays out in season four of The Fosters, premiering this June!