History Characters / TheFosters

* AmbiguousDisorder: It's more than run of the mill teen angst; her intense emotional reactions and reckless behavior result in her being institutionalized. In the season 2 finale, she reveals it to be a personality disorder caused by a chemical imbalance and that it makes her feel hopeless and forever abnormal.

* DudeMagnet: Quite popular with the boys and has had the attention from and dated quite a number of them - including Chase, Zac, Matt, Wyatt, Nick and Logan.

* BetterAsFriends: After seasons of going back and forth as siblings to romantic partners, he and Callie finally resolve their strong emotional connection by calling each other their best friend in the SeriesFinale.

* BreakTheCutie: Happens to him near the end of Season 1 going into Season 2, aside from his heartbreak over Callie, he's been arrested to save Callie from criminal charges after she's framed, been raped by [[{{Squick}} his dad's girlfriend]] who directs the guilt onto him, then beaten up by {{JerkJock}}s, getting his hand crushed which affects his piano playing ability.
* BrotherSisterIncest: He was in love with foster sister / adoptive sister Callie and got conflicted about it.

* TookALevelInJerkass: He's become a little edgier since hitting puberty.

* WiseBeyondHisYears: He notices the flirting between Jesus and Lexi, makes a double sided comment to Jesus about it, and picks up on Talya's antics. But like with Callie, he's learned to not say anything.

* BreakTheCutie: Happens to him near the end of Season 1 going into Season 2, aside from his heartbreak over Callie, he's been arrested to save Callie from criminal charges after she's framed, been raped by [[{{Squick}} his dad's girlfriend]] who directs the guilt onto him, then beaten up by JerkJocks, getting his hand crushed which affects his piano playing ability.

** His affair with Callie, where he blatantly ignores the fact that if social services were to learn of their relationship, she ''and'' Jude could be taken removed from the house, only saying "[[ItsAllAboutMe can't help how (he) feels!]]", he deliberately disobeys moms' orders that he stay away from her while she's in GU, getting them both in more trouble that they take out a restraining order against him. Later on in Season 3, when there's a chance Callie's adoption could be shot for good, they both give into their temptations and sleep together only to find out [[OhCrap the adoption is falling through]].

--->'''Ximena''': If this is what America stands for... maybe this country was never that great.

--->'''Ximena''': That's your problem. You're so worried about making good art that you freeze up. But when you get out of your head and you don't try to make art... art happens.

--->'''Courtney''': I never wanted to be the thing that holds you back!

* {{Jerkass}}: Caused Callie and Jude lose the best foster house they had when he seduced Callie, [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil raped her]] and lied to get her thrown out. Years later, he stalked and threatened Callie when she tried to help another girl his family was fostering who he was already grooming.

* ManipulativeBastard: He manipulates his mother into believing that Callie was making passes at him. He later manipulates Sarah, his then-foster sister, into thinking he's in love with her, to the point of her refusing to tell Callie about what was going on and helping Liam steal her identity... [[LaserGuidedKarma until Callie showed Sarah proof that he was also buying goods with credit cards under her name and sending them to some other girl to sell elsewhere]].

* {{Foreshadowing}}: "Just Say Yes" drops a number of clues that [[spoiler:her leukemia treatment had failed]] Brandon manages to figure it out on his own, but hides it until he discusses it with her mother.

** [[ItsAllAboutMe She's quite selfish]]. She's definitely not heartless at all, but her self-serving habits often land her and others in deep trouble, such as when she told Lexi's parents that Jesus had slept with Lexi and Stef had given her contraception pills, all just because she (and ''only'' she) didn't like the idea of her brother dating her best friend. And when Stef candidly tells her that they have every right to be angry with her over it, [[NeverMyFault she gets upset with her for "taking his side"]]. She only realized the error of her ways upon hearing that Lexi was getting sent to an all-girls boarding school in TX.
** [[DidntThinkThisThrough She doesn't always think things through]]. For being the smartest one in the family, she has a horrible time seeing the bigger picture, often forgoing important details for personal gain. The biggest example of this is when she allowed Jesus (who was suffering a TBI) to accompany her to a rave, which lead him to having a seizure, simply because she wanted Logan to like her. Callie [[WhatTheHellHero puts her through the wringer]] for this when she gets home, which prompts her to tell Stef and Lena.
** [[CannotKeepASecret She cannot be trusted with others' secrets to save her life]]. It's become a RunningGag in the family, but whether this is PlayedForLaughs or not is usually a coin flip. Among the funniest examples is when she [[spoiler:[[FreudianSlip accidentally tells Mike that Ana is in love with him]]]], which she'd promised not to tell ''that same night''. One of the most damaging examples is when she posts online that Emma had been knocked up by Jesus. She doesn't use Emma's name at all and she never mentions that Brandon took her to get her abortion, but, as Emma predicts, it doesn't take much for Jesus to figure out who Mariana was referring to, even after she took the post down. This was ''after'' the TBI, by the way, so cue the [[UnstoppableRage destruction of Brandon's room]].

* FatalFlaw

* ManipulativeBastard: He manipulates his mother into believing that Callie was making passes at him. He later manipulates Sarah, his then-foster sister, into thinking he was in love with her, to the point of her refusing to tell Callie about what was going on and helping Liam steal her identity... [[LaserGuidedKarma until Callie showed Sarah proof that he was also buying goods with credit cards under her name and sending them to some other girl to sell elsewhere]].

--->'''Callie''': Stef said, '[[WhoWouldBeStupidEnough He's not that stupid, is he?]]' I said 'No... but he is that selfish'.

* DisapprovingLook: Shoots one at Mariana after the girl accidentally tells Mike that [[spoiler:the former is in love with him]]. All Mariana can do in response is mouth an apology.

* RelationshipRevolvingDoor: Jesus is initially conflicted between Emma and Lexi. He plans to break up with Lexi to be with Emma until Lexi visits, and he chooses her over Emma. After Lexi leaves, he tries to pursue Emma again and they soon get together, until her controlling nature causes them to split. Jesus hooks up with Hayley as Emma considers getting back together, causing them to be on frosty terms for a while. After he dumps Hayley, he and Emma start out as FriendsWithBenefits as she is still [[WomanScorned angry that he broke her heart]]. After a while, they become an OfficialCouple, but are driven apart again by Emma's secret pregnancy and Jesus' TBI. Once they work through their issues, they reconcile and go steady for years. When Emma gets a job offer in Bangladesh after graduating from college, they decide to part ways and see where the future leads them. [[spoiler:''Good Trouble'' reveals they got engaged after Jesus reunited with her in India.]]

* AbsurdlyYouthfulMother: Gave birth to the twins when she was still a teenager.

* BlackSheep: She's basically the family disappointment.

* ParentalAbandonment: She once left Jesus and Mariana alone when they were babies. She forgot she did this, but they remember it to this day.
* SecretRelationship: [[spoiler:Since apparently before "Kingdom Come", she's been dating Mike]]. They reveal it at the end of the episode, which Stef isn't too hapy about at first.

* DudeMagnet: Callie is quite attractive judging from the attention she gets from guys - she's had a torrid love affair with Brandon, has dated Wyatt, A.J. and Aaron. Before the series' pilot, on a negative note, she's had the attraction and was [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil raped by Liam Olmstead]].

** KarmaHoudiniWarranty: In "Not That Kind of Girl", where he is finally caught and imprisoned by Stef for credit card fraud, identity theft, and victimizing Sarah, who testifies against him after finally seeing his true colors.
* ManipulativeBastard: He manipulates his mother into believing that Callie was making passes at him. He later manipulates Sarah, his then-foster sister, into thinking he was in love with her, to the point of her refusing to tell Callie about what was going on and helping Liam steal her identity... [[LaserGuidedKarma until Callie showed her that he was also buying goods with credit cards under Sarah's name and sending them to some other girl elsewhere]].

--->'''Callie''': Stef said, '[[WhoWouldBeStupidEnough He's not that stupid, is he?]]' I said no... but he is that selfish.

* BestServedCold: Against Liam. He raped her and got her thrown out of their foster house when she was younger and then came back to harass her years later. She testified against him in court, but unsurprisingly failed. In season 2, however, after Stef and Mike arrest him for fencing stolen goods, it's Callie who concocts the plan to show Sarah that Liam was (in addition to statutory rape) buying stuff with her credit card and having some other chick elsewhere selling said stuff, all of which led to him finally getting thrown in prison. Callie may not have gotten direct justice for her rape and subsequent exile from long ago, but she managed to bust him while helping someone else get justice, [[ChronicHeroSyndrome which is something she'd find even better]].

* {{Jerkass}}: Caused Callie and Jude lose the best foster house they had when he seduced Callie, threatened Callie when she tried to warn another girl they had brought to the house and [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil raped Callie]] when they still lived with his family.

** KarmaHoudiniWarranty: In "Not That Kind of Girl", where he is finally caught and imprisoned by Stef for credit card fraud and identity theft and victimizing another foster girl.
* ManipulativeBastard: He manipulates his mother into believing that Callie was making passes at him. He later manipulates Sarah, his then-foster sister, into thinking he was in love with her, to the point of her refusing to tell Callie about what was going on... [[LaserGuidedKarma until Callie showed her that he was buying goods with her credit card and sending them to some other girl elsewhere]].
* {{Narcissist}}: [[FatalFlaw The thing that spells his end]]. He couldn't even bother waiting until he was no longer involved with Sarah to start using her money.
--->'''Callie''': No, he's not that stupid... but he is that selfish.

* UngratefulBitch: Subverted: Callie proves Rita's innocence even under the assumption that Rita would ruin her adoption. Instead, she pulls some strings to ensure that it doesn't interfere with her adoption.

* SecondLove: Always felt that he'd settled and that the true love of his life was always the poor girl that he'd been forced to dump.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Oddly not present at Callie's graduation.

* RealWomenDontWearDresses: Zigzagged. She is sensitive to being labeled "girly", since it can negatively affect her standing on the wrestling team and STEAM club. However, Mariana soon convinces her not to let chauvinism affect her enjoyment of traditionally feminine activities such as dancing.

* RelationshipRevolvingDoor: Jesus is initially conflicted between Emma and Lexi. He plans to break up with Lexi to be with Emma until Lexi visits, and he chooses her over Emma. After Lexi leaves, he tries to pursue Emma again and they soon get together, until her controlling nature causes them to split. Jesus hooks up with Hayley as Emma considers getting back together, causing them to be on frosty terms for a while. After he dumps Hayley, he and Emma start out as FriendsWithBenefits as she is still [[WomanScorned angry that he broke her heart]]. After a while, they become an OfficialCouple, but are driven apart again by Emma's secret pregnancy and Jesus' TBI. Once they work through their issues, they reconcile and go steady for years. When Emma gets a job offer in Bangladesh after graduating from college, they decide to part ways and see where the future leads them. [[spoiler:''Good Trouble'' reveals they got engaged after Jesus reunited with her in India.]]

** She is '''not''' happy when Mariana posts about her pregnancy online, even after she's taken it down. Emma calls her a horrible friend when her big plan at the time is for Jesus to never find out about her pregnancy and abortion. This even [[WeUsedToBeFriends dissolves their friendship]] for a while [[spoiler: until Mariana stands up for Emma against a TBI-afflicted Jesus.]]

* {{Blackmail}}: She warns Callie that telling anyone that Carmen framed Rita will prompt her to expose that Callie and Brandon were seeing each other during her required time at GU.

* EveryoneHasStandards: She clearly isn't happy about accusing Rita of something she didn't do just to save her own skin. Even Rita is aware of this and still retains faith in her.
* TheSocialDarwinist: When she gets Rita wrongly arrested to keep a recent relapse from getting out, she simply tells Callie tat she has to look out for herself. She hates resorting to throwing Rita under the bus and Rita knows that Carmen's not the type to like it.
* UngratefulBitch: Perfectly willing to throw Rita under the bus to keep her recent relapse a secret.

* GoodGirlsAvoidAbortion: Emma accidentally becomes pregnant during season 4 by Jesus, and makes the decision to have an abortion.

* InformedJudaism: Brings kugel to the memorial service for Stef's father.

* SatelliteLoveInterest: For Jesus.
** Suverted later when she becomes closer to Mariana and more involved with the family.
* TeenGenius: She's on the robotics team with Mariana.
* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: She is definitely more of a tomboy than Jesus' other girlfriend Lexi.

* WhatTheHellHero: She calls Mariana out when her constant lying puts Jesus in ICU.
** She is '''not''' happy when Mariana posts about her pregnancy online, even after she's taken it down. She calls her a horrible friend when her big plan is for Jesus to never find out about the pregnancy.

* GoGetterGirl: Mariana always gets involved in any school activity she can can, the school play, dance team, robotics, planning the prom.

* NeverMyFault: She tends to fall into this, often after being called out for it. The best example is in the first season, when she overhears Jesus consolidating his relationship with Lexi while pointing out how selfish Mariana was being. It continued even after she drunkenly exposed Lexi's losing her virginity with Jesus to Lexi's parents, accusing Stef of taking her brother's side after she points out that he has every right to be angry. It only ceases after he tells her that Lexi was pulled from Anchor Beach to be sent to an all-girls' boaring school in Texas.