Déjà

Déjà arrives in the Pearson household as a foster teenager, wary and quick to bristle, unconvinced that Randall and Beth's warmth is anything but temporary. She's sharp-tongued and self-protective, having learned not to expect a family to stick, and she watches this new one for the catch she assumes is coming.

Lyric Ross plays guardedness without making Déjà unlikeable, letting flashes of humor and hunger for stability slip through the armor. The show resists turning her into a redemption project; she gets to be a real teenager first, and Ross's restraint makes every small thaw between her and Beth land instead of feeling engineered.