Switched at Birth: The Family Portrait

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Just how secret was Bay's involvement with Simone's little "prank" a few years back? Did Simone really succeed in being "anonymous" in it as well? Apparently Toby doesn't know about it, since I really don't think he'd date someone with that awful of a background. Also, I'd like to see Simone do some more shoplifting or something... the fact that she walked out on the check at a lounge hasn't even come back to haunt her yet. Ooooh... unless that's where we're going with Simone letting Daphne borrow that purple dress... maybe Daphne will end up taking the fall, since I'm sure Simone will work out some stupid story.

The other thing that struck me as peculiar in this episode was Regina's reactions. Patrick's storyline aside, the quick mutual apology with Adriana felt really rushed to me... I mean, what's it been? A week? Plus, when Regina misses a call from Angelo at the end, I couldn't quite gauge her reaction... are we supposed to believe that she'll always go back to him? That she's just attention-deprived and will flock to whichever guy does something for her? Maybe if we learn more about her character's past it will make more sense? I mean, at this point, we don't know if she seriously dated ANYONE after Angelo... she had a fling with Bruce a while back, and Daphne doesn't act like her mother has ever a "regular someone" around... 

Switched at Birth "Protect Me from What I Want" (S01E17): Regina tells a curator client, Patrick, about Bay's artwork, and he says he'll check out her studio. Patrick says that she's talented and all, but she's a bit green. [makes sense. how much art training has she had? we never see her taking classes or anything.] He invites Regina to have barbecue, but when he picks her up, Adriana (who came over to get a jacket and apologize to Regina) pushes Regina's artwork and a piece resonates with him. While eating, Patrick asks Regina to put that piece in his show, but she's hesitant because of Bay. Well, Regina tells Bay about it, and Bay tells Kathryn about it. This causes Kathryn to ask Regina why she would have invited a gallery guy over anyway. Regina tells her that she thought Bay could use some constructive criticism. [couldn't hurt.] Kathryn gets upset. [so she is acting like one of those moms who think that their child should never hear bad news and never be picked last? get over yourself. also, do dryer sheets really ruin machines?] So, Bay puts up some new street art near Patrick's gallery, then asks him about it. He thinks it's punky, which doesn't thrill Bay. [what was she expecting? he deals with fine art, not public art.]

Kathryn talks to Toby about his experiences since the switch. Kathryn and John realize that they've been neglecting Toby a bit, so John invites Toby to a hit-a-thon with him the next day. John misses the first one, has a weak hit the second time, but does well after that. John tells Toby to take a few swings, and he does a great job. John asks Toby why he quit if he's so good, and Toby said that he was just pushed too hard. Kathryn's starting to think that her book won't be good enough to be published. Kathryn gives John the work so far. John still doesn't understand Toby's passion for music, and is upset that he can't help in any way... he doesn't even know anyone who could help. Toby says that he doesn't need help... he's doing it.

Daphne's practice ends with the coach saying that the girls will re-audition for starting positions, and Daphne is up for forward. Simone hires a professional basketball player to coach the two of them for three hours, using money she made by selling a replacement watch her dad gave her. [this isn't LA... how many famous basketball players are just hanging around St. Louis??] See, she found the one that she reported "stolen" at school, and since Monica tells Daphne that the public school girls have been banned from practicing at Buckner, Daphne tells Simone to come clean about the watch. As Daphne mulls over what to do, she decides to ask Bay what happened between them... Bay says that there was a girl in the eighth grade who wanted to be their friend... they pretended to be nice to her, convinced her that she should practice asking out a guy she liked, and Simone secretly filmed it. Bay asked her to delete it, but she sent it out anyway, and everyone at a few schools saw it. The girl moved a month later. [omg. BULLYING at its finest!] So, Daphne decides to tell the coach about the watch, and he says that Simone told him about it, and that it was Daphne's idea to sell the other to hire a personal coach. [I am so angry I could scream! I HATE Simone!] Daphne responds by saying that she knows he only put her on the team because she's deaf and it gets the school more funding. [don't think that was the brightest move there, kiddo.] So, the coach decides that they can start over with a clean slate, but Daphne will now be trying out for point-guard, against Simone. When Simone hears this, she thinks that Daphne put the coach up to it, calls her a bad friend, then proceeds to ignore her around campus. [hopefully this'll be the end of their "friendship" ??] Daphne asks Simone why the coach thought it was Daphne's idea to get a private trainer, Simone says that Daphne must have misunderstood the coach... because he doesn't move his lips much when he speaks. [!! wow.] When it comes time to play, it's a close match, but Daphne wins. [plenty of trash-talking, tho!]

Kathryn notices that Emmett's hungry while he's over, so she whips up some rosemary garlic chicken while chatting with him, much to bay's dismay. He has to take a family portrait for his photography class, but since he doesn't want to use his family (lots of tension right now), so Kathryn recommends he take a Kennish-Vasquez photo. [not a bad solution...] Later, Kathryn shows Emmett some photos of old family portraits, then asks him if he's ever dated a hearing girl before. [I'm not surprised that Kathryn was nosy, but I am surprised that this was her first question.] Emmett is really open to the questions, but once Kathryn talks about how upset Bay was when Ty left, he becomes uncomfortable. [can you blame him? it's got to be awkward for your girlfriend's mom to talk about how her daughter's previous boyfriend left her broken-hearted!] Emmett confronts Bay about Ty, and Bay says that Ty was someone to talk to, and even if they were serious, it was only for about a month. Emmett still isn't happy, and wants nothing to do with her latest piece of street art.] When it's time for the portrait, we see things (silently) from Emmett's point-of-view. [this show is SO SMART. I love it.] It takes a while, but Emmett gets some good shots. [why is Emmett so upset that Bay and Ty dated? people have pasts.] Before he leaves, Emmett tells Bay that his parents not being in love anymore is sad, and it makes him question if the love between he and Bay will fail, too. Emmett tells Bay that he's in love with her, and she reciprocates. They kiss. [Emmett wasn't as adorable as usual in this episode, but I do like to see his emotional side come out, too.]

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