Switched at Birth: Togetherness

"When my kids are in trouble, I want them to come to me." Kathryn says this to Regina as a metaphor that it's okay to pray even when you're coming to God for a favor. To date, the Kennishes have not been seen as very religious, though they used to frequent a church, where Toby belonged to the youth group. Still, there's nothing like a "life or death" situation to cause someone to fall to their knees before the Lord. Sadly, that's not always enough, and not every prayer is answered. However, it was still nice to see Kathryn reminding Regina that they are parents above all else, much like Lena showed Brandon on a recent The Fosters. The programming on ABC Family may sometimes fall short of the channel's title, but when family is put at the center of the series (like I'm predicting will be the case with the upcoming episodes of Switched at Birth), it reminds viewers why they tune in.

Switched at Birth "And We Bring the Light" (S03E15): Daphne can't find her SAT study book, and with the test the next day, Angelo takes her to the clinic in case she left it there, but when they can't locate it, Angelo takes her to his new restaurant, where they bake lemon cakes together to christen the place. [there's no way I would've been able to relax like that the night before the SAT!] They have a lovely time and plan to take a trip to France the following summer. Daphne even manages to recreate the delicacy, but they don't have a record of which recipe it is. [haha, Friends' Nestle Tollhouse flashback.]

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Then, Daphne finds a foreclosure notice in the trash when Angelo is on the phone, and he admits that his partner was in over her head and everything fell apart. [awww! boo.] After that, they head to the shoppe, as Daphne realizes that's where her book is...

Wes teaches Regina how to shoot, and she has decided to keep a permitted gun at the office, just in case. He invites her along for a business dinner, but when Chip Coto is there, she isn't comfortable with the kickback construction company scheme he suggests. At first, Wes wants to move ahead anyway, but he decides to stick with his usual company, even if it means it will be a slower process, because he didn't want to lose Regina's respect. [that seems like an awfully big step for Wes!] When he drops her off at her car at the office, she notices graffiti on the building, loads her gun, and goes inside to get stuff to clean it. [what the hell??!?? alone? she can't call Wes? or wait til morning??] This is when Daphne arrives, looking for her book, and is nearly shot by Regina, thinking she's an intruder! [dang! hopefully this changes some things, right??] Regina and Angelo fight, and he storms off. 

Meanwhile, elsewhere in Kansas City, Toby is home from Iceland, and has great pictures to share. He asks John to fire him so he can go on unemployment and try his hand at being a club DJ. [please tell me I'm not the only one completely dumbfounded by this idea?!?] He's immediately immersed in Kennish drama, however, when he tries to life Bay's spirits when she learns she didn't get accepted by Pratt. [darn. remember that the whole reason she joined the field hockey team was to diversify her art school application?] They plot some street art, and Kathryn joins in. [whoa. who saw that coming??!?] However, they blow their power source and get caught by security, though Kathryn convinces the guard that she's an agent for deaf Icelandic twins installing a piece. She also calls John to ask him to bring a generator so they can light it up after all, and Bay admits that she feels like a failure. John then lets the kids take his Porsche to get ice cream sundaes. [dang. the privilege they have truly shows in this moment... Bay didn't apply to tons of colleges, so her future is in severe jeopardy, but her parents just clean up her mess and let her have dessert.]

The final moment: Kathryn gets a call in the middle of the night - Angelo has been in an accident.

Switched at Birth "The Image Disappears" (S03E16): Angelo has a serious brain injury from a car accident where he ran off the road and struck a tree. [they're told they can visit "two at a time" but Bay, Regina, and Daphne all go in immediately? rolling my eyes over here!] Regina convinces Daphne to take her SAT, but when Angelo's brain bleed gets worse, Toby texts Daphne and she takes off for the hospital. [I don't understand why the proctor allowed the phone to vibrate and bother other students during the test??]

In an attempt to make a difference, Bay donates blood, and during the process dreams of giving birth to twins, with nobody around but Angelo to coach her through delivery. [what a random dream! also, striking that she calls him "Dad" instead of "Angelo."] Unfortunately, it makes no difference, as the family soon learns that Angelo is brain-dead. [it was interesting to see Daphne learn of his status first because she could lip-read.] Quite a few of Angelo's organs are eligible for donation, but the family wants to exhaust all other options. [which seems fair.]

John tries to get other opinions, feeling guilty that maybe Angelo committed suicide over the restaurant going under after he wouldn't loan the guy money. Bay and Emmett go to Angelo's apartment to try finding a number to reach his French mother, but come across Angelo's will in the process, and learn that he doesn't want to be kept alive with machines if he won't recover. [it was odd that nobody expected him to have a will. should I take it none of the other adults on this show do?] This is tough for everyone to accept, but they move forward with pulling the plug and donating the organs after Bay calls her grandmother and lets her say her goodbyes. [waiting until that point to learn that it was all triggered by a ruptured brain aneurysm made me angry.] Daphne, particularly upset that she won't have Angelo to walk her down the aisle when she gets married, blames Regina, as she may have been the one to anger Angelo so much that his blood pressure rose enough to rupture the pre-existing condition.