Switched at Birth 1x09 Review
Aug. 4th, 2011 12:32 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
iariaSwitched at Birth was giving a further 22 episodes for season one and they'll air early 2012 (probably starting in January). This is great news. It's a great show and I am really enjoying it.
Paradise Lost
This was a great episode. My two favourite relationships on the show are Daphne/Bay and Regina/Kathryn and both got some really nice moments.
• Daphne’s sudden interest in Emmett felt – well, sudden and unexpected. That said I did like how it played out even though I wish the show had giving it some more build up. I loved that it wasn’t a reaction to Daphne learning about Emmett and Bay. That was the place I was most afraid the show would go so it’s a relief. I like how Daphne got to the point of realising that Emmett’s always been there for her. I think that worked. Daphne’s relied on Emmett for most of her life and, in the way most people do, she’s taken him for granted. Her relationship with her mother has also been very close and with it being shaken so much recently it makes sense to me that she would compare, realise Emmett hasn’t let her down and then cling tighter to him. I wonder if she truly is thinking of Emmett romantically now or if it is just in reaction to the turmoil in her life.
• I really wish that we had gotten Regina’s gifts for Daphne and Bay highlighted instead of Emmett’s. Or that we had at least gotten it along with Emmett’s. I’m personally more interested in Bay/Regina/Daphne(/Kathryn) than Bay/Emmett/Daphne and I think it would have fit better with the rest of the episode if we had gotten to see that moment between Regina and her daughters. Instead we don’t even get to see Regina give Bay a gift – on the very first birthday she will share with her daughter which is such a bizarre choice on the part of TPTB and unfortunately it once again makes it seem like Bay is ‘less’ for Regina (less in her thoughts, less than Daphne in her love).
- And while I actually loved the Regina/Daphne scene her gift for Daphne made me roll my eyes. What was that? What was she thinking? I wondered if there was some meaning with it - like she was going to allow Daphne to stay with the Kennish's if she wanted and could give the book to Kathryn so she'd know what Daphne liked but then nothing happened.
What I did love about the Regina gift-giving scene was her knocking on the car door instead of just entering, Daphne’s very teenager-like shrug, them laughing together, Regina giving in on the car and Daphne finally opening up to her mom and admitting both her anger and that she misses her.
• The idea of making a scrapbook for her daughter would have worked better for Bay I think. Regina could have made a scrapbook of the various pictures she had taken of Bay, of the report cards and all the other little bits proving that she was interested in Bay. Or a scrapbook of stuff about Regina, her mom and their (and thus Bay’s) family. Or both.
• I really liked the Regina/Bay scene. I loved Regina’s piano recital story and Bay was clearly affected by it. I loved that at the birthday dinner Bay said that she wanted Regina there.
• I liked the Kathryn/Daphne midnight snack scene.
• “Tonight I feel very lucky to have two incredible daughters. And all of the people who come with them.” – Kathryn. ♥ That was really lovely. The whole speech was beautiful. I loved that she ended looking at Regina and was metaphorically opening her arms to welcome Regina back. I knew she would be the one to take steps to forgiving Regina first. She just seems to understand why Regina did what she did better than anyone. I love that their slowly growing friendship wasn’t completely destroyed and is tentatively being mended.
• “I want to help her but she doesn’t need me right now. She needs her...” Oh, Kathryn. I wouldn’t have believed at the beginning of the season that she would become one of my favourite characters.
• It’s a small moment but I really liked Kathryn putting her arms around Bay when they saw Regina for the first time.
• “I guess I’m just stubborn.” – Daphne
“Of course you are. You’re my daughter.” – Regina.
I really liked this. I like the comparison too between this exchange and John claiming that Daphne got her temper from him.
• Emmett’s gifts were both thoughtful and wonderful. Especially the Bay gift. That was perfect. I was impressed by how Emmett managed to get Bay a present that looked innocuous to everyone else but was a part of a more meaningful present. And yet at the same time it was him continuing to hide his relationship with Bay. He didn’t seem to realise at all how upset Bay was which was a little strange because it was so obvious. One interesting thing was that Emmett signed Bay’s card ‘from’ while he signed Daphne’s ‘love’. Perhaps it doesn’t mean anything, or he purposefully wrote only ‘from’ on Bay’s in case anyone else saw it. Or maybe I’m thinking about it too much. Daphne has been Emmett’s best friend for almost a decade and he loves her; meanwhile he really likes Bay and is dating her but he perhaps doesn’t yet love her.
• I really like the Regina/Melody friendship. Their first scene was wonderful. I love what a good friend to her Melody is.
• I had thought it was a little weird, hypocritical at least, when Emmett started the series so against even interacting with hearing people and then turned around and became friends and started dating Bay. But the scenes with his mother now put a different spin on things. It looks like it’s Melody who is so against deaf/hearing relationships and deaf people compromising (speech therapy, implants I’ll assume) and it’s most likely that until Bay Emmett was willing to believe and go along with his mother’s opinions.
• I really liked the first Emmett/Bay/Melody but I though Melody was being rude. It was clear that Bay was having a hard time understanding but she didn't do anything to make it easier for her. She didn't even try.
• “You’re going to save them a bundle on the audio package.” – Bay. Hee. I loved Daphne’s laugh. I loved that Bay made the joke.
• I was very happy with Bay pushing Emmett to tell Daphne the truth but I disagree so much with the idea that it could be better coming from Bay instead of Emmett. He is her best friend and he is the one who has been lying to her. He should be the one to tell her.
• “Dad seriously we want Daphne to stay.” – Bay. I loved that. I really liked them in this episode. I adore how they are fitting into each others lives. That they are becoming sisters.
• I could watch a whole episode about an AU where the switch never happened. Perhaps Daphne or Bay could get sick at some point in the future and hallucinate it.
• I liked Toby giving up his seat for Regina and then defending her to his dad.
• Bay is doing great at sign language and Kathryn is getting better and John is at least now trying so that’s something. Toby is the only one who needs to learn now. I hope that it’s Regina that teaches him. Actually I’d love for Regina to work with Kathryn too.
• John’s expression after Toby asked him if he hadn’t made a mistake makes me think he has his own big secret. If he does I doubt it has anything to do with the girls but I’m very curious about what it could be? Did he cheat on Kathryn? He was a professional athlete so did he cheat or do something illegal there?
• I thought Toby was younger than the girls but apparently he’s older. Huh.
• I found it really interesting how Daphne’s voice changed during her dream from how it usually sounds. Does that mean the actress is purposefully changing her voice while playing Daphne to sound more deaf?
Paradise Lost
This was a great episode. My two favourite relationships on the show are Daphne/Bay and Regina/Kathryn and both got some really nice moments.
• Daphne’s sudden interest in Emmett felt – well, sudden and unexpected. That said I did like how it played out even though I wish the show had giving it some more build up. I loved that it wasn’t a reaction to Daphne learning about Emmett and Bay. That was the place I was most afraid the show would go so it’s a relief. I like how Daphne got to the point of realising that Emmett’s always been there for her. I think that worked. Daphne’s relied on Emmett for most of her life and, in the way most people do, she’s taken him for granted. Her relationship with her mother has also been very close and with it being shaken so much recently it makes sense to me that she would compare, realise Emmett hasn’t let her down and then cling tighter to him. I wonder if she truly is thinking of Emmett romantically now or if it is just in reaction to the turmoil in her life.
• I really wish that we had gotten Regina’s gifts for Daphne and Bay highlighted instead of Emmett’s. Or that we had at least gotten it along with Emmett’s. I’m personally more interested in Bay/Regina/Daphne(/Kathryn) than Bay/Emmett/Daphne and I think it would have fit better with the rest of the episode if we had gotten to see that moment between Regina and her daughters. Instead we don’t even get to see Regina give Bay a gift – on the very first birthday she will share with her daughter which is such a bizarre choice on the part of TPTB and unfortunately it once again makes it seem like Bay is ‘less’ for Regina (less in her thoughts, less than Daphne in her love).
- And while I actually loved the Regina/Daphne scene her gift for Daphne made me roll my eyes. What was that? What was she thinking? I wondered if there was some meaning with it - like she was going to allow Daphne to stay with the Kennish's if she wanted and could give the book to Kathryn so she'd know what Daphne liked but then nothing happened.
What I did love about the Regina gift-giving scene was her knocking on the car door instead of just entering, Daphne’s very teenager-like shrug, them laughing together, Regina giving in on the car and Daphne finally opening up to her mom and admitting both her anger and that she misses her.
• The idea of making a scrapbook for her daughter would have worked better for Bay I think. Regina could have made a scrapbook of the various pictures she had taken of Bay, of the report cards and all the other little bits proving that she was interested in Bay. Or a scrapbook of stuff about Regina, her mom and their (and thus Bay’s) family. Or both.
• I really liked the Regina/Bay scene. I loved Regina’s piano recital story and Bay was clearly affected by it. I loved that at the birthday dinner Bay said that she wanted Regina there.
• I liked the Kathryn/Daphne midnight snack scene.
• “Tonight I feel very lucky to have two incredible daughters. And all of the people who come with them.” – Kathryn. ♥ That was really lovely. The whole speech was beautiful. I loved that she ended looking at Regina and was metaphorically opening her arms to welcome Regina back. I knew she would be the one to take steps to forgiving Regina first. She just seems to understand why Regina did what she did better than anyone. I love that their slowly growing friendship wasn’t completely destroyed and is tentatively being mended.
• “I want to help her but she doesn’t need me right now. She needs her...” Oh, Kathryn. I wouldn’t have believed at the beginning of the season that she would become one of my favourite characters.
• It’s a small moment but I really liked Kathryn putting her arms around Bay when they saw Regina for the first time.
• “I guess I’m just stubborn.” – Daphne
“Of course you are. You’re my daughter.” – Regina.
I really liked this. I like the comparison too between this exchange and John claiming that Daphne got her temper from him.
• Emmett’s gifts were both thoughtful and wonderful. Especially the Bay gift. That was perfect. I was impressed by how Emmett managed to get Bay a present that looked innocuous to everyone else but was a part of a more meaningful present. And yet at the same time it was him continuing to hide his relationship with Bay. He didn’t seem to realise at all how upset Bay was which was a little strange because it was so obvious. One interesting thing was that Emmett signed Bay’s card ‘from’ while he signed Daphne’s ‘love’. Perhaps it doesn’t mean anything, or he purposefully wrote only ‘from’ on Bay’s in case anyone else saw it. Or maybe I’m thinking about it too much. Daphne has been Emmett’s best friend for almost a decade and he loves her; meanwhile he really likes Bay and is dating her but he perhaps doesn’t yet love her.
• I really like the Regina/Melody friendship. Their first scene was wonderful. I love what a good friend to her Melody is.
• I had thought it was a little weird, hypocritical at least, when Emmett started the series so against even interacting with hearing people and then turned around and became friends and started dating Bay. But the scenes with his mother now put a different spin on things. It looks like it’s Melody who is so against deaf/hearing relationships and deaf people compromising (speech therapy, implants I’ll assume) and it’s most likely that until Bay Emmett was willing to believe and go along with his mother’s opinions.
• I really liked the first Emmett/Bay/Melody but I though Melody was being rude. It was clear that Bay was having a hard time understanding but she didn't do anything to make it easier for her. She didn't even try.
• “You’re going to save them a bundle on the audio package.” – Bay. Hee. I loved Daphne’s laugh. I loved that Bay made the joke.
• I was very happy with Bay pushing Emmett to tell Daphne the truth but I disagree so much with the idea that it could be better coming from Bay instead of Emmett. He is her best friend and he is the one who has been lying to her. He should be the one to tell her.
• “Dad seriously we want Daphne to stay.” – Bay. I loved that. I really liked them in this episode. I adore how they are fitting into each others lives. That they are becoming sisters.
• I could watch a whole episode about an AU where the switch never happened. Perhaps Daphne or Bay could get sick at some point in the future and hallucinate it.
• I liked Toby giving up his seat for Regina and then defending her to his dad.
• Bay is doing great at sign language and Kathryn is getting better and John is at least now trying so that’s something. Toby is the only one who needs to learn now. I hope that it’s Regina that teaches him. Actually I’d love for Regina to work with Kathryn too.
• John’s expression after Toby asked him if he hadn’t made a mistake makes me think he has his own big secret. If he does I doubt it has anything to do with the girls but I’m very curious about what it could be? Did he cheat on Kathryn? He was a professional athlete so did he cheat or do something illegal there?
• I thought Toby was younger than the girls but apparently he’s older. Huh.
• I found it really interesting how Daphne’s voice changed during her dream from how it usually sounds. Does that mean the actress is purposefully changing her voice while playing Daphne to sound more deaf?
