ollibear

girl under the floor

Thanks for the thread Amy!

John S

I considered this to be a waste of an episode.

charming_essa

I know the social issues on this show aren't to everyones liking, but I enjoyed this episode. The end of the episode felt to me like they have wrapped up this storyline. We might hear some brief mentions of it again, but I doubt it will get much more attention since there are other storylines that still need to play out.

ollibear

You're welcome!

I liked the episode last night. It was well done and moving.

It saddens me that I like the characters at the forefront of tonight's episode more than I like the series regulars, though. Why have the writers made their core characters so unlikable over the last couple of years?

Tonight, we saw that Travis is a really good guy, one who could put aside his personal hostilities from the last episode to stand beside Chris. How long has it been since the writers have allowed us to see Daphne, Bay, or Emmett in that kind of a wonderful light?

I cannot remember the last time the writers allowed us to see how truly good (deep-down-to-their-soul-good) Daphne, Bay, and Emmett can be. It has been eons since I have watched a scene with any of the three core characters and said to myself, "So-and-so is a REALLY good person," in the way that I did with Travis, Iris, Sharee, and Chris, last night.

Speaking of Travis, he appears to see something in Chris that reminds him of himself. That scene where he chooses to stand with Chris does a lot to redeem Travis's character and to show his growth. Travis is no longer the same young man from Season 1. He has obviously learned to control his anger.

(And here, I had been thinking that the Switched at Birth writers might use Travis's anger to eventually break up Travis and Bay. It's obvious that the writers will not be going for anything as cliche as that. Now, I am guessing that Travis may decide to put his baseball career ahead of his relationship with Bay or that one of them may simply decide he or she isn't in love with the other. Something has to break up Travis and Bay. They cannot end the series together, can they? From what we have seen so far this season, it doesn't seem as though Travis and Bay are a good fit.)

In last night's episode, as noble as Travis chose to be, I still did not want to watch him. I do not find him compelling, as a character. I am glad that Travis and Bay worked through their problems caused by Bay's dishonesty when she tattooed Emmett, though. Of course, all of that conflict and resolution happened "conveniently" off screen. With the last we heard, Travis could not even bring himself to look at Bay. I wish we could have seen Travis and Bay work through their problems. It could have given viewers such great insight into them as a couple. Now, I feel as though we are all blind, when it comes to how Travis and Bay work through their problems.

Sharee's story touched my heart. She is such an earnest character, not at all who she appeared to be, in the moments we first met her. I wish we had more time to delve into Sharee's relationship with her mother. After stabbing Dr. J. in the chest with a pair of scissors, why isn't Sharee's mother in jail?

Iris's story was poignant, as well. It was interesting to learn about her childhood in Alaska and how she does not feel as though she belongs. My heart went out to Iris. She was so dedicated to her cause. I admired her.

I miss admiring the characters on Switched at Birth. The writers never let us do that with Daphne, Bay, and Emmett anymore. Even Toby has not had any moments for me to admire in ages.

I was impressed by Chris and his decision to take a stand. He made a huge sacrifice. I like him. He has charisma. It would be interesting to see him date Bay, but I have a feeling that he will probably end up dating Daphne.

I wonder why Melody wasn't in the stands to support Travis at the big game? It was nice to see the Kennish Vasquez clan all there. I suspect John's respect for Travis rose immensely in this episode. If Travis does want to become John's son-in-law one day, he made the right decision standing by Chris.

A long time ago, John told Bay to be honest with Emmett about what happened with Tank. John told Bay to not underestimate Emmett's ability to handle the truth. When Bay asked John why she should burden Emmett with it, John said, "Because he loves you." Emmett handled that truth badly, though. Bay was not underestimating him. She knew that he couldn't handle it.

I am surprised at how weak the writers make Emmett. Travis is much stronger and more mature. Last night's episode makes Travis a hero, for standing with Chris. Emmett has never been anything like that. Considering how many more advantages Emmett had growing up, Travis puts him to shame.

To me, it was too beautiful to be a waste of an episode.

I would have preferred last night's story to have arisen as part of a long-range story arc, rather than to be shoehorned in here at the end. But it was so beautiful that I could never call it a waste.

I wish that last night's episode could have been expanded from start to finish, to stand on its own, as a week-long miniseries (or something like that). It felt like it needed even more room to breathe, away from Bay and Daphne, than what it received.

These last five episodes would have been wonderful as a spin-off, with the Switched at Birth actors as mere guest stars, rather than as the focus, as they were for all episodes, except last night.

I enjoyed it, too, Essa!

Occupy Truth moved me. It symbolized all of our struggles, and it showcased the way we experience these struggles in our youth. It has been a long time since I have cared about a character on Switched at Birth, as much as I was caring about Sharee, Iris, and Chris, last night.

girl under the floor

Because of this, I do get what John is saying.
I don't want to watch a show focused so much on the side characters. I want to focus on the main characters. Especially since these are the last few episodes; stop wasting time on side characters

I did like the episode

When it started; I literally rolled my eyes and wondered why the heck a full episode about this
But the episode certainly made me care About all three featured; Chris, Sharee and Iris

I was so disappointed in John when he really tried to talk Chris out of sitting the game out I could not appreciate that from John.

So in terms of enjoying the episode? I liked it, loved it even.
But in terms of development for Switched at Birth in general? I agree with the sentiment that it was a waste of valuable air time

John S

There are now 5 episodes left to see what happens with Bay and Daphne. Will this show end positively or negatively? I cannot see how it could end positively - but we'll see.
I don't care one iota what happens to Chris, Sharee, or Iris. If there had been 1 or 2 years left, then fine - but not now.

ollibear

What negative thing do you believe the characters might be hurtling towards, John?

I don't see how it could end negatively. All of them have already been through hell and back. What else is there left for them to go through? (Of course, Bay asked that very same question of Emmett once. And then, in the next episode, he confessed his affair with Simone. So I guess that there is always something left to go through, even when you feel as though you have been through it all.)

But the show is going to end with Bay working as a tattoo artist, and probably experiencing some success with her other art, too. Daphne will probably be on her way to becoming a doctor. John and Kathryn will probably have rekindled the romance in their marriage. Toby and Lily will be living happily ever after with Baby Carlton. And Regina will probably be running the Cracked Mug with her young lover. The End. (That's my guess, anyway.)

This episode ("Occupy Truth") will probably have a profound effect on Daphne as a person. Her perspective has widened. Now, when Daphne reflects, she will know that she has witnessed, from both the inside AND the outside, as students stand up for what they believe. That's an amazing thing to watch from any angle, but to see it twice from different vantage points would be a profound experience.

Now, Daphne will better understand how monumental her experiences at Carlton really were.

I wonder how last night's episode might affect Bay. The one thing I noticed is that, for a moment, when the police officer believed Bay and not Chris, Chris resented Bay. I don't blame him. I would be angry about the situation, too. Anyone would. I am sure Chris won't hold it against Bay, but how insulted he must have felt when the police officer discounted his words, because of the color of his skin.

It reminded me a bit of when the reporters did not try talking to the Deaf students, and instead, took a quote from one of the only hearing students, Bay. How frustrating to be marginalized like that.

John S

My predictions from 2 years ago aren't going to happen but I don't see positivity.
Neither Bay nor Daphne are going to end the series with men in their lives - for what that's worth. Bay will ALWAYS be a convicted felon and Daphne will ALWAYS feel the pressure to become a doctor.
It probably won't happen but I would have liked to have seen Daphne's angst if Bay had been arrested and put in jail. Bay would have been a suspect if property had been destroyed.
YES - The series could end with Bay and Emmett or Bay and Travis, along with Daphne and Mingo together and YES - everyone could end up happily ever after. I just don't believe that that would be realistic.

~AnastasiaGrey~

I was pretty indifferent to this episode it was a hit or miss with me

girl under the floor

^ I get that

nailpolishchick2

Maybe it's just me but I grow tired of Lizzy's constant need to talk about social society issues. Powerful message for this problem but I saw this episode as nothing more than a waste of time and a filler. With the show ending, they could have devoted this episode to the core characters instead of characters you never see beyond that episode as much.

teaholic

Your post pretty much sums up my feelings on this episode. I thought it was probably the best-written episode of the season so far, with more depth and subtlety than most of the other storylines we've been seeing, and very well-acted, but...

I was sorry to lose so much of our limited remaining time with the main characters. Daphne was in this episode, but let's face it, she really didn't need to be there for the minor role that she played, and Bay was pretty much wedged in. I did like that we saw a different side to Travis from the angry/resentful young man, but still, it's hard to even care about him that much because our main connection to him right now is through Bay, and we've been shown very little of their relationship, and from what we have seen, it's not a very strong or lasting one.

As for the other characters (Sharee, Iris, Chris), their story would have been so much more powerful if we had seen more of them at other times. As it was, I think the actors (and writers) had an uphill battle to make us care that much about these characters whom we've seen relatively seldom (or barely at all in the case of Chris). Considering that, I think they did an amazing job, and I liked that the story didn't make cardboard villains out of anyone either. Now if the writers could just bring that level of depth and care to the remaining 5 episodes...

girl under the floor

This

ollibear

Yes, I agree with Paula! THIS! Teaholic and Sadie are right on the money, with everything.

I do remind myself that, at this point in the writing, the showrunner fully expected a full 20 episodes. She only found out that they did NOT get the greenlight for 20 episodes when they were filming the 100th episode, and by that point, they had already scripted all but the final episode of the series.

I am sure that the writers probably tinkered with the last few scripts here and there, before they started filming those last three episodes, but nothing that had already been filmed was re-shot. We are seeing the season as it would have played out if we had been given the full 20 episodes. The writers did not know to put the ending into hyperdrive until episode 101, and that's several episodes away, seeing as we just saw number 98.

I feel as though we would have gotten to know Sharee, Iris, and Chris even better, if we had the full 20. I know that there had been plans for a new Deaf character played by Amanda McDonough. I would have loved to see her interact with Daphne, Natalie, Travis, and Emmett. As it was, her whole story arc was scrapped, and she only got to tell Daphne (in ASL) that Iris had moved out of the dorm.

But even though I remind myself that the writers did not know this was the end of their series, I still do not understand why they chose to craft a story with such depth and beauty for this episode, when they craft such shallow stories for Bay, Daphne, Emmett, and Toby. WHY AREN'T THE WRITERS DIGGING FOR MEANING WITH THEIR CORE CHARACTERS?

On the night that Bay texted Emmett, I noticed the writer of that episode tweeted, "Dammit Bay don't fall for that bull****..." I tweeted to remind him that Bay is the one who instigated that series of texts, and he responded that "It takes two to tango."

Fair enough. That's true. But it disheartens me that the writers don't like Emmett. They believe he is insincere. They see Emmett as just handing Bay a line of bull.

I have never watched at TV series where I believe that the writers genuinely dislike all of their core characters. Maybe that's common in TV, and I just don't know it. But I don't think these writers like any of their characters, not Bay or Daphne or Regina or Kathryn or John or Emmett or Toby.

The writers may like Travis. I don't know. I believe the writers genuinely like Sharee, Iris, and Chris. But as for the core characters, I feel as though the writers have given up on them.

Maybe they are just bored with them, but if so, that's blasphemy. They created the most amazing characters in Season 1. I loved each character individually. I understood their perspective on the world. All of that is lost now. I don't even know the characters that well anymore. I cannot identify much positive about them that is consistent. Mostly the core characters on Switched at Birth make mistake after mistake. I find so little to admire about any of them anymore, and I feel as though the writers feel the same way.

Does anyone else think that, too?