It was misplaced, and what you describe should have been the way it happened.

The problem is that Travis now fills a role that Emmett filled in Seasons 1 and 2 of Switched at Birth. Emmett was the character who was alienated from his mother Melody and having difficulty operating in the hearing world. Emmett was the character with whom everyone empathized, up until the showrunner shunned him.

Now, Travis has been sandwiched into a role that he was never meant to fill on the show. It feels disjointed, because it is.

The show is less than it should be because of it.