Erinღ

Aww this is so strange because not long ago I was apologizing to my mom for being such a little brat to her when I started 7th grade (I was struggling with anxiety and depression) but my mom was my only friend through all of it. Anytime I wanted to go home because I was bawling in class and had no idea why, my dad wanted to toughen me up and tell me to stick it out but my mom knew that I wasn't the kind of child who misses school or tries to miss school on purpose so she knew to take me home every time. She took me to therapy, and took my crappy teenage angst so well to this day I still apologize to her at times.

ollibear

You're welcome, Essa!

I understand what you mean. Switched at Birth is one of those shows I became obsessive over, from the very beginning. So I am happy to help anyone, if they have a question or need a refresher. It's my passion. Since the moment I found Switched at Birth, I have instinctively felt that it holds the key to a great mystery in my life. I have
continuously pored over every detail.

It's only happened a few times in my life.

When I was 11 years old, I felt the same way about the movie Grease. Danny & Sandy's love mesmerized me.

Then, when I was a teenager, I felt similarly about the TV series Starsky & Hutch. I sensed this depth to their friendship, and I wanted to understand it.

As a young adult, I experienced it again with the TV series thirtysomething. It drew me in both because of the depth of the characters' friendships and also because of the depth of one of the marriages, which was especially interesting, because the other marriage on the show was missing that depth, and I wondered if the possibility to develop it still existed. Also, I was drawn to Lily & Holden's relationship on As The World Turns.

Later, Six Feet Under captivated me. For this series, I did not sense that it was any one character or relationship that held the key to a mystery in my life. Instead, it was watching all of the characters trying to hold onto life itself. That was the key, and I did come closer to understanding the secrets behind this mystery in my life from watching Six Feet Under. I'll always be grateful for that.

You can't take a picture of this. It's already gone.

In this 22 second clip, those words are uttered by the spirit of Claire's older brother, who has recently died of an aneurysm, as she says goodbye to her family to venture to the east coast.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xy86FzvDdg4

If you stick around for the next video that plays after that short one, you will see the end to the entire TV series. It's the best few minutes of television I have ever watched, but it's meaning is deepened by watching a few years of these characters' lives first.

You're welcome, Paula! It was fun to review it all in my mind, too. I love being reminded of some of the parallels in this TV series, and I only scratched the surface of them with this list. For instance, Emmett kissed Bay when he first discovered she had a new boyfriend (Noah), and Bay kissed Emmett, when she learned he had a new girlfriend (Mandy). I love parallels like that, and Switched at Birth is filled with hundreds of them.

Erin, my mom was the same way. Having someone who understands and knows the real you like that is the most valuable gift in the world.

ollibear

girl under the floor

I know Amy

runawaaay

Tonight

teaholic

Can you guys believe we actually waited a whole year? I remember when I first read that the new episodes would come out in January - I thought they meant 2016, and then the shock of realizing it would be a whole year later! But we made it!

girl under the floor

Yes we did
I'm so excited!

And I will have to wait so long before I can watch
Because tomorrow morning I need to go to the dentist first and then someone is coming to visit

ollibear

I felt so negative in the moments after the episode ended, but I am feeling really positive now.

Part of my negativity was because I did not want to see Emmett take the blame for everything that went wrong in his relationship with Bay. He was to blame the first time, but they shared responsibility the second time. After a few days, I can accept the writers' decision, though. It's a shame in one respect, because I would have liked to see Bay learn and grow, but if the writers want to give Emmett all of the opportunities for personal growth, that's okay, too.

The other part of my negativity comes from Freeform jerking around fans by not airing this show for a year and a half and not publishing pictures of the character Emmett on their social media accounts during all of that time. That was inexcusable. It's odd how their social media accounts are publishing pictures with Emmett now and mentioning both Emmett and Sean Berdy in their posts. I would rather see them not mention the character or actor at all now. It's unfair that Freeform is able to benefit from their association with him this month, when they have been abusive to him and to his fans for more than a year.

But despite my dislike of both of those situations, I do still love the story and the characters. I don't think Emmett will be in the next episode. I hope that he will, but I suspect that he will not. Even so, I am excited to get on with it. I want to quickly move past this racism conflict, so we can move on to the stories that matter to my heart.

I know. I thought the same thing. It's unbelievable that Freeform would do that to their fans.

How did it go at the dentist?

I am already excited about this Tuesday.

girl under the floor

You know, after all the talking we did about it during the hiatus, I'm with you on this

After reading your arguments and mulling over them, I can totally and honestly agree that Emmett is Not the only one to blame for them breaking up for the second time.
BUT; the show left me feeling like he was. And while I think most people will be able to see logic that Bay did things to contribute to their break-up, I also think most people in the fandom Do blame him.
I know I was left with that feeling. And there's a difference between the feeling and the knowing, as I'm sure you understand

So I understand your sentiment here.
After watching the first episode I was left with the feeling off: "okay, what more could the writers possibly do to completely destroy the Emmett I know and love?"
And I was/am afraid that he will take the blame. At least in his own mind. And in a way, that's "okay" that they would show that, because someone who is depressed would be very likely to blame himself and only himself for what went wrong in life (I know I did).

Not trying to make you feel down again
Just sharing some thoughts that occurred to me


And dentist went well

charming_essa

Full disclosure, I don't really consider myself a Bemmett shipper because while I like both characters and don't have anything against the relationship, I am mostly interested in the family dynamics on this show.

That said, I think both Bay and Emmett made mistakes, multiple mistakes, in this relationship. I also think that's pretty realistic. They're 20 years old, trying to figure out their paths in life. (I'm not saying it's not possible to have your life figured out at 20, but the majority don't.) Bay's life since high school has been nothing like she expected. She's now got a criminal record, been through a sexual trauma that was made public, and watched her art career dreams fade away. I know this because the show has made a point of making sure I know this. Bay's conflicts are shown onscreen. I don't have to imagine her psychology too much, the show features it.

Emmett's story is shown in the way in which it relates to Bay. I see his conflicts when he is with Bay, but I don't see them nearly as often when he's not with her. We saw some of what was going on with him California, but none of it was very favorable to his character. If it want to know why he did what he did (personality changes, getting closer to Skye, being a jerk to Travis, and eventually ending things with Bay), I have to use my imagination a bit. I have to think about his inner conflict, how he was feeling about everything that happened. Now he is depressed, but I didn't see the progression toward that, it's just suddenly happening. The show tells me that his career is not working out and he has regrets about letting Bay go, but it does not show me his turmoil the way it shows me Bay's. The general audience doesn't analyze the characters the way that fandoms do and I think maybe that is why there is this general feeling that Emmett is more to blame than Bay. These 2 characters are not equally featured. I've seen this happen on other shows too, so it's something I've been thinking about recently.

Anyway this is just my opinion, please don't yell at me.

girl under the floor

I don't feel any need to yell at you Essa

I think you make an excellent point And I think that exactly is what contributes to me as a viewer blaming Emmett (more).

If I want to know why Bay did what she did, I can just watch the show, it'll tell me.
If I want to know why Emmett did what he did, I have to use my imagination.

And it can be so easy to just go with what you're shown

It also adds to my point I believe
Because we see Bay's struggle way more, in this relationship, Bay becomes the favorable character, the one you can feel more for/with.

charming_essa

That's good. I know people can feel very protective of their ships (me included), so I don't want to upset anyone.

ollibear

I'm glad the dentist went well. (Sorry about the delay in responding to this thread!)

You summed it up perfectly, and it is good for me to face it, even if it does make me sad. I really dislike the writers for not taking the time to allow us to see Emmett's point of view.

I believe it was intentional on their part, and it hurts me.

Like you, in the past, I have taken the blame for things that were not all my fault, and eventually, I did see a more balanced perspective. Hopefully, one day, Emmett will experience that, too.

I would never yell at you!

Oh, yes, definitely, I agree. In Season 1, we saw Emmett's point of view as his parents' marriage fell apart and he was introduced to the hearing world for the first time, but after Emmett cheated on Bay with Simone, we never saw much of his point of view again.

Yep, it definitely adds to your point, and it is what most all viewers do.

I don't do that, because I sincerely fell in love with the character of Emmett from the moment I met him. I fill in all of the blanks with my imagination, because Emmett reminds me of a younger version of my dad, who died when I was nine. In my mind, I am always rooting for Emmett, because I am always rooting for my dad.

I don't think I am a typical shipper.

I love Bay & Emmett together, but I love Skye & Emmett together, too. I would have loved Matthew & Emmett together, if the writers would have shown that to us.

I always wanted to see Sharee & Emmett together, and I could have shipped Mary Beth & Emmett, too. Gosh, I would have loved to have seen all of these relationships occur!

I just wanted to see Emmett.

Of course, like many people, I wish the show had given us a chance to see Daphne & Emmett fall in love, especially here at the end. Watching Bay lose Emmett to Daphne, after Bay made such a huge sacrifice, would have been interesting.





I wish the show would have written Emmett to never truly get over Daphne.

I would have liked to have seen Emmett with another Deaf woman (either the motorcycle racer or a real version of Mandy or any Deaf woman), too.

I think Emmett & Chef Jeff could have been quite sexy together, too, even if he was too old for Emmett. And everyone loved the idea of Toby & Emmett in Season 1. I still ship that.

~AnastasiaGrey~

Thanks for the pics

ollibear

We have exactly one month until the end. I will miss this story.