JadedByLove

I haven't been on here in a while, but is the fandom even still alive? With the year long wait and the premiere getting pushed back every two days, I just wanted to know if anyone was still excited about the final episodes? After a year of reflection and re-watching the earlier episodes on Netflix, I'm actually kind of excited to say goodbye to this show.

I still don't have much faith in Lizzy Weiss or the writers to have ended it well, but I guess there's always hope? I still have to say that I don't give one flying care about Toby and Lily! I don't really care about Daphne and Mingo either lol! You know what I'm waiting for. I NEED to know how Bemmett ends. At this point, I won't be mad if she chooses Travis, I just need to know.

~AnastasiaGrey~

Yeah people still post

ollibear

You probably guessed that I'm still here.

I don't think excited is the right word to describe how I feel about the final episodes, but as much as I look forward to watching (and as sad as I am to see it cancelled), I also will be relieved to say goodbye to this show. I'm ready to be put out of my Switched at Birth misery. What a difficult ride it has been.

I've never known of any other TV show writers to be as emotionally abusive to their audience as the Switched at Birth writers became, at least, after the exit of Becky Hartman Edwards. I could actually feel the writers' wrath and anger towards the fans. I've known of sad shows, of course, like Six Feet Under, and frustrating shows like How I Met Your Mother, and even sad AND frustrating shows, like Grey's Anatomy. But the writers of those TV series showed respect for their audience. Other than Switched at Birth, I've never known of TV writers that held their audience in such contempt. These writers took the most honest, authentic part of their show and buried it, replacing it with something shallow, and then, when we voiced our sadness over its absence, they answered us with disdain and scorn.

I have little faith in Lizzy Weiss to end it well, too. She has a political agenda that trumps the authenticity of her story, and according to Vanessa Marano, a sadistic personality. I do think Lizzy Weiss probably means well, but she comes across bitter in interviews and social media. Maybe life has treated her harshly. Perhaps it's Hollywood. Whatever it is, I hope things become better for her.

Here on this board, a few people pop in from time to time to post and play games. I hope fans visit when Season 5 premieres. We've kept this forum alive for more than five years now, and for over a year with no new episodes. That shows commitment! Switched at Birth originally premiered with all of the heart and potential in the world. I've never seen a more beautiful love story than Seasons 1A and 1B. I believe that's why this board is still here.

Despite some serious missteps along the way, I truly believed the show was still building to something great, right up until the end of Season 4. Bay and Emmett's implausible scene in the art gallery convinced me otherwise, especially when Emmett told Bay, "You will be the artist you want to be. Someday. Just not now. It takes time." Do the writers really believe any 19 year old boy is going to return home for summer vacation and tell his ex-girlfriend that, especially after everything they had been through the proceeding winter?

Emmett is supposed to be a flesh and blood young man, not some sage or sensei.

And it's not Emmett's place to be that voice in Bay's ear, convincing her she can be a great artist one day. Let someone else take on that role, like one of Bay's parents or sibling, or how about Daphne, if the writers REALLY want us to believe that their sisterhood is so solid and great now? Let Daphne be the one to encourage Bay, but not Emmett. That's too cliche. In fact, it's over-the-top cliche.

I don't want Emmett continually moving back and forth between the two extremes of prince charming and heartless cad. I just want Emmett to seem human.

I could see Emmett encouraging Bay, when they were a couple, like he did. Even after Emmett cheated on Bay, I could understand him being the one to come around when she injured her hand and offer her inspiration. After all, he is an artist, too. He gets it. That moment was believable to me.

But after their breakup on the beach, the whole idea of Emmett returning home from LA for summer vacation and attending Bay's art opening to be that voice of encouragement, whispering in her ear that she will succeed, is ludicrous. Real 19 year old boys don't do that after breakups that they initiate. It's insulting to Bay, as a character, too. The writers are continually throwing it in fans faces that Bay has a family and her own independence. She hasn't needed or depended on Emmett, since the end of Season 1B. Why make her dependent on him now, at this late stage?

The insincerity of that whole scene between Bay and Emmett at the art gallery really bothers me. It felt like fingernails on a chalkboard to watch it, especially when Here Is A Heart played. The only moment than rang true was Bay telling Emmett, "I'm so proud of you for everything you're doing out there." That, I believed. It was a lovely moment between them.

Perhaps the writers could have made Emmett's words believable, too, if they had shown us ANY of Emmett's point of view in Season 4. But we never got to understand or know a single thing that Emmett felt. From the first moment that Season 4A debuted until the final moment that Season 4B drew to a close, viewers were barely privy to a moment from Emmett's perspective.

Bay may have a sexual relationship with Travis early in Season 5, but I doubt Bay chooses Travis in the final episode. Lizzy Weiss probably wishes she could write that ending for Bay's character, but she painted herself into a corner from the moment Travis appeared on screen. His character has always been seen as less than a leading man, and it would take more than 10 episodes to redeem Travis enough to pair Bay with him at the end, as Bay's OTP. As much as Lizzy Weiss loves independent women, she most probably will have Bay tell Emmett that she is going to pursue her art for the next few years and maybe one day there will be room in her life for him, too, but not now. That's how I see the show ending. It will be totally lame, too, because it is so predictable.

A much better ending would be if Bay told Emmett that he is the love of her life and she doesn't ever want to be without him again. I would love to see that, and I still have hope. It would be a surprising ending, because no one would be expecting that from Bay, not in today's political climate. But I am not going to hold my breath for that ending. Lizzy Weiss will never give it to us. I'll keep my hope alive anyway, though.

I'm with you on Toby and Lily. The actors are both good, and their love story could have been written with depth, but it is as shallow as can be. I actually liked the two characters as a couple when Season 4A premiered. Toby gives Lily a cute look and calls her "his girl," and I thought they were sweet together. But after that moment, the writers spent the next 20 episodes making me hate them as a couple. Their love for each other isn't believable at all. I understand what the writers were originally attempting. Two characters committed to boinking who happen to fall in love. It could have been written so well, and I could have really been rooting for them as a couple, by the time Lily discovered she was pregnant during their breakup. But the writers did not give Toby and Lily enough time onscreen. Their story was brushed over and shallow. The focus was far more on Toby becoming a father, than it was on his love for Lily. And even the fatherhood stuff isn't inspiring. I love the idea of Toby always being a spoiled man-child, and now, he is growing into a mature young father. But the writers did not give Toby enough screen time to pull it off. There's an old saying in writing instruction, "Don't tell the reader. Show the reader."

Well, the Switched at Birth writers did not spend enough time on Toby as a character to show us anything. So the writers were forced to tell us his story, instead. It wasn't compelling at all. I couldn't have cared two hoots about him or Lily at their baby shower or during the birth of Carlton. It was lackluster and boring.

Same for Daphne and Mingo. It's obvious Mingo is a Wilke replacement, but the writing isn't one tenth as good for Mingo as it was for Wilke. Austin Butler's character had real depth. He seemed three-dimensional and human. Mingo is a walking cliche.

Yuck. What happened to the quality of writing on Switched at Birth? Did it all go by the wayside when Becky Hartman Edwards left? It's like no one on their writing staff is capable of making connections so viewers understand a character's motivations. A whole lot of meaningless stuff happens in Seasons 3 and 4, but I am still looking for the meaning that was there during Seasons 1 and 2.

Hope springs eternal though. I really want the writers to get the story right in Season 5. It was such a beautiful show in the beginning, and meaningful threads exist throughout the series. Bay and Emmett are the heart of the show. I hope the writers appreciate that.

I will always wish that we had seen more of Emmett and his parents. Emmett never needed to be the focal point of the series, but his character needed to have more attention than the writers gave to him. That is the single biggest misstep that the Switched at Birth writers made.

~AnastasiaGrey~

Hey all

ollibear

Who is sticking around until April 4, 2017, when the final episode of Switched at Birth will air?

The last 10 episodes will be shown on these dates:

Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Tuesday, February 7, 2017

Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Tuesday, March 28, 2017

Tuesday, April 4, 2017

~AnastasiaGrey~

I will thanks

ollibear

I wonder what the Valentine's Day episode will entail?

The only other Valentine's Day, where "Switched at Birth" officially aired, marked the first time Bay and Emmett said "I love you" to each other.

The next year, Bay threw an anti-Valentine's Day party, but that one did not air on Valentine's Day, in the way that their first "I love you" did.

I have a sinking feeling this Valentine's Day episode won't have anything to do with Bay & Emmett, but I hope it does.

~AnastasiaGrey~

Yeah me too I want it too so badly

JadedByLove

Is there a spoilers thread still happening? I just read something interesting and I totally want to speculate lol.

girl under the floor

I'm definitely sticking around

Thanks for posting the dates

ollibear

I'm still posting about "Switched at Birth" over on the spoiler board, but I'm the only one. I'd LOVE to have you join me there.

I wish more people would speculate with me.

http://www.fanforum.com/f15/switched...auty-63158914/

~AnastasiaGrey~

I will post over there too

charming_essa

Thanks for posting the dates! I'll be watching!

I'll try to remember to pop in over at the spoilers thread too.

girl under the floor

Can we get a count-down thread Amy?

ollibear

Oh, that sounds like a neat idea!

Is there a good example for me to follow? Or should I just title a thread "Count Down" and start counting?

Is there any special code for a countdown clock that will work on Fan Forum? If you have any cool ideas for the thread, share them here. I will check back later today and tomorrow.