S04.E04: We Were So Close That Nothing Used To Stand Between Us

[Tara Ariano]

Bay gets a surprise visit from Emmett, and she wants to make the most of their time together. Meanwhile, Daphne is upset when she gets a bad grade on a test; John wants Travis to try out for his college baseball team, but Melody objects.

[Athena]

Art: "We Were So Close That Nothing Used to Stand Between Us" (1996) by Vasile Dobrian

[Mabinogia]

Of course Daphne is upset over a bad grade. Doesn't the teacher know how guilty she is going to feel about Bay losing everything if Daphne doesn't excel at everything and become the greatest doctor of all time?

[ZootSuitWyatt]

Regina going in to talk to the professor made me cringe. Do not do that, parents.

[stopeslite]

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO. If this show encourages one more college student to ask for extra credit, or one more parent to barge into a professor’s office and lobby for their kid, I will scream. Everything about that was so, so wrong. It's entirely irresponsible for them to imply that college works that way. ARGH. If they're going to show college classes, they need to have an academic consultant, because ARGH. I think this is the angriest I've been at anything on this show.

 

What the heck is wrong with Toby's hair? Why are you doing this, Toby?

 

Please let this musical not actually happen. Or, if it does, it needs to happen off screen.

 

Oh, BAY. Can we send her and Edith from Downton Abbey off together to a self-empowerment / self-esteem class? They have so much potential to screw up this storyline with Tank. I hope they don't. If they even set it up as Bay's fault, that will definitely top tonight's college escapades as the worst.

[Expat]

I am seriously ready to just give up on this show again. Can Bay just never catch a break? Sure, she was a bit annoying this eppie, but I still love her and want good things to happen for her.

 

Was I the only one shocked to see her get a scene with Regina? It's like, hey, Regina remembered Bay exists, yay. lol

 

I'd forgotten how much I can't stand Melody.

Edited January 28, 2015 by Gumdrops

[joanne3482]

They have so much potential to screw up this storyline with Tank. I hope they don't. If they even set it up as Bay's fault, that will definitely top tonight's college escapades as the worst.

I actually like Tank so I'd rather we go down this route with a random guy I don't care about than Tank. Because there's really no way for this to end well.

 

If this show were going to go down the storyline of 'Daphne is not suited for this career path' that could be totally interesting. Sometimes people are not suited to be what they want to be when they grow up and have to find an alternate plan.

[Eri]

Helicopter parents, long distance drama, ungrateful kids, underage drinking. Everyone was stupid this episode....just...everyone.

 

(Except for Melody and John, I think their scenes together are hilarious).

Edited January 28, 2015 by Eri

[Expat]

If this show were going to go down the storyline of 'Daphne is not suited for this career path' that could be totally interesting. Sometimes people are not suited to be what they want to be when they grow up and have to find an alternate plan.

 

The show would gain so much goodwill from me if they went there, but let's face it. This is Switched At Birth. Queen Daphne always gets what she wants!

 

Patty Chase totally disappointed me when she gave Daphne the extra credit option.

[KaveDweller]

. If this show encourages one more college student to ask for extra credit, or one more parent to barge into a professor’s office and lobby for their kid, I will scream.

 

I actually had several courses in college where extra credit was offered.  But it was always announced to the whole class at the begining of the semester as an optional assignment anyone could do, not a thing one person did for making a mistake.  She should have told Daphne she made one mistake, but shows promise or something and can get better.  I am sure there are plenty of doctors who did bad on a test when they were freshmen in college.

 

I thought it was really weird that the professor told the class if they fail the test she thinks they should drop it, but then act all surprised when Daphne is considering it.  Was that supposed to be some kind of test for who wants it most? Because that seems unfair.

 

I was surprised they had Tank be the guy Bay woke up with, I thought it was going to be a stranger.  This feels like it won't be taken as seriously because she knows him.

[JaggedLilPill]

They have so much potential to screw up this storyline with Tank. I hope they don't. If they even set it up as Bay's fault, that will definitely top tonight's college escapades as the worst.

 

Ugh. You can say that again.

 

I just have no faith this will be handled well and it's one thing to not handle Bay's taking-the-fall-for-Daphne plot well; it's an entirely different thing to take a sensitive subject matter like this and just mess it up. 

[stopeslite]

I would have much preferred a speech by Patty Chase about how everyone has struggles, to put it in perspective for Daphne. Lots of students are first generation college students. Lots of students have problems. The unfairness of individual extra credit is that it's then limited to the people who up and complain, while people who are struggling with other problems suck it up and deal with it, and that is fundamentally as unfair as it gets when it comes to classes and grades. Other students might not be deaf, but other students undergo chemo during the semester. Or have parents or siblings die during the semester. Or have to juggle childcare and divorce hearings during the semester. Or are broke and on the cusp of eviction the entire semester. Or are struggling with chronic depression during the semester. Etc. I was actually expecting Josh the hot interpreter to get furious with her over it, because he never got a break like that from the professor, and it would smack Daphne in the face again that she gets special treatment other people don't. But no, her self-centeredness was shown as normal and expected, not something we should dislike in her.

 

I am so scared with this sex with Tank storyline, especially if the main demographic of this show is teenaged girls, many of whom, statistically, have been raped, possibly in similar circumstances. I just... this is an electrified rail. It could be so good, but I'm so worried that it might not be.

[joanne3482]

I was surprised they had Tank be the guy Bay woke up with, I thought it was going to be a stranger.  This feels like it won't be taken as seriously because she knows him.

I think that's the point. Date rape is far more prevalent on college campuses than stranger danger, and I'm sure that's the reason they're using affable, likeable Tank, so that we, the viewers, will struggle with the whole he said/she said aspect and the 'but he's so nice, he can't be a rapist' aspect of the story. I just know there's no winners in this story and I like Tank.

[KaveDweller]

I think that's the point. Date rape is far more prevalent on college campuses than stranger danger, and I'm sure that's the reason they're using affable, likeable Tank, so that we, the viewers, will struggle with the whole he said/she said aspect and the 'but he's so nice, he can't be a rapist' aspect of the story. I just know there's no winners in this story and I like Tank.

 

I know that's the point, and I think date rape's a pretty serious issue, I just worry that they are going to pull back and not call it rape and making it all Bay's fault.  And I suppose she could have been willing, but that's going to mess things up with Emmett.  Like you said, there are no winners.

[JaggedLilPill]

I think that's the point. Date rape is far more prevalent on college campuses than stranger danger, and I'm sure that's the reason they're using affable, likeable Tank, so that we, the viewers, will struggle with the whole he said/she said aspect and the 'but he's so nice, he can't be a rapist' aspect of the story. I just know there's no winners in this story and I like Tank.

 

 

I'm not a big Tank fan at all, but I do think choosing Tank makes it stickier and more confusing for the audience. Especially when you add in the fact that Bay cheated on him with Emmett, which I can't help think will be brought up. And Tank and Bay had that moment when they were dating where he wanted to and she didn't and later she told Regina she felt Tank expected it from her, etc. It was definitely deliberate using him for this he said/she said plot.

 

 

know that's the point, and I think date rape's a pretty serious issue, I just worry that they are going to pull back and not call it rape and making it all Bay's fault.  And I suppose she could have been willing, but that's going to mess things up with Emmett.  Like you said, there are no winners.

 

 

Yeah, this is what I'm worried about honestly. And now that Bay's a convicted felon, unfortunately, I think they'll make that into an argument as to why her credibility isn't worth much and oh, I'm just so scared it will be a huge, huge mess. 

[KBrownie]

I think I'm close to done with this mess.

 

Is Travis Melody's only son now?  All that worry and concern and anger about Travis, but the show couldn't manage ONE scene, even a mention from her, about Emmett?  The child she sent to California who was so apprehensive about going? Nothing about him being home and her being glad to see him?  Nothing? Really, show?  But she's running around fretting about the man-child Travis. Over baseball.  Too bad she couldn't spare a moment to talk to her son about how he was doing.

 

And once again, everything works out for Daphne.  Regina's playing helicopter parent talking to the professor, but none of the parents have lifted a finger to do anything to help Bay through her post-felon life other than treat her like a bothersome nuisance.  And Regina?  You only now don't like the person Daphne's becoming?  Is this not who she ALWAYS is?  Entitled, condescending, selfish, and arrogant?  But per usual, a big hug and a toothy grin and all is right with the world.  And of course she gets more special treatment.  I really hope the professor is offering to tell everyone who got a low grade what they did wrong and offer them extra credit.  But who am I kidding?  Special snowflake Daphne is the bestest, most specialist, princess ever.  Everything has to be twisted and made to work for her.  No matter. what.

 

Kudos to whoever it was, I think it was here, who predicted that Daphne is going to, again, want a guy whose with someone else.  And she will justify it with the fact that the mean girl doesn't deserve/isn't right for him.

 

The dichotomy between how everything ALWAYS manages to work out for her and how Bay keeps getting dumped on over and over again is astounding.  But I think the show is suggesting that I'm supposed to buy them as close sisters on the same level or something.  Bull and shit.

 

On to Bay.  What's the next story for this character?  Nervous breakdown?  This is overkill.  The show has already knocked her down.  Why the need to keep kicking her in the gut over and over?

 

The dynamics between her and Emmett were just weird and not authentic based on their interactions in the past.  It was all a set-up to once again blow them up.  And seriously show?  Can't you come up with something more original than one of them sleeping with someone else/each other as conflict?  First it was Emmett sleeping with Simone, then it was them sleeping with each other, now it's Bay sleeping with someone else.  They've had NO other major conflict beyond this.  It's twisted.  

 

I shouldn't be surprised though.  These writers haven't had Bay act like Bay in awhile.  She's been twisted to fit this "Daphne should be a doctor" mess.  So much of the stuff that has come out of her mouth hasn't even sounded like her.  Last week's "I'd do it all over again" being example number one.

 

I wasn't buying anything going on between Bay and Emmett tonight.  It was all set-up for the end.  Emmett wouldn't be oblivious to the fact that Bay was restless from the house arrest.  They were talking at the very beginning how excited she was to be done with the house arrest.  There's also no way he would be so insensitive and assume Bay would take the kiss lightly based on their history.  Bay would not be so clueless as to his interest in film and ignorant of the films he likes to watch.  Also, she told John (they showed it in the previews!) that Emmett needed to make friends or he was going to come home, but she's surprised that he was lonely?  It was sloppy and not subtle at all. It didn't sound like them at all.  Skye understands him now and Bay doesn't!  They all of a sudden don't fit anymore!  Bay's going to get drunk because she's upset and sleep with Tank!  Shocking.  The only thing I was buying from Emmett was him asking her if she was going to change her mind about going to LA again.  She did throw away their plans for Daphne mighty quickly.  

 

I just hope this doesn't ruin them.  Bay's going to have to tell him everything.  IF the show does the right thing and presents this as the sexual assault that it is, he will need to be understanding and supportive at how she was violated and try his best to not let his personal feelings get in the way of supporting her.  Of course he's going to be upset and angry that Bay was with someone else.  But there are extenuating circumstances here.  If nothing else, he knows the shame and regret of doing something like this.  I expect him to be hurt, but Bay's well-being should be his focus. 

 

I don't trust Lizzy Weiss at all to do this story justice and call it what it is.  I also don't trust her to dirty up the halo Tank has been given by labeling him a rapist.  He's always been the "nice guy," good ol' lovable, goofy Tank.  

 

It's sexual assault.  Bay doesn't remember and she was too drunk to consent.  Period.  From the promo it appears Tank remembers what happens, so he knows full well she was drunk out of her mind.  How could he not?  He also possesses the knowledge that she was upset about her and Emmett and the long-distance relationship.  But he's going to  somehow logically turn that into she wanted to sleep with him?  Come on.  I have no doubt he will play the victim and claim that Bay was into him.  I bet he throws her sober and conscious decision to sleep with Emmett while dating him in her face too.  That he didn't think she would have a problem sleeping with him while with Emmett because she did with him.  

 

I've never liked him.  He's so thirsty.  Bay didn't want to sleep with him before when she WAS dating him, but he thinks that she would want to sleep with him now?  He's going to get what he wanted before while Bay is drunk and incapacitated.  Whether it's conscious or unconscious on his part remains to be seen.  Regardless, no more "nice guy" for him.  Although I'm sure, Lizzy Weiss will have Bay take the appropriate blame for her actions.  Because on this show, it's always Bay's fault.  

 

The only good that can come out of this is that he's on his way out for good.  Bay isn't going to want anything to do with him.  The bullshit tie to Toby they forced will done as Toby's going to support his sister, so peace out Tank.

 

This whole thing is gross.  If the show wanted to do this with Bay, they should not have had all this other shit happen to her.  It IS an important story to tell, but I just am like really?  Why Bay?  Why does she get kicked in the face again?  She's going to feel violated and guilty and potentially lose someone who has been shown to mean the world to her?  Yet, I'm supposed to be glad they're tackling this topic?  No.  Just no.  And watch Daphne gets to play supportive sister.  This will be her redemption and somehow circle back to her like everything else on this show.  Bay will get the lectures and the disapproving looks, but Daphne will once again be the "good sister" and it'll be "Oh Bay . . . " once again.

 

I hate this show right now.

 

I agree.  There are no winners.  

Edited January 28, 2015 by KBrownie

[Perfect Xero]

I'm not going to even think about the rape situation until I see where they go with it.

 

Elsewhere:

 

Katherine cut off Toby's phone (and presumably insurance) without telling him because he didn't want to work on her sex musical with her?

 

If it had been about his well being and not her wanting to control him she would have at least sat down and talked with him about it first, but it was all about making him do what she wanted him to do. Narcissist parent behavior at its finest.

 

But of course she gets what she wanted out of it.

 

Is Travis only in college on a grades based scholarship or something? Otherwise the chance for an education will be there for him, the window to have a chance at a baseball career is rare and very limited. Also, playing on a school team requires that he maintains a certain level of grades and attendance. Considering that he almost dropped out of high school the first time a decent job came along, I'd think that him having something that ties him further to the school would be a good thing.

 

Oh and Mary Beth writing off all athletes as a bunch of narcissists? Girl has issues.

[CleoCaesar]

The chemistry 101 class is just painful. The actress playing the professor isn’t great (she just sounds kind of fake to me, like she’s performing on stage). If you fail the first test, drop the class, because not all of you are meant to be doctors? IT’S CHEMISTRY 101, LADY. Probably half the class isn’t there because they want to be doctors; it’s the most basic-level course so most people are probably there for general ed requirements. Gah.

 

Daphne got everything she wanted. Shocking, I know.

 

Judgy confrontational bitch, thy name is Melody. That’s some good character continuity.

 

Bay and Emmett are so irritatingly whiny and childish. I wish they would break up for good, because watching their middle-school arguments for the hundredth time is beyond boring.

 

Max Adler is awfully cute.

 

Aaaaaand it looks as if we’re in for a clunky “message” storyline about “affirmative consent” which has been all over the news lately. No, really, make it more obvious, show (basing this on the promo of "You didn't say 'no'"..."Did I say 'yes'"?).

[MyRealName]

I actually love Melody. I mean, I hate her and never agree with her, but truly admire her spirit. She is someone I would want on my side.

 

I totally agreed with everything Katherine said about Toby. Until she went and cut him off with no warning. That was straight out of the John Kennish playbook to getting what you want.

 

I felt so bad for Mary Beth. It makes sense for her to be insecure about Travis becoming a jock. And honestly, Travis seems just like the type to let a little recognition go to his head.

 

I'm an EBay shipper for life. I know they have to keep throwing drama at the relationship, but that fight was just plain irrational on all accounts. I'm with KBrownie on this, none of their actions made sense with what we know of these characters. 

 

I won't speak on the Bay issue yet. It was a good set up of both Bay's and Tank's state of mind. Just gotta wait and see where they go with it.

[izabella]

I wonder if Regina got the soles of Bay's shoes done, too.  Who am I kidding?  She was too busy pleading Daphne's case to her "teacher." 

 

Meanwhile, in Kennish land, neither parent has a clue what's going on with either Daphne or Bay.

[jammaker]

I wouldn't mind the extra credit if Daphne had taken it upon herself (or even after a conversation with Regina) to go to the professor, ask what she did wrong, and how she could improve her semester grade (i.e. going in thinking how can she work harder, what other resources can she access, etc), and then the professor rewards her initiative with an extra credit assignment.  Provided that she applies that standard equally among other students coming in looking for help - that's not unfair OR unrealistic.   Yes other people struggle too, but if you don't ask for help, you're not going to get it.   

 

But Regina going in first and playing the deaf card ... just no.   Daphne is an adult.  If she (Daphne) feels her deafness is what caused her to struggle - then by *all means* go address it as an actual issue (preferably before failing the exam).   Cite specific reasons, and possible solutions.  But Daphne didn't feel that way, and Regina was way out of bounds and gave the whole issue  definite negative spin.

[Bix]

I'll phrase this as non-spoilery as possible but the promo for next week gives me a good bit of hope that the rape plot will be handled properly and have the unfortunate implications that some of the rape plots did on, for example, Veronica Mars. Just because Daphne's been written annoyingly lately doesn't mean we should lose all hope in Lizzy Weiss's ability to do issue-based storyline, which she's shown zero problems with that I can recall.

 

And it wouldn't shock me if Tank was introduced with the idea this would eventually happen (they did plant some seeds for this) or that it was decided that it had to be him when they broke the story (more realistic to be an acquaintance and again, they planted seeds for it already).

[possibilities]

I think the chemistry teacher is an incredible, unjustifiable bitch, and her job is to teach, not demoralize. What is this, a punishment exercise, or a class where she's imparting knowledge?

 

I thought Regina was horribly out of line to go talk to her, for all the reasons Daphne said-- it's infantilizing and humiliating.

 

But I don't think there's anything wrong with a professor showing a student who did badly on an exam what the problem was, and offering an avenue to improve her performance. If Daphne really only mixed up one concept, writing a paper about that concept seems like a reasonable and pedagogically sound response, much better educationally than having her drop the class and learn nothing!

 

When I was an undergrad, one of my roommate's sisters died mid-semester. Everyone accommodated her need to go home and gave her extensions on papers and so on while she was away for a few weeks. One year, I got pneumonia at the end of a semester and I was given accommodation with a doctor's note, for papers and exams. I also knew kids who ran into other difficulties, and were offered tutoring or other help from the school. This happened both at a small liberal arts college where I did my first two years, and the big fancy "highly competitive" university where I transferred as a junior. Most professors at both institutions had office hours where struggling students could go for help. We also had academic advisers who were supposed to make sure we were on track to complete the requirements for our majors and graduate on time, and where we were supposed to go if we had problems with our programs.

 

I think it's ridiculous for the professor to suggest kids who fail one test should give up. And if that many are failing, then there's something wrong with her course! I'm not saying she should dumb it down, but when I took high-demand required courses that were recognized by the university as being tough for a large number of students, they always had assistant professors on hand who offered supervised "study sessions" where struggling enrollees could go for a second shot at understanding the materials.

 

And a basic course like Chem 101 would have several sections, or a very large auditorium-style lecture without a capped enrollment, so that kids would not be excluded from taking the basic requirements for their majors.

 

It feels like they wanted to skip the boring undergrad phase and just put Daphne into a highly competitive post-graduate medical internship situation.

 

I thought it was correct for the Kennishes to expect more from Toby, but wrong not to talk to him about it before cutting him off.

 

I think it could have been interesting to see how leaving home put Emmett through changes, and Bay staying at home meant no growth for her. There is a possibility of something like that truly happening for kids that age. But the way they played it, the whole thing felt inauthentic and bullshitty.

Edited January 28, 2015 by possibilities

[loveigniting]

If you fail the first test, drop the class, because not all of you are meant to be doctors? IT’S CHEMISTRY 101, LADY. Probably half the class isn’t there because they want to be doctors; it’s the most basic-level course so most people are probably there for general ed requirements. Gah.

 

But I don't think there's anything wrong with a professor showing a student who did badly on an exam what the problem was, and offering an avenue to improve her performance. If Daphne really only mixed up one concept, writing a paper about that concept seems like a reasonable and pedagogically sound response, much better educationally than having her drop the class and learn nothing!

 

I think it's ridiculous for the professor to suggest kids who fail one test should give up. And if that many are failing, then there's something wrong with her course! I'm not saying she should dumb it down, but when I took high-demand required courses that were recognized by the university as being tough for a large number of students, they always had assistant professors on hand who offered supervised "study sessions" where struggling enrollees could go for a second shot at understanding the materials.

 

What she should have said was drop the class because you most likely won't pass the class and that F will follow you around. They said it was a midterm exam which means there should likely be only one more exam: the final. But that doesn't even make sense. 

 

As for Gen Chem being a basic requirement, it usually isn't. If you're an English major, for example, and you need to fill a general natural science requirement to graduate, there are far easier science classes you can take. Geology, Earth Science are usually recced for people not comfortable with Chemistry or Physics and such. People usually recommend that if you're a non-science major, you shouldn't take the classes geared to pre-meds/pre-clinicals because of the weed-out component and the steep learning curve. My school's science departments, in fact, offered science courses for non-majors and I think that's the way it was for a couple of the state schools in my state.

 

So unless you just WANT to take it, you don't have to. So, while I doubt everyone in that class would be planning to be doctors and I side-eyed the prof's comment, I think most of them would be pursuing a clinical career like nursing, PAs or just a science-oriented career in general.

 

I agree that the professor should offer to correct Daphne's understanding so that she may learn in the long run and this does typically happen - a lot of people go to the professors after an exam to find what they got wrong and why they got it wrong - but the idea of Daphne getting a redo in form of a paper? Nahhh.

 

Wrong or right, a lot of the weed out pre-med classes operate like this one or worse. It's partly due to the glut of people applying to American med schools who are never going to get in due to the pre-existing caps. Things are fairly different once you get to med school - they will keep giving you chances to learn if you fail a test. You have to do something severe like cheating to get dropped from medical school, but before that, professors are harder on you.

 

Like, I was in the ER the day before an Orgo Chem exam and I got no slack - and I went to a school with a top ten pre-clinical health/pre-med program. In my experience, I found Daphne's professor far too nice actually - she gave her extra credit for mistaking anions and cations which is basic high school chemistry shit and a fundamental building block for Chemistry learning SMH. Shit wouldn't happen in real life.

 

Professors usually do offer office hours and recommend people go for tutoring for the next exam. Though, at my school, we didn't have assistant professors for our pre-med classes nor did we have supervised study sessions. 

 

Do Gen Chem courses even offer extra credit that's individualized and not like a class curve? I've never ever seen that happen at a public university - and I'm Asian lol so about 90% of my family and friends have taken these classes for medical school/nursing/what have you. IIRC the final exam is usually standardized from the American Chemical Society and it's a beast. What they do is they typically curve these exams depending on the class averages. Not that it helped much - our class averages would be way below the typical C average all the time. Pre-med classes at public universities are brutal in my experience so it doesn't surprise me to see Daphne struggling. A lot of it is just getting used to the rhythm of college science courses. I say all this while I want Daphne to move onto a different quickly-realized passion. 

Edited January 28, 2015 by loveigniting

[POPCProfessor]

Tank, to Bay at party: "Look on the bright side! We're at a party, we're attractive, we're not under house arrest, the night is young, we are young."  TANK, YOU ARE NOT ATTRACTIVE. Far, far, far from it.

[stopeslite]

 

 

IT’S CHEMISTRY 101, LADY. Probably half the class isn’t there because they want to be doctors; it’s the most basic-level course so most people are probably there for general ed requirements. Gah.

 

That too! Organic chem is the weed-out class, not 101.

 

 

Yes other people struggle too, but if you don't ask for help, you're not going to get it.

 

Still nope. Not fair for some students' grades to be based on the actual syllabus-explained requirements, and other to get extra treatment. There can be extenuating circumstances for timing of an assessment (like you miss a test because your dad had a stroke and ran into a tree and is in a coma, say,) but giving some students extra points isn't. If the chemistry prof. really didn't care that much about mixing up cations and anions, she should have had that worked into how she grades, like taking half off for the problems with them done right but opposite instead of taking full credit off. (Disclaimer: I am very much personally invested in this particular issue, so I'm quite, um, strident about it,)

 

Two more things about Bay/Tank - one, what was he doing there, anyway? Doesn't Daphne live on a freshman deaf wing? Often dorms are split off by year too, so there's no reason to think that Tank and Daphne would live in the same building even. Who invited him? 

 

And Daphne - she invited Bay, right? So Bay was her guest? And Daphne was obviously not drinking? How did she lose Bay? Why wasn't she checking on her during the night, and making sure that she got home safely (or to Daphne's room to crash)? Is it possible that anyone will at least ask Daphne why she abandoned her like that?

Edited January 28, 2015 by stopeslite

[Bobcatkitten]

There was so much bad to that show.

 

First of all, lots of kids use sports in college as a REASON to keep their grades up. Especially if he loves it. They didn't even consider the upside to sports.

 

Regina was totally out of line going to the teacher, oops professor. Daphne was harsh but right in her initial assessment. I can't believe in the end they made it out like Regina was right to do that. Also, a D is bad but it isn't technically failing. 

 

Also, way to go John and Katherine for coming to the realization that Toby is on his own and they should stop paying for things. But seriously sucky execution. How about having a talk - as of the end of the month we will be shutting off this and this. Instead they just cut him off without telling him! Ridiculous. And doesn't fit with how they have handled other things.

 

I cannot tell you how much I hate, despise, deplore the musical storyline. 

 

The Emmett-Bay fight was oh so predictable. So she would go off and drink.

 

Not sure what to think about the rape storyline. It will depend on how drunk she was and whether she was able to consent. At least in the previews it appeared the kissing was not one-sided. We will see. 

[izabella]

The Emmett-Bay fight was oh so predictable. So she would go off and drink.

 

 

Do you think this is also a lead-in to "Bay is an alcoholic like Regina" story in addition to a rape story?

[Sammich63]

Do you think this is also a lead-in to "Bay is an alcoholic like Regina" story in addition to a rape story?

I certainly hope not.  I'm so tired of Bay continually being the one to end up with the short end of the stick, and Daphne somehow works things out.  I'm ready to quit this show, and I've loved it for so long.  I'm also disappointed in this new Tank story-line, but I can't say I'm surprised at all.  

[joanne3482]

Is Travis only in college on a grades based scholarship or something? Otherwise the chance for an education will be there for him, the window to have a chance at a baseball career is rare and very limited. Also, playing on a school team requires that he maintains a certain level of grades and attendance. Considering that he almost dropped out of high school the first time a decent job came along, I'd think that him having something that ties him further to the school would be a good thing.

 

And if he's actually THAT good, if he isn't doing well in school the school team will get him tutors. Given the impetus to play ball, he may be more willing to work at the school than he would be if he were just going to school. 

 

As for Gen Chem being a basic requirement, it usually isn't. If you're an English major, for example, and you need to fill a general natural science requirement to graduate, there are far easier science classes you can take. Geology, Earth Science are usually recced for people not comfortable with Chemistry or Physics and such. People usually recommend that if you're a non-science major, you shouldn't take the classes geared to pre-meds/pre-clinicals because of the weed-out component and the steep learning curve. My school's science departments, in fact, offered science courses for non-majors and I think that's the way it was for a couple of the state schools in my state.

 

 

That all depends on where you go to school. Having gone to a smaller state school, we didn't have a lot of science options but had to take 2 classes worth. I took Biology and Chemistry as an elementary education major.  They were courses I knew I'd be familiar with since I took them both in high school. And I did well in them as a non-science major.  But I have no idea the difference between cation and anion.  (I may have learned that and since forgotten it since I don't use it).  Looking at the UKMC website, there are 3 chemistry options that would fall under 'core' curriculum, even the most 'advanced' option doesn't (on the surface) seem to be that advanced. The syllabus descriptor talks about learning the scientific method for goodness sake. They should've gone with the math requirements being too hard or Organic Chem being too hard. 

 

I like that John has somehow wrangled a job as an assistant coach. I think that's a good fit for him. 

[CoolMom]

Tank date raping her did not ring true to me because the night they met he is the one who "rescued" her from a situation that could have turned out the same.  He has also been shown to be fine with NOT sleeping with Bay and even liking her so much that he quit his fraternity for her. So date rape by Tank doesn't set right in our house even with my teenager.

 

I thought Emmett was picking the fight not Bay.  

 

Finally, when Regina walked into the professors office my teenager looked at me and said "JUST DON'T".  I have a child in college and I would never in a million years talk to one of her professors unless she was so sick that she could not do it herself.  Even then it would not be "well you don't know my child's story so you have to hear it so that you can teach her". 

[allonsyalice]

If my mom talked to one of my profs for me, I would DIE of embarrassment. I would switch schools, probably. It would be that bad. It was so so so so so wrong of Regina. I agree with what you people are saying. It would be true to life if they were doing a plot where Daphne realizes this may not be for her. Very true to life. i'm not sure how many people in my program have dropped or switched, and we're only second years.

I'm not even going to touch this Tank/Bay plot. I just. Nah.

Why am i still watching this show??

[stopeslite]

I really want for Daphne to make cupcakes for her professor to say thank you, and the professor to say "Wow, these are good, you should go to culinary school and become a chef."

[Eri]

I agree. Daphne's passion has always been cooking so they should have stuck to that ideal and rolled with it.

If Angelo's death was that traumatizing they could have had her continue his legacy by becoming a chef, running a bakery, going to culinary school in France where Bay would have an excuse to visit dear grandmother or any other relatives?

I'd watch that.

[heythere]

I hate this show right now.

That pretty much sums up everything I have to say about this show at the moment.

 

 

I felt so bad for Mary Beth. It makes sense for her to be insecure about Travis becoming a jock. And honestly, Travis seems just like the type to let a little recognition go to his head.

When she started talking about it I thought she was going to be concerned that the team wouldn't be welcoming to Travis.  But, yeah, I can see Travis letting it get to his head and I also can see Mary Beth being insecure about it.  Remember when Travis first showed interest in her and she got all worked up when she saw him dancing with the stripper (?) at Toby's bachelor party because the stripper was a size 0 and Mary Beth thought he couldn't like her because she's not a size 0?

 

I cannot keep track of time in this show, but Travis and Mary Beth have been dating for at least 6 months or so by now and they seem to have a strong relationship so I was surprised at Mary Beth's response that it'd change him. At the same time, thinking about her past reactions, I also see it being really believable.

[Primetimer]

Okay, this is a hard episode of Switched At Birth. And now let's worry together about what's ahead.

Read the story

[AdorkableWitch]

I just don't know where they are going with Bey, especially after this episode. Also, I hate that Tank is being used for this story line, because I love Max Adler, and I like Tank better than his character on Glee. 

 

Also, am I the only one who lived in a dorm where there was never a wild party because we had fairly strict rules and RAs? 

[Misslindsey]

 

Also, am I the only one who lived in a dorm where there was never a wild party because we had fairly strict rules and RAs?

Nope. Dorm parties were not common at the Big Ten university that I graduated from. RA's on every floor, plus a hall director that was around a lot (I believe a required amount of hours) and strict rules. There were floors and entire dorms that were alcohol and tobacco free. If you lived on campus, were over 21 and did not live on an ATF floor, you could have alcohol, but most of those kids went to bars, clubs, and house parties.  I lived off campus when I was a sophomore on, but most of the people that lived on campus when they were an upperclassman were transfer students and international students. Getting caught with alcohol in the dorms while underage could result in being kicked out and various other forms of not fun punishments.

 

I really hope this date rape storyline is handled well, but I am not counting on it, because it is Bay after all and nothing goes right for Bay.

[CoolMom]

I think they were at a frat house not in a dorm. 

[Perfect Xero]

Also, way to go John and Katherine for coming to the realization that Toby is on his own and they should stop paying for things. But seriously sucky execution. How about having a talk - as of the end of the month we will be shutting off this and this. Instead they just cut him off without telling him! Ridiculous. And doesn't fit with how they have handled other things.

My issue with the story is that it really wasn't a realization that he should pay for his own things. It was just another bit of Katherine's "It's my time to shine!" attitude that she's been displaying since she first decided to write a book about her husband's friends and co-worker's sex lives and wouldn't listen to any argument against it because it was what she wanted to do.

 

Toby's only 19 or 20 at this point, it's not like his still being on his parent's insurance plan (which is certainly much better than anything he can afford for himself at that age) or phone plan is anything all that unusual for a young person. When Toby moved out Katherine even wanted to pay his rent to get him to choose a place close to Mission Hills (which Toby turned down).

 

It was only after she realized that he could help her write her musical and he turned her down (because, seriously, what guy wants to write a sex themed musical with his mom?) that she suddenly had a problem with them paying for things. It was just a way for her to put pressure on him so he'd have to agree to work on the musical with her.

 

Then, at the end, when Toby says that he'll have to read the book, she acts all surprised that he hasn't read it. Seriously? It's a book about sex, which includes stories about Katherine and John's sex lives and she's really surprised/upset that her son didn't read it?

[Ohgeez]

I really want for Daphne to make cupcakes for her professor to say thank you, and the professor to say "Wow, these are good, you should go to culinary school and become a chef."

ROFL thank you!

[CleoCaesar]

Toby's only 19 or 20 at this point, it's not like his still being on his parent's insurance plan (which is certainly much better than anything he can afford for himself at that age) or phone plan is anything all that unusual for a young person.

 

I agree. It was an odd battle to pick. I get that Katherine doesn't want Toby to get complacent and spoiled ("Mom, did you pick up my Ralph Lauren undershirts?" would make any parent go "Oh shit..."), but abruptly cutting him off without even notifying him was passive-aggressive and weird. Plus, there's no logical reason Toby can't be on either plan. Yes, it's great to teach your kids how to stand on their own two feet, but there are ways of instilling that message without forcing them to fork over thousands of dollars a year to an insurance company out of money they already don't have a lot of.

[Aliconehead]

I think Katherine most of the issue was Toby was turning down jobs.  If you can afford to turn down jobs, you should be paying your way.  If he was taking all the jobs he could get, minus Katherines play, I hope they would have continued.  But Toby was being an elitist ass.

[joanne3482]

I think they were at a frat house not in a dorm. 

Bay told Emmett she was going to a party at Daphne's dorm. And Tank said he knew someone in the dorm so I think it was a dorm party.

 

The whole thing made the timeline wonky though. Emmett left because he had a thing early Monday morning, but who throws a big wild raging dorm party on Sunday night, and this was after Daphne got the news about her extra credit that was due Monday.  Most profs don't usually have weekend office hours so when was this raging party? 

[BC Mama]

I'm going to wait until next week to comment on the rape storyline. Issues of consent are so important and I pray it is handled well.

In the meantime, I am so not impressed with the lack of realism in the university storyline.

First of all, what year is this? Why is paperwork required to drop a class? I graduated from university over a decade ago and classes were always dropped on line.

Second of all, I find it hard to believe that a professor of such a large first year lecture class would be so well acquainted with a student's exam. In my day a prof would never even see an exam! It would have been handled by TAs.

And, we never had parties like that in our dorms. Just no.

[Perfect Xero]

I think Katherine most of the issue was Toby was turning down jobs. If you can afford to turn down jobs, you should be paying your way. If he was taking all the jobs he could get, minus Katherines play, I hope they would have continued. But Toby was being an elitist ass.

He turned down one DJ related job that his Mom got him. From other comments he's made this season, it seems like the DJ thing has been working out for him so far. I'm not an expert, but I'd imagine that being a success as a DJ is one of those things that is 20% actual talent and 80% image and connections. So if he thinks that working a Bat Mitvah is going to hurt his ability to get the sort of jobs that he wants, I don't necessarily think he's wrong to turn it down.

If Katherine hadn't wanted him to work on her musical and if she hadn't cancelled his phone and insurance without telling him first, I'd probably buy that she was just concerned about him turning down a job, but since it was her precious baseball sex book that has been the defining thing in her life for the past season +, it comes off to me like she was just being petty because he didn't want to help his Mom write songs about the time his Dad banged 3 different women in one night and the time she hooked up with some rando on a train.

Edited January 29, 2015 by Perfect Xero

[KaveDweller]

That he didn't think she would have a problem sleeping with him while with Emmett because she did with him. 

 

He's kind of jerky for putting any moves on Bay knowing she's in a serious relationship anyway.  And if he didn't and she drunkingly hit on him, he shouldn't have gone along with it, knowing she'd regret it in the morning.  I know I should wait until next week to really judge, but it seems kind of innapropriate.

 

Considering that he almost dropped out of high school the first time a decent job came along, I'd think that him having something that ties him further to the school would be a good thing.

 

I know, right? It's not like Travis wants to drop out of school to play professionally or anything.  Who cares about dropping one class?  And isn't it good for Travis to be involved in something other than the deaf program? Doesn't that experience give him more options later on? Or possibly a scholarship in upcoming years? I'm not sure who's paying for his education right now.

 

I totally agreed with everything Katherine said about Toby. Until she went and cut him off with no warning.

 

Yeah, they should have gone to Toby and said we want you to start paying yourself.  Or said they would keep him on their plan, but he has to chip in to them.  I agree with the posters that said Katharine was just trying to force him into working on the stupidest musical ever.

[Mabinogia]

This show officially showed it's bias towards Daphne this ep. Here we have a young woman just starting college, she's going through a lot (for Daphne). She gets a little drunk at a dorm party...no, wait, we can't let that happen to Daphne, quick lets have the girls make up so we can explain why Bay would be at the party and have her get date raped. Daphne can then remain unharmed, problem solved.

 

I think I might be done. I can't take it anymore. Between Catherine's musical (UGH) and the perpetual shitting on of Bay, I just can't anymore.

[BC Mama]

I know, right? It's not like Travis wants to drop out of school to play professionally or anything.  Who cares about dropping one class?  And isn't it good for Travis to be involved in something other than the deaf program? Doesn't that experience give him more options later on? Or possibly a scholarship in upcoming years?.

Travis joined the show has an angry and defeated teenager, who probably lacked a lot of self esteem when his parents wouldn't even make the effort to learn his language. Melanie should be celebrating his new found talent!

[MyRealName]

Tank date raping her did not ring true to me because the night they met he is the one who "rescued" her from a situation that could have turned out the same.  He has also been shown to be fine with NOT sleeping with Bay and even liking her so much that he quit his fraternity for her. So date rape by Tank doesn't set right in our house even with my teenager.

 

 

I don't think Tank will see it as rape. His perspective will probably be: they had some drinks and ended up in bed together. Whereas Bay's perspective might be: you took advantage of me while I was drunk. Also, I don't think he was all that fine with not sleeping with her the last time.