S04.E09: The Player's Choice

[maraleia]

Iris urges Daphne to broaden her college experience by rushing a sorority. Bay inserts herself when Travis's popularity as a UMKC baseball player starts to affect his relationship with Mary Beth. Meanwhile, Toby plans to ask Lily to move in with him.

[stopeslite]

So once again, Bay's life is falling apart while all Daphne has to worry about is whether some mean girls like her or not. Oh noes, she didn't get into her sorority that she didn't really want in the first place! And the guy she dumped then went out with someone else after she told him she didn't want him! I am so sick of Daphne Goes To College I just can't even.

 

I wonder if Emmett pitched the story of him and Bay, or of him and New Girl. Or, because he knows what would make a compelling movie, if he told the story of him and the catfish. Now THAT would be an interesting plot angle for him to make a movie about.

 

Poor Toby. I blame his haircut. 

 

I don't even know what to say about Travis and Marybeth. She sank that one all by herself. It's infuriating that she let her own self-esteem problems overshadow the relationship they have, but it's partially so maddening because it's so relatable. :(

[Eri]

Ah, a bait-and-switch episode. I missed the first 15 mins of the show but I was expecting Bay to be in LA only for them to leave it to the finale. Why are they trying to pair a Bay-Emmmett-Skye triangle? It's clear that Emmett is only relying on Skye for her connections and to be his "voice" when it suits him. And why is Bay projecting on Mary Beth and Travis's relationship? I don't know what the point is, if Emmett can't handle the long-distance or believe her words then it's his damned loss.

[CleoCaesar]

Sigh. Travis and Mary Beth were awfully cute together. It was a totally out-of-nowhere breakup and felt very random.

 

I hope to Lucifer that we never see Lily again after next week's finale. She and Toby have anti-chemistry.

 

Bay's brattiness rears its ugly head again. Is it really THAT difficult to suck it up and do something that makes her dad happy for a few hours?

 

New SaB drinking game: take a shot every time Daphne says "pre-med".

 

I liked that Iris got into the sorority she wanted; she's that rare cheerful character on this show with no apparent baggage or emotional turmoil. Daphne was awful at the sorority but at least she got what was coming to her after she behaved so badly.

[stopeslite]

 

Bay's brattiness rears its ugly head again. Is it really THAT difficult to suck it up and do something that makes her dad happy for a few hours?

I saw that as the opposite - once again, Bay is pressured into doing something she has no interest in just to help out someone else, because god forbid she get to choose her own path. Maybe I heard wrong, but I thought they were talking about it as a job for awhile until they could hire someone else, not a one time thing? It seemed like Toby would have been the better choice, what with him already having been a coach and all.

 

 

New SaB drinking game: take a shot every time Daphne says "pre-med".

YES. Jeez. I want to yell "there is no such thing as majoring in pre-med" at the screen all the time. 

Edited March 4, 2015 by stopeslite

[Primetimer]

While Daphne continues getting the full college experience by rushing a sorority, Bay distracts herself from her own relationship drama by getting way too involved in Travis's.

Read the story

[Racj82]

Sigh. Travis and Mary Beth were awfully cute together. It was a totally out-of-nowhere breakup and felt very random.

 

I hope to Lucifer that we never see Lily again after next week's finale. She and Toby have anti-chemistry.

 

Bay's brattiness rears its ugly head again. Is it really THAT difficult to suck it up and do something that makes her dad happy for a few hours?

 

New SaB drinking game: take a shot every time Daphne says "pre-med".

 

I liked that Iris got into the sorority she wanted; she's that rare cheerful character on this show with no apparent baggage or emotional turmoil. Daphne was awful at the sorority but at least she got what was coming to her after she behaved so badly.

Is the break up out of nowhere? This was set up the moment Travis joined the teamed. In dialogue. Also, between that and the fallout from the Bay/Tank drama, they haven't been on the same page all season.

 

I just have to say that I hate the Bay/Tank plotline even more at this point. I say this because they did just what I thought they were going to do. After all of that, it basically ends up being another way to drive a wedge between Bay and Emmett. Also, the minute Tank's life crumbles, we don't hear from the guy again and no one gives a shit about what he was going through. Dude could have jumped off a bridge or something by now. In touchy situations like this, I would like to see it from all angles. But, Tank was just a means to explore a issue they wanted to explore. It just blows. Bay is back to whining about art of Emmett every five seconds. I DON'T CARE.

[flyngzebra]

I thought the ep did a good job with the sororities. Daphne gave it a go, but ultimately (decided by them) it wasn't for her. Anyone would be upset if blatantly not selected, but she was able to rise above.

I am glad Travis and Mary Beth are done. Her disapproval for Travis's baseball opportunities was a little over the top. She was correct that Travis's chauffeur situation was strange, but no one should ever ask anyone to watch a ukelele circle. Also, she burned her bridges with me when she was such a shit about Bay. Would Bay have been so eager to help if she knew MB thought Bay shoudl know better?

[Bobcatkitten]

I hate how they took Mary Beth and ruined the character we have known for more than a season in the last two episodes - having her be over the top and weird and just not herself and then break up randomly. 

[CleoCaesar]

Also, she burned her bridges with me when she was such a shit about Bay. Would Bay have been so eager to help if she knew MB thought Bay shoudl know better?

 

Thinking women shouldn't get blackout drunk at frat parties since they might get taken advantage of is a very low bar for being a shit. I think Bay herself thinks she should have known better.

 

Is the break up out of nowhere? This was set up the moment Travis joined the teamed. In dialogue. Also, between that and the fallout from the Bay/Tank drama, they haven't been on the same page all season.

 

True. But none of it seemed serious enough to end a relationship that was otherwise good.

 

Oh God, more eBay drama. i remember the days in season 1 when these two could have fun together, talk about art and photography, and just hang out and actually laugh and smile. The past three seasons it's been nothing but pouting, yelling, and stupid fights. BREAK THEM UP ALREADY.

 

Is Bay's big, dramatic rape storyline over already? For someone whom everyone thinks was raped, no one is paying attention to it and Bay is back to being happy-go-lucky, bratty Bay, like nothing happened. Tank's life, meanwhile, is more or less ruined. Awesome message, show!

[Ziz]

I can't stand Daphne. That is all.

[Seelouis]

She was correct that Travis's chauffeur situation was strange, but no one should ever ask anyone to watch a ukelele circle.

I was going to add "particularly if that person is deaf" but I think actually that would be the only way one should have to sit through a ukelele circle.

[Racj82]

Thinking women shouldn't get blackout drunk at frat parties since they might get taken advantage of is a very low bar for being a shit. I think Bay herself thinks she should have known better.

 

 

True. But none of it seemed serious enough to end a relationship that was otherwise good.

 

Oh God, more eBay drama. i remember the days in season 1 when these two could have fun together, talk about art and photography, and just hang out and actually laugh and smile. The past three seasons it's been nothing but pouting, yelling, and stupid fights. BREAK THEM UP ALREADY.

 

Is Bay's big, dramatic rape storyline over already? For someone whom everyone thinks was raped, no one is paying attention to it and Bay is back to being happy-go-lucky, bratty Bay, like nothing happened. Tank's life, meanwhile, is more or less ruined. Awesome message, show!

The breakup - Mary Beth clearly had self esteem issues and she was worried that Travis would change and leave her behind when he became an athlete. They verbalized it on screen. Bit by bit we have seen changes in Travis that would confirm Mary Beth's fears. In reality, she's more projecting her own fears onto him. He didn't do anything outright to break Mary Beth's trust. But, if you are a insecure person, it doesn't take a lot. It's all been there on screen from the moment he joined the team. Really it was pretty much doomed the moment he joined the team because Mary Beth seems determined to paint Travis as this cocky jock that is moving past her. It's irrational but people are often irrational. Really both her and Emmett are acting extremely irrational right now but coming from different places. It's more about them and their own hang ups than anything Bay or Travis did.

[Eri]

It's also realistic for people at that age to grow in separate directions.

Even though Mary Beth let her insecurities get in the way of her happiness with Travis, I was glad she was honest with him and herself to understand her limits. She didn't like the person she was becoming with him (needy, insecure, defensive). Compared to how she was after her brother's passing, she's grown a bit since then: trying new things, going outside her comfort zone, and making new friends. I could see why she wouldn't want to go back to that "sad" place where she felt pathetic all the time.

Additionally, it wasn't really fair on Travis to be burdened with relationship problems when he's found something he's proud of that also reinforces his talents in a positive way. Let's face it, he's always been limited in terms of career, school, friends, family, etc. He should be able to do what he'd like, see who he'd like and enjoy what he likes without being wracked with guilt. I think Mary Beth realised that he needed this and stepped down gracefully.

If only Emmett was as self aware in his relationship assessments with Bay! He too is also going down that path. That film project has been the happiest we've seen him all season and I don't know if Bay being there with him would really change anything now that he's found his stride (she doesn't share an interest in film). Without a plan for herself, I think she'd be miserable and eventually grow to resent Emmett like Mary Beth did with Travis, the more successful he becomes. They'll probably have them reunite and give them a cheesy "love conquers all" ending anyway but sometimes it feels as if Bay just forces herself to go back to Emmett because he's her "go-to" person and that's all she knows.

On a side note, I was ecstatic when Iris got accepted into the sorority of her choice. The actress looked really beautiful dressed up.

[Madison]

I don't feel like the Mary Beth/ Travis breakup was character assassination or out of the blue. For one thing, I think Mary Beth did a very nice job of articulating herself during the breakup, particularly when she expressed what he had meant to her (her first love, first sexual experience, learning a new language for him, etc) but concluded "this relationship isn't right for me anymore." There's no reason, especially when you're very young, to force yourself to try to make it work with a person who has different priorities than you do. When Mary Beth began dating Travis, he was very lonely and didn't have a lot going on in his life; he fit with her. Both of them filled a need that the other one had. His decision to join the baseball team, while understandable (especially given the already-stated loneliness and lack of anything going on), also changes his life in a very real way from his schedule to his social group.

In other words, I don't think it's JUST her insecurities that were at play here, and I think it was very mature of her to recognize that they were not only a factor in her feelings but also were likely irrational. I'm guessing that Travia WILL end up getting plotlines about new "groupie" girls and that Mary Beth just managed to save herself some time and pain by ending things now rather than waiting for the inevitable to happen. Nonetheless, as a person who is more confident and 10 years older than Mary Beth, I also would have no interest in dating someone who wanted to pursue athletics regardless. It's a perfectly fine option, but it doesn't mesh with my personality or my vision of the future. I can't fault her for having the awareness to see that early on rather than needlessly dragging the relationship out. Not everyone wants to be a baseball wife--or to see Katherine's musical on them.

Part of me feels that Travis was holding on tightly to the relationship despite also being aware that it was coming to an end. It seems similar to what Mary Beth pointed out to Bay about how she was projecting her emotions. Bay's over-concern for Travis and Mary Beth came from her concern for her own relationship; similarly, Travis' sense of desperation/ need to save his relationship seem as likely to come from a sense of anxiety that he might be growing apart from the first person who ever loved & supported him (in a romantic way). Given that he no doubt has fears of abandonment stemming from his childhood experiences with his family, it's hard to separate out how much of his last ditch effort was really about believing he still belonged with Mary Beth. He certainly offered no concrete solutions in terms of her objections to his new lifestyle (like his "groupies"). In fact, he appears to ENJOY the attention and acceptance that come from being part of an "in" group for once. He SHOULD be free to enjoy these things, but it doesn't mean that she should have to stand by him.

In terms of the Bay/Daphne plotlines, I think that Bay is actually finally catching breaks: being let off probation early, figuring out how to offer Tess support, getting her bench idea approved, and even deciding to go to L.A. Part of the reason that Bay is probably piled on is the Meredith Grey effect: people have some sort of fascination (or maybe just "show writers" have it) with watching their beloved heroine struggle against a long line of increasingly improbable obstacles. Given how superior Bay's acting skills are to Daphne's, it makes sense that she gets some of the meatier plotlines. But it looks like next week Daphne is going to fail again at her new life passion ("pre-med," everybody drink). The sorority plotline this week was pretty tame but I also enjoyed seeing Daphne get her comeuppance.

[stopeslite]

I wish Marybeth had gone to Bay to tell her how she was feeling, so Bay could take Marybeth to her mom, and Katherine could have given Marybeth a shoulder to lean on and a lot of advice about how to deal with a boyfriend who has sports groupies. Missed opportunity, show! 

Edited March 4, 2015 by stopeslite

[izabella]

Travis may not have any sports groupies yet, but he's been illegally buying alcohol for dorm parties so the underage kids can get blasted, he's making attempts to cheat on papers, he's been spending time with the bros instead of with MaryBeth, and the two of them haven't been together much.  I can see why MaryBeth would be feeling like Travis is not necessarily the kind of boyfriend she wants to have.

[Perfect Xero]

"Look in a mirror," random sorority girl is my new favorite character on the show. She should date Toby or become Bay's new best friend, just so she can be around to take whichever character is being particularly annoying down a peg each week.

Edited March 4, 2015 by Perfect Xero

[heythere]

Wait a minute, so the one sorority Daphne wanted to get into was the one that could give her the tests, right? And that's why she was crying when she didn't get a bid? 

 

Everything MaryBeth said to Travis in the coffee house was spot on. I just wanted to give both her and Travis a hug. I really loved the two of them so of course it's sad but I am happy MaryBeth stood up for her own needs rather than staying in a relationship for the sake of it being "easier" than dealing with a break up or to just say she's in a relationship. I am so happy to see a mature breakup like that and I'm glad it wasn't over something dramatic like a massive fight or someone cheating (which is certainly a legitimate reason to break up, but that isn't what the majority of breakups look like!).  

 

 

"Look in a mirror," random sorority girl is my new favorite character on the show. She should date Toby or become Bay's new best friend, just so she can be around to take whatever.character is being particularly annoying down a peg each week

 

Agreed! I loved it!

 

And finally, I love seeing Russell Harvard (Julian) in anything! I suppose it was inevitable that he'd be on the show at some point. 

[possibilities]

I didn't really get why "Deaf kid falls in love with hearing kid" was such an original or inspiring concept. Children of a Lesser God told a Deaf-hearing relationship story decades ago. Emmett's pitch was still derivative. I'm glad he's going to get to make a film, but kids writing about their first love is anything but new.

[KaveDweller]

Wait a minute, so the one sorority Daphne wanted to get into was the one that could give her the tests, right? And that's why she was crying when she didn't get a bid?

 

Yeah.  That's why I think she did so bad in her interview.  When they asked about why she wanted to join she didn't have a reason, and she couldn't just say it was for the tests.  She didn't even try to have a friendly real conversation with the girl either.  Honestly Daphne is usually more charming than that.

 

I didn't really get why "Deaf kid falls in love with hearing kid" was such an original or inspiring concept. Children of a Lesser God told a Deaf-hearing relationship story decades ago. Emmett's pitch was still derivative. I'm glad he's going to get to make a film, but kids writing about their first love is anything but new.

 

Deaf characters are probably a bit more original than some of the other student pitches, but since they established it was so rare for freshmen to get picked, they should have had him come up with something a little more impressive.  Plus I hate when TV characters are writers/directors who can only create things based on their own life.  Use your imagination people.

[Everleigh]

I saw that as the opposite - once again, Bay is pressured into doing something she has no interest in just to help out someone else, because god forbid she get to choose her own path. Maybe I heard wrong, but I thought they were talking about it as a job for awhile until they could hire someone else, not a one time thing? It seemed like Toby would have been the better choice, what with him already having been a coach and all.

 

I saw it the same way. Bay used to be a huge spoiled brat back in the beginning of the series, but she's really grown and I didn't see anything she did this episode as even remotely bratty. She has no interest in baseball and probably very little to offer in terms of assistance in that area but happily agreed to help anyway just to make her dad happy. She wouldn't have done that in season 1. And sure she got carried away with trying to help Travis and Mary Beth because she was avoiding dealing with her own issues and projecting, but that wasn't her being a brat. It was just her being meddlesome. It was Travis who made the stupid decision to follow her advice at a bad time and miss practice, it's not like Bay told him to skip warmups. 

 

I just have to say that I hate the Bay/Tank plotline even more at this point. I say this because they did just what I thought they were going to do. After all of that, it basically ends up being another way to drive a wedge between Bay and Emmett. Also, the minute Tank's life crumbles, we don't hear from the guy again and no one gives a shit about what he was going through. Dude could have jumped off a bridge or something by now. In touchy situations like this, I would like to see it from all angles. But, Tank was just a means to explore a issue they wanted to explore. It just blows. Bay is back to whining about art of Emmett every five seconds. I DON'T CARE.

 

I thought the Bay/Tank storyline was pretty well done, it brought attention to the problem of rampant sexual assault on college campuses and started a conversation on the topic of consent, but yeah, I hate that it's now all about Emmett. Like who the hell cares? Emmett's a dick to be punishing his girlfriend because she got assaulted at a party and Bay should recognize that and move on. But I could take or leave follow up on Tank, he's not a main character and while he faced some harsh consequences for his actions, he was still treated pretty sympathetically story-wise. Plus I hate when the media focuses on how the lives of the young male rapist is ruined so if they do eventually bring Tank back I hope they don't get too carried away with it. I'd like to see how Bay is coping instead of seeing her fretting over Emmett. She seemed to be really struggling right after the party, having a panic attack at the sight of Tank and even managing to concern Daphne enough to go to her mom, but now Bay's apparently fine and her only concern is winning Emmett's forgiveness. 

 

 Also, she burned her bridges with me when she was such a shit about Bay. Would Bay have been so eager to help if she knew MB thought Bay shoudl know better?

 

Even though Mary Beth was pretty victim-blame-y when it came to Bay, I get why the show included that point of view because there's lots of people who feel the same way and would rather question the victim's choices than the rapist's. But still it was kind of unsettling for me to see Bay go out of her way to help Mary Beth when just a couple of weeks ago Mary Beth was saying it's Bay's fault she got sexually assaulted. But Mary Beth was right that Bay was only so invested in her and Travis's relationship because she was having problems with her own. 

 

Everything MaryBeth said to Travis in the coffee house was spot on. I just wanted to give both her and Travis a hug. I really loved the two of them so of course it's sad but I am happy MaryBeth stood up for her own needs rather than staying in a relationship for the sake of it being "easier" than dealing with a break up or to just say she's in a relationship. I am so happy to see a mature breakup like that and I'm glad it wasn't over something dramatic like a massive fight or someone cheating (which is certainly a legitimate reason to break up, but that isn't what the majority of breakups look like!).  

 

I liked the Mary Beth/Travis break up for this reason too. It wasn't your typical TV breakup, it just sort of happened because they're growing apart. And I was actually impressed with Mary Beth for ending a relationship with someone she loves because she recognized it wasn't healthy for her to be feeling the way the relationship was making her feel. I wish Bay would follow her lead and learn to let go of Emmett for the same reason. 

[Perfect Xero]

I didn't really get why "Deaf kid falls in love with hearing kid" was such an original or inspiring concept.

 

Because the writers were patting themselves on the back for doing that storyline on this show?

[Bobcatkitten]

I don't think the director said it was innovative and new. He said it hadn't been done to death right? 

[taragel]

It might not have been totally abrupt but still couldn't help but think "The girl who plays Mary Beth must have a new show" because it seemed like a really orchestrated write off to me. Maybe that's just because I'm so used to Bay & Emmett getting back together whenever they hit a rough patch. I like her and it's too bad... but I won't be sad to see Lily go.

Katie LeClerc is really not a very good actress, is she? I mean, it's amazing that she's able to channel her own hearing loss well enough that she comes off as very authentically deaf with a speech impediment, etc. but her actual acting style is a bit offputting. She's so exaggerated in all her expressions and gestures it actually reminds me of a child actor. That opening scene everyday conversation with Travis was so winky and smiley and over the top. I just wanted to tell her to dial it back about 12 notches.

I think it's kind of hilarious that the past few seasons the show has been kind of occasionally exposing that Daphne really can be kind of a spoiled, selfish princess. This rush experience and the dream sequence/alternate universe episodes, where Daphne is a nightmare in all realities apparently. I like to think those episodes are tapping into the stream of folks here and elsewhere online who think Daphne's completely annoying.

The show seems to be going in so many directions I don't care about these days. They're fatiguing me with Bemmett drama, Daphne is always tiresome and this Mingo guy ---no. Just no. Toby? Meh. Give me more Travis and Regina I guess. Oh and Melody. I always enjoy Melody. I'd even like to see Kathryn's annoying friend come back. SaB's missing some spark these days.

[BC Mama]

Yeah.  That's why I think she did so bad in her interview.  When they asked about why she wanted to join she didn't have a reason, and she couldn't just say it was for the tests.  She didn't even try to have a friendly real conversation with the girl either.  Honestly Daphne is usually more charming than that.

 

 

Deaf characters are probably a bit more original than some of the other student pitches, but since they established it was so rare for freshmen to get picked, they should have had him come up with something a little more impressive.  Plus I hate when TV characters are writers/directors who can only create things based on their own life.  Use your imagination people.

At least he didn't pitch a movie about two girls switched at birth!

[CleoCaesar]

I hate when TV characters are writers/directors who can only create things based on their own life.  Use your imagination people.

 

*cough*Dawson's Creek*cough*  [Dawson kept making movies about his relationship with Joey, the girl next door, and in the series finale was shown to be a famous TV producer who actually made an entire TV show about that same relationship. Branch out, man.]

[Bec]

I'll take Emmett's movie over Kathryn's Baseball Sex Musical, though. I was cringing so hard when she was singing (her voice is lovely, but those lyrics... ugh, just no). They need to kill that plot pronto and give Kathryn something else to do.

 

Seriously, does no one ever use a little thing called imagination when they write? Ooh, for another example of this, on Gossip Girl, Dan wrote about his relationship with Serena, and there was a character who is clearly Chuck Bass, he just changed the name to Charlie Trout. It was hilariously bad. (From my experience in taking writing courses, though, a lot of aspiring story-tellers do seem to just write about their own lives with some altered bits - I tried to ditch that approach and just make shit up, the professor was not impressed with how derivative it turned out to be, but I did get a little credit for attempting to write stories that are not about any version of myself.)

[timimouse]

The show seems to be going in so many directions I don't care about these days. They're fatiguing me with Bemmett drama, Daphne is always tiresome and this Mingo guy ---no. Just no. Toby? Meh. Give me more Travis and Regina I guess. Oh and Melody. I always enjoy Melody. I'd even like to see Kathryn's annoying friend come back. SaB's missing some spark these days.

 

I have to agree here. I found the episode before this one rather dull as well but I gave them a pass as it was just out of the rape/not rape storyline. But this episode also had nothing to really speak about. It was just BLAH. I want to keep loving this show because I thought the premise was so good, the acting was pretty decent and the characters were developed well that made you care about them. Now, I find Daphne's acting to be annoying... I'm not sure if it's her or her script. Bay is just downright depressing these days... and not in that cool art-girl kinda way, but just plain depressing with all these sad story lines. And everyone one else is just pushed to the side.

 

Side note - I cannot figure out what it is about Toby's girlfriend that irks me so much! Somebody help me out here please? Every time that girl is on my screen I want to fast forward through her scene.

[KaveDweller]

*cough*Dawson's Creek*cough*  [Dawson kept making movies about his relationship with Joey, the girl next door, and in the series finale was shown to be a famous TV producer who actually made an entire TV show about that same relationship. Branch out, man.]

 

Yes, he is one of the first people that annoyed me doing that.  

 

Now, I find Daphne's acting to be annoying... I'm not sure if it's her or her script. Bay is just downright depressing these days... and not in that cool art-girl kinda way, but just plain depressing with all these sad story lines. And everyone one else is just pushed to the side.

 

I wish they would give Bay a storyline where she gets success with her art.  I mean, the heroes benches did that a little, but that was five minutes last week and then this week it's on hold.