In this alternate universe of Switched at Birth it was like watching a horrible draft of the show. Well, not completely horrible since Bemmet was around, but the amount of soap opera drama just in the 42 minutes I saw was just asinine. We have the return, albeit for the episode, of Simone who in this alternate universe is Daphne's best friend, and for most of the episode we see a Daphne which comes off like a clichéd character. In this universe, she is without her lisp, has a total ambivalence to dear culture, and though they are in Kansas, she somewhat comes off as a weird mix of a mean girl and valley girl.
Daphne aside, everyone else didn't feel as heavily changed for this episode's plot. Bay remained the outcast of the family, but her rebellious nature was swapped for her being a top notch student; Toby I don't think changed at all, but seemingly just remained the kid addicted to gambling and borrowing money from his dad; but the real interesting thing the writers did in the episode was sort of change the way Kathryn and John's relationship plays out after certain circumstances. What I mean by that is, the writers made it so that it was destined for Kathryn to become a writer and John in the state senate, but they remixed it since the switch wasn't as big of a deal. So, Kathryn writes steamy romance novels, and now John seems a little less family oriented, if not just lacking awareness of what is going on in his home. I say this since Kathryn's steamy romance novels aren't influenced by John, but another man. That man being Chip who hit on her unsuccessfully in the universe we know, but seemingly knew just what to say in this universe. And in many ways, I feel the boldness and rebelliousness we know Bay for, Kathryn inherited it in this episode.
Overall though, I felt that this episode was a mix of showing a potential draft of the show when it first was being formed, and also this episode seemed like a means of justifying what Regina did, as well as setup some character development for John's character. To dwell further, I think this "What If" episode was made so John could understand and realize what his life would be like if he did sue for custody and what may have happened to him, and his family, if she never did what she did. In many ways, it feels like they are trying to redeem Regina, while trying to, as they have before, and make you see why he decisions make more sense than you may sometimes think. Considering how Daphne became under Kennish only nurturing; how the Kennish's marriage became when they had three children to look over; how John's iron fist, often rebutted by Regina, went untamed and seeing how that went; and most of all, showing how Regina's path back to sobriety and how her upbringing/ culture has had an effect on the show as a whole. In many ways, the episode doesn't just help justify Regina, but it feels like a love letter to the character. Watching what the show would be like without her made me wonder if I would laud it as much as I usually do, much less even bother to watch it after a season. For, though we see some of what makes the show great in the alternate universe, it never finds a way to connect with you and seems to be, ultimately, just another shallow young adult show featuring sex, rebellion and parents who don't have their stuff together. Come to think of it, this episode almost seems like a parody of other shows which share this demographic when I really think of it.
Daphne aside, everyone else didn't feel as heavily changed for this episode's plot. Bay remained the outcast of the family, but her rebellious nature was swapped for her being a top notch student; Toby I don't think changed at all, but seemingly just remained the kid addicted to gambling and borrowing money from his dad; but the real interesting thing the writers did in the episode was sort of change the way Kathryn and John's relationship plays out after certain circumstances. What I mean by that is, the writers made it so that it was destined for Kathryn to become a writer and John in the state senate, but they remixed it since the switch wasn't as big of a deal. So, Kathryn writes steamy romance novels, and now John seems a little less family oriented, if not just lacking awareness of what is going on in his home. I say this since Kathryn's steamy romance novels aren't influenced by John, but another man. That man being Chip who hit on her unsuccessfully in the universe we know, but seemingly knew just what to say in this universe. And in many ways, I feel the boldness and rebelliousness we know Bay for, Kathryn inherited it in this episode.
Overall though, I felt that this episode was a mix of showing a potential draft of the show when it first was being formed, and also this episode seemed like a means of justifying what Regina did, as well as setup some character development for John's character. To dwell further, I think this "What If" episode was made so John could understand and realize what his life would be like if he did sue for custody and what may have happened to him, and his family, if she never did what she did. In many ways, it feels like they are trying to redeem Regina, while trying to, as they have before, and make you see why he decisions make more sense than you may sometimes think. Considering how Daphne became under Kennish only nurturing; how the Kennish's marriage became when they had three children to look over; how John's iron fist, often rebutted by Regina, went untamed and seeing how that went; and most of all, showing how Regina's path back to sobriety and how her upbringing/ culture has had an effect on the show as a whole. In many ways, the episode doesn't just help justify Regina, but it feels like a love letter to the character. Watching what the show would be like without her made me wonder if I would laud it as much as I usually do, much less even bother to watch it after a season. For, though we see some of what makes the show great in the alternate universe, it never finds a way to connect with you and seems to be, ultimately, just another shallow young adult show featuring sex, rebellion and parents who don't have their stuff together. Come to think of it, this episode almost seems like a parody of other shows which share this demographic when I really think of it.
