Recap: Switched At Birth, “The Persistence of Memory”

In this weeks’ episode of Switched at Birth, “The Persistence of Memory” everyone is dealing with some major issues.

The episode begins with Kathryn suggesting Daphne take a cooking class at Buckner Hall, because the notion that Daphne taking class at a hearing school is bad has really sunk in. Surprisingly to Daphne, Bay doesn’t mind her pseudo-sister taking a class at her school, so Daphne decides to sign up. This leads to an entire episode of drama between pretty much…everyone (expect Toby that is, who is too worried about his gambling debts this week to care, we’ll get there soon…)

At Buckner Hall Daphne tries to speak up in class and is shot down by laughter when her rude and almost intolerant British cooking-teacher doesn’t understand her. Then to make matters worse Daphne doesn’t hear her timer and burns her fries. After the classroom fiasco, the principal of the school demands Daphne has an interpreter with her at all times while at Buckner. This obviously upsets Daphne, who later says to Bay, “I’m the deaf girl who set the kitchen on fire, and now I’ll be the deaf girl with the weird side kick.”

While one would think students wouldn’t sink to that level of immaturity around a Deaf student in high school, you would find yourself surprised by the level of intolerance shed by the many ignorant teenagers of our society. To make matters worse the principal also mentioned to Daphne about getting a cochlear implant…finally we’re getting to the point in the plot where Regina and Kathryn can fight, it truly wouldn’t be a real SAB episode if not for another major mom-on-mom cat fight, now would it?

When Daphne shows up in class the next day with an interpreter she is embarrassed when the mean-girl in class calls her a “special needs charity case” (which is both incorrect and very mean, if you ask me). As if her day couldn’t get any worse, Daphne almost gets hit by a car while crossing the street. However, after a “sisterly” pep talk from Bay, Daphne realizes her true self and goes back to class with her head held high. She also bakes the teacher some amazing treats and tells off the mean-girl. YAY Daphne!!!

In other news, Toby owes a bookie $10,000 for betting on the Notre Dame game, looks like his team didn’t pull through this time, and now he’s in BIG TROUBLE. As a means of finding the money he first attacks his sister, failure. Then he goes to his father for some true support, but backs out afraid to tell him how much he actually owes. Obviously a grounding from daddy is far worse than possible expulsion, which he risks by breaking into Buckner and stealing some very important papers…

Bay goes on her own adventure this week, to find out more about her father. Emmet helps her track down her dad’s old car from the picture she has of a then-pregnant Regina. Once they find the car (in an impound lot) they move on to look in Emmet’s garage where Regina stores some boxes, hoping to find more answers. They stumble upon Bay’s birth certificate, which just so happens to have her birth fathers’ name on it (how convenient). This new relationship between Bay and Emmet is both cute and intriguing, while I doubt that they will make the relationship anything near romantic, I do like this new friendship.

Bay may have found some clues, but her father is still looking for something more…more money that is, or is it? John gets in a fight with a friend in regards to his suing the hospital. He later tells Kathryn that he wants to keep fighting because they deserve the money for what happened to them (perhaps with Toby’s little gambling problem they’ll actually need all the money they can get, but for now the Kennish fam seems pretty financially sound). So why the big fight over money? It turns out that all John really wants is an apology from the hospital, which they are unwilling to give. However, the fight isn’t over yet. The Kennish’s lawyer informs them that the hospital pulled out of their settlement deal and will be taking them to court. What did the hospital find on them?

Finally here it is! The big fight I know you’ve all been waiting for…Regina vs. Kathryn: Part VI. Kathryn asks Regina why she never got Daphne cochlear implants when she was younger, claiming that Daphne was too little to ask for it (and implying that she was wrong not to). Regina fights back with claims that Kathryn has made no effort to learn about Daphne’s Deaf culture. She also hits her hard with the harsh reality that Kathryn has only expected Daphne to change for her, and has yet to try to change for her daughter. The fight is resolved when Kathryn comes to apologize to Regina, having learned some basic ASL online. I’m sure we haven’t seen the last of Kathryn’s overstepping—she is the master with her sex talks and extensive knowledge of…everything—but Regina is one tough woman I certainly would not try to take on.

What do you all think of the most recent episode? Do you like the new Bay-Emmet friendship? And what could the hospital have on the Kennish fam? Post your comments!