kathryn kennish – Zakiya N. Jamal

Switched at Birth Recap: “And Life Begins Right Away”

Posted on August 20, 2014 by Zakiya N. Jamal in TV

Usually I try to go in order of what happens in the episode but I just can’t today because nope, nope, nope, absolutely not. Bay is NOT going to jail for Daphne. What in the world is this BS? I’m sorry but no.

First of all I get the whole they’re really sisters now and Bay loves Daphne enough to be this selfless and that’s beautiful and blah blah blah. Whatever. That’s complete BS. First, Bay could totally still get jail time. Honestly it may not be as bad as Daphne but still. More than that it’s a felony. She’s going to have a permanent record for something Daphne did. Also, yes Bay wants to be an artist now but what if she wants to do something different later. This is on her permanent record. Just no.

I get that this was a great plot twist and honestly I applaud the SAB writers for creating such a great finale because it truly was wonderful but I’m so upset by this. Daphne really messed up this season and although I get that she was upset by everything with Angelo that shouldn’t be an excuse and she shouldn’t be able to just walk away with this. I’m really pissed that Daphne let Bay just take the blame for her and this made me dislike her even more. Own up to your own mistakes. If we’re going to try to play the “they’re real sisters now” card then Daphne should’ve of done a solid for her sister and not let her take the fall for something she didn’t do.

But I can talk about that all day so let’s just get to the recap.

The episode began with the return of Wes and him telling Regina he wouldn’t press charges against Daphne. Yay! Except when Daphne and Regina go to tell John and Kathryn the good news there’s an officer waiting to take Daphne in because someone else pressed charges and they found Daphne’s prints on the scene.

Oh, dear.

Once at the police station it’s revealed that there’s really no way Daphne can get away from this unscathed. Either they can fight it and she could get three years or she can take the plea deal and get 90 days. Either way she’ll be going to prison for reals and since she’s 18 it’ll go on her record. I guess Nacho wasn’t worth it after all was he Daphne? (Sorry I’m still pissed.)

After the Kennish’s and Vasquez’s have a family discussion Daphne decides she’s going to turn herself in and that she just wants to enjoy her last day at graduation and the family agrees.

MeanwhileBay is working on finding a reasonable plan to present to John and Kathryn so she can go to LA and be with Emmett. Though it takes her time to figure it out she makes a solid plan and with money from Angelo’s life insurance Bay is able to present her plan to John. After revealing to both John and Kathryn that Bay is at risk for developing an aneurysm they are especially not on board for Bay going to LA. However Bay points out that she’s 18 and she can legally do whatever she wants.

You go Bay!

Also, it’s revealed that Carlton will be closing after this year which sucks but that wasn’t a major plot point so we’ll move one.

At graduation Daphne freaks about her future and tells Bay she doesn’t think she’ll be able to give her speech. However, with encouraging words from Bay Daphne is able to find the courage to give her speech which left me in a ball of tears because it was so beautiful.

Afterwards there were a lot of beautiful moments at the graduation. First of which, Travis’ mom showed up all on her own. Apparently she’d been learning sign language via an app (that I now need to purchase) and it was really sweet to see her there meeting Melody and Mary Beth.

What got me the most was the scene between Daphne and Emmett (shout out to come-and-dance.tumblr.com for this awesome GIF set):

He then admitted that if Bay wasn’t going to LA with him he wouldn’t have gone to USC. Awww! He’s so in love with her it’s adorable.

Also, when Regina went to hug Bay Bay revealed she had a picture of Angelo pinned to her gown which also made me tear up a bit. This episode really hit me in the feels.

After Sharee says her goodbyes to Daphne and says she’ll see her at the graduation party Daphne decides to peace out and go to the police station straight from there. Bay decides to go with her telling her she won’t let her do this alone. From there we get the whole Bay lies and says she did it and Daphne lets her take the fall thing that I refuse to discuss anymore.

Other notable points of the episode was Nikki deciding she wants an annulment rather than a divorce and Toby and Cool English Teacher deciding to do nothing rather than something together. In other words they’re leaving friendship territory and walking into relationship territory.

Speaking of new relationships I’m now a fan of: Wes finally made a move! Thank God. Took him long enough. When telling Regina he wouldn’t press charges he kissed Regina and at first she was totally about it but then pulled away saying she wasn’t ready. However, later in the episode after Regina had blamed Wes for Daphne’s arrest, Regina goes back to his office to apologize where he then invites her to go to Hawaii with him. We don’t know if she’ll say yes or not but I’m really hoping she says yes. I really like them together and I think he would be good for her. We shall see.

Sadly, now we’re on Switched at Birth hiatus which is always a sucky time. Thankfully, the writers are blessing us with a Christmas special in December so it won’t be too long of a wait. Check out the preview below.

Obviously the show really likes these what if episodes. I don’t care; I’m in support.

Until then let me know your thoughts on the finale and the crazy ending. Honestly I just hope this doesn’t wreck my Bemmett ship. I don’t think it will but what is Emmett going to do now? He better still go to USC. But then they won’t be together. Then again Bay might be in jail so there’s that. I can’t even think about.

Will Bay go to prison? Will Regina go to Hawaii? Does this mean Daphne’s going to Gallaudet now? What’s going to happen?!? Thankfully SAB got renewed for a fourth season so we’ll get all our answers soon enough. I can’t wait!

Switched at Birth Recap: “The Image Disappears”

Posted on July 15, 2014July 15, 2014 by Zakiya N. Jamal in TV

If you follow me on Twitter you know that I was in complete denial this whole episode. I still can’t believe it and I’m very upset with the writers. Let’s just get straight to the point. Angelo is gone. After his accident he went brain dead and there was no reviving him. What I hoped was a very bad dream turned out to be very true and I couldn’t be more upset. Let’s start from the beginning.

The episode begins with everyone arriving at the hospital, stressed because Angelo is in grave condition. Although he pulls through his surgery the doctor warns that there could be serious brain damage but also states that since he’s young and healthy there may be a chance (there wasn’t).

After Bay, Regina, and Daphne go in to see Angelo the doctor tells Daphne if the number on the machine that’s hooked up to Angelo goes above 20 that’s no bueno. Regina then convinces Daphne to leave and go take the SATs that she’d studied so hard for. I personally think it was a little ludicrous for Regina to expect Daphne to sit through an exam like that after all she was going through but it is what it is. Daphne leaves, telling Toby to let her know if the number goes above 20. Of course, because everything has to go terribly wrong in this episode, it does.

Meanwhile Kathryn and Regina pray for Angelo’s recovery and Bay decides to donate blood in an effort to help Angelo. While donating she passes out and has this really sweet dream of Angelo helping her as she gives birth to twins. Then she’s gently awakened by Emmett, her knight in shining armor. Aww.

At the test Daphne has to give the proctor her phone and of course it starts to go off during the exam. Having to make a choice Daphne picks up the phone and she is dismissed (rather harshly) from the exam. Running back to the hospital Angelo has been rushed off to the OR. Daphne tells Bay she went to take the SAT and Bay rings her a new one, asking how she could possibly leave to take a test in such dire circumstances. Little does Bay know that was the last thing Daphne wanted to do in the first place.

When Angelo gets out of surgery the doctor says he’s brain dead leaving everyone shocked and wondering what to do. Angelo can continue to live off of all the machines he’s hooked up to but he’s essentially gone. Well, at least this is what the doctors say. Every one is in denial about this point at first.

John, who feels guilty because Angelo asked him for a loan and he said no, is looking for any doctor that can give them a different diagnosis. He fails to find one and is forced to admit there’s nothing he can do. Daphne talks to the doctor who explains to her Angelo’s not coming back. He shows her two x-rays of Angelo’s brain, one that shows the blood flowing there and one that shows no blood flowing at all. The doctor then suggests that the family consider doing organ donation.

Daphne tells Bay about her plan and Bay is outraged asking Daphne how she could possibly want to break Angelo down and “sell him for parts like a used car”. Again, ouch. Bay is throwing some hard punches in this episode. Speaking of low blows when John suggests to Regina they let Angelo go she accuses him of being glad that Angelo’s finally out of their lives. She later apologizes however.

Bay and Emmett go to Angelo’s apartment on a search for a phone number for his mother so they can call her and let her know what’s happening. While searching the apartment they find Angelo’s last will and testament. Surprisingly, Angelo states that in the case that he can no longer function or make choices for himself he would like to be taken off ventilation. Bay, who still doesn’t want to let go, doesn’t want to believe it and even suggests they pretend they never saw it. Oh, dear. Thankfully Emmett is able to talk some sense into her and they bring the will to the hospital where Regina is forced to face the truth as well.

Realizing what Angelo would have wanted they agree to take Angelo off of the ventilator and donate his viable organs. Bay then calls Angelo’s mother in France and tells her the bad news. In a touching moment Bay and Daphne watch as Angelo’s mother says goodbye to him, in French, on the phone.

It is later when they’re talking to a different doctor(?) about what organs will be donated the family learns that Angelo suffered a brain aneurysm. The doctor suggests it could have been caused by extreme stress or anger or a number of other things. However, all Daphne can really hear is anger and once the deed is done Daphne rips into Regina blaming her for Angelo’s death.

Throughout the episode there was also a recurring flashback of Angelo and Regina in the hospital when he accused her of cheating. Towards the end Regina imagines a different ending where he doesn’t leave and they work it out instead wasting all those years apart. Daphne also imagines Angelo coming in on her wedding day and seeing her in her dress. Basically there were a bunch of scenes that made me cry.

As I remain in denial it seems that Angelo is really gone and I will never understand why the writers did this to me. Still this was a very deep and thought provoking episode that I wasn’t expecting from Switched at Birth. The acting was superb and despite all my tears it was a great episode.

Check out the preview for next week below.

Source for Photos/GIFs: ABCFamily and Tumblr

Switched at Birth Recap: “And We Bring the Light”

Posted on July 13, 2014July 15, 2014 by Zakiya N. Jamal in TV

Last Monday’s episode ended with a bang (if you haven’t watched it yet stop reading here; spoilers are included). I thought this was a great episode except there was no Emmett so that was sad.

But to make up for Emmett’s absence (sort of), Toby’s back. Yay! Although his facial hair really should’ve stayed in Iceland.

Let’s begin with the Kennish’s because they had a lot of cute family moments. First, Bay didn’t get into Pratt and I think Pratt can suck it because that’s just dumb. She’s great and I don’t understand how she couldn’t get in (other than the SAB writers just don’t want Bay to be happy). And she wasn’t. She was devastated which broke my heart. Poor Bay.

But then big brother Toby returned and her day got a little bit brighter. Not telling anyone about not getting into Pratt Toby is finally able to get the truth out of her and decides to help a sister out. They plan to do a big art piece and using inspiration from Toby, Bay wants to create the Northern Lights. While planning to sneak out they get busted by Kathryn who wants in.

Thus begins the Kennish adventure. The art mission seems like a go until the electricity goes out and Bay kind of loses it. She rips Kathryn a new one basically telling Kathryn she’s not a “real” writer. Ouch. Although I know Bay is hurting because of Pratt that’s still no way to talk to your mom. Like ever. Kathryn, of course, is furious and would’ve stomped away if security hadn’t shown up.

To Bay and Toby’s amazement Kathryn is able to talk them out of getting in trouble by making up this crazy story about how Toby and Bay are twin, deaf Icelandic artists. After the guard leaves Bay breaks down and reveals to Kathryn she didn’t get into Pratt. Then in a very touching moment John shows up with a generator and all the Kennish’s say a time when they failed at something. Bay feeling revived turns on her Northern Lights and it’s magical (again, Pratt I don’t understand). It was a very cute Kennish moment and I thoroughly enjoyed seeming them be one united happy family.

Speaking of cute family moments Daphne and Angelo’s bonding time in this episode was fantastic. Their budding father-daughter relationship is adorable and I love it. Daphne is freaking out because of her SATs and Angelo helps her relax by distracting her in one of her favorite places: the kitchen. He tells her he needs help figuring out one of his grandmother’s recipes and suggests they make various different cakes until they get it just right. After they figure it out and Angelo admits he took no notes so they’ll have to do this process all over again at some point, Daphne finds a foreclosure notice. That’s when Angelo reveals that the restaurant is going out of business and he’s in a bit of a money crisis. After breaking down a little bit Daphne is there for him and then they take the cutest selfie ever.

While Daphne and Angelo are becoming closer than ever Regina is out to dinner with Wes who just gave her a gun for protection that she now knows how to use and shoot. Yeah, this won’t end badly. Regina and Wes go to dinner and guess who joins them? None other than Senator Coto (or is it former senator? Not sure on that front). Anyway some how Coto doesn’t recognize Regina and remember that her daughter blackmailed him. That would’ve been pretty interesting if he had though.

Wes had planned to get into a (not so legal) partnership with Coto but instead refuses to do so once Regina tells him the truth about how she knows Coto. You go Wes! About the only good thing he’s done so far. I’ll admit he’s growing on me. I still don’t like him with Regina and I definitely think he wants to be with her in a more personal than professional way that I don’t approve of but at least he’s becoming a better person.

After dinner Regina heads to K&D and is upstairs when Daphne comes in looking for her SAT book. Daphne calls out but Regina doesn’t hear her. Daphne then heads upstairs because she can hear Regina up there and Regina calls out hearing someone in the store. Of course, Daphne can’t hear her. Regina then gets her gun and gets ready to shoot and Daphne comes face to face with Regina’s gun. Oh, dear.

Daphne is pissed and rightfully so. She’s run downstairs when Angelo comes in and hears the whole story. Now he’s pissed and Regina and him get into a huge, nasty fight. Angelo accuses Regina of cheating and Regina basically tells him he sucks at being a father and a man.

Yes it really is Agent Coulson. Angelo then storms out and speeds off in his car and …

So that happened. Angelo is in serious bad shape. I’m really hoping ABC Family doesn’t kill him off. Angelo and Daphne were really just getting close and truthfully I’m not sure if Daphne could ever forgive Regina if he doesn’t recover. I hope it all works out but honestly I don’t know where the writers are going to take this.

Things. Just. Got. Real.

Switched at Birth Recap: “Like a Snowball Down a Mountain”

Posted on June 26, 2014June 27, 2014 by Zakiya N. Jamal in TV

SO. MUCH. DRAMA.

This episode was very emotional and I loved every minute of it.

First, let’s begin with Tank finding out the truth behind Bay breaking up with him. Silly John had no idea he was reprimanding the wrong guy and poor Tank had to awkwardly find out his girlfriend cheated on him via her father. I felt so bad for Tank and all I wanted to do was run and give him a hug.

However, I’m glad the truth is out now and Bay can official move on to Emmett. Bemmett is back y’all! Well, for now anyway. Moving on.

Switched at Birth was actually able to surprise me this episode which is rare. Turns out Matthew wasn’t just pretending to be Mandy to get back at Emmett. Instead it actually went much deeper and the truth is he’s gay and has been crushing on Emmett for a while. Go figure.

I actually ended up feeling bad for Matthew as well because although what he did was still very messed up he’s also dealing with some really heavy stuff. I can’t even imagine what it’s like to have to hide such a big part of who you are. To then have people find out that you pretended to be a girl just so you could fake date some guy is even crazier and embarrassing.

Due to these circumstances Bay is able to convince Emmett not to tell the principal the truth about what happened with Matthew even though they were able to delete all the pictures and texts Matthew had. Instead Emmett reconciles with Matthew telling him that he’s going to let go and it’s all over. Not sure if they’ll ever be friends again (probably not) but at least there’s no drama and I’m sure Emmett has now learned his lesson about the dangers of sexting (although I still don’t get what he could’ve sent Matthew if it wasn’t a pic of his “junk” but I’ll leave it alone).

As per usual Daphne has gone through yet another boyfriend in less then a season (shocker!). To be fair it’s not Daphne’s fault that she has a line of boys at her peck and call and then once she picks one they up and leave. Or is it? Hmmm . . .

Either way once Daphne got the assistant job at the clinic and got a little bossy with Campbell he couldn’t handle and took her advice and applied for a higher position . . . at another clinic. Awkward. He then says that he doesn’t think he’ll be able to split his time at this new clinic and make time for her. Really Campbell? You can’t drive you car back to see your girlfriend every once in a while? You’ll be that busy? Okay, sure. More like you can’t handle the fact that Daphne’s moving up in the world. I never liked that guy (Jorge forever!). Anyway Campbell’s now out and God only knows who’ll be in next.

Kathryn is making great strides with her book or at least she was until Sarah Lazar decided to sue because Kathryn created a character based on her and the character is a slutty reporter who sleeps around. Ouch. As much as I get why Kathryn did it (I’m definitely not a Sarah Lazar fan) slut shamming is never okay. After having Regina talk some sense into her Kathryn makes a small effort to have the Sarah Lazar type character changed but to no avail. So with a deep sigh Kathryn leaves her book the way it is and it seems that will cause more problems later down the road but that’s a problem for next week’s episode.

Lastly, now that Angelo has moved in the Vasquez’s are a cute little happy family. Until Wes shows up. Neither Angelo nor Daphne are big fans of his, especially when he reveals he’s carrying a gun (Daphne wasn’t there for that but I know she wouldn’t be too happy about that). Although Regina is at first against the idea of using a gun as protection her paranoia and fear gets the best of her leading her to ask Wes to teach her how to shoot. Truthfully I think Regina has a right to be a little scared but I don’t think getting a gun is going to help the situation. I just hope no one gets shot. Let us pray.

It looks like next week is going to be a little less crazy but still filled with drama. Emmett might be moving (but probably not) and Kathryn confronts Sarah Lazar about a possible affair with John. Also Regina will once again question Daphne’s allegiance to the Vasquez family. Oh dear. Check out the promo below.

Source for photos/GIFs: ABCFamily and Tumblr

Switched at Birth 3X06 Recap

Posted on February 18, 2014 by Zakiya N. Jamal in TV

(Warning: This post will contain spoilers. Read at your own risk)

This week on Switched at Birth Bank shippers got what they’ve been all waiting for: the kiss! Yes Bay finally recognized that she does in fact have feelings for Tank and we all know Tank had feelings for her, that was a given from the get go.

However, what was a surprise is Tank’s fraternity’s “dog fight”. Bay learns about the party from Mary Beth who was invited to attend by one of the guys in Tank’s frat, which leads Bay (in classic Bay fashion) to ask why she wasn’t invited.

The truth then comes out that the fraternity (Omega Psi) has planned this “dog fight” in which each guy is supposed to bring an ugly girl. This is of course ridiculous because Mary Beth is gorgeous, which Bay points out. This leads to a fight between Bay and Tank because although Tank disagrees with the frat’s idea he still wants to be a part of it. Bay then storms out, not knowing if she can date a guy in a frat like that.

Although Tank tells her not to, Bay of course tells Mary Beth which she has every right to do (sisters before misters always). Later, Tank goes back to the Kennish house and apologizes to Bay and tells her that he anonymously told the Inter-Fraternity Council about the “dog fight”. Though Bay is hesitant she decides to give Tank a chance.

Even though I am still a die hard Bemmett fan I have to say I’m glad this Bank ship finally set sail. I think Tank is a really sweet guy and as Bay said herself, that’s what she needs right now.

Meanwhile, Daphne is dealing with her love-triangle. Though she is technically dating Jorge she clearly still has feelings for Campbell and everyone knows it, including Jorge. This becomes especially evident when Daphne decides to throw Campbell a surprise 21st birthday party and invites all his snow boarding buddies; even Campbell’s (hateful) ex-girlfriend comes.

Daphne’s feelings for Campbell become explicitly clear when Campbell wants to go snowboarding with his body that could lead him to have a irrevocable brain injury if he gets hurt. Campbell and Daphne have a fight (in front of Jorge) in which Daphne says, “I care about you!”. Campbell initially chooses to go but then quickly comes back realizing it’s probably not the best idea. Daphne is ecstatic which finally leads Jorge to ask if she has feelings for Campbell. Thankfully, Daphne is honest and says she has feelings for both of them and she needs to make a choice. Which led Jorge to leave, telling her to let him know when she came to a decision. Basically:

Daphne better figure it out soon before she loses both guys. I, for one, am on team Jorge but that’s just my personal opinion.

In parent world, this one was all about the Kennishs as both parents were keeping secrets. Kathryn was hiding the truth about what her novel was really about and John was neglecting to mention that Janice, Toby’s mother-in-law, kissed him. Talk about awkward.

Of course as it goes with all secrets, both of these secrets are revealed, leading to John being kicked out of the house and staying with Toby who’s not happy about it at all. Though we all know it was Janice that initiated the kiss I think we can all agree that John has been acting like a dick (more than usual) lately and hopefully this time away will teach him a lesson like his heart attack did with Regina. Only time will tell.

Next week’s episode looks like it’s going to be major. Bay might lose her ability to do art (at least with her right hand – possible story line?) which would be a huge bummer considering she wants to go Pratt and art is her life. Also the drama between the Kennish parents will continue and Regina might have to figure out what’s more important: her morals or her job. Also, Daphne seems to be in a pickle that could lead to someone’s death? Watch the preview below and comment your thoughts. (Side note: Why do these previews always have to be so overly dramatic? Or is it just me?)