John and Kathryn Kennish’s marriage didn’t fall apart all at
once. It fell apart in bits and pieces, in the inevitable silences between the
happy moments. It fell apart in sideways glances and neglected dreams. It fell
apart in the back of Kathryn’s mind long before she even recognized anything
was wrong. But now she recognizes that everything is wrong, and it’s John’s turn
to get caught up. Except John doesn’t even realize he’s fallen behind until
Kathryn leaves him standing in a parking lot, alone and stunned and dealing
with the potential that his marriage—his life as he knew it—could be over.
These are the scenes
of a marriage. They could be scenes from any marriage, really; that’s the
beauty of the story Switched At Birth
is telling. Throughout the season the show punctuated the story with big,
outlandish moments, with John kissing Jennice or Kathryn writing a steamy novel
based on her experiences as a baseball wife. At times these punctuating moments
threatened to overcome the narrative, tipping it into unpleasant soap, but this
episode pulls the story right back into focus and puts the more scandalous
moments that preceded it into perspective. John kissing Jennice wasn’t the
story. It isn’t the reason John and Kathryn’s marriage is falling apart. It’s the
catalyst for Kathryn to finally realize what she’s been going through all
season, for her to confront John not with the specifics of his indiscretion but
with the totality of her discontentment with their marriage. It’s sneaky and small
and smart.
What’s interesting about John and Kathryn’s dilemma is how
ordinary it turned out to be. Kathryn is unhappy. She’s been vaguely unhappy
for a long time, but now she finally has diagnosis for what is wrong: She wants
to grow and change, and John wants her to stay the same. He’s unhappy but he
sees no way out of it; his unhappy has become normal, like a droning hum in the
background of his life. John has never been the most flexible man. Kathryn so
clearly expressing a desire to be fulfilled in a way he can’t imagine fulfilling
her obviously terrifies him, so he rejects it completely, and by rejecting Kathryn’s idea of fulfillment he doesn’t realize he’s essentially rejecting her. How many real relationships have
ended this way? Millions, probably. Seeing something like John’s “I’m not happy
because you keep telling me how unhappy you are” sentiment dramatized on
television, which is glorious in its absolute commonness, still feels like a treat.
Not every story in this episode was ordinary, as much as I
wish they were. Daphne—who is basically a magnet for drama at this point—is caught
in the middle of Sharee’s life, having turned her mother in to a social worker
but still taking it upon herself to do more. This aspect of Daphne’s character,
the one that wants to help people despite the cost to her, is one of Daphne’s
most admirable qualities, even when it brings out the worst in the show. That
worst comes when Daphne and Sharee trick Sharee’s mother into getting to the free
clinic to meet with Daphne’s boss. It’s a disaster that ends with the boss
getting stabbed and Daphne having to jam a needle into his chest so he can
breathe. As an overall story, Daphne helping Sharee realize she can’t take care
of her mother on her own is compelling. In juxtaposition of the thoughtfulness
of the Kennish marriage, Daphne jamming a needle into someone’s chest feels a
little silly.
But there’s redemption elsewhere. After what feels like a
whole season without a story, Travis gets a great one here. It’s time for
college interviews, and Galludet is calling for both Emmett and Travis. Yet
while Emmett is blasé about the whole thing, Travis is a twitchy mess at the thought
of his interview (and I love the idea of “mumbling” vs. “crisp” signing Melody
discusses here when preparing him). Travis isn’t just twitchy, he misses his
interview altogether, then lies about it. When Melody catches his lie she can’t
understand, until Mary Beth breaks it down: Travis comes from a horrible family
situation, and Melody’s house is the first place he’s felt like he was home. Now
it feels like she’s kicking him out just as he feels like he’s found a family
again. It’s lovely and specific and full of wonderful moments only Switched At Birth can have, like the
truly great scene where Melody and Travis fight with each other while Mary Beth
sits between them desperately trying to keep up, with the camera placement and
movement expertly representing Mary Beth’s alienation in that moment. Because
although she got the idea of the argument, she’s still an outsider in the
moment. Not because she can’t hear them—although that’s part of it—because the moment
was about what it has meant for Travis in his life to be deaf, and how that’s suddenly different now with Melody, Emmett, and Mary Beth, who all understand him in a
way his family never tried to.
At its heart, through all the soapy shenanigans and twists
and turns of this season, Travis’ story remains what Switched At Birth is about: People reaching out to each other and
trying to understand. Sometimes, like with Travis and Melody, this understanding comes easily. Sometimes, like with John and Kathryn, the path is a bit rockier. But how happy are we that we get to watch them walk it?
Stray observations:
- Carrie Wikis Some
Art: Untitled (Memory Is Your Image
Of Perfection), Barbara Kruger, 1982, Collage. - I am still very into Regina’s story with the East Riverside
project, as stories of gentrification issues interest me. Adriana won the day
here by pointing out how Wes was trotting out Regina like a Latina mascot to
help sell his project, but Wes also has a point—it’s a mutually beneficial business
relationship. Even if it is kind of gross. - Bay CANNOT lose the ability to use her hand. Art? Signing?
Bay needs her hand. I will accept nothing else. (Poor Bay.) - Bay and Toby playing a Parent
Trap scheme on their parents was adorable. But those Pig Troughs look pretty nasty. - Gabe the cute audiologist is back and it looks like Melody
is going to start dating him. Finally! - Daphne’s boss calling her out on flirting with Jorge and
Campbell instead of doing her community service was priceless.