"Switched at Birth" had all the makings of a great show: diversity, a unique plot idea, actually casting deaf actors/actresses to play deaf characters (even if there were 30 year olds playing high school students) and it educated a lot of people on issues regarding the deaf community. However, by the final season, I just felt so done with some of their plots. Here are the worst ones, in my opinion:
1. All of the love triangles
So many love triangles! I lost count of how many love triangles there were in this show. It was like every other episode, there was a new love triangle. And to have Bay end up with TRAVIS? First of all, this friend group swaps partners so easily it's ridiculous, and second of all this pairing is just so forced and random!
2. Redeeming Tank & Mary-Beth
So, first of all, the episode never actually made it clear whether or not Bay felt she was raped or if they were both too drunk for there to be a concrete answer on the matter, however, the show seemed to move forward from the standpoint that she was. If that's the case, there CANNOT be a redemption arc for Tank-- and to have Mary-Beth date him? And Bay should forgive her for that because "her mother's not doing so well"? I don't think so. Thanks for ruining an otherwise sweet, likeable woman character.
3. The Lil' Wayne costume debacle
So, I'm white. I'm probably not supposed to have an opinion on this plot, but I did consult multiple friends of color when this episode came out and here's what we talked about that the show failed to address: dressing up as a person from another race isn't inherently racist. It's when you make "person of x race" your costume, instead of a specific (like "Lil Wayne") or use black/brownface. The way the show handled this plot felt sloppy and rushed, like they were trying way too hard to make a race plot. The race plot after this (the cotton, the hunger strike, etc.) was much better in my opinion.
4. Nikki
Toby and Nikki deserved so much better. First of all, was it too much to ask to have *one* celibate couple in the media nowadays who actually follow through with waiting until marriage? Second, the way things ended for these two was rushed and awful. I couldn't stand Lily at all! We did get the amazing plot with their baby, but couldn't Nikki have carried that plot out?
Sidenote: on the subject of Lily, I will give the show credit because it was the first time I could ever remember watching a show where a woman gave birth and didn't immediately go back to her pre-bump figure in the next shot.
What were some of the plots you think they could have done better?
