Switched at Birth - Season 2 Episode 17 - Recap - Prudence, Avarice, Lust, Justice, Anger
Switched at Birth - Season 2 Episode 17 - Recap - Prudence, Avarice, Lust, Justice, Anger
ABC Family's Switched at Birth is a complicated show, with dense storytelling and a huge cast of interwoven lives. This week is no different, except that the whole affair feels less compressed than usual, with a slower pace and not much interconnection between plot threads.
Daphne and Jace are having a nice swimming lesson at the country club pool, but the happiness is interrupted by a sighting of season two's primary villain, Chip Coto. As the pair leaves, Daphne spots Chip's former illicit romance, Parker, running from the club in tears. When Daphne asks what's wrong, the truth is revealed: Parker is pregnant with Chip's lovechild! Aaaah reveal of the century! And it's only mid-episode! Jace finds out, but promises not to post on his political blog about it. Later, Daphne runs into Parker again, but this time, Parker says that the pregnancy test was mistaken. Whether Chip paid for her silence or Parker's being honest is unclear, and the whole thing is a bit fishy. Daphne and Jace scheme some way to toy with Chip's head, so they send him an anonymous text message saying they know about him and Parker, and when Chip asks who they are and what they want, they ask him to remove his support for abstinence-only sex education from a piece of legislation. The next day, Kennish patriarch John tells the family that Chip Coto has removed the offending passage.
As Bay and Ty bask in the glow of their post-coital bliss, Angelo plans to meet his new (illegitimate) daughter that was illegally adopted away by the mother. He invites Bay, the baby's half-sis, but it's a no-go; Bay and Ty have plans to see a concert that day. When Bay tells Ty about Angelo's invite, Ty insists they go; after all, St. Louis isn't such a long way off. The bad green screen road trip reveals a secret from Ty's past: Ty's dad left long ago and has another family, whom Ty has never met. When Bay and Angelo finally go to meet the couple, Bay actually doesn't think Angelo should take the baby. The dads seem very excited to be raising a baby girl, and the baby already seems attached to them. Angelo remains determined though, so we'll just have to wait and see how this one turns out!
Toby runs into Simone at the car wash, and like last week's car wash encounter, the whole thing makes him doubt his life choices intensely. He eventually makes plans with Simone, and is found out by his fiancé, Nikki. The illicit meeting just turns out to be an open mic where Toby plays a few songs. Still, he and Nikki get in a fight about it. I... don't think the marriage is going to last long, if it happens at all. At least, I hope.
Emmett's mom, much to Emmett's horror, has set up an online dating profile. Travis browses the page a bit, also to Emmett's horror, and the two agree to set up a date with one of the dudes who messaged her (a professor at the local college). She is initially horrified when she comes home to find the two rascals on her profile, but she agrees to the date. The date is so disappointing that it takes place entirely off-screen. Mom gets mad at Emmett about his laziness, and that he's broken off plans with his father again. She goes to see Dad herself, suspecting Emmett's bad attitude to have stemmed from her distance. While there, she about the nixed cochlear implant plans, and says she'd support him in it, and that Emmett would surely come around eventually.
This episode was kind of a bore, especially after last week. There's a ton of setup with very little payoff, and with just three episodes left, I'm curious why the stakes aren't higher. Regardless, I'm still invested in seeing where these characters go and what happens next. You can see what happens next right here next week with a new recap, and you can also watch a preview for this week's episode below!