ABC Family's Switched at Birth - Episode 3.16 "The Image Disappears"
The Kennish and Vasquez families rally to support a loved one who is in critical condition. Amid the emotion, blame is placed, decisions must be made and lives are forever changed.
Okay, that was an unexpectedly brutal episode of Switched at Birth. I knew going in that it would be a special episode of the series but I had no clue that the show had the plans to kill off Angelo. At times, the show has never quite known exactly what to do with that character with him disappearing all together for stretches at a time. But the summer run of episodes this year did have a plan for him. It was just all leading up to this moment that none of us were expecting. Ultimately, death is unexpected. It doesn't happen how everyone plans and how they want it to. It is sudden and painful for the loved ones. Daphne was just starting to build an honest relationship with him. For the first time ever, they were understanding one another. And now, he's just gone. He won't be here for Regina and her business ventures. He won't be there for Bay when she's going to give birth. He won't be able to walk down the aisle with Daphne. He won't be able to take his kids to France to visit the rest of his family. It's a sickening thing that has happened - and one that will reverberate throughout the rest of the season.So much of this episode is built about Bay, Daphne and Regina's reactions to the news the doctors keep giving them. John, Kathryn and Toby are effected by this as well but they don't have as strong a connection to Angelo as the other three did. Now, Regina is a widow and Daphne and Bay have lost one of their fathers. Not to even mention the loss for Angelo's mother as well as Abby, his other daughter. They are just trying to make sense of all of this. How did this accident happen? Was he suicidal? Did he swerve to miss a deer? Was he pushed off the road by another vehicle? And then, just comes the brutal reveal that he is brain dead. He will never wake up. He will never do anything that they always imagined him being a part of. And that rocks this family to its core.
No one wants to believe that he is truly gone. Daphne wants to make sure that the doctors haven't made any kind of mistake. Bay truly believes he wouldn't want to die like this. Regina is just filled with immense regret. She could have had so many more years by his side. At first I didn't think we needed to see the big fight fifteen years ago before he left. We had been told about it and that was enough. But it really does tie in nicely as the episode builds and we keep getting glimpses of the characters' dreams with him still alive. If only Regina had run after him and they promised to figure all of this out together. He would have stayed and they would have had this family for a much longer time. Now, that time is cut short. Kids do have to bury their parents. That is an unfortunate part of life. No one should have to do that while they are in a high school and worrying about college and the SAT. It's not fair for them. All that's left is to assign blame. What could they have done differently in order to have prevented this. Right now, all of Daphne's anger is at Regina. This really could be the last straw for Daphne to push her mother out of her life. They don't know that his brain aneurysm burst because of that last fight. But it's the easy solution to have in the moment. And that can only mean much more turmoil ahead for the Kennish-Vasquez clan.
Some more thoughts:
- "The Image Disappears" was written by Terrence Coli & Linda Gase and directed by Wendey Stanzler.
- So much of this season has been about the Daphne-Angelo relationship which does make Bay's moment about not remembering the last time she talked to Angelo so much more potent. She can't remember it and it was the last words they ever shared.
- It's strange how Angelo's mother's final goodbye to him was actually all about Bay and Daphne.
- Then there were the quiet moments that I really appreciated like Emmett being there for Bay, Kathryn praying for strength for the whole family and John realizing how wrong it was to feel happy that Angelo was suffering financially.
