The legal ramifications of being Switched at Birth
Since the girls are technically each other (Bay Kennish is Daphne Vasquez and Daphne Vasquez is Bay Kennish), wouldn't their official documents become nullified (beginning with their driver's licenses) — unless they legally changed their names and resubmitted their real birth certificates to everyone who needs them?
- Because (presumably) they were switched in the hospital before their births were registered, [the girl growing up as] Bay was registered as Bay Kennish, and [the girl growing up as] Daphne was registered as Daphne Vasquez—rather than being registered *as each other* and then being switched. Therefore, [the girl raised as] Bay IS Bay, even if she would have been raised as Daphne if the switch hadn't happened; same with Daphne. Or in other words: Because both babies were registered as their respective parents' [as in who would raise them, not heretical parents'] child, THAT's who they are to the law.
- I believe this is how it can happen with adoptions and surrogate mothers—the child gets registered as the child of the adopting couple/couple who will be raising them, not the birth parents.
Did Daphne originally have her father's surname?
Did Regina&Angelo originally surname Daphne after her father, and then re-surname her after Regina's maiden name after Angelo left? Or if they gave Daphne her mother's maiden name at birth, was there a specific reason for that?
- Regina and Angelo weren't married at the time of Daphne/Bay's birth. It is not uncommon for unmarried mothers to give their babies their last names, even if the father is in the picture at the time.
- Don't forget that Angelo didn't believe Daphne was his child (due to her green eyes red hair) and therefore took a DNA-test (behind Regina's back) and then walked out on them when it showed he wasn't the biological father. Thus it could be that on the birth certificate she was registered as Daphne Sorrento, but Regina changed it after Angelo abandoned them.
- This explanation is Jossed: Daphne's birth certificate is shown in the first season, and it clearly lists her name as Daphne Vasquez. So, for whatever reason, she was given her mother's maiden name.
Basketball Championships in either Missouri or Kansas?
Buckner Hall and Carlton face off against each other in the Missouri State Girls' Basketball Championships in Springfield (not that one). But wasn't it established that Buckner's in Mission Hills which is in Kansas?
- It's not explicitly a state championship—it's just presented as a prestigious basketball tournament.
- Meanwhile, were they the only ones there, or were the other teams just not important?
Regina's medical hand condition
At some point in the series, Regina was diagnosed with a hand disorder that forced her to stop signing and quit her work as a hairdresser. Aside from an angry outburst from Melody that she's never heard of that happening, the show never mentions it again. Since Kathryn took up signing a little earlier in the season, the dynamic settled into each girl drawing closer to her birth mom, changing the dynamic and, frankly, giving the Bledsoes less to do on the show. Does anyone know why the hand disorder was necessary?
- It's a case of Real Life Writes the Plot. Since Constance Marie (Regina) didn't know Sign Language before the show, she had to learn really fast because Regina is supposed to be fluent. She developed carpal tunnel syndrome and double tendonitis, so she's been unable to sign.
"Alternate Universe" episode outcome
Why did the girls wish they were switched at birth on the season 3 finale? If they weren't switched, Angelo wouldn't have left, Bay would have a biological brother (and could date Toby, who wouldn't be her brother in any way but still like her a lot), and both girls would be successful professionally.
- Either they didn't think this through, or this timeline was only worse from their subjective perspective—Bay couldn't think of Toby as a potential boyfriend anymore, and had no memory of her many years with Angelo as her father, or any memory of her brother, whom she basically killed.
- There were downsides to the altered timeline: the Kennishes are fighting, Regina kept drinking, and her salon is about to close, etc.
"Alternate Universe" episode Regina death?
- In the season 2 episode that shows what would happen if Regina told about the switch, her tombstone clearly states that she and Angelo got back together at some point. But, even assuming that she remained an alcoholic, and therefore she wasn't allowed to see the girls, the episode doesn't explain why Angelo wasn't allowed to see them?
"Alternate Universe" episode Bay's speech capabilities as a deaf person?
In "Yuletide Fortune Tellers," Bay discovers in the alternate universe she's Daphne and therefore deaf, but (unlike Katie Leclerc) Vanessa Marano gets to speak in her regular voice and not don a "deaf accent" for most of the episode. Daphne-as-Bay handwaves it by mentioning she must have had a lot of speech therapy, but therefore shouldn't regular Daphne have had it as well (especially since regular Daphne doesn't have a brother to put more strain on Regina)?
- Perhaps it was Angelo's idea/insistence to give Bay more speech therapy than Daphne had ... remember, he left shortly after Daphne lost her hearing, whereas he stays in the alternate universe, so that could very well make the difference. Especially since the original timeline, Regina-as-a-single-parent clearly values and emphasizes Daphne using Sign Language over speech therapy/speech reading.
- I always understood it as muscle memory. Daphne-as-Bay still knew how to sign, and they kept their memories from the real timeline, so Bay-as-Daphne probably remembered how to use the muscles for speech.
- I assumed that the writers thought that it would be offensive to have a hearing actress put on a deaf accent, but that it was more or less okay for a hard of hearing actress to exaggerate one. Also, from a logistics standpoint, accent training is a skill and Vanessa might not have been able to do it, and it wasn't worth the effort to train her for one episode.
Daphne's education prior to the Carlton School
Was Daphne homeschooled up through the third grade? If not, how did she make it to third grade before the other kids being horrible to her made her and her mother consider other options? (I realize the Internet wasn't a huge deal back then, but if a kid is being bullied that severely, usually many options will be considered, as long as the kid brings the issues up with his/her parents.)
Noah's deaf/hearing sides
If Noah lost most of the hearing in his right ear, why does Bay always sit on his right when talking to him?
- She doesn't. After she finds out about his hearing loss, she's pretty consistently on his left side.
Season 5 Bay/Daphne living situation
In Season 5, Bay tells Travis he can't live with her because Daphne will. The three supposedly lived together in China, so it was seemingly a matter of space. However, in the 100th episode, Bay tells Ally they have plenty of space.
- Ally was sleeping on the couch, whereas, presumably, Travis would be sharing a bed or room with Bay. However, we see that Bay and Daphne have beds next to each other in the same room. Given Ally sleeps on a couch while there, we can assume there's only one bedroom. And it would be a bit awkward for Travis and Bay to share a bed with their sister/friend) in the bed right next to them.
- I think Bay offering Ally somewhere to stay was more about wanting to get to know Ally short term (especially as she does move out an episode or so later), whereas Travis would have been there long term, and it could have gotten frustrating having the three of them in a limited space.
Bay "cheating" at school
When Bay was accused of cheating at French, why didn't she just offer to retake the test? It would have been a lot more convincing than getting Angelo to shill for her, which doesn't actually prove anything at all.After Angelo dies, why does no one in the Kennish-Vasquez family keep in touch with his daughter and her mother?
Daphne's/Bay's/Emmett's schools in Season 01: Buckner Hall or Calton?
In Season 01 Ep. 12 "The Tempest", Daphne says to Emmett she'll see him around because "[she] takes four classes with [him]". However, at this point isn't Daphne going to Buckner Hall High School while Emmett's still at Carlton School (for the Deaf)? So how can they be taking classes together? Even more confusingly, a bit later Daphne says to Emmett and Bay she'll see both of them at classes. Which would mean that Emmett has transferred to Buckner Hall by now as well—but that was never explicitly mentioned?! Or does Daphne only take some classes at Buckner Hall, and others still at Carlton? Is that even possible in the US High School system?- Daphne attends Carlton for regular education and takes culinary classes at Buckner Hall.
