Both Daphne and Bay found their new life decisions weren't all they were cracked up to be in "The Awakening Conscience, as everybody seemed to learn something about themselves. Let's find out what, shall we?

Bay's choice to go to Carlton turned out to be far less exciting than she imagined. She wasn't as good at signing as she thought and the deaf students were not welcoming. You'd think her relationship with Emmett, whom everybody loves, would have given her a leg up, but I think it was actually working against her.

The students were tightly knit and had a rhythm to their learning that was totally thrown off with the pilot program. 

I thought I understood why, but it didn't really hit me until Natalie told Bay that the only place she didn't have to accommodate hearing people was at her school. I never thought of it like that. As a hearing person, I would think we accommodate for the deaf, but when in their own world they finally get to be free of our crap. I don't blame them for being upset. 

At least Bay met Teo, who was introduced on last week's Switched at Birth episode. It was hilarious seeing them struggle to understand the instructions from the teacher in their class, and even when they only caught every third word, they still created more work for the other students. It's going to be a cool story for show to examine and I'm glad they've decided to send Bay to Carlton.

I'm so disappointed that John is running for state senator. Why would anybody vote for John Kennish? He's a pompous ass. He has absolutely no desire to be a senator, but had no problem stealing Kathryn's thunder. The way he then strode in and tried to tell Daphne how to run her taco truck drove me crazy. 

Daphne has a really great plan in place with reasonable prices. John saw an opportunity for his favorite thing, money, and made changes without considering how it would make Daphne feel. She got her ingredients in her old neighborhood and learning how many businesses were going under due to financial stress really threw her. Travis not being able to afford one of her tacos was her tipping point. 

While it wasn't the most graceful way to stand up to John, she managed to do it so well that he not only agreed with her desire to sell inexpensive, quality tacos and give them away when she felt it was right, but he said he would accompany her to do it. The look on his face at her "pay what you can" sign was priceless. Sadly, Daphne's heart was in the right place but it backfired. She didn't think about what giving free food away would do for the restaurants in the area. 

Really, who would want to pay when you could get free food? So Daphne realized she didn't have any great answers, but wanted to find them, and in doing that actually (wait for it) inspired John. After his experience with her and the truck he showed genuine interest in giving back some of the blessings they have to those less fortunate. You could have knocked me over with a feather. Here's hoping it lasts.

Finally we had Toby and Nikki. I never realized their relationship had gotten so serious. They are very cute together, and Nikki is like a more mature and rational Grace from the Secret Life of the American Teenager after she had lost her virginity and found God again. Toby's confusion was understandable, but I had some of my own.

Was Nikki never going to do anything but kiss before she chose the man with whom she would spend the rest of her life, or was she just going to refrain from serious sex?

That's not a topic that comes up much, but there is a difference between fooling around and having sex. Sometimes I think entertainment forgets that in between stage. Nikki's speech about not apologizing for who she was because she was a different person now was kind of sobering. If only we could all be that strong. It was very admirable.

I had no idea Lea Thompson could sing so well, but she sounded great with Nikki. Toby was kind of embarrassed to have her singing with them until she pointed out how happy he should be that he didn't have a camera following him abound during the many times he screwed up over the years. Funny how when mom has great advice, the kind that can get you your girl back, having her around isn't so bad after all. 

Regina was also dealing with the Angelo news, but it was on a fairly small scale so I think we can expect that to blow up in a future episode. The shakeup from "Street Noises Invade the House" did a great job to set up the second half of Switched at Birth Season 2. ABC Family has raised the bar with the issues discussed on this show as well as how they are explored and resolved. 

As always, share your thoughts in the comments!

Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.