Switched at Birth Boss: Both Bay and Daphne Find Questionable Relationships

Switched at Birth's Daphne and Bay have had to learn to grow together, but in the final part of Season 1, they'll be breaking away.

"This cycle we really push each of the girls," executive producer Lizzy Weiss tells TVguide.com. "There's a big arc... for each of them about growing up, breaking away and pushing boundaries."

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When the ABC Family series left off, Bay (Vanessa Marano) received a devastating blow when she learned her boyfriend Emmett (Sean Berdy) had cheated on her, while Daphne (Katie Leclerc) found out that her friend-turned-something-more, Wilke (Austin Butler), was going off to boarding school. And to top it off, Bay's biological father Angelo (Gilles Marini) found himself facing deportation unless he married a U.S. citizen — aka Daphne's mom and Bay's biological mom Regina (Constance Marie). Needless to say, when the show returns (Monday, 8/7c), both girls will be running away from their very complicated lives. 

Read on for more from Weiss, Leclerc and Marano about each of the girls' new paths and relationships, whether there's hope for a Bay and Emmett reconciliation and how the hospital lawsuit will finally come to a close.

Daphne goes from the court to the kitchen
Although Daphne's outlet has always been basketball, she'll look to explore her culinary skills in the restaurant business. But she won't exactly be met with enthusiasm.

"There's talk about liability and whether or not it is a safety issue to have someone who cannot recognize verbal cues in an environment with open flames and sharp knives and potentially dangerous situations," Leclerc says. "Daphne is not a stranger to proving herself, but it's a huge frustration because she knows how good she is in the kitchen and ultimately ends up asking for help." Adds Weiss: "The real world is coming and for Daphne that means being in the larger hearing world where people may not be fine making accommodations for you. We're excited to challenge her in that way."

Can Emmett and Bay reconcile?
Although Emmett pulled the ultimate betrayal, could these the pair ever get back together? "She's really damaged again," Marano says. "I think she's at a place right now where she has lack of trust for all people." But don't lose hope just yet, Weiss says. "A lot of fans held him up as this perfect guy, but he's just a kid! He was in a terrible place emotionally and he did something stupid, which people of all ages do, especially 16-year-old boys. [We want] to take time and really be honest about what would happen, [but] of course there's hope! That was a true love and true love never goes away."

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New relationships for Daphne and Bay
Still reeling from Emmett cheating, Bay turns to her street art where she finds a new group of friends. "She falls into the wrong crowd, and there's a particular character who [is] a major bad influence. [We see] a little bit of bad Bay," Marano says. Adds Weiss: "She makes some friends that would not necessarily be welcome at the Kennish dinner table."

Daphne, meanwhile, will find a new love interest. But she will have to work hard for it this time. "We realized that every guy in Daphne's life was in love with her," Weiss says. "We thought, wouldn't it be fun if Daphne were the one doing the chasing?" And there's a reason Daphne has to go after this new guy hard, and it's not because he doesn't like her back. "The love interest is questionable and I think people will raise their eyebrows," Leclerc says. "She almost has to convince him that she is somebody he wants to be with."

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Will Regina and Angelo marry?
Yes, the new trailer shows Regina in a wedding dress, but will she really walk down the aisle? "The Angelo question was left in the air,so that gives Regina some big choices when we return," Weiss says. "She does really want to pursue things with Patrick [Christopher Wiehl]. He's a great guy with no baggage, and yet sometimes you can't get away from the pull of certain people. For Regina it's a big, messy issue."

Kathryn's book is released
In the premiere, Kathryn's book about the switch is finally released, further proving that Kathryn (Lea Thompson) can be someone other than the stay-at-home mom. "It's less about if the book is a best seller or not," Weiss says. "She's now beginning to think of herself as a person out of the house, and that becomes interesting for the marriage because Kathryn has mostly happily been a caretaker. We take some time to see what happens in a marriage when that role shifts and when Kathryn stops being the one to volunteer to do everything."

The lawsuit [finally] comes to an end
The series-long battle between the Kennishes and the hospital will have resolution by the end of the season. "It allowed everyone to really point the finger and get mad, but we've come to a place we've been planning for a long time where we have the trial," Weiss says. Adds Leclerc: "The way they did the trial and who wins and what they get and don't get really sets it up super well for the second season."

Watch a clip from the return of Switched at Birth: