How Did ‘Switched At Birth’ Finale End? Tears, Heartache And More In Episode 10 Recap

After five seasons of seeing Daphne Vasquez and Bay Kennish live out their lives after finding out they were taken home by the wrong families, Freeform aired the final episode of “Switched at Birth.”

Season 5, episode 10, “Long Live Love,” kicks off with a flashback of the first day Daphne (Katie Leclerc) and Regina (Constance Marie) moved into the Kennish home, highlighting Kathryn (Lea Thompson) and Regina’s dislike for one another.

In the present day, Kathryn and Regina are closer than ever. Reminiscing on the five-year anniversary of the switch, Regina thanks Kathryn for her generosity and reveals she’s going to move out of the guest house, asking Kathryn to keep it to herself.

READ: Katie Leclerc teases life after “Switched at Birth” in exclusive interview

Bay (Vanessa Marano) stops by the Kennish home to reveal that she will be featured in Live Ink magazine for the photos Emmett (Sean Berdy) took of her doing Ally’s (Tristin Mays) tattoo and invites the family to attend the celebration.

While visiting, Travis (Ryan Lane) tells John (D.W. Moffett) that he will be taking the pro-baseball league offer in Japan but hasn’t told Bay because he doesn’t want to ruin her big night.

On campus, Daphne is talking to Iris (Sharon Pierre-Louis) when they run into Mingo (Adam Hagenbuch) who apologizes to Iris about dressing up as Lil Wayne and offending her.

When Regina tells Luca (Michael Galante) she plans to move out of the Kennish home, he suggests that the two move in together, however, she is hesitant about the big step and flashes back to her makeout session with Eric (Terrell Tilford).

Daphne attends the lecture of a successful surgeon on campus with Mingo. After learning that the doctor will be offering a paid internship to one of the students, the two prepare to compete against one another for the coveted spot.

Elsewhere, Regina tells Melody (Marlee Matlin) that she still has feelings for Eric and is considering running away with him, however, Melody cautions her to think long and hard about her decision.

It is later revealed that Melody got a job as the dean of Gallaudet University and hasn’t told Travis or Emmett because it requires her selling the family home and moving. Emmett later tells Bay that Melody got a new job and he plans to move with her since there is no reason for him to stay.

While gathering materials to create a scrapbook for Regina commemorating the switch, Kathryn finds an old letter that reveals a month before the switch was discovered, John knew Bay wasn’t his biological daughter.

When Daphne goes to interview for the internship, the surgeon tells her she cannot be a doctor because she is deaf. Although she explains that she reads lips and is qualified for the position, he continuously shuts her down insisting she will never be a surgeon and that she is wasting his time. He hands her back her paperwork and tells her to try radiology because she can’t screw that up.

At the magazine party, Bay tries to convince John that life as an artist is meaningful even though it doesn’t always rake in money however, he brushes her off in order to find out how Daphne’s interview went. Daphne lies, telling him it went great and he tells her when she becomes a doctor it will be the happiest day of his life.

Bay attempts to get a celebrity to let her give them a tattoo but when the celeb brushes her off, Noelle (Valery Ortiz) steps in and praises Bay’s talents helping her land her first big client. Elsewhere in the party, Regina and Luca break up because she is still in love with Eric.

Daphne spots Kathryn looking at some of the art and expresses her doubt about becoming a doctor because she is deaf, however, Kathryn insists as long as she’s willing to fight and work around her obstacles she will become a great doctor. Daphne lets Kathryn know that more pep talks will be required in the future and the two embrace one another.

Away from the party, Toby (Lucas Grabeel) is interviewing for a full-time job as a DJ when a customer with Down Syndrome is being kicked out of the cafe. Toby steps away from his interview to diffuse the situation and calms everybody down.

Bay tells John about her celebrity client but he is more interested in how she intends to make money seeing as a career as a tattoo artist is a dead end in his eyes. Bay then accuses him of favoring Daphne because she is his blood and kicking Travis off the baseball team.

John insists that he fought for Travis to stay on the team and lets it slip that he is the reason why Travis is going to Japan. Seeing Bay’s shocked reaction, he tells her to go talk to her boyfriend.

Bay confronts Travis about Japan and he reveals that he wants her to come with him. However, since it is a traveling baseball team she would not have the opportunity to work as a tattoo artist. He promises her when he is done he will go wherever she wants because he wants to be with her forever. He asks her to think about moving with him.

Kathryn confronts John about taking a DNA test for him and Bay but he reveals he didn’t know about the switch. When the results came back that he wasn’t Bay’s father he thought Kathryn cheated on him.

At home, Kathryn and John make up after she realizes that although he knew Bay wasn’t his child, he stayed. John revealed that regardless of the test Bay was still his daughter and he would never leave her or Kathryn.

After meeting the caretaker of the man Toby met in the cafe, he gets inspired and decides he wants to spend his life advocating for people with Down Syndrome.

Bay later tells Travis that she won’t be going with him to Japan because their relationship is strong enough to stand the long distance, but reveals Emmett will accompany him on his travels and be by his side the entire time.

Empowered by her pep talk with Kathryn, Daphne goes back to confront the surgeon who wouldn’t let her interview for the internship, telling him that he violated the law by denying her the opportunity. She then tells him that as long as she is qualified, she will not let anything including her deafness stop her from becoming what she wants to be.

Regina goes to Eric’s hotel and tells him to turn himself in. Although he will have to spend two to three years in prison, she promises that she will take care of his son and that they will be waiting for him to come home.

When Melody finds out one of her old students are homeless, she invites him to stay with her and reveals she will pass on her job opportunity as a dean in order to continue to help the deaf students at UMKC and people in the area.

Daphne tells Mingo about what happened with the surgeon and he tells her he got the internship but won’t take it because of the way the doctor treated her. Daphne encourages him to take the internship because he could learn from it and even school the doctor on his discrimination.

Mingo reveals that he broke up with his girlfriend weeks ago because he was in love with someone else, Daphne. The two share a kiss and decide to be together again.

Elsewhere, Bay and Emmett meet up where the talk about their future, she becoming a famous artist and he a famous journalist. Bay tells Emmett that one day when he is super famous she will tell people that she knew him and that he was her first love. The two say their goodbyes and Emmett leaves Bay.

At the Kennish home, Kathryn throws a DNA party celebrating the anniversary of the switch. John apologizes to Bay for not understanding her but insists he only wants the best. He says that he will support her no matter what.

Regina reveals to the family that she will be moving out of the guest house and buying her home. Bay takes the news hard but Regina assures her that she is so happy about the time they have spent together.

John tells Daphne that no matter what career she decides to choose he will always be proud of her. Daphne then tells Kathryn that she would like to start calling her “mom” and the two hug.

The family then heads out to the front lawn to see a rare comet. The series ends with the family lying on the grass enjoying a once in a lifetime moment together.