Switched at Birth Star Explains Why Everyone Is Unhappy in the "What If?" Fantasy Episode

What if Regina had told the Kennishes that their daughters were switched the moment she found out? That's the question explored on Monday's Switched at Birth fantasy episode, airing 8/7 on ABC Family.

In the final minute of last week's episode, Regina (Constance Marie) and John (D.W. Moffett) were embroiled in an intense argument when John collapsed and suffered a heart attack. Monday's hour will play out as John's fantasy — or rather nightmare — of how everyone would've turned out if Daphne and Bay's switch had been revealed when the girls were just 3-years-old. Ironically, it seems, life could've been much worse if the secret was out.

"In this fantasy world, the family did not take time to connect with each other," Katie LeClerc, who plays Daphne, tells TVGuide.com. "Many of the circumstances are similar to what we would normally see the family would go through, but in this episode everyone is less cohesive, less together and all very unhappy."

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While Bay and Daphne's relationship is strained in the reality we know, in the fantasy world, it's virtually nonexistent, even though they've grown up together in the same household. (Viewers will learn why they're in this situation early on.) "Daphne dresses like a Gossip Girl and is really mean to people," LeClerc says. "Jon and Kathryn missed out on her first three years so they overcompensated and gave her too much in order to say, 'We missed this time, but we love you.' Bay is very jealous of that."

And Fantasy Daphne's changes go way beyond just her clothing and her attitude. She also has a cochlear implant, has disassociated herself completely from the deaf world, lacks self-confidence, spends her parents' money like there's no tomorrow and will do anything to further her social status. (Watch an example below.)

So despite Regina's bouts with alcoholism and struggles as a single parent, did keeping the secret actually serve Daphne better? And should John quit being so hard on her for her past mistakes?

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"Part of what we're trying to say is that your family makes you happy," LeClerc says. "[After experiencing the fantasy], John sees that Regina did a great job with Daphne and that she ended up a confident, smart, wonderful girl. Maybe his fears are that he wouldn't have done as good of a job. Or maybe that fantasy was just a nightmare, but it gives him a reality check."

Watch a clip from the episode, airing Monday at 8/7c on ABC Family, below: