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Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
The Baby just got a whole more intriguing, taking place in a whole new location for the next two or three episodes. The fourth episode of Lucy Gaymer and Siân Robins-Grace’s HBO/ Sky horror-comedy limited series is titled, “The Mother”. It is written by Susan Soon He Stanton, with Faraz Shariat taking over the director’s chair.
In this review, I will be discussing The Baby Episode 4. There will be no spoilers here, as the title of this article suggests. Nonetheless, please read ahead at your own discretion to avoid any possible revelations.
Plot Synopsis
According to WarnerMedia’s pressroom, here is the logline for The Baby Episode Four—“The Mother”.
With the baby now in Bobbi’s (Amber Grappy) hands, Natasha (Michelle de Swarte) must reunite with her mother Barbara (Sinéad Cusack), whom she hasn’t seen in fifteen years. While Bobbi discovers an unmatched ability to put the child to sleep, Natasha confronts her family’s fractured history, and Barbara celebrates having children and grandchildren under the same roof.
WarnerMedia Pressroom
Discussion
NOTE: It should be known that I got to view the first six out of eight episodes of The Baby early two times before the publication of this article. This will be my third time having seen the episode.
While I did get to see this episode two or three times already, I finally got to take in the smaller detailed of its polished version. I did find it to not pace well, but on my most recent watch, I noticed more to the overall narrative that makes it worth the watch. “The Mother” finds our protagonist, Natasha “Tash” (Michelle de Swarte), finally forming a sort of bond with the Baby (Albie Pascal Hills and Arthur Levi Hills).
As I discussed last week, Tash — as a potential mother figure — is stuck between Mrs. Eaves (Amira Ghazalla), who refuses to be a mother, and Bobbi (Amber Grappy), who wants to go the lengths to be one. With “The Arrival” and “The Bulldozer” having established Tash’s stance on family, we get to see her grow as a human. There are little things throughout the episode that shows how much she cares. This is mostly seen when she tries to stick up for her sister’s well-being. We see a bit of this last week when Bobbi’s social worker finds a severed finger on the carpet, but now, it’s getting all the more evident.
Starting with “The Mother”, The Baby finds our characters at Jupiter House, which is where we will be for the next couple or few episodes. Wheeler’s cinematography is excellent work, and Rzeszowska designed neat sets for the episode, so I’m curious about the art direction that came up with the looks of things. The music team put together a fascinating score, especially that which plays in the final scene’s ritual sequence. (During one of my former watches, there was a visceral feeling that was close to motion sickness and gave the end of the episode a very dark and heavy mood. I will return to this in an upcoming interview with the music team that I plan to publish soon.)
The Crew of The Baby
The Baby is created by Lucy Gaymer and Siân Robins-Grace.
Lucy Gaymer serves as the producer of the limited series. Naomi de Pear, Jane Feathersome, Carolyn Strauss, Siân Robins-Grace, and Nicole Kassell serve as the executive producers. Katie Carpenter serves as the co-executive producer, while Emma Parsons is the co-producer.
Aisha Bywaters serves as the casting director, while Irene Waireri serves as the casting assistant. Ben Wheeler serves as the episode’s director of photography. Mike Holliday and Adam Biskupski serve as the editors.
Lucrecia Dalt composes the music for the show, while Peter Saville and Zoë Ellen Bryant serve as the music supervisors. Ed Hamilton serves as the music editor.
Paulina Rzeszowska is the production designer. PC Williams serves as the costume designer, while Misty Dee Griffiths is the assistant costume designer. Heather Pitchford serves as the hair and make-up designer; while Leanne White and Serena Grace-Horn are the hair and make-up artists.
Charles De La Mare serves as the art director; while Mea Carter is the assistant art director. Rachel Garlick and Rob Pybus serve as the storyboard artists. Poppy Luard is the set decorator. Sara Farrell and Kitty Katalina Lyons-Walker serve as the assistant decorators.
The Cast of The Baby
Michelle de Swarte portrays Natasha “Tash”. Albie Pascal Hills and Arthur Levi Hills play the titular baby of the show.
Amira Ghazalla plays Mrs. Eaves, while Amber Grappy portrays Bobbi. Sinéad Cusack plays Barbara, Tash and Bobbi’s mother.
Elijah W. Harris plays a barista at a cafe, while Genesis Lynea appears as Sam, Bobbi’s partner. Sophie Reid appears as Lydia, the woman who had the Baby before Tash.
Gemma Brockis plays Honey, a woman at Jupiter House. Beau Gadsdon plays Sally, Otis Christiansen plays Benji, Kitty Henson plays Misty, Lucy Henson plays Meredith, Dylan Hall plays Jacob, Alan Mooney plays Llewellyn, and Eugenia Caruso plays Skye.
Sean Murray plays Gabor. Tanya Reynolds appears as Helen, a woman whom Mrs. Eaves once knew. Eleanor Barrett plays Judy, while Karl Davies plays Jack.
Angela Yeoh appears as Yolanda Ray, a woman who had the Baby before Lydia. Seyan Sarvan plays Nour.
Performances and Character Developments
All four of the main female characters are portrayed fantastically by their respective actors. De Swarte is slowly developing into an individual who does want to be a mother. Her mother, Barbara (Sinéad Cusack), calls her a “reluctant mother”, but this woman is not perfect herself. As the viewer will come to see, Barbara helps run a place called the Jupiter House, where she and other adults look over children; however, Barbara does this because she was not much of a mother to Tash. We see that Cusack’s character is trying, however, at this point, her relationship with her daughter is not yet mended.
As I mentioned earlier, Tash is slowly becoming more of a mother figure to both the Baby and her sister, Bobbi. A connection between her and the Baby is established as she learns that “[t]he bodily connection between a mother and her child is quite extraordinary”. Here, I find it to be both beautiful and terrifying, but that itself possesses symbolic meaning. Like an invisible umbilical cord, that connection represents life and Tash’s risk of not dying.
I also appreciate the brief dynamic that is planted with Mrs. Eaves and Bobbi. It may not seem like much, but it is interesting to see how they differ as characters. With the former character, as much as possible, she does not hold back in wanting to harm the Baby; while with Bobbi, she does have what it takes to be a mother, although it is obvious that she does not have the confidence to speak up for herself just yet. (They do share a scene together, but I do not want to spoil the moment.) In her current two full appearances on the show, Bobbi is yearning to have a family in any way that she can; and in this episode, it seems to be working.
Final Thoughts on This Week’s Episode of The Baby
“The Mother” is a sufficiently strong set-up that showcases itself as the series’ “body” content. While The Baby‘s thesis statement is that babies may be the life or death of human beings, this week’s episode as well as the following two will further examine how women are deeply affected by the modern-day norms of motherhood. Stay tuned next week, as the show does take on a more serious approach.
The Baby is now airing on HBO and Sky!
Have you seen this limited series yet? If so, what will you be expecting? Let us know! For more comedy and horror-related news and reviews visit and follow The Cinema Spot on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!
Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
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