Three Birds and a Baby

Birds of Prey Episode Review

In which there is a baby.

What Happened

Helena finds a baby, who turns into a little boy and then a bigger one, every time he falls asleep. He turns out to be a genetically engineered assassin, part of Harlequin's latest master plan.

They Always...

...catch the baby when it falls, and manage not to break the baby's back after the hundred foot fall. Then, have a fight while holding the baby. (Helena does the Xena routine.)

...claim they couldn't keep a plant alive. (Helena says this.)

...ask how hard can it be? (They find out a minute later.)

...the baby giggles at the tough one. (Baby giggles at Helena.)

...have to pick up diapers, then have to explain them. (Reese catches Helena at the morgue and spies the bag with the diapers in it.)

...have an "emergency" that is really a screaming baby. (Barbara summons Helena back to the Clocktower, interrupting her flirting with Reese.)

...get barfed on. ("I think the precise term is 'spit up,'" Barbara tells Dinah.)

...the tough one is the only one who can calm the baby down. (The baby cries until they hand him to Helena.)

...say "This doesn't mean I like you." (Helena talking to the baby, right before the lullaby.)

...say "I thought I'd be the maternal one." (Barbara mutters to Helena as she tracks down who the baby belongs to.)

...the tough one becomes the uber parent. (Helena criticizes Barbara's driving as the go to the lab.)

...say "Welcome to parenthood." (Alfred teases Helena.)

What Did I Think?

I knew this one would show up sooner or later. It usually comes later on, as a "wacky" episode where everyone runs around, helpless and wailing. Because God Forbid anyone actually know what to do with a baby. It's not like millions of people don't raise children every day. Only in television does the arrival of a child equal the exit of everyone's brainpower.

This episode skips most of the "wacky" in favor of focusing on Helena growing to care about the baby. The sweetness is somewhat undercut by the predictability, but there's less formula after the baby starts to grow up. They could have left it at the scene between Helena and Reese in the park, however. The weekly round-up on the ledge outside the Clocktower is getting old.