A couple is driven to do the unthinkable when a cursed cradle demands drowning victims in exchange for the health of her terminally ill infant daughter...
"What A Mother Wouldn't Do" is another strong episode. It has solid writing, a creative curse, plausible characters, and an appearance by our favorite satanic uncle, Lewis Vendredi.
This is another episode where the writing really shines. The cursed item and its corresponding curse are pretty original. It even contains a flashback scene where Lewis explains the curse to the mother because I seriously doubt anyone would be able to figure it out by accident. The motives of the parents are believable as are their inner conflicts about using the cradle: the father begins to feel remorse and questions the true cost of using the cradle while the mother's conviction is unwavering and ultimately drives her to madness. There's also some interesting dialogue between the Curious Goods trio about the dilemma of recovering the cradle at the cost of the infant's life and the overall ethical issues of the infant being an unwitting pawn in the curse.
There are some negatives here but they don't detract too much. Lynne Cormack, who plays the mother, tends to overact at times, especially in the beginning scenes where her hammy acting is almost unbearable. A scene involving the murder of a doctor in a public park in broad daylight without anyone noticing is a little far-fetched. The ending, while absolutely perfect in some aspects, is a bit flawed. I had trouble believing that the babysitter would be able to take the child and run off.
This episode is still quite good and a perfect way to end a season that started rocky but ended strong, as long as you don't count the clip-show episode to follow, "Bottle of Dreams."
"What A Mother Wouldn't Do" is another strong episode. It has solid writing, a creative curse, plausible characters, and an appearance by our favorite satanic uncle, Lewis Vendredi.
This is another episode where the writing really shines. The cursed item and its corresponding curse are pretty original. It even contains a flashback scene where Lewis explains the curse to the mother because I seriously doubt anyone would be able to figure it out by accident. The motives of the parents are believable as are their inner conflicts about using the cradle: the father begins to feel remorse and questions the true cost of using the cradle while the mother's conviction is unwavering and ultimately drives her to madness. There's also some interesting dialogue between the Curious Goods trio about the dilemma of recovering the cradle at the cost of the infant's life and the overall ethical issues of the infant being an unwitting pawn in the curse.
There are some negatives here but they don't detract too much. Lynne Cormack, who plays the mother, tends to overact at times, especially in the beginning scenes where her hammy acting is almost unbearable. A scene involving the murder of a doctor in a public park in broad daylight without anyone noticing is a little far-fetched. The ending, while absolutely perfect in some aspects, is a bit flawed. I had trouble believing that the babysitter would be able to take the child and run off.
This episode is still quite good and a perfect way to end a season that started rocky but ended strong, as long as you don't count the clip-show episode to follow, "Bottle of Dreams."
