Guess there is a minimum age for the wee ones to get their SAG card.

I looked this up once, a few years ago. California law is no babies in TV or movies until they're 15 days old. Some shows have tried to make birth scenes look more believable by casting preemies who are technically 15 days old but it's really still before their actual due date, but enough people were complaining about that (really not safe for babies that little to be around that many people) that most shows have stopped.

i'm with Hil, for the additional reason that depending on him being willing to come onboard at that late date seems suspect to me, like poor planning. The whole thing plays better as a heist movie, IMO, so it would all have to be planned, like, a lot.

I think it had to be after the note. Sleazy PI doesn't have the chops to pull off that kind of charade. The only thing they could rely on him to be is, sleazy. So the note tells him there's 30 grand in it for him if he sells out his client, he jumps at the chance. Also if he was in it at the beginning, then all that posturing with VM was scripted which makes it pointless since nobody else was there.

The numbers on the fortune were exactly the ones from Lost? Damn.

There was a "Cupid" shout-out -- Wallace was at Trevor Hale High School in Chicago. Trevor Hale was the lead character's name in "Cupid" which was also set in Chicago.

I also wish it had been clearer when Vinnie had been brought on board, and how they even got Astrid involved in the first place.

I did love the "Mornin', Sam." "Mornin', Ralph" exchange, though.

That was my favorite part, too. The overall episode seemed contrived and a bit muddled to me, though.

I'm glad that others reacted the way I did. I sort of just posted this as a comment over in(meara's & P-C's) LJ, but the baby really took me out of the story. Maybe it's a mom thing (since I see Plei and Cash made similar comments) but I kept thinking "how could you hand your baby over to those strangers?" and other more predictable questions about baby care in general.

However, way beyond all the baby issues were the custody issues. I guess it is possible to imagine some scenario where Duncan would not have rights to the baby, but it would be complicated enough that it should have been addressed. Otherwise, it's a simple issue. He's the dad - he has custody. I can see why he might not want Meg's parents to have their hands on the baby, even for a few weeks, but still. Honestly, I don't think the hospital would just turn the baby over to Meg's parents. I think they would want some determination from the court (to avoid being sued if nothing else).

I agree completely. The whole issue of whether Duncan could legally take the baby was absurd (especially considering that they've established that he's 18 and thus legally an adult), as was bringing in Celeste, who has no say in the matter one way or another. Also, they should have shown us Meg's parents at some point. Finally, the whole issue of Wallace's return was taken waaaay too casually. I'm fairly disappointed in Mr. Thomas's script.

An 18 year old high school student could lose his/her child to the grandparents. It does happen. The standard in most states is "best interest of the child."

Meg's parents make a good appearance. They're church goers and have raised other children. They can certainly argue that it's in the baby's best interest to stay with them. They'll fight Duncan every step of the way and argue that the child has "bonded" with them in the interim. We know they're abusive, but Meg's e-mails did not refer to them as the abusers and I expect that the closet in Grace's room no longer has a secret room.

Also, Meg's parents could make hay with Duncan's outbursts, need for medication, his immaturity and his lack of financial support. Duncan is in a particularly bad spot if his parents were unwilling to help him with money (the thing with VM selling Celeste's jewelry indicates that the Kanes were not going to be supportive of Duncan keeping the baby).

The standard in most states is "best interest of the child."

Sure, but the courts would have to step in first. There was no indication that this had happened yet. In fact, VM & Duncan appeared to be fighting a burden of proof issue, when no court in the country is going to say that a multimillionaire dad wouldn't have custody of his child, absent any evidence of child abuse.

There was a "Cupid" shout-out -- Wallace was at Trevor Hale High School in Chicago. Trevor Hale was the lead character's name in "Cupid" which was also set in Chicago.

Oh, was it the name of the high school? I couldn't figure out whether he was one of the players or something.