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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.
At long last, The Baby. I have been waiting for this one for over a month now. Lucy Gaymer and Siân Robins-Grace’s horror-comedy limited television program premieres on HBO and Sky later this weekend. Its first episode is titled, “The Arrival”. It is written by Siân Robins-Grace (Sex Education) and directed by Nicole Kassell (The Leftovers, The Americans, Westworld, Watchmen).
In this review, I will be discussing The Baby series premiere. 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 One — “The Arrival”.
After yet another friend makes a surprise pregnancy announcement, a dejected Natasha (Michelle de Swarte) heads to a remote cabin to get her head straight — only to be confronted by exactly what she sought to get away from: a baby.
WarnerMedia
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.
At a 30-minute runtime, this first episode of The Baby can be somewhat of a slow burn. It serves as more of an introduction to its main characters, Tash and the baby, teasing their roles throughout the course of the series. A few other characters that appear in this episode will have bigger roles in the following episodes. (Minor spoiler alert: this is a horror-centric series, so some of the rest of the characters will die in this episode; return; or return and die. That’s just how it is.) Although, we will get to that over the course of the show.
What catches my eye in “The Arrival” is Reid’s cinematography, Rzewszowska’s production design, Williams and Griffiths’ costume designs, and Spice and Lyons-Walker’s set decoration. The show is well-shot and isn’t too heavy with detail; although it is to a point where we focus on the characters themselves.
Four deaths occur in this episode; one we see on-screen, which is intriguing, while the other three are done off-screen, which I thought was kind of a letdown. However, this does bring that balance of horror-comedy that you might expect. I did not mind the writing in this first episode; with that said, the show gets even better!
Music
I want to talk a little bit about the sound and the music. From the get-go of the opening scene, The Baby shows us what it has in store. Intense breathing in the night as a woman rushes through the woods with a Baby in her arms; later, we get a jazzy Gothic tune, which we will get throughout the show. And that is just the start. Believe me!
The soundtrack this week includes songs by Barbatuques, Candi Staton, Public Practice, and more. I am actually grateful for having been exposed to music like this as they add another layer to the show. In fact, I will expand on this element of the show via an interview with the music team, which will be published later next month.
The Purpose of the Baby
You might be asking the same question I had when I first learned about this show — “Why the Baby?”
Without spoiling the episodes that follow, “The Arrival” establishes the story for the limited series but also tries to keep us at the edge of our seats (or wherever you’re situated when watching the show). The Baby is not just any baby, and I would not necessarily call him a symbol for any one specific thing or quality; rather, he possesses potential. When a woman gives birth, we never know whom or what the child will grow up to be. They can either serve as a harbinger of life or of death; of happiness or of misery; et cetera.
It is not enough to care for this child. The protagonist has to stay vigilant because she never knows what will happen when the baby is nearby. For Tash, the Baby is something that she deep down desires. It may be commonly argued among many couples and families that having a baby is what keeps them together; for de Swarte’s character, on the other hand, the Baby fills a hole that was left empty due to the lack of family in her personal ecology.
Simply put, babies remind us of who is left behind after we depart from this world; but again, this Baby, in particular, is not just any baby. This is a child who has seen and witnessed life’s joys and tragedies as they transpire around him. Therefore, there is so much to the Baby that is still not known in this episode. At this point, it’s just something funny to see.
The Crew of The Baby
Lucy Gaymer serves as the producer of The Baby. 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. Kate Reid is the episode’s director of photography. Gary Dollner serves as the editor.
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. Kate Benton serves as the hair and make-up designer; while Robert Worrall and Lily Sumner are the hair and make-up artists.
Steph Odu serves as the art director; while Illia Boccia is the assistant art director. Rachel Garlick and Rob Pybus serve as the storyboard artists. Hannah Spice is the set decorator. Kitty Katalina Lyons-Walker serves as the assistant decorator.
The Cast of The Baby
Michelle de Swarte portrays the series’ protagonist, Natasha “Tash”. Albie Pascal Hills and Arthur Levi Hills play the titular baby of the show.
Amira Ghazalla plays an older woman named Mrs. Eaves. Shvorne Marks and Isy Suttie play Mags and Rita, Tash’s respective friends.
Sophie Reid appears as a woman named Lydia. Charlie Wernham and Sam Bond play two police officers, Len and Tim, respectively. Zharae Jones Duncan and Rakye Jones Duncan play Raffi, Mags’s baby.
Bhav Joshi and Joe Parker play Jinn and Stevo, Tash’s respective co-workers at a restaurant called Portios. Patrice Naiambana appears as Lyle, the voice of Tash’s father.
Leslie Davidoff plays Lester, a cashier at a petrol station. Andrew Gallo appears as Officer Wren, while Robin Weaver plays Sergeant Nielsen.
Performances and Character Developments
De Swarte delivers a terrific performance in this first episode. Here, she showcases sufficient details about Tash such as the fact that she still communicates with at least one blood relative; she is impudent to people who have children in their lives; and because she does not have much of a family and refuses to have an affinity for babies, she chooses to be alone.
With the Baby entering her life, Tash is propelled into a journey that is a set of challenges that test her sanity. Something as simple as not smoking a cigarette around a friend’s child demonstrates that she does have some compassion; although, making an implicit joke about abortion — for the wrong reason, in this context — does show that she has bottled up some bitterness.
Marks and Suttie are neat as Tash’s friends, Mags and Rita. One has already given birth to her child and is now raising her; meanwhile, the other is expecting a child of her own. They add to this little triangle of rejection/ pregnancy/ acceptance in terms of having a child to take care of. This shows that there are different perspectives and outlooks on this series that we will be peering through. Although, Tash’s point-of-view will be the show’s main focus.
Then, there is one character I am reluctant to talk about in this first review. I may decide to discuss her next week…
Final Thoughts on The Baby Episode 1
“The Arrival” is a good introduction to The Baby. Everything is so sudden that time passes rather briskly. While I cannot analyze the writing as much as I want to, it does establish a balance between horror and comedy. I did have some laughs here and there, but later episodes of the show gave me chuckles and giggles, and with horror, there is a lot of drama and tragedy to be had. Having Kassell as a director and executive producer on this show is excellent. I already know from her work on Watchmen that she can help make a convincing narrative, and indeed, I was intrigued by this first episode.
Stay tuned for the rest of my reviews as we will explore the roles of the series’ other women characters!
The Baby premieres on HBO and Sky this Sunday!
Will you be tuning into this limited series? 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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