As the second episode begins, Grace Cresswell (Kate Jenkinson) wakes up and gets out of bed. She finds Sophia (Alexandra Jensen) struggling to get her baby to go back to sleep. Grace offers to take the baby before encouraging Sophia to get some sleep. Around 5:50 AM, Grace finally gets to lay back down. After the intro, Grace checks on Sophia and confirms she is ready for her checkup. She also checks to see if Sophia wants to call anyone. She claims she has already called her father and he wants to meet Grace. Before long, Grace goes to work and helps a woman give birth. When she finishes, Grace tells Laney (Catherine Van-Davies) about Sophia’s father wanting to meet her. Laney suggests it is a good thing before Max Shaw (Ben O’Toole) enters and says he thinks today is the day he’ll deliver a baby.

Sophia gets a checkup with Sasha (Kat Hoyos) and asks if she can show her how to express milk. Sophia admits she was told it was probably not best to breastfeed before Diane Cresswell (Sigrid Thornton) enters. Sasha is sent away and Diane takes over the baby’s examination. Diane begins asking questions about Sophia being a mother and whether she planned it. Meanwhile, Grace and Max check on their next patient Marnie (Kate Williams). They inspect Marnie’s birth plan and learn that her partner will deliver her baby. After Grace checks her bump, Marnie says Kate is supposed to be there but she can’t get messages to her. Grace agrees to go where there is a better signal and contact her so Max stays with Marnie.

Grace finds her mother checking the baby and interrupts. Grace isn’t happy with her mother butting in, but Diane says she has a right to know her granddaughter. Their conversation is interrupted when Sophia’s dad, Kirk Gilbert (Alex Dimitriades), shows up outside. Diane steps out. Kirk enters and learns his daughter gave birth two days ago. He receives separate answers when he asks who Grace is. Grace steps in and admits she is Sophia’s birth mother and midwife. Kirk has a lot of questions but Grace has to excuse herself seconds later. Laney talks to Paul about the budget and Grace taking her daughter home with her. They agree he worries too much before they kiss and confirm they’ll spend time together tonight.

Meanwhile, Marnie complains about the pain of giving birth. Back outside, Sophia tells her dad she didn’t tell him about wanting to track down her birth mother because he wouldn’t understand. He has been busy working on the house and other things but promises to spend more time with her now. Sophia says she isn’t coming back home and won’t be keeping the baby. She called an adoption agency and learned that it takes about six weeks to adopt the baby. She asks Grace if it was easier to give her up so Grace tries to explain her decision. Grace encourages her to take time to think about it but Kirk interrupts and tells her not to give his daughter advice. Sophia calls her father a hypocrite and says the baby is going to another family in six weeks. Sasha arrives and tells Sophia she got the breast pump.

She leaves the baby with her father and leaves with Sasha. Grace goes to Laney and tells her about Kirk being a nice guy. They discuss the possibility of adoption and Grace admits she doesn’t want her to do that. She says she would tell her daughter that giving her up was a mistake. Meanwhile, Sophia learns how to use the breast pump. Sasha gives her instructions and agrees to leave her alone. Before she goes, Sasha says she is told babies take time to get used to. During this time, Max helps Marnie who wants to punch him in the face. Grace steps out with Max and says it is going to hurt like heck since the baby is laying posterior. Grace talks to her mother who says she should have a Cesarean. Grace admits she wants to have a natural birth so they argue about that.

Then, Grace tells her mother about Sophia wanting to give the baby up for adoption. Grace isn’t sure what she’ll do. Diane gives her advice that she should get Marnie to agree to an epidural and syntocinon. Sophia leaves without using the breast pump. Sasha returns to find her gone and begins looking for her. She finds her and watches as she leaves the facility. Grace and Kirk argue about Sophia being able to leave and Grace not calling him. He explains Sophia wanted to come to the city to see a midwife so she could talk about personal stuff. Kirk eventually agrees to let Grace take the baby so he can search for his daughter.

Marnie isn’t happy that she has to take pain medication so Max tries to make her feel better about it. Kate (Anna Houston) shows up outside and notices. She storms off so Grace goes after her. Kate doesn’t want to jinx it and doesn’t think it is a good idea to return. She explains they’ve had a couple of miscarriages already. Grace knows what it is like because she lost a baby at 33 weeks and named the little boy Henry. She works diligently to try to convince Kate to be with Marnie but it doesn’t work. Kate gets into her vehicle and drives away. Grace calls Sophia and leaves a message pleading with her to contact her back. Then, she calls Jim and asks him to swing by the house to see if Sophia is there. Jim isn’t sure he should help since he doesn’t even know Sophia.

He relents and agrees to help. Then, Grace tries to get assistance with Kate, but Jim says you can’t tell her to be there. He claims it is personal. Kirk grills Sasha and tries to find out how Sophia got away. Max tries to calm him down by taking him to the break room and giving him Sasha’s diet cola. Kirk admits he dropped the ball before Max says he has a son who is 7 years old now. Jim arrives at the house and looks for Sophia. Sasha tells Kirk and Grace that she got a text from Sophia. She wanted them to know that she is not dead. After that, Diane and Grace work with Marnie together. Diane explains the baby’s heart rate has become tachycardic. Its heart is beating too fast so the baby is likely under stress.

Diane suggests a c-section while Grace says it is best to focus on having a healthy baby and mom. Marnie says she didn’t plan this and wishes Kate could be there. When they step into the hallway, Diane says they should have planned for this earlier but Grace thinks she just likes blaming her. They argue about Grace’s decisions including giving up Sophia. They go to the bathroom and Diane tries to find out why Grace really gave up the baby. Grace doesn’t answer before Diane leaves to prepare for the theater. They meet moments later and Grace says Marnie is fully dilated plus two. The baby has moved into the birth canal so they won’t need to perform a C-section. Kate eventually enters and joins her partner. Max joins them and Grace encourages Marnie to push.

Grace tells her team that the baby’s head is asynclitic so she is going to need forceps. Diane gets permission to adjust the baby’s head. The pushing continues until Max is holding the baby. When they’ve finished, Grace tries to call Sophia and ends up leaving a message. When Max walks in, she tells him he has the first birth look. He admits it was pretty special and she says it is something you’ll never forget. He offers to buy her a drink but she can’t right now. Before he goes, Max tells her he left Kirk in the family room. Sasha finishes with the baby and passes her back to Grace. Meanwhile, Diane runs into Dr. Sebastian. They talk about their last meeting and their kids. She invites him to a drink and he accepts. Grace returns to Kirk and both admit they haven’t heard from Sophia.

Kirk says he is an idiot and Grace calls herself one as well. They decide to wait for her to return. Grace explains she has a home set up for a baby. Grace offers to take the baby until Sophie shows up, but Kirk doesn’t seem comfortable with that. He eventually agrees but wants to make sure Grace will call if Sophia shows up. She agrees to call him before leaving. Diane spends time with her doctor friend and they talk about being single. They also discuss their kids and not living for them. Diane says she and her daughter are still evolving. He learns about the baby and says Diane would be a great grandmother. Laney meets with Paul who has flowers for her. Before she leaves, she watches Max leave with his wife and child.

On her way home, Grace calls Jim to check for updates. She finds out that he tidied up a bit. When she makes it home, she finds Sophia on the porch. Sophia admits she shouldn’t have run off with that. She says she was overwhelmed by everything. Grace confesses she is trying to relive a decision that isn’t hers to make. She tells Sophia she wants her to stick around so they can have conversations about everything. Then, Sophia reveals she has picked a name for the baby. She wants to make the baby Eady. Grace says it is a good choice. A bit later, Grace calls Kirk and lets him know Sophia is with her. She has already texted him so Grace tells him about the baby’s name. Kirk reveals it is her mom’s middle name.

Grace admits she told her it was her choice and they would support her, but Kirk isn’t sure about that. He says they have six weeks to change her mind.

 

Amazing Grace Review

Amazing Grace has its moments in each episode, but it is a bit all over the place at times. I figured this would happen when they decided to combine everything together. If we’re going to focus on Sophia and her baby, I wish the majority of the episode would do that. Instead, we have too many unnecessary characters, including Max and Jim.

I wish it would focus on one or the other. Instead, we are forced to jump back and forth too frequently. This makes it difficult to focus on any one thing. It is a shame really because the show had the potential to be very emotional and interesting. I’d give this episode a 6.5 out of 10. More recaps of Amazing Grace can be found on Reel Mockery here.