The One That Got Away – As the first episode of Baby Fever begins, Nana (Josephine Park) inseminates herself while she is drunk. She admits she stole it before claiming she borrowed it. Although she could go to prison, she could also have a baby. We jump back in time three days as Nana runs into Soren (Emil Prenter) who says they don’t spend much time together anymore. He went picking mushrooms this weekend. He invites her over for dinner, but she quickly finds a way to say no. As she goes inside, she learns that they’ve got a new GE scanner at work. She has been bugging her boss to get one for a while because it shows the endometrium and follicles in 3D.

It is also smaller so vaginal penetration will be much nicer. She goes upstairs where she talks to Bastian (Lui Bernburg) and learns the boy is sick and his father is kite surfing with his new girlfriend. Simone (Olivia Joof Lewerissa) asks about seeing her outside with Fit Physio. Nana admits he is a little boring. Simone claims she made it sound like he practically invented sex, but Nana argues she doesn’t have time for dating right now. Simone offers to swap with her so she’ll become a single mother and she’ll get to bang gorgeous physios. She says they have to switch if she wins at bowling tonight. Nana remembers nothing about going bowling and admits she doesn’t have time to get her bowling shoes.

Simone says she can do it in her socks before reminding him that the new guy’s name is Anton and he will be shadowing her today. Moments later, Nana is working with Latifa (Amelia Hoy) and telling her it’ll be over soon. She confirms the last follicle is draining. Latifa is told that quality is more important than quantity so five is great. Latifa wonders how Nana would know. Nana says she is only 32 and at that age, the quality of your eggs should be fine. When Nana had twins, she was only working with three eggs. She goes on to say it is really tough having twins. She never sleeps and the only thing they want for supper is Coco Pops. When they’re yours, you just think they’re cute. Another patient tells Nana that she isn’t sure she can handle losing another. Nana claims she felt the same and ended up gaining 25 kilos.

She binged ten series of Friends for part of a month. Nana gives the patient, Lene, her phone number and tells her to call day or night if anything is wrong. During a break, Nana and Simone talk about why models are always angry. Anton tells Nana that he is really impressed with the way she talks to her clients. He believes it means a lot to talk about herself. The number of kids she has depends on the situation. Nana confesses she doesn’t have kids and just says she does because he assures the patients. Later, they plan to buy a gift for Helle’s birthday with Niels suggesting a sea kayak. Although the others don’t think she’ll ever use it, Niels believes she will. As the group meeting begins, Nana admits she should’ve said yes to mushroom soup with the Fit Physio guy. It was nice last time, but she worries he’ll think it is getting serious if they do it again.

Nana is told her patients are getting pregnant by the dozen. Niels says their competitors have launched an all-inclusive package in which all their medications are included in the price. That way they don’t have to worry about any surprises. Nana believes they’re just trying to swindle more money from people though. Niels thinks it would be good for their clients and their bottom line. Helle says they can’t give customers discounts from time to time or buy a new scanner if nobody focuses on revenue. After the meeting, the boss stops Nana in the hallway to talk about her new girlfriend Marie who she has been with for nearly two years. They’re thinking about starting treatment and would like Nana to do Marie’s insemination for them. They’d like to start within the next two weeks.

Nana doesn’t want to do it, but it looks like she won’t have a choice. Once that conversation ends, Nana wants to experiment with the new scanner using Simone. When Simone says no, Nana tells her that she can scan her. Nana seems to notice something so she prints a picture of the scan. When it comes out, she says there are three follicles. She suggests that it means she has maybe five or six cycles. In other words, she has about six months to get pregnant. Nana isn’t sure even she wants to get pregnant, but she never thought her deadline would be so close either.

They discuss whether 37 is early to run out of eggs. Nana says some women just have fewer eggs than others. Simone suggests it is a good thing they’re surrounded by sperm because she can have her pick. Nana isn’t sure she is ready to do that because she never imagined doing it alone. They discuss one of the most recent guys she dated and a few others before Simone mentions the Fit Physio guy. Nana finds a reason to discredit him too. When they go bowling, Simone recommends picking someone from the sperm bank donor catalog. She reminds Nana that the single mothers from the clinic make it work every day. Nana says her mom was different though. Simone heard her mother’s song on the radio the other day and admits it is a shame Nana didn’t inherit her singing talent.

Nana doesn’t think she can do anything besides work. She admits she still has to use the torch feature on her phone when she goes to the bathroom because she hasn’t changed the light bulb in six months. Later that night while doing the laundry, Nana calls her mom Lise and leaves her a voice message asking how she has been. When she goes to work the next day, she spills her drink trying to lock her bike. Mathias approaches and learns that she works at the fertility clinic here. She asks whether he has finished saving the planet. He hasn’t although he is in Guatemala right now. He reveals he has an appointment at the sperm bank. She gives him directions before they discuss having a drink later. Simone is promptly introduced to Mathias (Simon Sears) when she arrives. Nana sends Simone up without her before she agrees to figure something out with Mathias.

Simone believes that was one of Nana’s ex-boyfriends although she doesn’t want to admit to it. She eventually admits that they dated for about six months and it was good, but he got a job with some NGO in South America. Simone learns they hadn’t seen one another for seven years. She suggests it could be fate that he has come back at this moment. Nana asks if she mentioned that he lives in Guatemala now. Simone doesn’t think he’ll go back after one date with Nana who says that is never going to happen. She deleted his number when he left. Nana works with Lene and learns the pulse is a bit higher, but she believes that is because she is nervous. Nana shows her the baby’s strong little heart. The patient calls it the best sound in the world. Later that night, Nana looks at Mathias’s pictures before receiving a call from Simone.

Simone sends her Mathias’s information from the sperm bank after making Nana promise she’ll never tell anyone. Nana claims she isn’t going to call him only to find herself walking with him moments later. Mathias thought he saw her everywhere when he first left while Nana says it was messy and hard. They find it strange that they ran into each other, especially near a sperm bank. Both say it is great to see one another again before kissing. Nana asks when he would like kids. She changes her question to ask if he’d like to have kids. Nana wonders if he’d like to have kids within the next six months. Once she realizes that was awkward, she asks if they can just forget about it. After the date, Nana tells Simone about everything. Simone doesn’t think she should blame Mathias for freezing since she asked him a hardcore question for a first date.

She recommends going to the clinic to listen to some Poul and have a shot. They go to the clinic, take shots, and play with some of the medical equipment. The women continue drinking into the night and singing. Once things settle down, Nana texts Mathias to apologize for being broody and says she hopes she didn’t scare him off. Simone begins moving around as they discuss locking the sperm bank and who will have to pay the fine if the alarm goes off. As Nana goes down there, she remembers everything that has happened and the fact that she only has about six months to get pregnant.

She recalls Mathias going to the sperm bank and checks the information Simone sent her earlier. She uses that information to get his sperm before inseminating herself. Nana claims no one ever needs to know.

 

Baby Fever Review

The first episode of Baby Fever was a mixed bag with the potential to develop into a highly charged, emotional drama over the next five episodes. There is no doubt that Josephine Park is the star of the show with a solid performance. The other characters may develop over time, but Nana is the center of every storyline. The story is slightly absurd. Although there have been numerous scenarios of fertility fraud in the past, it is hard to believe something like this even though that likely won’t matter in the long run.

I suspect this will be less about that and more about the emotional path forward for Nana and everyone involved as well as the revelation of what she has done. The soundtrack is good and the cinematography helps set the mood. Ultimately, this will likely be one of those shows that should be judged after watching all six episodes. While the quality of each episode may vary, it could be great as a package. Time will tell. The first episode scores a 6 out of 10. Recaps of Baby Fever can be found on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our work at this link.