‘The Mindy Project’ Welcomes Baby Castellano!: "C is for Coward" Review

Rachel Smith 16’/Emertainment Monthly TV Staff Writer

It is the second episode of the season and fans finally get to meet the love child of Danny (Chris Messina) and Mindy (Mindy Kaling). He’s perfect but his road into the world was a dramatic one, could Mindy have it any other way? This episode had a perfect balance of sassy and sweet like all big Mindy Project episodes do.

It starts sassy. Mindy is very pregnant and looking for a little love from Danny. One of the shows best sex jokes is hashed out in the first 3 minutes, thus setting the bar pretty high for the rest of the episode. Danny doesn’t want to have sex for the common reason in most shows or movies: the guy feels weird about having his manhood so close to the baby. Though it’s a bit cliché, the show transitions into a scenario completely ridiculous and creative which exemplifies why Hulu saved The Mindy Project in the first place.

Back at the office, Danny overhears Mindy telling Morgan (Ike Barinholtz) that she’s going to knock herself out with a bunch of drugs and have a C-section so she can miss the bulk of childbirth. Danny, of course, wishes to convince Mindy not to do this.  To convince him, Mindy shows him where she wants to have this procedure done. It’s a fancy, hotel-like hospital fully equipped with spa water IV’s and massage chairs. Celebrities have had their babies here, which is why Mindy chose it. This is the perfect example of Mindy’s basic character. Sure she might be about to give birth, but she is as narcissistic and materialistic as ever. This is a good sign that the writers won’t change her character much once the baby is born.

Danny looks to the midwives (played by the Duplass brothers) for advice on a more natural approach to childbirth. He takes the birthing book that the midwives give him, and uses the tips and tricks within to try and jump start the birthing process. Alcohol, spicy foods, and sex are the top kick starters, but Mindy figures it all out. Though this scene and Mindy’s birthing plan is very funny, it does raise red flags seeing as they both work as OBGYN’s. The natural fears they acknowledge later in the episode make sense, but they’re both facing this baby like they’ve never heard of pregnancy.

Mindy does remind Danny she’s a OBGYN and knows what childbirth looks like, and that’s why she’s not excited about it.  But then they go back to being overly ridiculous with their childbirth ideas. On one hand, it’s great for comedy; on the other it calls their characters into question.

The audience will forgive this due to the emotional side of the episode. Mindy and her colleagues, everyone except Danny and Jeremy, get stuck on a train underground and her water breaks. In true rom-com fashion, Danny outruns police officers and jumps into the subway rails to go find Mindy. Cheesy? Yes. Will you want to eat it up like a romantic plate of nachos? Yes.

They have a moment of being scared, but know they’ll get through it because they love each other and Mindy is strong enough to get through giving birth. She’s “one tough bitch”. Tears all around.

The episode ends with Mindy holding their new baby boy and Danny staring at the both of them filled with love. Morgan comes in to add comedy to the emotional moment, but even he can’t ruin it. Danny decides their son’s name should be Leo. Baby Leo (DiCaprio/DiVinci) Castellano is born and now the rest of the season will be introducing fans to the parent versions of Danny and Mindy.

Episode Grade: B+