I think there is such a think as maternal instinct, but I don't see what it would have to do with knowing which baby is yours. Maternal instinct is simply being in tune with what your child needs. Its heightened empathy and intuition. There's nothing mystical or infallible about it. All animals are born with the instinct to take care of their young, unless something goes awry. I definitely think Angie will know something is not quite right, but if Jessie hands her a baby and says it's hers, I don't see how she would know it isn't. Not only did she just go through the trauma of childbirth, but what are the chances another baby would just happen to be there?

I can go with this. I don't think it's just a mother/child thing, though, but something that comes out of any close relationship (just so happens that a mother/child relationship is one of the closest there are). I don't think it's an inherent thing that materializes as soon as the baby is born, so the idea that Angie would know that something's not right despite only being with her baby for a few fleeting moments*** rings false for me.

*** - I haven't watched today's show yet, so I'm not completely sure how much time Angie actually spends with her daughter, but I'm sure it's not a lot.

You're not a mother, are you, Ann?

LOL, are you serious with this question? Like that has shitall to do with anything, are you a mother, Khan? Because clearly only mothers can understand maternal instinct (not that you even know what that is).

Yeah, I don't understand why this part of it would be implausible. Angie goes unconscious while giving birth. When she wakes up, Jesse has a baby and hands it to her. She might sense that something is off -- and I don't doubt that this story will be full of exclamations of "I know what's going on here!!!" that lead nowhere -- but it would be pretty insane for her to be like, "This isn't our baby!!!" She wants this baby, and she wants it to be okay. I'm sure maternal instinct would come into play to a degree, but she also just gave birth blind in a remote location with no doctor present, so... seems like that would account for feeling a little weird about things.

First of all, allow me to apologize to Ann and to whoever else might've been offended by my question upthread. I have no excuses for my callousness, for lack of a better word. (And for the record, Darn: no, I'm not a mother.)

Second, as I explained to marceline upthread (I think), I don't expect Angie to be immediately suspicious of the baby from the moment Jesse hands her to her. Of course, the drama of the moment will, and would, overwhelm everything else. Ergo, I guess you could say my reaction is a sort of pre-emptive disgust, b/c chances are pretty good Angie's going to stay in the dark (so to speak) right up until the moment of truth. (IOW, I might be overreacting too soon, but I don't think I'm overreacting at all.) It'd be more interesting, I think, if Angie's suspicions mount over time...but I don't think this writing team is capable of understanding that.

Now, having said that...?

Yes, I do believe in such things as "maternal instincts." I won't argue those who say and/or believe otherwise, b/c frankly, I have evidence that says otherwise. Will I offer it for debate? No, b/c that's nobody's business. But I believe it exists, that it is credible, and that it is most certainly not nonsense.

I'm not a mother and I believe it exists. I believe a mother can sense when something is wrong with her child, even if that child is grown and lives far away. I don't know if it falls under maternal instinct but my grandma was so in tune with her kids all she had to do was think about them and they felt it.

Maternal instinct aside, I don't believe JESSE would do something like this IMO. Its character assination at its finest. Megan McTavish must be back!

Maternal instinct aside, I don't believe JESSE would do something like this IMO.

For some reason, saying "Angie would be devastated if she knew 'Ellie' was dead" isn't enough for me to understand Jesse's motivation. I feel like I need more in order to justify his doing this.

I can buy this more than the whole Rebecca thing.