'Bull' Season 4: 'Child of Mine' deals with a delicate issue and has an ending that we haven't seen before
That Bull didn't air last week was a bit of a bother. The legal procedural has nailed it so far this season with some solid writing, impeccable cast performances and stirring slice-of-life values that serve as the takeaway. And 'Child of Mine' can be added to that list.
Reproductive negligence is the theme and that 'Bull' explores these themes is commendable. It all starts with a couple giving birth to their baby. There's confusion when the baby born is brown while the parents are white. Taylor Rentzel (Mackenzie Meehan) visits the mother of the newborn and it is revealed that the clinic made a mistake with the sperm and requests TAC's help to sort the issue.
Bull (Michael Weatherly) and the team meet the parents and the clinic's lawyer who states the changes are made by the clinic to ensure it doesn't happen again. They also offer monetary compensation that Bull immediately rejects as the amount is far too less and not compared to what the parents are going through. Soon after, the father is served with a notice about custody of the child from the biological father. Predictably, both sides want to fight for full custody and how Benny (Freddy Rodriguez) and the team sort it out forms the rest of the episode.
Call it a sensitive episode. Color discrimination is a controversial topic, but the episode attempts to achieve an acceptable outcome. There's enough sentiment involved and both parties dish out logical reasons for the child's custody. There are enough twists and turns, but bizarre enough, there's that 'all's well that ends well' concept again and Bull has a solution that brings them to a mutual compromise. It's broad thinking and while it may not be feasible all the time, it is a start.
It's crazy, it's not unlike an ending we've seen in 'Bull', but it's good. The episode is a pleasant watch and rest is assured, will keep the ratings up like it has all this while.
'Bull' airs on Mondays at 10 pm PT on CBS.