Memorable Moments: Parental Chivalry

I discuss moments of chivalry here and here and here. 

My two favorite moments of parental chivalry follow:

1. Castle, "When the Bough Breaks"--a doctor husband and father switched babies at birth to prevent his wife suffering the pain of her baby's early death from Niemann-Pick Disease. About six years later, he kills the biological mother of the baby to prevent the truth being revealed. 

The doctor's wife was unaware of all this. Throughout the episode, she comes across as well-meaning if just a tad stuck up. But when she learns what happened, she rises to the occasion, exhibiting a true fineness of character. The episode ends with her sitting with the biological father, who is willing to leave his child in the care of his mother of the last six years, as they mourn the death of the first baby and welcome the survival of the second.

2. Major Crimes, "Down the Drain"--three couples paid a surrogate a great deal of money to carry their child. It turns out the surrogate's boyfriend is the father, and she was milking all the couples for the money. I confess, this con is one of the most horrific to me. I've never been that invested in having a child of my own, but the raw desire of some people, especially many women, to have a child makes them vulnerable to a painful degree.

And yet, at the end, the three couples--including a gay couple--decide to act in the best interest of the child. What makes the most sense. Which couple can afford to start the process over. Which couple needs more legal protection. The conversation is rational and deeply chivalric. 

"I honestly never knew," the chosen mother says, "that people could be so kind."