Mental

A Beautiful Delusion

Season 1, Episode 2, Aired 6/2/09

Episode Summary

Jack and Veronica are called to treat a woman who believes she is pregnant, but the ultrasound reveals there is no baby. Meanwhile, Jack searches for his mentally ill sister, who he thinks is homeless and may be wandering the streets of Los Angeles.

8.2

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Cast & Crew

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Annabella Sciorra

Nora Skoff
Edwin Hodge

Malcolm Darius Washington
Nicholas Gonzalez

Dr. Arturo Suarez

Fan Episode Reviews (5)

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Cruel condition

9.0

"Superb"

By OnePerCentClub, Jun 10, 2009 Report Abuse

A false pregnancy must be one of the most cruel things that can happen to a woman or to a marriage. How powerful is the human mind that can actually make the body believe there's a baby is amazing. Poor woman, she was a victim of the husband's big desire of being a parent. Fortunately the husband made the right choice in the end.

The water case was interesting too. I knew Veronica was going to have problems with her marriage since she said she had been married in the pilot. I hope she makes the right decision.

Jack is still looking for his sister. How desperate it must be for him to not be able to find her. He's one of those doctors that can cure everyone except for someone very close to him.moreless

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3 1
Slow, boring, and uninteresting.

5.0

"Mediocre"

By aldaros23, Jun 07, 2009 Report Abuse

I was really hoping to indulge in a new series this summer. I am, in fact, studying Psychology and so I thought I'd catch something I could relate too. However, the case, first off, was totally uninteresting and so uncommon that it was very hard to conceive. I mean, sure, we've heard about people who are pregnant but don't know, but to say you're pregnant when you're not - it's very hard to do when there are so many signs and symptoms. Even though they explained the large belly, I still do not see how it is physiologically possible (i have taken several physiology courses). The fact that the husband, who was A DOCTOR, was so delusional along with the wife..... such a story is so rare that it just became too unrealistic. How about tackling an interesting case of depression, or OCD, or something psychiatric?! This case clearly echos those of House - uncommon and unusual and only a mastermind can help the patient.

Secondly, the pace was long, slow, uneventful and dull. The doctors kept waiting and waiting. There was little dialogue, not much there at all. Why not spice it up by telling the patient she's completely delusional?! And then trying to prove it to her... something?! The main character is said to be unorthodox... I never once saw him break any rules in this episode. Inconsistent from the start - great job (/sarcasm).

Thirdly, the characters - everyone else besides the main male doctor. Everyone is sleeping around with people, one's married and is resisting an affair. The other is a lesbian, which I have no problem with, but one male doctor continues to come on to her. What ever happened to characters we could look up to? Married with children and living a wondrous life - balancing both work and married life? I would have loved to see something different with the character's lives, but there's nothing different than the spew we see on several other television shows. I mean, looking at these characters, I don't see how anyone could relate to them.moreless

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3 7
not as bad as i thought... ITS WORSE!

1.0

"Abysmal"

By doggiebag123, Jun 06, 2009 Report Abuse

desptite all my protesting of this show i ended up watching the majority of this episode when my mother was watching it. The show clearly mimics House even with the characters. They have a lesbien like House has the bisexual Thirteen, a Black guy who is second to the main doctor, like Forman, the administratior who is a less pretty and less interesting version of Cuddy and last but not least the main character who is like House except the actor does not have Hugh Lauries acting skills or the ability to fake the AMerican accent. The only things that ammused me were the facts that the patient was played by teh actor who played Maggie on The Nanny and the fact that the whole time i was watching i was sitting near an open window and could hear a cricket chirping loudly.moreless

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3 7
Unbalanced acting, poor character development, episodic format and dumb ending

3.0

"Bad"

By goa103, Jun 04, 2009 Report Abuse

After reading some pilot reviews I realized I over rated it and learned a few things that should help me to be more objective. However I was quite confident that this episode would be an other decent installment but sadly it wasn't the case at all.

First I really missed Silas Weir Mitchell because his performance as the first patient was quite convincing. Otherwise this week one was interesting because I didn't know what happened to her was possible and the actress's performance was good. But the problem wasn't the woman but her husband, a delusional character, because the actor did a really poor job. Moreover the other characters didn't grow on me because I can't really relate to any of them. Of course Jack is interesting but it seems we will only have a glimpse at his personal life every week so it means the show could go on for years and we still wouldn't have any clue about his sister. Most of the other relationships are not original so I don't even see the point of mentionning them, specially the latin playboy and hot lesbian doctor one. The link that really intrigued me was Carl but he only had one interesting line, about the budget. The only successful arc but not at all original was the Veronica one, played by beautiful Jacqueline McKenzie, because she brought some sex appeal and tension to the episode. But it's hard to be objective for a man when it comes to attractive and talented actresses.

An other issue was the production. I already mentionned it in my pilot review but this time at some point I thought a character was actually in the studio, when Jack ran out of the hospital. I don't mean on a set but in the real studio. Everything looked so cheap and misplaced that I nearly jaw dropped. But in general I think the quality is decent, if you don't pay too much attention to details. However it got worst when patients began to play in the garden to help them trust their doctors. It's not an orthodox method, it's potato therapy. And when I thought it couldn't get worse, the episode literally turned into a stupid and bad B movie. The ending was so absurd that I thought I was the one actually having a delusion. In the pilot I found Jack's solution quite inspiring but this one was just plain dumb. In fact I can't even believe that Chris Vance agreed to play the scene. And what about the other performers ?

It's my first medical drama and I can't imagine how boring it probably is for viewers who have already watched other similar shows. So overall it was just painful and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. I've already read the upcoming episode summary and it sounds like an other patient of the week one so I don't see any reason to stick around. It's sad because I think Chris Vance and McKenzie deserved better.moreless

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2 5
Will wait and see could be good.

8.0

"Great"

By khall23, Jun 03, 2009 Report Abuse

Well I had high hopes for this show. The previews , looked really good. I missed the pilot episode but caught the second episode ( A Beautiful Delusion ). So far it seems like it will be good even though it does seem a lot like "House". Hopefully it will get some good reviews and be given a chance unlike so many other new shows out there that are axed after a few bad outings, besides what else is really on to watch right now? Knockout or what ever it is called for the third night in a row. Hopefully it will turn out to be a good midseaon show and an appitizer untill "House" returns.moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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Trivia
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- It is revealed that Dr. Chloe Artis is a lesbian. Edit
- Featured Music: 'Sacred' by Todd Thibaud (end scene) Edit
- Dr. Suarez: You're right, Folie a deux, translation from the French falling for two. Folie a deux or madness shared by two is a syndrome in which a symptom of psychosis, like a delusional belief, is transmitted from one person to another. Edit
Notes
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- International Episode Titles: Czech Republic: Krásný blud (Beautiful Delusion) Edit
- Original International Air Dates: Latin America: June 9, 2009 on FOX Norway: January 12, 2010 on TV2 Czech Republic: July 5, 2010 on Prima COOL United Kingdom: January 10, 2011 on Sky1/Sky1 HD Edit
Quotes
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- Jack: It's over. You're not going to say anything? Nora: About what? Oh, about the fact that you booked a working OR at the cost of thousands of dollars and were about to perform an unauthorized C-section, that had real surgical instruments in the room and tried to put a deadly weapon in the hands of a mentally ill person? No. Edit
- Nora: Why so happy, Arturo? Arturo: Dr. Gallagher has invited us to be present at the delivery of the Ranier baby. Nora: The imaginary Ranier baby? Arturo: Yep, that's the one. Nora: Well better get going, wouldn't want to be late. Edit
- Melissa: Is my husband still being held in security? Jack: Yes, he is. Melissa: You know maybe you should press charges. Maybe he belongs in jail. Look at what he did to me. He wasn't just my husband, he was my doctor. I mean, he knew I would believe what he told me. I'm so stupid. This is what he was depending on. Jack: He's incapable of depending on anything, even his own mind. He wants a baby very badly and that's not such a bad thing to want. Edit
Allusions
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- The episode's title alludes to the 2001 film A Beautiful Mind starring Russell Crowe as a mathematics prodigy who develops schizophrenia, a psychiatric illness. Edit