- The Control Voice: What will become of us when we take a hand in our own creation? In trying to create the new man, will we condemn the old?
A couple decides to genetically enhance their unborn child, at the risk of turning that child into a monster.
- The Control Voice: What are children but an extension of our own selves... a reflection of who we are and what we want to become?
Unnatural Tropes:
- Back-Alley Doctor: Arkelian administers black market genetic engineering treatments to Joanne Sharp's unborn child in an abandoned church.
- Domestic Abuse: Howard and Joanne Sharp believe that their close friend and neighbor Tony Blake is abusing his wife Fran due to the frequent sounds of objects being broken coming from their house and the presence of a bruise on her face on one occasion. However, it turns out that both were caused by the Blakes' son Timmy, whom they are hiding because he is suffering from Genetic Rejection Syndrome.
- Downer Ending: Timmy kills Arkelian before he can undo the treatment, meaning the Sharps' modified baby is brought to term. The last shot of the episode is the two of them regarding their physically perfect son, and being unable to take joy in him because the don't know if he's going to turn into a monster.
- Faking the Dead: Tony and Fran Blake faked the death of their son Timmy, to the point of bribing a undertaker to hold a fake funeral, after it became clear that he was suffering from Genetic Rejection Syndrome. They proceeded to hide him in their house as it is government policy that all GRS sufferers are to be destroyed due to the threat that they pose to the general public.
- Fantastic Aesop: This episode deals with the problems genetic engineering could cause a society, as "fitter" babies grew into supermen and outpaced "normal" people. However, while this made for great drama in Gattaca it was not nearly bad and horrifying enough for the show. So to spice things up, around 5% of all genetically modified children turn into the crazed descendants of Igor, and are killed when found.
- Madwoman in the Attic: A couple considering genetic enhancement for their unborn child learn that their neighbors' supposedly dead son is actually an Ax-Crazy basement-dwelling monster as a result of genetic engineering Gone Horribly Wrong.
- Monster Munch: A Genetic Rejection Syndrome sufferer butchered a cat, traumatizing the little girl who owned it in the process.
- Nothing Is Scarier: Joanne's doctor gives her an informational pamphlet in an attempt to dissuade her from going through with the genetic treatments. It apparently contains horrible photos of what GRS does to a child. We viewers never see them, only Joanne's disgusted reaction to them.
