The Rosie Effect

Don and his male friends stop at a bar and share secrets. Gene discloses that he’s slept with far fewer women than he lets people assume; he thinks Claudia will be less interested in him if she knows the truth. Don is struck that telling the truth might not save Gene’s marriage. Dave’s secret is that he and Sonia used donated sperm to get pregnant through IVF. He worries about being less invested in the child because of Gene’s evolutionary theory about fathers only being attached to biological offspring. George confides to Don that he feels responsible for his son’s drug addiction, as he encouraged him to experiment. Upon reflecting on his friends’ secrets, Don insists that Gene contact his son Carl. Later, he learns Rosie already attended her second ultrasound appointment; she continues to believe he isn’t interested in the baby. Don asks Rosie about their baby’s gender, but she asked not to know. He feels the baby kick.

Rosie feels she did not do well on her thesis exams; Don wonders if cognitive impairment in pregnancy has evolutionary value, while Gene asks about Rosie’s feelings. She invites Gene to dinner, despite Don having planned a special dinner.