After that tense midseason finale, it certainly was a bit of a slower paced beginning that ultimately built up momentum during Wednesday’s two-hour premiere of Saving Hope. Minus the spreading news of Alex’s pregnancy and Molly’s drug overdose, the first hour was more of a primer for the emotional fallout of the battle for a heart transplant and the reaction to Alex getting knocked up. But more on that plot point later.

There was, however, an overabundance of terrible personalities plaguing the halls of Hope Zion during the first hour, “The Parent Trap.” First there was Tammy, the MMA fighter so aggressive and defensive it was nearly impossible for Charlie to do his job. Naturally, Charlie was able to thaw her frosty exterior (with a little help from his ghostly capabilities) to find out that Tammy’s medical problems were rooted to her secret lupus diagnosis. But despite my dislike of her character, I really appreciated that Tammy’s spirit wasn’t a huge part of the episode and it simply helped Charlie solve her medical mystery before bringing her back to the land of the living. The spirits are a huge part of Saving Hope but it’s nice when they aren’t constantly in Charlie’s way, as was the case for both “The Parent Trap” and the second hour’s episode, “Hearts of Glass.”

Also bringing down the good vibes of the hospital was Elliot Stout, a litigation-friendly Bay Street bulldog (so not in the Kyle Lowry way) who believed he was entitled to a donor heart over sweet foster mother, Leila, pulling an ethical and legal card the hospital couldn’t ignore to get it. No surprise why we never saw anyone visiting the guy during his lengthy stay. It was an especially brutal storyline since we’d already become well acquainted with Leila and her relationship with foster-daughter Giselle throughout the two episodes, so to see him steal Leila’s heart and watch the soon-to-be-mother die hours later was just terrible.

Taking the situation hardest of course was Dawn, who forged an interesting relationship with Giselle while the girl watched over her future mother. Dawn’s brash attitude sometimes doesn’t sit well with me, but seeing her offer the girl small comforts was a solid reflection of the good within her character I sometimes can’t see. And seeing Leila cross over to the other side when Dawn gave Giselle a hug of comfort was another touching moment for her character.

Then there was the return of Molly, Dana’s seriously troubled daughter (who reminds me way too much of Modern Family’s Sarah Hyland for some reason). Not only does Molly not know what the Find My Phone app is (perhaps she was thinking of Find My Friends, which is a little more upfront with its creepiness), she basically forced Alex into a weird position as the middleman in her fight with her mother. Luckily it worked out for the best to have Alex there, what with Dana’s inability to function as a doctor when Molly overdosed, and the mother-daughter pair were finally able to somewhat have an honest conversation about her dangerous habit.

Undoubtedly the biggest splash of the night was Alex’s casual admission to Dawn that she was indeed pregnant, something that made me do a double take to ensure I’d heard right. Of course with everything going on between Alex, Charlie and Joel (out on bail and still miraculously allowed to work at the hospital) the pregnancy wrench and who’s the daddy mystery just makes things 10 times more awkward between the three. But hey, Dana’s going to be a great godmother!

Although the two were at each other’s throats a bit about the paternity mystery, they were able to band together in order to work on a patient (played by Degrassi grad Adam Ruggiero). The two always have a remarkable capability to put their work before their intertwined personal lives, but until Alex gives the go-ahead for that paternity test, things are only going to get more tense between the three from here.

So who do you think is the real father? Place your bets with Zach now, or let us know in the comments.

Notes:

• I can’t believe how calm Charlie was reacting to the news of Alex’s pregnancy. His nice guy status is only reaffirmed through instances like this.
• As Maggie mentioned, the thought of someone making hot dogs in a coffee pot is both disgusting and intriguing to me.
• Grade Your M.D. made me chuckle only because of how often I’ve used Rate My Professor to look up my teachers. And yes, the hotness rating is a real thing.
• Best line of the night goes to Charlie: “Joel?! Kills a guy and he’s still employee of the month.”

Saving Hope airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET on CTV.