‘Call the Midwife’ Season 15 Proudly Marches Into a New Decade
There’s genuine comfort in the steadfast, earnest goings-on of Nonnatus House as Call the Midwife rounds into its 15th season.
In 21st century America, where women’s and pregnant people’s rights are vanishing daily, the maternal mortality rate is rising, and with access and healthcare itself disappearing, there’s genuine comfort in the steadfast, earnest goings-on of Nonnatus House. Rounding into its 15th season, Call the Midwife has long been a champion of feminism and equity, and especially now, it seems almost revolutionary to have a show centered around women’s health. The core message of basic human decency and dignity in healthcare is delivered via velvet hammer (and often wimple) in each episode. Season 15 continues the simple magic of great characters and heartfelt storytelling against a modern-day historical backdrop.
The premiere episode brings us up to February 1971 in Poplar. Of historic note is Decimal Day, when UK and Irish currency switched from the pound being worth 240 pence to 100 pence, with new coinage issued and the conversion of old money getting very complicated. Additionally, the women’s liberation movement has reached East London, with most of our lovely ladies supportive of the planned march, though some need convincing. At Nonnatus House, Sister Catherine (Molly Vevers) passes her exams and is welcomed as an official midwife. In recognition of this accomplishment, Phyllis (Linda Bassett) assigns Sister Catherine her first solo route.
Thelma and Her Preemie
Sister Catherine’s roster includes Thelma (Izzy Meikle-Small), who endures severe hyperemesis. She vomits constantly, is unable to eat, and survives on “boiled sweets” (hard candy). She’s so miserable she sometimes wishes she weren’t pregnant. In a consultation with Dr. Turner (Stephen McGann) about Thelma’s suffering, Sister Catherine learns there is no new drug for this condition, and there never will be – not after Thalidomide.
When constipation turns out to be early labor, Thelma gives birth accidentally while on the toilet. Sister Catherine believes the 28-week-old baby is stillborn, but she’s shocked to discover the newborn is alive! Thanks to her quick actions, Dr. Turner can keep the baby stable until he’s transported to a hospital that specializes in preemies.
Despite relief at her baby James’ survival, Thelma is horrified by the extraordinary measures it takes to keep him alive. She’s simultaneously guilt-ridden, believing his condition is her punishment. Conflicted and unable to form a maternal attachment, Thelma is dubious about the tracheotomy James needs. Even Sister Catherine is unsure whether keeping James alive is in his best interests, until she meets Bernice (Carla Freeman), a mother whose now-healthy baby is finally being discharged after fourteen months. After encouragement from Bernice, Thelma is hopeful and steps fully into motherhood. Though this is a lovely outcome, fourteen months in the NICU seems like a lot to hand-wave.
The Case of the Kingsleys
Phyllis visits Ian (Turlough Convery) and heavily pregnant Edna Kingsley (Larner Wallace-Taylor) after Ian misses regular diabetes checkups. There she finds their four young children neglected: underdressed in the cold and infested with lice; one toddler has wandered away without his parents noticing; and daughter Faye stands at the open second-floor window, from which she’ll unfortunately fall later in the episode. (She survives with broken ribs and a concussion.) Later, Dr. Turner realizes he hasn’t seen the children for two years, and there are gaps in their medical records. Coupled with the filthy house and state of the children, he reports the Kingsleys to Social Services.
Joyce (Renee Bailey) is next to visit the family. She finds Faye eating saccharine pills for lack of food while her parents sleep. She brings the children to Nonnatus House for bathing, where she and Sister Veronica (Rebecca Gethings) find bruises and a possible cigarette burn on them. Shortly thereafter, the Kingsleys burst in to take their children back. When Phyllis asks about the bruises, Ian accuses the nuns of inflicting them.
Sister Veronica and Cyril (Zephryn Taitte) conduct an official Social Services visit. The parents are traumatized after losing custody of their children following their first child, Martyn’s death (some time ago); their angry mistrust is understandable.
Edna’s efforts for her children impress Sister Veronica. There’s still the matter of the bruises, for which no one has answers, but it seems the Kingsleys care about their kids.
Then the plot implicates the Kingsleys in Martyn’s death, including suspicious bruises and burns. After Faye falls from the window, her dangerously low blood sugar is attributed to diabetes medication – which Sister Veronica worries was intentionally given to keep her “dozy and compliant.” The children are removed and their parents arrested. It’s completely unclear whether they’re aware of Faye’s fall, which makes this plot point muddy and confusing. Moreover, it feels like there are key pieces of the story we’re not shown.
Edna gives birth in jail and is heartbroken when they take her newborn. Despite the children’s bruises, the Kingsleys didn’t appear abusive. Neglectful, yes, and ill-equipped as parents, but Edna certainly showed parental love. This whole story feels tragic and unresolved, with offscreen conversations that would have been enlightening.
Nonnatus House Joins the Cause
Rosalind (Natalie Quarry) gets her first exposure to the women’s movement by virtue of delivering Maxine’s (Sophie Reid) baby, who hosts meetings in her home while breastfeeding. Rosalind excitedly brings the ideas back to the midwives and sisters, showing them her “homework”: The Female Eunuch by Germaine Greer. Phyllis, Joyce, and Trixie (Helen George) join Rosalind at the next meeting, and while they all agree on the common goals, Phyllis is bothered by the “gimmicky” aspects of sloganeering and bra burning. Her generation kept their “foundation garments intact,” thank you very much.
It’s Miss Higgins (Georgie Glen) who talks Phyllis around after revealing she’s also reading Greer’s book. She convinces her friend not to dismiss women’s lib because of its packaging, and that if they don’t keep up, they’ll be left behind.
Leading up to the march, several of Poplar’s men are left to run the household (poorly) when their wives participate in a women’s strike. Dr. Turner and Teddy (Edward Shaw) struggle to make their own dinner and do the ironing for Shelagh (Laura Main), while Violet (Annabelle Apsion) hands a laundry list to Fred (Cliff Parisi) and Reggie (Daniel Laurie). After both he and Fred struggle to keep up with Violet’s normal duties, Reggie laments that “being a man is terrible.” (No shade on Reggie, but unfortunately, this reductive conclusion is common when men are tasked with their fair share.)
Except for the nuns, all the ladies of Nonnatus House – including Phyllis – present their sacrificial bras in an adorable pre-pyre powwow. The women’s joy is palpable as they burn their undergarments and march in the streets with placards.
Late Deliveries
- Sister Veronica’s tea date has a flirtatious air, especially when he uses her real name, Beryl. But the larger revelation is she’s having a crisis of faith; she wants a child of her own.
- The fate of Nonnatus House is threatened once again: Trixie clashes with Dr. Threapwood (Timothy Harker) from the town’s council over imminent new rules that would require the midwives to become National Health employees or lose their funding.
- As official employees, the nuns would be forbidden to wear their habits while on duty.
Call the Midwife Season 15 continues Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on most PBS stations, the PBS app, and the PBS Masterpiece Prime Video Channel. The series has already been streaming on PBS Passport for members. The series will stream on the PBS app and the PBS Masterpiece Channel weekly through mid-May. As always, check your local listings.
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