Change Is Inevitable in ‘Call the Midwife’s Penultimate Episode
Will ‘Call the Midwife’ become a butterfly or a dinosaur? There's only one episode left to find out.
As we approach the end of Season 15 of Call the Midwife, there’s a brief spark of hope this week that perhaps Nonnatus House can be saved. Mayor Violet decides that if the “tiny voices” of the citizenry don’t stand a chance against the machine of change barreling at them, she’ll use her not-so-quiet influence to speak up at the next Council meeting.
In preparation, Violet arms herself with the powerful tools of public opinion: she arranges a publicity stunt to showcase the attack on midwifery and gathers signatures opposing Nonnatus House’s closure. Unfortunately, when she presents the newspaper article and signed petition, the nasty Dr. Threapwood simply brushes them aside, literally, and moves forward as if there were no objections from the Council.
The impending changes bring a sense of peril and doubt to everyone. To make matters more confusing, Dr. Turner’s GP practice will continue to operate even after the maternity home is closed. But as Miss Higgins points out later in the episode, change isn’t always bad. There’s a shift in the wind away from home to hospital births, which, as history bears out, will become the predominant method of labor and delivery. What this means for the nuns and midwives is as yet uncertain, but their effect on the community and the need for their loving care is quite clear. They will find their place in this world.
Training the Next Generation
Even though Nonnatus House and the maternity home will soon be shuttered, a cohort of junior doctors – including Timothy Turner – is sent to them for training rounds. In addition to their obstetrics studies, they practice cycling under Phyllis’ tutelage, as riding a bike is “considered an asset.”
Timothy shadows Joyce on a house call, where Subhankar (Nikhil Singh Rai) leads them to his laboring wife Ranjini (Anushka Chakravarti). With Joyce’s support, the tender and encouraging Timothy leads the delivery. Everything is going well until neighbor Cathy O’Dey (Amy Bowden) begins screaming: her baby has stopped breathing. Joyce rushes to help, leaving Timothy alone.
As Joyce performs CPR on the baby who has turned blue, Timothy panics for a moment. Then he composes himself and successfully finishes the delivery. His training, not to mention constant exposure to the family business, has paid off. Also, happily, Joyce resuscitates Cathy’s baby. An eventful day for all!
Catching Up with the Mulluckses
We’re back with the Mullucks family, who returned in the Season 12 Christmas episode after first meeting them in Season 5, when daughter Susan (Emily Webb) was a newborn facing thalidomide effects. Now, Susan’s outgrown her artificial legs and mainly uses her wheelchair. She assures her mother, Rhoda (Liz White), that she can take care of herself, though Rhoda sadly points out that this isn’t true.
Rhoda is suffering from gallbladder attacks and needs surgery, which she keeps postponing. Taking care of Susan and their youngest son, Paddy, she feels she can’t afford the recovery time. But when an acute attack sends Rhoda to the hospital, she and her husband, Bernie (Chris Reilly), must reach out for help. He calls their eldest daughter Belinda (Rachel Andrews), but she refuses to come home from university.
When Susan is left alone for a few minutes, she tries to prove her independence by carefully ascending the staircase, but slips and takes a bad tumble. Luckily, it’s just bruising, but it makes Rhoda demand that Belinda return home. What at first seemed like stubborn selfishness was actually shame: Belinda, eight months pregnant, tried to hide it from her family.
Rosalind & Cyril are Getting Married
Speaking of hidden pregnancies, Rosalind and Cyril get engaged. Cyril presents her with a ring (with her favorite stone, a pearl), slips it on her finger, and that’s that. They celebrate with sherry at Nonnatus House, where they announce the wedding will be in three weeks. All are a little surprised, but in private, both Phyllis and Miss Higgins correctly guess there’s a baby on the way.
The happy couple meets with Mrs. Wallace, expecting reproach. Instead, Mrs. Wallace has also already deduced Rosalind’s pregnancy and surprises them with her acceptance. Rosalind’s own parents are a different matter. She breaks the news of her engagement over the phone, only to be soundly rejected. Cyril comforts her as she comes to grips with her parents not being the decent people she thought they were. She chooses not to reveal her pregnancy to them.
Mrs. Wallace and Phyllis plan to make Cyril and Rosalind’s wedding special even though the bride’s parents have shunned them. Phyllis isn’t quite sure how, but Mrs. Wallace says it’s simple: “We show them love.”
Sister Monica Joan & Trixie Prepare to Move On
Sister Monica Joan is prickly and often rude throughout this episode, especially toward Sister Catherine, who is trying her best to help the elderly nun cope with kidney disease. Sister Monica Joan’s diuretics cause an overactive bladder, and she can’t get to the bathroom without help. She also insists she prides herself on “dignity over convenience” and refuses to have a portable toilet installed in her room.
Despite being treated curtly, Sister Catherine is heartbroken to see Sister Monica Joan in decline. She’s stopped going outside at all, spending most of her time in bed. When Sister Catherine and Fred arrange a wheelchair to take her into the garden, Sister Monica Joan explodes. She rejects the wheelchair, is offended, and spurns the younger sister’s loving efforts.
Though she never actually apologizes, Sister Monica Joan is softer with Sister Catherine when she later declares she wants to stop treatment. Nurse to nurse, Sister Catherine is clear with her fellow sister about the outcome: this means she’ll progress to renal failure. Sister Monica Joan is aware and accepting. At the end of the episode, after gathering strength from a Bible verse, she smashes her bottle of diuretics against the wall.
Meanwhile, Trixie is handling her looming joblessness by accepting a new position as matron at the Lady Emily Clinic. She needs time to give notice at Nonnatus House, so she won’t be starting until the new year, which is apparently around the corner, as it’s already November in Poplar.
There are ideological differences between Trixie and her new employer, Mr. Scarisbrick (Richard Dillane), with the latter referring to Trixie’s time with Nonnatus House like a prison sentence. She insists that working there has been a privilege and expresses a great deal of ambivalence about the clinic’s practice of catering only to those who can pay.
Mr. Scarisbrick alludes to an additional proposal he has in mind that he’s saving for a later date. When that notion is followed immediately by an invitation to dinner to celebrate Trixie’s new job, it seems to indicate romantic intention.
Late Deliveries
- Geoffrey helps Beryl enjoy her time away from the Order, including buying her colorful new clothes and offering her a job as his secretary. Trixie helps Beryl learn about makeup.
- Sister Julienne leaves for the Mother House, anticipating instructions on the future of their Order now that Nonnatus House is destined for closure.
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 May 10. As always, check your local listings.
