peggy06

Well, here I am, crying again. The moment that really got me going was when Uncle Donald said "I know you're someone we love." And after that, we had Phyllis with new baby Barbara, and Reggie with the carousel. The birthday party at the end, I was pretty meh. I'm often meh on Sister Monica Joan's storylines. They made up for the lack of midwifery moments for sure. Jenny Agutter on the post-show piece was in the right of it - those moments of a baby's birth are the heart of the show. I get teary every time.

Phyllis is not a believer, but that doesn't mean she wasn't brought up in a church. And Psalm 23 is one of the most famous passages in the Bible, constantly being quoted. In previous episodes, it's seemed that Phyllis was respectful toward others' faith even though she rejected it for herself. I thought it was right in character for her, and also very moving, that she joined in when Tom couldn't continue.

This recently arrived on Netflix, so I just watched it. Even with a couple of missteps, I enjoyed it far more than last season's Christmas special. It was almost like old-school CtM. The Tillerson story was dicey. Actually, like someone else above, I was expecting a more predictable storyline of the bereaved, dependent widow. When Mrs. Tillerson said her husband always controlled everything in his life, but he couldn't control his death - and added "And I was glad!" I sat up straight. Not going the way I expected, for sure. Sister Julienne's dawning horror as the story came out was very well done. Actually that whole scene was very good. But when the daughter told her side, things got a little iffy. I think it's correct for the times as well as her vocation that Sister Julienne would have urged a reconciliation. But to a modern audience more aware of the issues at hand, it strikes a wrong note. I do think Sister J. handled it's about as well as could be expected. She didn't push too hard, and she left with words of praise for how Anthea had lived her life. This being the Christmas special, I knew Anthea would show up at the party. It was pat, and uncomfortable, but I actually think the actress playing Anthea did a nice job of showing that discomfort and some reservation. The whole plot was helped along for me because Sister Julienne had a featured role. That's part of what made it seem like the old CtM. The still birth story was a real stretch, but fitting as a "Christmas miracle" in this type of episode. I expect shows are wary of going too extreme for Christmas eps after the Downton Abbey backlash. I was tipped off by the water bottle in the bag, and then the camera kept lingering on the bag, so I was pretty sure the baby was going to start crying. But they sure let us hang long enough. Trixie's announcement was absurd and made no sense. Val should have been the one to tell them the good news. I felt so sorry for her - imagine how you would feel knowing you almost left a newborn to die. I am meh on Tom, so that plotline didn't worry me either way. The rest of the small moments were mostly warm and reassuring and CtM-like. Glad I finally got to catch up with this episode.

I turn the TV off as soon as the credits roll. I don't care about the PBS features that take away from actual show running time.

I lost it when Phyllis the non-believer picked up Psalm 23. I really, really lost it when Phyllis escaped Nonnatus House and broke down weeping outside. Nurse Crane is the MVP of this season. I also cried when Allison brought the baby to meet Michael. The babies on this show always get to me. I wish they hadn't had to kill Barbara off; no doubt there were reasons. I went in to the episode not knowing whether she'd make it. But whenever a character starts talking (or being talked to) about green fields and moving to the country and making idyllic plans, it's pretty much a certainty they are done for. The plotline, if it had to happen, was done well. The last few scenes with Barbara and Tom were very good. Only one pregnancy this episode. They're getting away from the midwifery. Changing times, I know, but that was what made the show so special in the beginning.

I agree with those who feel this season is missing something. Possible reasons to me are: Less midwifery Less of the Sisters Midwives are lone wolves who rarely seem to hang around together Less of Poplar as a community and less connection between Nonnatus and Poplar (Poplar was almost like a character, but now it seems like this could be happening just anywhere.) Poorer storylines Less well-realized cast of characters I binge-watched the first six seasons and was excited to get to watch in real time, but it's been disappointing. It's not just this season. The show's been losing steam for a while. The first three seasons are by far my favorites. There are still good moments - Nurse Crane breaking down over having hit a child with her car stands out to me. I still get teary whenever a baby is born. But the old camaraderie and magic are gone. Well, even good shows must come to an end.

Talk about your late replies, but I've only been watching the show for about 3 weeks. :) Phyllis seems use the word "lass" a lot, and I associate that with the North of England and Scotland. Her accent isn't Scottish, so maybe a touch of the north? I don't hear it as upper class or posh, strictly middle class or working class. Trixie, on the other hand, has a very clipped upper class type accent and I assumed she came from that sort of background, but apparently not, according to the show.

That was so strange. The wise and sensitive Sister Julienne we know would have nodded and smiled and been grateful that Sister Monica Joan was seeing it in that light.

This episode kind of bored me. First, because I'm not a big fan of Sister Monica Joan, so a plotline for her isn't usually a high point for me. A little SMJ goes a long was in my book, and this plot was totally predictable. Second, we all knew Trixie was going to leave, so it was a matter of waiting for the shoe to drop. I'm thinking we missed a scene between her and Sister Julienne, or else a scene of her messing up, because Sister Julienne was ready to put the hammer down without my having seen any reason why during the episode. So either I fell asleep, or they cut something. Despite some excellent acting by the actress playing Mumtaz, that plotline somehow seemed a retread of the twins who were married to the same man. And, again, it was wholly predictable. The other baby storyline (mother with pica) seemed like just a way for Phyllis to find out that Trixie was drinking again. And the scenes with Christopher simply left me cold as usual. At least there were two adorable babies. Hoping for more interesting plots next time around, though.

I have been bingeing this show like mad and finally caught up with this season! Unfortunately it's not starting off very well, for me at least. There is just something missing from the first few seasons. Back then I would have described it as heartwarming. Even with some sad outcomes, and poignant situations, you smiled through the tears. And the people and stories seemed so real. Now it seems more soap opera-like. Sometimes the midwifery seems like an afterthought. The Sisters seem like an afterthought. I am by no means religious, but the way they portrayed the Sisters just gave the show a special tone. As for this episode, it was incredibly sad. Even worse than last week's new mom having a stroke. Huntington's seems like one of the cruelest diseases, just thinking about a child having it breaks your heart. The scene where the kids were being taken away was rough. Christopher leaves me cold, but I kind of hate to see another relationship broken for Trixie. And then for it to trigger a lapse into drinking? I wish they had found another way. Maybe I'd have been more on board if they hadn't cut important scenes. All of a sudden they're talking about a psychiatrist? I thought I must have dozed off. Truly, the way this was set up, Trixie almost had to break it off. The mother had custody and she wasn't likely to have some sudden change of heart. The poor daughter was in a tug of war; I don't blame Trixie for not wanting to contribute to that. On a more positive note, I like Lucille and Valerie. But they had better keep Phyllis and Sister Julienne, my favorite characters by a mile. I miss Sister Evangelina and still miss Chummy.

OK, what did I just watch? I was going along pretty nicely till about Episode 9. Now I'm confused. When did Jonas get together with Claudia, as Noah stated in that last conversation with Bartosz? Why was Claudia doing what she was doing - it looked like she was purposely destroying the power plant? Why would she, of all people, be doing that? What was the import of the radioactive barrels, and were they hidden in a truck for 33 years? Were they the initial cause of the time shifts? Why did Jonas get thrown into the future? So that means his plan failed? Noah was right? What is Noah's deal anyway - what does he want? The show had its good points. Highly atmospheric, the use of caves was genius. Some of the characters were compelling. But there were too many of them and I kept losing the thread of who was related to whom, and it got worse when they introduced past versions. I almost made a chart. :) The high point of the series, for me, was the episode where Elizabeth disappears. After that the action became slightly less interesting. I figured out that the stranger was older-Jonas, but many aspects of the time travel were headache-inducing. Also there were a few too many characters acting mysterious with no payoff (like Tronte's mother). I did have a thought that Egon's wife left him for her. I may or may not watch S2. Pretty disappointed in the last scene.

"Nerd alert" really bugged me, too. There were other anachronistic epxressiosn,, but that one stood out the most - or worst.

Spot on. And it's going to be a drag because to me at least, Joel is a very unappealing character with an uninteresting storyline. The show doesn't need to focus on a sad sack character. It just brings everything down when he appears onscreen. The last straw was when he blew his big presentation and then quit. I mean, come on. I wanted to scream at Midge when she slept with him after the party. Then she did a good job of explaining why that happened, when talking to her father about how they might get back together. The show hadn't really shown those emotions in her before, unless her standup rants were intended for that purpose. But the moment was well-acted and made me more forgiving. I enjoyed the series very much overall. Rachel Brosnahan was a revelation. She even seemed real as a comic. Her stage presence and delivery were right on even when the material wasn't laugh-out-loud funny. I liked Susie. I liked the Weismanns although they aren't the strength of the show. I loved the music and adored the costuming. On the con side, it bothered me quite a bit that Midge's children were such an afterthought. Such is the way of TV, but it would have worked just as well, maybe better, to have Midge and Joel a young couple without any kids. That last scene, though, was perfection. Great way to send us off wanting more. I'll be back.

What shocked me about the Sophie takedown was that Midge was revealing things that Sophie had purposely concealed for professional reasons. Remember Midge expressed surprise and said she'd never seen a photo of the real Sophie, and Sophie said something about how she handled her publicity. I felt it was unprofessional as well as borderline unethical. Yes, Sophie was condescending to her, and giving unpalatable, probably old-fashioned advice. It still IMO doesn't justify blowing her cover that way. Besides being massively unfair to Susie. And stupid - she knew Harry was sitting in the audience. Harry, the guy who was giving her that gig?

It's really a shame this is getting so little attention. Very well done, amazing job by Sarah Gadon and amazingly well-written by Sarah Polley. I almost gave up after the grimness of E1, but am glad I stayed on. The pace, music, screenplay, all evoked the period so well. Coincidentally I am reading a novel that deals with the Victorian spiritualist movement, so I'm surrounded by the atmosphere at the moment. I don't quite know what I think, but I'm tending toward guilty. The multiple personality angle was very well built up (even going back to Mary's death scene and aftermath), but for that to be true, Jeremiah would have had to be a genuine hypnotist - and we know he's a charlatan, out of his own mouth. I'm okay with the end being ambiguous, though, as it fits everything that came before.

I saw his name in the credits early on, and was on the lookout for him. Spotted him immediately when Mr. Kinnear showed up. If you haven't seen Slings and Arrows, do yourself a favor and find it now! One of the best shows I've ever watched. He is terrific in it.

Not everyone! No Funkhauser. Suffer no more. (You're welcome, Larry.)

New to this forum as I just finished Book 1 and the first 8 episodes of S1. I wasn't a fan of the book, but the series had been recommended to me and I thought I would see if it was an improvement. It is. Having said that, I thought the drinking thing was way overdone with Claire. Also, maybe I'm misremembering, but Claire's attraction to Jamie was so strongly portrayed in the book, that I never had a second's doubt she would say Yes to marrying him. The series is making Claire's feelings for Frank much, much more of a thing than they were in the book. It does tend to make her look better as a person. I'm not sure I'll stick with the series, but the scenery and Scots accents are a big plus.

Me, too.

Really good post, and I think this is probably going to be the direction they go. Of course any pregnancy (which has been strongly hinted) will be a huge complication for them.

NVM, duplicate post.

That could actually be interesting. Whereas straight-up couples in love can be really boring. Yeah, he's unhappy because something went down between him and Cersei after he figured out she was pregnant. Maybe he betrayed Dany in some way, and he's feeling guilty. Or maybe he is having qualms about his niece/nephew-to-be getting killed by his team. IDK, but al that talk about Myrcella and Tommen wasn't in there for nothing.

Afraid this might be true. He was always one of my favorite characters, but I don't see how else you can interpret the convo with Cersei that got cut off, and his demeanor outside Dany's room.

As was Bonnie.

I just finished this. I guess I am dense, because I had no idea who was going to be killed - somehow I assumed one of the women. Very glad it was Perry instead. Is it certain that he was the rapist? That does seem a bit too pat. I thought maybe his violence was triggering Jane but not that he was the actual one who raped her. Definitely agree this doesn't need another season. If it's going to be all about guilt, or the police trying to pin it on one of them, I don't know how interesting that would be. Think Bloodline. Sometimes it's best to leave things at a single season. It stands on its own, for sure.