S09.E02: Episode 2

[OnceSane]

Quote

A woman is caught stealing milk from Nonnatus House, but she pleads for mercy from sisters Julienne and Monica Joan, explaining that she has been stealing milk as she is pregnant. As Sister Julienne learns more about her, she is convinced that this woman needs help becoming the mother she wants to be. Meanwhile, Dr Turner puzzles over a mysterious string of symptoms, and the blossoming romance between Miss Higgins and Sgt Woolf is thrown into jeopardy.

Airs January 12, 2020.

[MissLucas]

Looks like Sister Julienne has lost a bit of her mojo - in earlier seasons I would have expected her to whip up a job and an apartment and then bring the kids to the hospital because of course that would work. Not being facetious - I prefer this starker take on the story which ended with her accepting that the best she could do was to talk to Trixie. Who looked amazing in that red sweater and the matching lipstick. I wish I would look that put together while reading a fashion magazine in the evening. I also enjoyed her snapping a bit at Lucille and her holier-than-thou attitude, I wonder if there will be a follow-up.

And I love that show for treating its older female characters without wimples like real human beings with emotions and longings instead of trope burdened spinsters with amusing quirks. Now I want Phyllis and Millicent to get a sidecar motorcycle and go on amazing trips to the countryside.

[debraran]

Any date for when the US fans can see Call the Midwife? I tried to watch on BBC but I couldn't of courses.

[dargosmydaddy]

48 minutes ago, debraran said:

Any date for when the US fans can see Call the Midwife?

March 29

[debraran]

29 minutes ago, dargosmydaddy said:

March 29

Thank you, a belated birthday present I guess. ; )

[OnceSane]

On 1/12/2020 at 2:15 PM, MissLucas said:

I prefer this starker take on the story which ended with her accepting that the best she could do was to talk to Trixie.

Me too.  And I loved Trixie's look too!

I felt bad for Millicent.  Sergeant Wolf never did much for me (though he's had his moments), but I wanted them to work.  And not just to keep him away from Phyllis.

[GinnyMars]

Did I miss something in-show, did we know that unmarried women were now allowed to get the pill? And what's that about Trixie's "clinic"? Last season was a long time ago, I don't remember anything about that...

At any rate, it was pretty big for Sister Julienne to be recommending that course of action when the nuns were so opposed to it just a few seasons ago!

On a completely different topic, I found it pretty confusing that the older woman with hemochromatosis was named "Florrie Watkins" while the young sex worker was "Tina Atkins". I just checked those names on IMDB, but during the episode, I thought they had the same last name, and so was expecting some kind of big twist! An oversight from the producing team...

[MissLucas]

The pill was introduced to the UK market in 1961 and only for married women until 1967. Well, that's what Google says.

Sister Julienne asked for an appointment in the 'Brook Advisory Center' - a place that helped young and unmarried people with contraception and matters of sexual health. Trixie and Dr Turner suggested opening a branch in Poplar last season and at the beginning of this episode Trixie mentioned that she's off to the the Center, probably volunteering.

What is a bit confusing is that Sister Julienne asked specifically for the pill and IIRC the year is still 1965. Maybe there were workarounds - or the ban for non-married women only applied for the NHS? That's a question for a Brit with better knowledge of their healthcare history than I have.

[Bunnyette]

This one of the very few TV shows that portrays older women as people instead of as grannies or bitter hags.  Nice to see the friendship developing between Phyllis & Millicent.   Although Sister Julienne was bordering on being a busybody by pushing that young woman to keep her children even though she knew adoption was in their best interest.  Still love the show and I suspect more cut scenes.

[jschoolgirl]

I'd swear I heard something like "Has there been any word from Nurse Noakes?" It was toward the beginning when Millicent was showing off her plant. I think Phyllis asked the question concerning getting some staff in, perhaps temporarily.

Did anyone else catch this?

[AZChristian]

1 hour ago, jschoolgirl said:

I'd swear I heard something like "Has there been any word from Nurse Noakes?" It was toward the beginning when Millicent was showing off her plant. I think Phyllis asked the question concerning getting some staff in, perhaps temporarily.

Did anyone else catch this?

Just watched that scene. No mention of Nurse Noakes, and we watch with closed captions on. 

[elle]

1 hour ago, jschoolgirl said:

I'd swear I heard something like "Has there been any word from Nurse Noakes?" It was toward the beginning when Millicent was showing off her plant. I think Phyllis asked the question concerning getting some staff in, perhaps temporarily.

Did anyone else catch this?

Maybe it was Nurse Crane asking “any luck with the notes”?

[LittleIggy]

It was great to see Amanda Root (Florrie, the grandmum). She was in my absolute favorite Jane Austen movie, Persuasion (1995) opposite Ciaran Hinds. One of the things I loved about that movie was that everyone didn’t look perfect. The ladies’ hair got mussed up and the hems of their dresses got dirty! 
Why on earth did Sister Julienne think that Tina would be able to take care of two young children? 🙄 

Poor Miss Higgens didn’t even get a say-so in her own relationship. Why not lay out the facts about your health and let her decide if she wants to give it a go, Sgt. Walrus? 

[craziness]

Thank you, Call The Midwife, for finally answering a question that I've had for a long time.  What is the brand of Trixie's very cool looking black cigarettes with the gold filter?  They are Sobranie!!!  Trixie mentioned them in the middle of the episode.  I'm not a smoker, but I want a pack of these, just because they look cool.

Not sure how/why Turner diagnosed the jaundiced lady with diabetes (unless that was part of a deleted scene).  Also, did anyone else notice a split second scene of Sr. Juliette sitting in a hospital corridor?  

I liked Phyllis and Millicent having tea.  

[elle]

1 hour ago, LittleIggy said:

It was great to see Amanda Root (Florrie, the grandmum). She was in my absolute favorite Jane Austen movie, Persuasion (1995) opposite Ciaran Hinds. One of the things I loved about that movie was that everyone didn’t look perfect. The ladies’ hair got mussed up and the hems of their dresses got dirty! 

Thank you!  I knew she was from an Austen adaptation but I could not place her.  I feel silly now that I didn’t recognize her since that is my favorite version of Persuasion.

[GaT]

1 hour ago, LittleIggy said:

Poor Miss Higgens didn’t even get a say-so in her own relationship. Why not lay out the facts about your health and let her decide if she wants to give it a go, Sgt. Walrus? 

I don't know why, but that whole thing made me very angry.

[debraran]

4 hours ago, GaT said:

I don't know why, but that whole thing made me very angry.

I thought it was odd that she didn't say she cared for him enough to be with him, what else does she have? It's not like she's seeing 3 guys and he's just another one. I thought that scene was odd and unfulfilling. I realize heart attacks back then had less ways to help and many were fatal but being isolated doesn't seem right either. I was also surprised that Nurse Crane didn't suggest she talk to him again.

I know they cut scenes in the US and I hope to see it with them one day. Even the mom with diabetes seemed choppy, you see her overhearing she is an alcoholic, then a talk with Trixie about hiding addictions and then nothing. The woman's husband was just a prop, no real support or anger, we will just deal with it. IDK, I love the show, but that whole thing was flat to me. 

I did like the prostitute scenes because it was realistic, she wasn't going to be a secretary or whatever and suddenly become mother of the year. She knew it then (who knows later) and Sr Julienne knew it finally. I liked how she asked Trixie to help her, married or not.

Edited April 6, 2020 by debraran

[JudyObscure]

12 minutes ago, debraran said:

did like the prostitute scenes because it was realistic, she wasn't going to be a secretary or whatever and suddenly become mother of the year. She knew it then (who knows later) and Sr Julienne knew it finally. I liked how she asked Trixie to help her, married or not.

It seemed odd to me at first, too.  A friend of mine had a baby while unmarried in 1968 and it was taken for granted by everyone that the best thing for the baby was to give it up for adoption, so Sister Julienne's determination to have this poor girl retain custody of her children seemed sort of anti-adoption to me.  I guess it was explained by Sister Julienne saying that no matter how bad the mother, children always wanted to stay with her. 

I remembered how she disagreed with Trixie over the birth control clinic last season and thought that was well played.  I'm glad she's starting to see there's a good place for the pill in women's lives.

[howiveaddict]

11 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

It was great to see Amanda Root (Florrie, the grandmum). She was in my absolute favorite Jane Austen movie, Persuasion (1995) opposite Ciaran Hinds. One of the things I loved about that movie was that everyone didn’t look perfect. The ladies’ hair got mussed up and the hems of their dresses got dirty! 
Why on earth did Sister Julienne think that Tina would be able to take care of two young children? 🙄 

Poor Miss Higgens didn’t even get a say-so in her own relationship. Why not lay out the facts about your health and let her decide if she wants to give it a go, Sgt. Walrus? 

 

10 hours ago, elle said:

Thank you!  I knew she was from an Austen adaptation but I could not place her.  I feel silly now that I didn’t recognize her since that is my favorite version of Persuasion.

Add me to the group who loves this movie.  The best version.  

[caitmcg]

5 hours ago, JudyObscure said:

It seemed odd to me at first, too.  A friend of mine had a baby while unmarried in 1968 and it was taken for granted by everyone that the best thing for the baby was to give it up for adoption, so Sister Julienne's determination to have this poor girl retain custody of her children seemed sort of anti-adoption to me.  I guess it was explained by Sister Julienne saying that no matter how bad the mother, children always wanted to stay with her. 

I remembered how she disagreed with Trixie over the birth control clinic last season and thought that was well played.  I'm glad she's starting to see there's a good place for the pill in women's lives.

Over the course of the series, it seems that in many of the adoption storylines, the nun or midwife attending is opposed to the woman giving up the child, even when she herself is firmly decided, as Tina is here. It is strange to me, given how much hardship and neglect we have watched them witness, that they wouldn’t have the most interest in what would give the better life to both child and birth mother. That Tina had given up the fantasy of being a better mother to a third child coupled with her resistance to a regular job should have been enough for Sister Julienne to be glad for the adoption of the older kids, I’d think. 

When Trixie came in late for the meal and said she’d been at the Brook Center, Sister Julienne got a tight, somewhat disapproving look on her face before saying Trixie mustn’t let it interfere with her midwifery duties, which I thought was a nice callback to her more vocal objections last season. In the end, she is often more practical than judgmental, so it made sense to me that after she came to terms with Tina’s situation she’d relent in contraception to prevent its repetition. 

[tljgator]

I think the montage with Shelagh sharing the Mother's Day cards -- including one from her adopted daughter -- with the nuns was meant to drive home the point that sometimes adoption is the better outcome, as well.

This week felt like there must be cut scenes disrupting things, even more so than usual.  For lack of a better term, this season feels awfully "choppy" in presentation. *sigh*

[caitmcg]

1 hour ago, tljgator said:

I think the montage with Shelagh sharing the Mother's Day cards -- including one from her adopted daughter -- with the nuns was meant to drive home the point that sometimes adoption is the better outcome, as well.

Both girls are adopted, in fact, Angela when they thought Shelagh couldn’t get pregnant, and Mai after her original adoption placement fell through.

There's a disconnect for me between enthusiasm for those able to adopt and resistance to the giving up of children for adoption when the birth parents' situation (or desire) warrants it on the show.

[Driad]

Mother's Day (Mothering Sunday) in the U.K. is the fourth Sunday of Lent, three weeks before Easter. I looked this up because in the U.S., Mother's Day is the second Sunday in May, so it is never during Lent.

Cirrhosis has other causes besides drinking, such as hepatitis and various inherited diseases (including hemochromatosis as in the episode).

[MartyQui]

I have hemochromatosis!  Dr. Turner figured it out when he put all the symptoms together...they used to call it bronze diabetes, because the excess iron can turn your forearms and chest brownish, and it interferes with blood sugar.  If you’re of Celtic descent (as I am) you should have your ferritin tested, it’s the most common inherited disorder among us.

[Blackie]

19 hours ago, craziness said:

notice a split second scene

 

I did notice a few split second scenes which seemed so out of place/bad editing

[marceline]

For some reason I really liked the husband in this ep. He was so supportive and laid back. For some reason, I kept expecting him to turn into a bad guy but he never did. He was laser focused on his wife and her needs and I guess I just needed to see that.

[Kohola3]

9 minutes ago, marceline said:

For some reason I really liked the husband in this ep. He was so supportive and laid back. For some reason, I kept expecting him to turn into a bad guy but he never did. He was laser focused on his wife and her needs and I guess I just needed to see that.

I found him endearing as well.  Nice story to balance the other one.

[StatisticalOutlier]

On 1/12/2020 at 3:15 PM, MissLucas said:

And I love that show for treating its older female characters without wimples like real human beings with emotions and longings instead of trope burdened spinsters with amusing quirks. Now I want Phyllis and Millicent to get a sidecar motorcycle and go on amazing trips to the countryside.

I posted last season, or maybe the season before, that I want Phyllis to be my best friend.  And after this episode, I was shocked to realize I want Millicent to join our crew.  Didn't see that coming.

 

[PJ123]

On 4/6/2020 at 11:31 AM, howiveaddict said:

 

Add me to the group who loves this movie.  The best version.  

100% Agreed.  I thought I was the only one who loved, much less remember this version.  Yay!

[HoneyBeach]

On 4/6/2020 at 11:31 AM, howiveaddict said:

 

Add me to the group who loves this movie.  The best version.  

The first time I saw this movie, I could barely contain myself when she was reading the letter from the capitan! It was so exciting and emotional, my feet were running right along with her.

[LeGrandElephant]

On 4/6/2020 at 10:47 AM, caitmcg said:

Over the course of the series, it seems that in many of the adoption storylines, the nun or midwife attending is opposed to the woman giving up the child, even when she herself is firmly decided, as Tina is here. It is strange to me, given how much hardship and neglect we have watched them witness, that they wouldn’t have the most interest in what would give the better life to both child and birth mother. That Tina had given up the fantasy of being a better mother to a third child coupled with her resistance to a regular job should have been enough for Sister Julienne to be glad for the adoption of the older kids, I’d think. 

They seemed oddly anti-adoption in both of the first two episodes of this season. Why would they be so gung-ho to give a baby back to a woman who dumped it in a trashcan where it would most likely have died, when there must be plenty of nice families who would want to adopt a healthy infant, or giving kids back to a woman who obviously didn't want them and couldn't take care of them when another family had already been found? Having seen Tina's lifestyle, why wouldn't Sister Julienne just be relieved that the kids were going to be adopted? The nuns always seem to think the birth mother is the best choice, even when she isn't interested or is shown to be dangerous. 

Edited October 4, 2020 by LeGrandElephant

[RedbirdNelly]

I felt badly for Millicent but liked her becoming better friends with Phyllis. I hated to see her so excited about their outing and then to have hopes dashed.

It was nice to have an episode with Sr. Julienne and for her to come around.