S12.E08: Episode 8

[OtterMommy]

UK Air date: February 19, 2023
US Air date: May 7, 2023

Season Finale

Nonnatus House is abuzz with excitement as the countdown to Trixie and Matthew’s wedding begins. Whilst Sister Veronica has appointed herself in charge of organising the wedding gifts, Trixie’s brother, Geoffrey Franklin, arrives from Malta and immediately starts arranging the perfect hen do. However, the approaching nuptials cause stress levels to escalate as a catalogue of small and great disasters threaten to spoil the day. Dr Turner, Shelagh and Timothy are first on the scene of a fatal car crash. Dr Turner experiences the biggest test of his career as they race against time to save a precious life. Meanwhile, Nancy considers her future, and Sister Julienne hatches a plan to save Nonnatus House once and for all.

[MissLucas]

That was... ruthless. And in case it needs saying: keep tissues nearby.

[LGraves65]

This show hasn't made me cry in a while, but I was SOBBING by the end.  

[bybrandy]

That one case felt unnecessarily ruthless and I was misty by the end. 

[katisha]

Oh, that was soooo heartbreaking! 😭 Poor Lizzie!

[MissLucas]

They really got me when Shelagh kept talking and explaining to her what 'Doctor Turner' was going to do 😢

[txhorns79]

On 3/10/2023 at 6:05 PM, MissLucas said:

They really got me when Shelagh kept talking and explaining to her what 'Doctor Turner' was going to do 😢

So heartbreaking.  Just when you think you are safe for the episode, they find a tragedy and destroy you with it. 

I did love Phyllis and Sister Julienne commiserating about the passage of time, Phyllis' real fears about being old and abandoned and all the women that have gone through Nonnatus.  Part of me was secretly hoping that Trixie's wedding would serve as a mini-reunion for some of the long gone characters, but alas, it was not to be.

[TVForever]

That was brutal. I cried actual tears on this one, and you know we've seen a lot on this show.

[debraran]

I was starting to think it was too much a "what can go wrong" wedding show but they tugged at the heart strings and made the wedding the one I personally wanted from the beginning. I also cried . Definitely need tissues.

I loved Sister Monica Joan's poem and agreed with her about her first reading. I also felt Phyllis's pain of becoming in some eyes, "old and useless" and invisible. Never on this show but a real feeling felt by many.

To have the friends and comradery they all do is a blessing and I can only admire it, not having the same town or group of women but it is worth more than any tiara in the world.

On 3/9/2023 at 4:00 AM, katisha said:

Oh, that was soooo heartbreaking! 😭 Poor Lizzie!

I caught the baby name at the end....tore me up, my husband is like "what are you watching"

[libgirl2]

Haven't seen it but I'll be ready with the tissues. I'll also warn my husband ahead of time! 

[Badger]

Adding the cut scenes early:

 

Spoiler

Scenes they cut out:

They cut the beginning of the scene with Srs. Julienne and Monica Joan. Basically, it's Sr. Julienne telling Sr. Monica Joan that she's still recovering from her illness, and she needs to eat.

They cut a scene of Trixie having an engagement party at the clinic; she is cutting a cake while everyone sings "For She's a Jolly Good Fellow."  Then they show Mrs. Hopkiss eating a piece of cake and telling Trixie she hopes her real wedding cake is fruit and marzipan as you can't beat that. Trixie says absolutely and that in fact the cake is four tiers.  Mrs. Hopkiss says don't forget to save the top tier for the first baby's christening.  She says that since this is her third baby, it's going to have to make do with a Swiss roll from the market.

They cut the beginning part of the scene right before Trixie's brother shows up.  Phyllis says she found some Apostle spoons which came from "Uncie Ted and Auntie Sybil."
Trixie tells where to put them. Matthew says the whole thing is chaos and that he has no idea where anything is supposed to go.  Phyllis says that she did recommend they get a rolodex and that her advice was not taken.

They cut part of the scene with Geoffrey discussing possible hen party plans with the midwives.  Right after Nancy leaves, Phyllis says Trixie must do something even if it's just going to the movies.  Geoffrey says the last time he checked the only two choices were "Planet of the Apes" and "Brides of Dracula."

They cut a scene with Phyllis and Shelagh at the Turner home.  Shelagh is cutting out a pattern and Phyllis has some blue material she is cutting.  The Turner children are playing on the floor. Phyllis says she hopes they  aren't barking up the wrong tree and that she was full of bright ideas rummaging through the charity cupboard.  Shelagh says now is not the time to lose confidence and that they've already started cutting.  The doorbell rings and Patrick comes downstairs saying that dinner has arrived.  It's Arnold and Lizzie with some takeout from Uncle Li's restaurant.  Arnold says it's from Menu B and that Uncle Li put in some extras that aren't on the menu but that he thought their little girl might like to try them.  Arnold says he brought chopsticks.  He asks if they know how to use them and offers to teach them. Phyllis says she's always up for an adventure.

Shelagh and Lizzie are talking away from the dinner table. Shelagh says that Lizzie must allow them to pay for the dinner; Lizzie says that Uncle Li would have her guts for garters.  She then says that she didn't know how any of this was going to turn out but that she realized that if you go where love is, that's where life is.  Shelagh says she realized the same thing once and that it was the beginning of everything.

They cut part of the scene at the "Health Farm."  While the other midwives are relaxing, Miss Higgins is up with some sort of stretching device.  Phyllis hears her groaning so she lifts up a cucumber from one eye to check what's going on. They show Geoffrey and Sr. Veronica in the kitchen preparing food.  Geoffrey is squeezing oranges and Sr. Veronica is tasting something which looks creamy.  She puts a little on her cheek.  Also, Trixie relaxes in a bath  with rose petals in the water.

They cut part of the scene at the Turner house. Shelagh tells the clearly disappointed children that Colette is only going to the wedding because she is a bridesmaid, but that she will bring them some after dinner mints from the reception.  She also says they are on a strict timetable.

 

[Straycat80]

Well, that was depressing! They could have cut the Lizzie story and just focused on the wedding we’ve been waiting for all season. 
Did I miss if Nancy was staying? I wouldn’t blame her if she took the new job, her and Collette could finally live together. 
I loved the ending when everyone in Poplar came together and put together the wedding reception. 

[JustDucky]

Trixie has siblings?  This is news to me.  I really liked her brother - he had his own big personality, and you knew where it was coming from.  I just wish we'd gotten to know him better beforehand.  Maybe in future seasons?

The Lizzie story was wrenching.  In an episode where a wedding was occurring, it pulled the joy out of the air for a while.  They had plenty of drama with everything going wrong regarding flowers, cake, reception area, etc...  And I was really enjoying Lizzie's character.  Her and Arnold pretending she was in the throes of labor so they could get away from both their mothers was delightful.  

Will I miss Nancy (and by extension Collette)?  Well, yes.  Nancy has grown on me as a character, and her character has grown on the others (as evidenced by Phyllis being weepy at the though of her leaving.  (Also, what was with Collette and her nosebleeds?  Nothing serious, I hope.  My own kiddo had tons of nosebleeds at that age, so here's hoping it's a non-issue.)

I'm glad they're giving Cyril things to do, even though I don't agree with him and Lucille being so far apart.  

And I enjoyed the poem Sister MJ read.  Her addendum at the end to absent friends made me tear up and think of Matthew's first wife, Barbara, Sister Evangelina...

Last thing: Jonsy is a little doll!  His bit with Matthew and the "happily ever after" melted my heart.  That's no great task - I cry at cat food commercials - but... those eyes!

[Blackie]

On 5/2/2023 at 7:22 PM, debraran said:

I caught the baby name at the end

 

Was this a cut scene, or did I blink and miss it?

Didn't Barbara's wedding end up being outside with lights all over?  In the snow though.

I thought it was interesting to see how fast the Brits can pull together a street party on the weekend (for us in Canada) of the coronation and there are Big Lunch street parties around Great Britain.

Trixie looked beautiful and I wish the would have saved the tragedy for the Christmas episode like they usually do.

So how many midwives are going to be around next season? I guess we will be getting a new crop of students.

[Badger]

27 minutes ago, JustDucky said:

Trixie has siblings?  This is news to me.  I really liked her brother - he had his own big personality, and you knew where it was coming from.  I just wish we'd gotten to know him better beforehand.  Maybe in future seasons?

The Lizzie story was wrenching.  In an episode where a wedding was occurring, it pulled the joy out of the air for a while.  They had plenty of drama with everything going wrong regarding flowers, cake, reception area, etc...  And I was really enjoying Lizzie's character.  Her and Arnold pretending she was in the throes of labor so they could get away from both their mothers was delightful.  

Will I miss Nancy (and by extension Collette)?  Well, yes.  Nancy has grown on me as a character, and her character has grown on the others (as evidenced by Phyllis being weepy at the though of her leaving.  (Also, what was with Collette and her nosebleeds?  Nothing serious, I hope.  My own kiddo had tons of nosebleeds at that age, so here's hoping it's a non-issue.)

I'm glad they're giving Cyril things to do, even though I don't agree with him and Lucille being so far apart.  

And I enjoyed the poem Sister MJ read.  Her addendum at the end to absent friends made me tear up and think of Matthew's first wife, Barbara, Sister Evangelina...

Last thing: Jonsy is a little doll!  His bit with Matthew and the "happily ever after" melted my heart.  That's no great task - I cry at cat food commercials - but... those eyes!

Trixie mentioned a brother who dropped her into a rock pool thus beginning her lifelong fear of fish. I don't remember which episode that was, but it was fairly early in the show's run.

The actor who played Geoffrey is married to an actress who appeared in a season 6 episode.  She was the posh lady who was going to adopt her poor cousin's baby.  It was also the episode Tom revealed he had been adopted as a baby.

Olly Rix said he wanted it to be as much of a real wedding as possible, so he did not see the dress until Trixie was at the church.

 

[jschoolgirl]

The soaring music was fabulous.

And SJM’s mention of those gone before, and Matthew’s moment with Jonty were lovely.

But Trixie is an original character, and I am left wanting.

[Height-Nonchalance]

25 minutes ago, Blackie said:

So how many midwives are going to be around next season?

Bring back Sister Winifred. 

Bring back Chummy.

[statsgirl]

I appreciated the callback to Trixie's father's PTSD as she talked with her brother about how they had to be bright and cheery for him.

I loved the wedding dress.

I hope that Nancy stays. She and Collette bring a bit of youth to the show.

52 minutes ago, Blackie said:

Was this a cut scene, or did I blink and miss it?

It was on the name tag on the bassinet as the camera pulled back.

[Jodithgrace]

I almost never cry at movies/tv/books so I was shocked to find myself in tears at the birth of little Lizzie. Such a tragedy. Still, I had been braced for a car crash, thanks to the episode description, so I was thankful it wasn’t the car full of Turners, or any of the other carloads of wedding goers. 
 

Um…are we supposed to suspect that Tricia’s brother is gay? I sure did. 
 

That tiara wouldn’t have looked out of place at King Charles’ coronation! A bit much, even for Trixie. It was lucky that the couturier provided enough extra fabric to make a hat. 
 

It amuses me that this show, which purports to taking place in the ‘60s is so obviously written in the 21st century. Why no rice thrown at the wedding? Confetti is a modern solution to the environmental issues of throwing rice. Also, Corinthians chapter 13 has become a tired wedding cliche over the years, (especially since it isn’t really referring to romantic love) but was it back then? Sr Monica Joan seemed to have thought so. I preferred her reading. 
 

Once again Nonnatus house has been saved from the chopping block. But I guess we won’t find out about Nancy’s decision until the Christmas episode, unless PBS cuts that scene out and we come back to find that Nancy is already gone. Honestly…if PBS thinks I’m going to donate money so they can keep showing truncated shows like this, they can think again. 

[wonderwoman]

loved trixie’s dress — think it looked far better with the pillbox than it would have with the tiara. 

curious, though, about colette’s persistent nosebleed. don’t recall it being issue before and concerned that it could lead to something more serious. 

Edited May 8, 2023 by wonderwoman

[debraran]

4 hours ago, wonderwoman said:

loved trixie’s dress — think it looked far better with the pillbox than it would have with the tiara. 

curious, though, about colette’s persistent nosebleed. don’t recall it being issue before and concerned that it could lead to something more serious. 

I hope not, they had that scenario before and fans are balking already. Maybe just an overdone "another calamity for the wedding" but please writers, leave her alone. I want them to be together not having her sick and out of the way.

I don't like Trixie's obsession with things and money but she is a nice person and it is what she is. I loved how her wedding ended up and though it was lovely. I hope we see more "motherly" side of her with her new son. I know kids are hard to work with though.

7 hours ago, Blackie said:

 

Was this a cut scene, or did I blink and miss it?

Didn't Barbara's wedding end up being outside with lights all over?  In the snow though.

I thought it was interesting to see how fast the Brits can pull together a street party on the weekend (for us in Canada) of the coronation and there are Big Lunch street parties around Great Britain.

Trixie looked beautiful and I wish the would have saved the tragedy for the Christmas episode like they usually do.

So how many midwives are going to be around next season? I guess we will be getting a new crop of students.

There was a scene where the dad is looking at baby in bassinet in hospital and Lizzlie Lu was on the end of it. Parents were crying in the background. ; (

[libgirl2]

6 hours ago, wonderwoman said:

loved trixie’s dress — think it looked far better with the pillbox than it would have with the tiara. 

curious, though, about colette’s persistent nosebleed. don’t recall it being issue before and concerned that it could lead to something more serious. 

Her dress was lovely and the hat went so nicely with it. 

Those nosebleeds had me worried that something was going to happen. 

[Blackie]

9 hours ago, Jodithgrace said:

That tiara wouldn’t have looked out of place at King Charles’ coronation!

Actually it would have been out of place at the Coronation as no one wore tiara's to that😉 , but I know what you mean. It was massive and would have been too much on Trixie.

Mr Blackie watches a lot of old movies, so I have seen some pretty funny versions of CPR lately but at least they tried. Does Dr Turner not know any form of CPR? I thought he would have tried something. So sad because maybe she could have been resuscitated these days, he heart had not stopped for that long.   

It is so weird how this show has the big wedding finale and they decide to throw in an emergency roadside C-section. 🤷‍♀️

Edited May 8, 2023 by Blackie
spelling

[JudyObscure]

Thanks @Badger for the cut scenes.

Do the people at PBS have a grudge against the Turner family?  Is it because, like me, they can only understand half of Shelagh's dialogue?  That never stopped her from being my favorite character and I'm fascinated by all the Turner's home scenes.

From Badgers recap: "She [Lizzie] then says that she didn't know how any of this was going to turn out, but that she realized that if you go where love is, that's where life is.  Shelagh says she realized the same thing once and that it was the beginning of everything."

We needed to hear this!  It's a call back to Shelagh's decision to leave the order and marry Dr. Turner!

Oh well.  Moving episode. I'm thrilled to see Trixie happily wed and mother to the little boy who loves her so.

My husband hasn't quite recovered from the street caesarian.

[Daff]

On 5/7/2023 at 12:56 AM, Badger said:

Mrs. Hopkiss says don't forget to save the top tier for the first baby's christening.

That’s interesting. Here, it’s saved for the first anniversary. Moreover, what possible means of storage would they have a that time to have it last that long?

[Daff]

2 hours ago, JudyObscure said:

Thanks @Badger for the cut scenes.

Do the people at PBS have a grudge against the Turner family?  Is it because, like me, they can only understand half of Shelagh's dialogue?  That never stopped her from being my favorite character and I'm fascinated by all the Turner's home scenes.

From Badgers recap: "She [Lizzie] then says that she didn't know how any of this was going to turn out, but that she realized that if you go where love is, that's where life is.  Shelagh says she realized the same thing once and that it was the beginning of everything."

We needed to hear this!  It's a call back to Shelagh's decision to leave the order and marry Dr. Turner!

Oh well.  Moving episode. I'm thrilled to see Trixie happily wed and mother to the little boy who loves her so.

My husband hasn't quite recovered from the street caesarian.

I’m especially irritated at missing out on the dinner scene at the Turner’s. BTW, cc really helps with the pesky Scots accent. Although, compared with others, she really does make a real effort to slow her rate, and speak clearly.

[Blackie]

20 minutes ago, Daff said:

hat’s interesting. Here, it’s saved for the first anniversary. Moreover, what possible means of storage would they have a that time to have it last that long?

 

Another thing that seemed interesting/different was that Colette and Nancy walked in behind the bride.  Was that the style then?  

9 hours ago, LtKelley said:

10 hours ago, Jodithgrace said:

Um…are we supposed to suspect that Tricia’s brother is gay? I sure did. 

I know I was like "oh, you're like MY brother, so yeah, gay."

 

I forget now the euphemism they used, (flamboyant?)  but I think it was implying that he was gay.

[Quof]

Puzzled why the Turners had to go change before the wedding. Despite having performed a roadside c-section, as well as tending to the wounded husband, the three combined had less blood on their clothing than Colette did. 

[statsgirl]

2 hours ago, Blackie said:

Mr Blackie watches a lot of old movies, so I have seen some pretty funny versions of CPR lately but at least they tried. Does Dr Turner not know any form of CPR? I thought he would have tried something. So sad because maybe she could have been resuscitated these days, her heart had not stopped for that long.  

The methods of cpr at the time were the Schafer or more commonly the Holger Neilsen (which I learned in my swimming classes in 1968) which required the victim to be lying on her stomach, something impossible without hurting the baby. The show did fudge a bit for drama though as mouth-to-mouth was being trained in 1964 so as Dr. Turner was progressive he should have been aware of it.

Even today, contrary to what they show on television, cpr outside of hospital is only 10% successful. Lizzie had been without a pulse for a while so I can see that he would focus on the baby who did have a heartbeat.

21 minutes ago, Daff said:

That’s interesting. Here, it’s saved for the first anniversary. Moreover, what possible means of storage would they have a that time to have it last that long?

Traditional wedding cakes in England were fruit cake which as we know from Christmas, can last decades stored in a tin.

[dubbel zout]

12 hours ago, JustDucky said:

Her and Arnold pretending she was in the throes of labor so they could get away from both their mothers was delightful.  

That was so delightful I knew something bad had to happen, and sure enough....

The pile-on of wedding-day disasters just so Matthew and Trixie could end up having their reception in Poplar was a bit much for me.

Colette's nosebleeds were never diagnosed, were they? The show made such a big deal of them without any sort of resolution. Even a "oh, she must be nervous" would have done it for me.

I was disappointed with Trixie's dress. I didn't like the fabric—either the texture or the amount of it—and I expected something a little more fashion-forward. The little hat was the perfect topper, though. I didn't think the tiara was that ugly, but it wasn't right for Trixie. I guess she'd never seen it until Matthew brought it over? I'd have thought he'd tell her more than it had sapphires.

[Orcinus orca]

59 minutes ago, Blackie said:

Another thing that seemed interesting/different was that Colette and Nancy walked in behind the bride.  Was that the style then? 

Yes, that's the tradition in Britain.  

[AZChristian]

I can't believe that Matthew made that comment about "Contrary to what you believe, money doesn't grow on trees"!  There are often spats between couples regarding wedding plans, but that (IMO) crossed the line from "spat" to "hateful."

[proserpina65]

I know it was inspired by Jackie Kennedy's style, but I didn't like Trixie's wedding dress.  It came across as less stylish and more conservative than I would expect for her.

As CTM wedding's go, it was lovely, but not a patch on the emotion of Patrick & Shelagh's and definitely not up there with Tom & Barbara's beautiful Christmas wedding.

12 hours ago, Jodithgrace said:

Sr Monica Joan seemed to have thought so. I preferred her reading. 

So did I.  Come on, we all knew she wasn't going to read what they told her to read.

26 minutes ago, AZChristian said:

I can't believe that Matthew made that comment about "Contrary to what you believe, money doesn't grow on trees"!  There are often spats between couples regarding wedding plans, but that (IMO) crossed the line from "spat" to "hateful."

Given how Trixie was behaving at the time, freaking out over a tiara that was not hers to begin with and saying that his parents could've afforded the cruise without selling the tiara, it was well-deserved.  That spat obviously came from both of them putting too much pressure on the wedding itself, rather than focusing on it just being one day out of hopefully many years of marriage, and I'm glad they realized it so quickly and apologized to each other.

6 hours ago, debraran said:

I don't like Trixie's obsession with things and money but she is a nice person and it is what she is.

It's always been a part of who she is and clearly comes from her childhood, but fortunately she has more good qualities which greatly outweigh that bit of shallowness.

2 hours ago, Blackie said:

Another thing that seemed interesting/different was that Colette and Nancy walked in behind the bride.  Was that the style then?  

That's usually how it's done in Britain.  The bridesmaids preceding the bride is an American thing.

1 hour ago, dubbel zout said:

I was disappointed with Trixie's dress. I didn't like the fabric—either the texture or the amount of it—and I expected something a little more fashion-forward. The little hat was the perfect topper, though. I didn't think the tiara was that ugly, but it wasn't right for Trixie. I guess she'd never seen it until Matthew brought it over? I'd have thought he'd tell her more than it had sapphires.

The style could've worked had there just been less and/or different fabric.  And I liked the tiara but it definitely did not go with the style of the gown.

 

[libgirl2]

8 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

I know it was inspired by Jackie Kennedy's style, but I didn't like Trixie's wedding dress.  It came across as less stylish and more conservative than I would expect for her.

So did I.  Come on, we all knew she wasn't going to read what they told her to read.

The style could've worked had there just been less and/or different fabric.  And I liked the tiara but it definitely did not go with the style of the gown.

 

I liked her gown and thought it went well with the hat. As for it being conservative, Trixie has grown and she is marrying into a very wealthy family (isn't she going to be a lady now?), so maybe it felt more fitting. The tiara would never have worked, the hat was perfect. 

Sr. MJ's reading was the high light of the episode. 

Overall, the episode didn't quite wow me. I felt we didn't need the c-section in the road.... a birth or two fine but it should have been a happier episode. I wanted more of Trixie's brother! 

[proserpina65]

2 minutes ago, libgirl2 said:

The tiara would never have worked, the hat was perfect. 

That I absolutely agree with.

And a thumb's up to wanting more of Trixie's brother.  He was both entertaining and endearing.  I loved how he was able to get Trixie out of the hotel and off to the wedding.

[jschoolgirl]

14 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

As CTM wedding's go, it was lovely, but not a patch on the emotion of Patrick & Shelagh's and definitely not up there with Tom & Barbara's beautiful Christmas wedding.

Exactly. Nor the fun of Chummy's wedding.

[Notabug]

6 hours ago, Blackie said:

Actually it would have been out of place at the Coronation as no one wore tiara's to that😉 , but I know what you mean. It was massive and would have been too much on Trixie.

Mr Blackie watches a lot of old movies, so I have seen some pretty funny versions of CPR lately but at least they tried. Does Dr Turner not know any form of CPR? I thought he would have tried something. So sad because maybe she could have been resuscitated these days, he heart had not stopped for that long.   

It is so weird how this show has the big wedding finale and they decide to throw in an emergency roadside C-section. 🤷‍♀️

CPR was just beginning to be taught to healthcare workers in the US by the late 60's.  It wasn't until 1966 that the American Red Cross began to develop standardized training for it and mass training wasn't a thing until the early 70's.  I would imagine it was similar in Britain.  So, no, Dr. Turner probably didn't have much, if any, training in modern CPR.

In the real world, however, the baby would probably not have survived.    Once the maternal heart stops, you've got maybe 5 minutes to get the baby delivered presuming no one is rescusitating the mother.  No way they get Lizzie out of the car, realize she is dead, decide to do a cesarean and get the instruments from the car and get that baby out in under 5 minutes.  But, I'm ok with a little bit of creative license to tell the story.

Edited May 8, 2023 by Notabug

[iMonrey]

The emergency c-section was far more graphic than I ever would have expected. I had to look away.

When Trixie was looking around at her empty room, I thought it would have been nice to show a montage of all the other nurses who had lived there, and all the gatherings and little drinking parties they had there. Midwife doesn't really seem to do flashbacks though. Probably a budget thing, since they probably have to pay those actresses to use footage of them again.

I kept expecting something serious to come from Colette's nosebleeds.

Quote

I forget now the euphemism they used, (flamboyant?)  but I think it was implying that he was gay.

Oh, I thought he was rather obviously gay. When he came into Trixie's room she said something about no longer being a bachelorette and he replied saying something like "some of us are destined to that for life." Can't remember the exact dialogue but it was an obvious acknowledgment.

[Kimmmmmm]

14 hours ago, Height-Nonchalance said:

Bring back Sister Winifred. 

Bring back Chummy.

I could do without Chummy.

[Notabug]

5 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

The emergency c-section was far more graphic than I ever would have expected. I had to look away.

When Trixie was looking around at her empty room, I thought it would have been nice to show a montage of all the other nurses who had lived there, and all the gatherings and little drinking parties they had there. Midwife doesn't really seem to do flashbacks though. Probably a budget thing, since they probably have to pay those actresses to use footage of them again.

I kept expecting something serious to come from Colette's nosebleeds.

Oh, I thought he was rather obviously gay. When he came into Trixie's room she said something about no longer being a bachelorette and he replied saying something like "some of us are destined to that for life." Can't remember the exact dialogue but it was an obvious acknowledgment.

I loved Trixie's brother and thought it was obvious that he is gay.  I hope that means he is going to hang around for a bit so we get a poignant storyline next season featuring him and Trixie.  The Stonewall uprising in NYC was in the summer of '69; so next season in show time.

[eel21788]

23 hours ago, Jodithgrace said:

I almost never cry at movies/tv/books so I was shocked to find myself in tears at the birth of little Lizzie. Such a tragedy. Still, I had been braced for a car crash, thanks to the episode description, so I was thankful it wasn’t the car full of Turners, or any of the other carloads of wedding goers. 

When he got out of the car to take his coat off, I was sure he was going to get run down. I can't say I'm relieved by what happened, but it definitely could have been worse.

Edited May 9, 2023 by eel21788

[Shanna Marie]

Didn't Dr. Turner say something about a head injury that probably killed Lizzie instantly? If so, CPR wouldn't have done any good.

I loved Trixie's wedding. That whole "everyone comes together and pulls off something" kind of reception would be my dream wedding, but it's not the sort of thing you can plan for, and it loses its charm if you try to. You can't exactly say, "Okay, everyone show up and bring something to make my reception happen, but surprise me." You have to plan something else, then hope it goes wrong, and then hope everyone comes through for you. I guess the next best thing would be to actually plan it as a street party, but without the "community coming together" element built in.

I remember telling my now-ex SIL just before my brother's wedding when she was freaking out over every detail that it's the things that go wrong that everyone talks about and remembers fondly later. If your wedding goes absolutely to plan and is utterly perfect, then you don't really have stories to tell and no one will remember it. You almost want at least one thing to go a little wonky so you have something to talk about later when people are telling wedding stories. But for Trixie, it was rather overkill -- bridesmaid with a nosebleed, the tiara snafu, guests having to stop along the way for an emergency C-section, scripture reader being MIA before showing up mid-service and making a scene, everything delivered to the wrong place, and reception venue burning down during the wedding. Trixie is guaranteed to win any future "wait until you hear what happened at my wedding" contest.

I'm irked that they didn't resolve the Nancy issue and made it a cliffhanger because no matter how it goes, it'll be resolved offscreen, since it'll have to wait until Christmas. Either Christmas will come and they'll be talking about how Nancy is doing in her new job or she'll be there and talking about being glad she stayed. We won't see the decision and reaction unless her potential new employer is really generous and letting her wait until the new year to decide and move. It seemed like they were setting up to have a bunch of new characters with the training program, so I wonder if they're writing Nancy out, or are they still negotiating with the actress? It's also weird that they didn't resolve the nosebleed thing. Was that just for wedding drama? I'm surprised it was just her own dress she got blood one. I was waiting for Trixie's dress to get splattered in blood at the rate things were going.

[eel21788]

13 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

I kept expecting something serious to come from Colette's nosebleeds.

I kept thinking "we just had a childhood leukemia story last week, so it won't be that."

Would they go for an aplastic anemia story so soon after leukemia?

[eel21788]

1 hour ago, LtKelley said:

I mean, I get what you're saying but I'd also argue that Matthew has been almost insanely generous with his money indulging Trixie and she's literally complaining about not having access to a piece of jewelry whose sale could fund the feeding of 10000 orphans in Uganda. 

However, I can see how she would think wearing the family tiara was symbolic of being welcomed into the family. That was important to her, especially since she was "replacing" a previous wife to a fairly recent widower.  

[Mermaid Under]

Quote

Curious, though, about colette’s persistent nosebleed. don’t recall it being issue before and concerned that it could lead to something more serious

Count this as the one time they have followed through on a much earlier story, whether the writer's remember it or not.  In a previous season, I remember Collette's teacher telling Nancy (or someone, whoever was taking care of her) that Collette was always tired in class  Nothing came of it, until now.  And if they've started Collette down the road of childhood cancers, I'm thinking that Nancy and Collette (and the storyline) aren't leaving Poplar.

Quote

Also, Corinthians chapter 13 has become a tired wedding cliche over the years, (especially since it isn’t really referring to romantic love) but was it back then? Sr Monica Joan seemed to have thought so. I preferred her reading. 

I'm sitting at the head of the table with the folks who are tired of Sr. Monica Joan, through and through.  But I silently thanked her for pulling out her"poor me I'm old and senile" card and reading something other than Corinthians. 
Question - Does anyone know the story behind the Wedding Prayer?  It seems utterly unlike Treasure Island or Kidnapped, to say the least.  My Google powers have failed me, and I cannot find the circumstances for which it was written ( a wedding obviously, but whose?) or in which volume of Stevenson's work it lives.

Edited May 8, 2023 by Mermaid Under
punctuation is crucial

[libgirl2]

14 minutes ago, Mermaid Under said:

Count this as the one time they have followed through on a much earlier story, whether the writer's remember it or not.  In a previous season, I remember Collette's teacher telling Nancy (or someone, whoever was taking care of her) that Collette was always tired in class  Nothing came of it, until now.  And if they've started Collette down the road of childhood cancers, I'm thinking that Nancy and Collette (and the storyline) aren't leaving Poplar.

I'm sitting at the head of the table with the folks who are tired of Sr. Monica Joan, through and through.  But I silently thanked her for pulling out her"poor me I'm old and senile" card and reading something other than Corinthians. 
Question - Does anyone know the story behind the Wedding Prayer?  It seems utterly unlike Treasure Island or Kidnapped, to say the least.  My Google powers have failed me, and I cannot find the circumstances for which it was written ( a wedding obviously, but whose?) or in which volume of Stevenson's work it lives.

I forgot about Collette being tired but I didn't think it was tied into  her being ill. It was something else, but I can't remember what. Though, now I'm starting to wonder.....

I'm not finding a behind the story of the Prayer but just text and inclusions in wedding sites. 

[Notabug]

45 minutes ago, Shanna Marie said:

 

I'm irked that they didn't resolve the Nancy issue and made it a cliffhanger because no matter how it goes, it'll be resolved offscreen, since it'll have to wait until Christmas. Either Christmas will come and they'll be talking about how Nancy is doing in her new job or she'll be there and talking about being glad she stayed. We won't see the decision and reaction unless her potential new employer is really generous and letting her wait until the new year to decide and move. It seemed like they were setting up to have a bunch of new characters with the training program, so I wonder if they're writing Nancy out, or are they still negotiating with the actress? It's also weird that they didn't resolve the nosebleed thing. Was that just for wedding drama? I'm surprised it was just her own dress she got blood one. I was waiting for Trixie's dress to get splattered in blood at the rate things were going.

I'm hoping the nosebleeds were just a red herring.  Neither aplastic anemia nor leukemia were very survivable at that point in history.  I hope they just wanted something random that would threaten to spoil the wedding and was beyond anyone's control.

I'm hoping that, now that Matthew has purchased Nonnatus House itself, he will hear of Nancy's desire for a place for her and Collette and will offer her newly renovated space in one of his former tenements at a good price.  I've gotten to like her and Collette.

[libgirl2]

2 minutes ago, Notabug said:

I'm hoping the nosebleeds were just a red herring.  Neither aplastic anemia nor leukemia were very survivable at that point in history.  I hope they just wanted something random that would threaten to spoil the wedding and was beyond anyone's control.

I'm hoping that, now that Matthew has purchased Nonnatus House itself, he will hear of Nancy's desire for a place for her and Collette and will offer her newly renovated space in one of his former tenements at a good price.  I've gotten to like her and Collette.

I'm leaning towards is just being another thing going wrong on the wedding day. 

[Sarah 103]

14 hours ago, Jodithgrace said:

Um…are we supposed to suspect that Tricia’s brother is gay? I sure did. 

I was pretty sure he was gay the minute I heard him and the way he handed her the bag. 

4 hours ago, Blackie said:

I forget now the euphemism they used, (flamboyant?)  but I think it was implying that he was gay.

 I'm not sure if they used the word in the show but flamboyant woud have been one of the euphemisms used in the era to imply someone was gay without using an insult/deragatory term. 

54 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

When he came into Trixie's room she said something about no longer being a bachelorette and he replied saying something like "some of us are destined to that for life." Can't remember the exact dialogue but it was an obvious acknowledgment.

That was the moment (it was around halfway through the episode) when my suspicion that he was gay was confirmed. (FYI confirmed bachelor was another polite way of implying someone was gay).

46 minutes ago, Notabug said:

I loved Trixie's brother and thought it was obvious that he is gay.  I hope that means he is going to hang around for a bit so we get a poignant storyline next season featuring him and Trixie.  The Stonewall uprising in NYC was in the summer of '69; so next season in show time.

I would love to see Geoffrey again. Especially since homosexuality had just been decriminalized in England when this episode took place. While there was still prejudice and life would have been incredibly difficult, fear of arrest was not what it would have been a few years before.  

In the U.S the Stonewall uprising barely made the local papers at the time. Maybe a short paragaph/a few sentences at most. Also, there have been very few U.S news stories that have been covered within this series. Aside from the JFK Assasination, I can't think of a single major U.S news story that was mentioned/a major part of an episode. I was sure the MLK Assasination was going to be mentioned this season, but they went with a UK centric story to deal with race/racial prejudice. 

3 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

I didn't think the tiara was that ugly, but it wasn't right for Trixie. I guess she'd never seen it until Matthew brought it over? I'd have thought he'd tell her more than it had sapphires.

That would make sense. He told her the family owned a tiara with sapphires, and Trixie thought it sounded wonderful. I can believe that Matthew might not have done the best job of describing it. Once Trixie saw it and thought about it (especially after what Matthew told her about it), realized it was all wrong for her. 

2 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

Given how Trixie was behaving at the time, freaking out over a tiara that was not hers to begin with and saying that his parents could've afforded the cruise without selling the tiara, it was well-deserved.  That spat obviously came from both of them putting too much pressure on the wedding itself, rather than focusing on it just being one day out of hopefully many years of marriage, and I'm glad they realized it so quickly and apologized to each other.

That's what I think too. They were both stressed out and nervous over the wedding, and this is what the fight was about. If they didn't have the big argument over the tiara, it would have been something else. As you pointed out, they both realized pretty quickly being together and having a life together was more important than the wedding. 

 

[dubbel zout]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

The emergency c-section was far more graphic than I ever would have expected. I had to look away.

Had I not recently watched Dead Ringers with Rachel Weisz, I'd have had looked away too, but that show is really explicit about birth. (And is amazing, but be warned.)