S04.E03: Episode 3

[maraleia]

 

The Nonnatus team rallies to support first-time parents Marie and Tony Amos when Tony is arrested for gross indecency with another male. Elsewhere, as Poplar is gripped by an outbreak of dysentery, Trixie undertakes her first official church duty since her engagement to Tom.

 

[Raffles]

Trixie is the most awesome person on this show. Tom you are not worthy. She organises the Rose Queen, continually shoot down anti-gay comments and delivers a baby in a dysentery ridden hell hole. And she does it all in style.

 

Richard Fleeshman was wonderful in this role, its a tough situation. Its difficult to view the ending as hopeful considering the treatment he will have to go through. I don't think the wife has properly grasped the full effect of the treatment. However, I'm glad he's standing by his wife and caring for his child. 

 

Patsy is in a difficult position too but compared to Tony she's pretty lucky that she's found a way to avoid the fake marriage scenario. Nobody would find it overly odd if continued to be an unmarried nurse devoted to her work. Crane doesn't seem to be married.

[Badger]

ITA about the wife.  I don't think she quite grasped what was going to happen to her husband.  I think she thought the treatment would render him unable to father any more children, not that it would make him unable to have sex at all.

[kieyra]

I don't think cared about sex either, she just wanted her husband "fixed" so her family could remain intact and she could live down the shame. The ending was pretty tragic.

[gryphon]

Every time they said the word "treatment" for Tony I felt sick. And when he was crying, "I have a sickness...."  my heart just broke.  

 

Trixie continues to be awesome in everything she does and she always looks fabulous...I loved her even more when she and the nurses were talking...."Would you put up with that?....the way he is? Trixie says, "I wouldn't put up with it no matter who it was with--he cheated and that's that."  (I know the quote is wrong but I hope the idea is there.) 

 

Come back Chummy!  

[Raffles]

Poor Tony, at least Dr Turner was shown saying that he believe that people should be left just as they are but was constrained by what he could really do. He's clearly miserable and the "treatment" won't help that.  I hope Patsy doesn't at any point feel that she requires "treatment" either.

[bybrandy]

I was really devastated for all three of them in this episode.   The wife's only concern in this is the image, and she'll cling to it but at the expense of any kind of happiness for herself.  Her whole life will be a lie and the child will be raised by  two unhappy parents living a lie.   This episode made me really very sad.   But I concur Trixie remains awesome.   I like Patsy as well.   Sister Monica Joan who doesn't like a culling and Dr Watson, Doctor Turner's bride.  All good things.

 

I have never bought Trixie and Tom but at least I saw she could do some good if she went for life as the Vicar's wife.  Still,. I don't see that working out.   

[barbedwire]

Did this return this past week?  Arrrgghhh.  I missed it.  I will have to find the rerun.

[maraleia]

It's airing in the UK right now. It will premiere on PBS on March 29th.

[Ceindreadh]

I was really devastated for all three of them in this episode.   The wife's only concern in this is the image, and she'll cling to it but at the expense of any kind of happiness for herself.  Her whole life will be a lie and the child will be raised by  two unhappy parents living a lie.   This episode made me really very sad. 

 

There seems to be a running theme this season about 'happy' endings which really aren't all that happy.

Ep 1 had the kids whose mother was neglecting them.  They did get rescued and sent to a new life in Australia, but the voiceover tells us it wasn't all it was cracked up to be.

Ep 2 had the new parents with a child, but still going to be grieving over their lost one.

And now ep 3, Tony isn't in jail, his wife is standing by him and he has a daughter but he's being forced to take these drugs, he's never going to be happy and (even though he doesn't know it) it's going to be 7 or 8 years before homosexuality was decriminalised. 

 

Usually the show is a bit more optomistic. 

[dustylil]

If I recall correctly, homosexuality in private was decriminalized in Britain in 1967. One of the issues with Tony was that the attempted "indecency" was conducted in a public place.

[purist]

I felt a bit hammered over the head with the 'moral' at the end, when Sister Monica Joan berated the kids who were chasing the rat with 'What would your parents think?' and one of them answered, 'Our parents hate rats as much as we do.' Rats, the Irish, homosexuals - all of them despised and chased away, and the kids learning hate from their parents. Thanks, show.

 

Having said that, it was a great episode. Poor Tony. How glad I am that things have changed for the better so much in the last 50 years for lesbian and gay people, at least in the Western world.

Edited February 8, 2015 by purist

[Raffles]

If I recall correctly, homosexuality in private was decriminalized in Britain in 1967. One of the issues with Tony was that the attempted "indecency" was conducted in a public place.

 

Yes but this show was set in 1960 so regardless of where we was having sex he could be arrested. Of course you are taking greater chances by having sex in a public place but I that kind of meeting wouldn't have been happening as much if not for the pressure put on people to live a "normal" life. 

[Primetimer]

The rule of threes applies when the residents of Poplar begin culling The Rats, The Gays, and The Irish.

Read the story

[Blackie]

Trixie's robin's egg blue dress was fabulous, I had to say something cheery about this episode.

[LittleIggy]

They were still discriminating against the Irish in 1960? Wow.

I like Nurse Crane. She's a tough broad!

That "treatment" was horrifying. I don't get their sick logic. Wouldn't they want to increase his testosterone to make him more "manly?"

[stopeslite]

The painting was a huge fad in its day - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Girl  . Hilariously, I read in another article that despite being the most-sold art reproduction almost ever, the owner of the original wasn't allowed to hang it up by her roommates who hated it, and her house was burglarized twice but the intruders left the painting. :) 

 

I'm not sure how historically accurate the sympathy that Tony got from the main characters was, but I'm glad they didn't sugarcoat it to the level that Downton Abbey did.

[Badger]

How did they sugarcoat it on "Downton Abbey?"  It was made clear that while people knew Thomas was gay, there was nothing to suggest that anyone saw it as anything but a terrible affliction that Nature/Chance/God had burdened him with.  No one was waving a rainbow flag. BTW, Marie Stopes referred to homosexuality as a perversion people are born with so the idea that it wasn't totally a choice was not unknown then.  Most people were like Dr. Clarkson though and thought gay people should remain celibate and focus their energies in other directions.  That was also the advice given to spinsters, incidentally.

 

This episode reminded me a little of the 1961 movie "Victim" which is about a young married lawyer who becomes involved in a blackmail scheme targetting gay men.  He had a relationship with a man before he was married which his wife knows about but has not strayed in any way since.  There's a scene where she asks him just why he chose to befriend a young gay man who has committed suicide and he yells at her, "BECAUSE I WANTED HIM."  There's also a scene with a cop who expresses his displeasure at having to arrest homosexuals while another younger policeman says as far as he's concerned, it's a sin and that's good enough for him.  You can find it on YouTube.  

[GaT]

Boy, this show is rough, I always feel emotionally wrung out after I watch it.

 

That "treatment" was horrifying. I don't get their sick logic. Wouldn't they want to increase his testosterone to make him more "manly?"

You're right, when you put it that way, it does sound strange.

[ratgirlagogo]

 

They were still discriminating against the Irish in 1960? Wow.

Oh honey, they were still discriminating against them much later than that. I don't mean in a political IRA/Sinn Fein kind of way, just a general cultural ethnic prejudice kind of way.   Although this (I would think) well-established fact is, apparently,  news to the recapper as well.

[GaT]

No, the idea is to kill the sex drive altogether.

By turning him into a female? Females have sex drives, or maybe they didn't know that back then.

[JudyObscure]

It's just so very clear to me now that we have completely  left behind the wonderful, atmospheric, authentic drama that was based on the book and moved into a typical, written by the  BBC, drama where we, the audience, are taught lessons every week.  They may be good lessons, that I agree with, but I don't need them and I don't  want to be beat over the head with them when I want to see a drama about women having babies in 1950's.

[pasdetrois]

Yeah, the storylines and acting verged on soap opera. I can't believe they used such stereotypes to signal that a gay male character had appeared on the horizon - he's clean, he loves art, he's proud of his fancy parlor that must be kept just so.

 

Then we were marched predictably through all the scenarios, using key characters as preachy mouthpieces to be sure we get the point. Ugh.

[JudyObscure]

I can't believe they used such stereotypes to signal that a gay male character had appeared on the horizon - he's clean, he loves art, he's proud of his fancy parlor that must be kept just so.

Oh yes!  My father was an artist (water colors, yet!) had a window display business and was very much a part of the interior decorating at our house.  He was also a drill instructor in the Army at one time and loved sports.  What must he have been?!

[proserpina65]

The wife's only concern in this is the image, and she'll cling to it but at the expense of any kind of happiness for herself.  Her whole life will be a lie and the child will be raised by  two unhappy parents living a lie.

 

I don't image was Marie's only concern.  I think she really loves Tony, and I think he does love her in a way, just not the same way, unfortunately for them both.  Maybe (and this is a really huge maybe) that'll keep them from being so completely miserable that their daughter suffers for it, but I don't hold out much hope there.  This episode (like that one of Grantchester earlier this year) just makes me really sad.

[zivadanielle]

Marie looked familiar to me--was she the same actress who played Ivy on Downton Abbey?

 

Echoing: poor Tony.  When his FIL embraced him after pulling him out of the car I just about lost it...

[attica]

Females have sex drives, or maybe they didn't know that back then.

 

Testosterone is also responsible (in combo with progesterone and estrogen) for the sex drive in women.

 

I'm very glad this show can only signify squalor with visuals, and not smells. Because birthing a baby from a dysentery-afflicted mom? Please, no thank you. That cockroach was nearly the size of her shoe! Gaaaaaah.

[Badger]

 

Marie looked familiar to me--was she the same actress who played Ivy on Downton Abbey?

Yes, that was Cara Theobold.  She's also in a couple episodes of Last Tango in Halifax.

[M. Darcy]

I'm just surprised the Irish family got a happy ending.  I half expected Vanessa to pop up and say that the sons were killed in Vietnam or something.

 

That cockroach was nearly the size of her shoe! Gaaaaaah.

Why oh why did they have to show that?  The rats were bad enough.

[Auntie Anxiety]

 

It's just so very clear to me now that we have completely  left behind the wonderful, atmospheric, authentic drama that was based on the book and moved into a typical, written by the  BBC, drama where we, the audience, are taught lessons every week. 

Ugh, this show has gotten so heavy handed.  After every episode this season, I've felt like I'd been hit over the head with a blunt instrument.  I just wish they'd give the audience some credit for having a brain and being able to connect the dots without having it all spelled out for us.  The first seasons were magical and delightful.  Now it's like an "After School Very Special Episode," week in and week out.

[marceline]

By turning him into a female? Females have sex drives, or maybe they didn't know that back then.

People barely acknowledge that now. Hence the phenomenon of slut-shaming.

 

I still think this situation was a little unrealistic but honestly, I don't see where I could stand to sit through a completely accurate portrayal of 1960s homophobia. I can barely watch a rerun of Three Company without puking at the virulent hatred that passed for humor back then and that was the mid-70s California.

 

How perfect is it that Trixie was proud of her experience as a beard. I've been a beard on and off for a friend of mine over the years and while it's fun to fool people there's a sadness to it when you realize that you're helping someone live a lie they shouldn't have to. I still wonder how she'll react if/when she finds out about Patsy. I can see the "locker room" panic becoming an issue. Also, am I the only one who thought that maybe the cop doing the entrapment was a bit more enthusiastic in that kiss than was necessary?

 

Ugh. The childbirth among dysentery. I don't need this show to remind me how amazing nurses can be but it's good to be reminded of just how much these women did and the conditions they dealt with. Especially now that vilifying the poor has become so fashionable again.

[stopeslite]

Oh, that's why she looked familiar!

 

 

That cockroach was nearly the size of her shoe!

It looked to me like a Madagascar hissing cockroach. Huge yes, found in random slums in London in the 1950s, no.

[Beldasnoop]

Not to spoil, but I think the season gets better. Overall, this is my favorite season, tied with season 2. This episode was good, but for some reason it felt less like Call the Midwife to me. As important as the message is and as good as the guest actors were, I thought there was too much emphasis on the main "Story of the Week" and not enough on the show's regular characters. I watch the show for the regular characters primarily, rather than for the stories of the week.  

 

I'm also still annoyed with the PBS editing. The editing is bad enough in general, but they keep wanting to cut out scenes with my favorite characters, which makes it even worse for me. I don't understand why some stations are showing it unedited, but the website still only has the edited version. Oh well...

Edited April 13, 2015 by Beldasnoop

[marceline]

Not to spoil, but I think the season gets better. Overall, this is my favorite season, tied with season 2. This episode was good, but for some reason it felt less like Call the Midwife to me. As important as the message is and as good as the guest actors were, I thought there was too much emphasis on the main "Story of the Week" and not enough on the show's regular characters. I watch the show for the regular characters primarily, rather than for the stories of the week.  

 

I'm also still annoyed with the PBS editing. The editing is bad enough in general, but they keep wanting to cut out scenes with my favorite characters, which makes it even worse for me. I don't understand why some stations are showing it unedited, but the website still only has the edited version. Oh well...

 

If I may ask a favor, can you give an example of something that got cut? I watch on the PBS Roku channel and I'm trying to figure out whether they show the edited version or not. 

[3 is enough]

Well that was just incredibly sad.  

 

But on a lighter note, the picture in the parlour? OMG! My grandmother's sister had the exact same one, albeit framed differently.  I remember looking at it as a little girl and being vaguely disturbed that she was BLUE. Evidently they were popular not just in the UK- I grew up in Montreal.

[drafan]

This episode was horrendous. Talk about wrapping things up with a neat little bow, circa NOW.

 

First of all, there is no way that any of those people would have given a slow standing ovation in support of that Rose Queen (or whatever she was). And the macho FIL comes around too?? I thought I was watching Glee there for a second. Secondly, did Trixie (and I may be wrong, my blood was boiling so hard I lost my concentration) say you can "love who you want to"...well, this was not exactly a case of love...this was a quick hook-up in a public mens' room. He was CHEATING on his wife. Thirdly, the new nurse wouldn't have shown any outward support for them, for fear of outing herself. Fourthly, Tony "smelled good and was neat". Gross. And of course they had to make him handsome and buff.

The year was 1960, writers. Do some research at least.

The ONLY thing that was the tiniest bit realistic was the horrendous choice of treatments, and the conversation between the Dr and his wife.

 

I HATE when these episodes are written now (obviously) and they try to make them set 55 years ago.

 

I thought this show was better than that.

[Beldasnoop]

If I may ask a favor, can you give an example of something that got cut? I watch on the PBS Roku channel and I'm trying to figure out whether they show the edited version or not. 

 

The example that's easiest to remember is immediately after the scene at the Nonnatus dinner table where the nuns and nurses are talking about Tony Amos, his upcoming trial, and their various opinions of homosexuality, there's another scene at the Turners' house, where Shelagh is ironing and she and Patrick share a cigarette and also discuss the Amos case. In the edited PBS version (the one that's online and that was shown on various local stations), the Turners' scene was cut. Some stations are showing the uncut version, but the website has the cut version.

 

They seem to like cutting Turner scenes, which is frustrating because (to be as vague and spoiler-free as possible) I think Shelagh in particular has a really great story this season, although it's somewhat understated, as her story usually is, so I guess the editors think it's unimportant. They cut out a fairly important scene in the first episode of the season that basically sets up her whole story. There are other strange edits, too (like cutting off half of the closing sequence of episode 2,starting somewhat jarringly in the middle of a song), but the Turner ones especially bother me because they (along with the three older nuns) are my favorite characters on the show.

Edited April 13, 2015 by Beldasnoop

[Jen M.]

If I may ask a favor, can you give an example of something that got cut? I watch on the PBS Roku channel and I'm trying to figure out whether they show the edited version or not. 

 

Ugh, I too am watching on a station (WETA) that is editing out scenes! I didn't see the scene with Trixie and Nurse Crane in quarantine together. Nor did I get to see the scene with the Turners at home discussing the case. I'll have to see if the other PBS station that I can get shows full episodes.

[Driad]

 

Would a rest room really have been labeled GENTLEMEN rather than just MEN?  From a U.S. impression of British class consciousness, I wonder if a working class man would have felt welcome to use that facility.

[jah1986]

I found that when I watch the show "live" on PBS I get the unedited version but if I watch it On Demand it's edited, very weird. Maybe they're trying to force us to watch when the show airs.

 

It was a good episode. But like others have said I miss the show when they just showed us the cases and didn't try to teach us a lesson. I really missed Chummy and Sis. Evangelina in this one.  I don't mind Nurse Crane but she is no Sis. Evangelina.

[Beldasnoop]

Some stations show the edited version. It's only in some areas of the country where you can see the unedited version. The version on the website and for all the reruns, apparently, is the edited version. The version on Netflix (seasons 1-3) is edited. I'm assuming when season 4 goes on Netflix, it will also be the edited version.

 

The DVDs will be released in May, and they are unedited. 

 

I didn't watch the full edited version so I didn't realize the scene with Trixie and Nurse Crane was cut, too. That's really strange, too 

considering where Trixie's story is going this season

. It seems to me that the editors have not watched the whole series before editing individual episodes. 

 

I didn't think this episode was too unrealistic, except for the clapping scene at the end. That was a bit much, but the various conversations about the issue were fairly believable, I think. And Trixie did mention that she didn't approve of Tony's cheating on his wife. I'm fairly sure that scene didn't get cut.

 

Edited April 13, 2015 by Beldasnoop

[zivadanielle]

 Also, am I the only one who thought that maybe the cop doing the entrapment was a bit more enthusiastic in that kiss than was necessary?

 

No!

 

I was also disappointed in how Mr. Chummy handled the arrest etc. 

 

These episodes so far do seem a bit different this season, I still enjoy them though but right there is not as much emphasis on the midwifery aspect....sign of the times though?    Since more women were going to the hospital etc.

[doodlebug]

No, the idea is to kill the sex drive altogether.

By turning him into a female? Females have sex drives, or maybe they didn't know that back then.

 

Giving estrogen therap won't 'turn him into a female'.  In men, the desire for sex as well as the amount of sexual activity is almost directly correlated to serum testosterone levels.  The higher the level, the more the man wants to have sex which then leads to increased sexual activity.  Giving estrogen will counteract the testosterone, effectively lowering his serum testosterone levels leading to a decreased desire for sex as well as a decrease in episodes of sexual activity.  In other words, he won't be a female, he'll be more like a eunuch.  Sex offenders are required on occasion to get progesterone injections regularly when released from prison in order to decrease their desire and performance.  BTW, which reasearch has shown that desire and activity are decreased with hormonal therapy, basic sexual orientation is innate and unchanged.  Tony won't want to have sex as often, but, when he does want sex, it will be with a same sex partner.

 

Sexual desire is a little more complicated in women but our ovaries do produce small amounts of testosterone which do play into desire.  In menopausal women whose ovaries are no longer producing hormones including testosterone, decreased libido can often be improved with testosterone treatment.

 

And, yeah, I thought this episode was a little heavy handed in its message and it was not at all necessary to give Tony all sorts of stereotypical 'gay' traits.  Would've actually been more interesting, IMO, if he'd been a burly mechanic who loved boxing and football and not stereotypically feminine in his attitudes.

Edited April 13, 2015 by doodlebug

[M. Darcy]

 

I didn't see the scene with Trixie and Nurse Crane in quarantine together.

 Me either!  When I read it in the recap, I couldn't understand why I totally forgot a scene from the show I only watched last night.

[izabella]

There seems to be a running theme this season about 'happy' endings which really aren't all that happy.

Ep 1 had the kids whose mother was neglecting them.  They did get rescued and sent to a new life in Australia, but the voiceover tells us it wasn't all it was cracked up to be.

Ep 2 had the new parents with a child, but still going to be grieving over their lost one.

And now ep 3, Tony isn't in jail, his wife is standing by him and he has a daughter but he's being forced to take these drugs, he's never going to be happy and (even though he doesn't know it) it's going to be 7 or 8 years before homosexuality was decriminalised. 

 

Usually the show is a bit more optomistic. 

 

Every show this season has left me depressed, and I'm getting tired of the PSA's, too.  I know our ladies are progressive to a large degree, but I don't see the populace of the East End rallying around this family in a standing ovation kind of way, ever. 

[Kohola3]

I HATE when these episodes are written now (obviously) and they try to make them set 55 years ago.

 

Ditto. And they did the same thing with Downton Abbey and Grantchester.  In all likelihood a vast majority of even medical people had little to no tolerance for those with what was largely considered to be deviant behavior.  My cousin was gay and faked his own death to avoid embarrassing his family.  We all loved him but knew from childhood that "David was different".  

 

And you can't blame Peter for arresting him - that's his job and a good law enforcement officer has to put personal feelings aside.

[LittleIggy]

I watch on a PBS station in VA, and they showed those "cut" scenes.

Oh honey, they were still discriminating against them much later than that. I don't mean in a political IRA/Sinn Fein kind of way, just a general cultural ethnic prejudice kind of way.   Although this (I would think) well-established fact is, apparently,  news to the recapper as well.

Well, housing discrimination against the Irish in the 1960s isn't a "well-established" fact for this American.

[ratgirlagogo]

 

That's because Irish discrimination was over in America.

 

Exactly. Thus it's hard for us here to realize that  in the UK it was still very much alive and kicking right into the 70's, some would say even later than that.

[lark37]

 

It's just so very clear to me now that we have completely  left behind the wonderful, atmospheric, authentic drama that was based on the book and moved into a typical, written by the  BBC, drama where we, the audience, are taught lessons every week.  They may be good lessons, that I agree with, but I don't need them and I don't  want to be beat over the head with them when I want to see a drama about women having babies in 1950's.

 

Yes, yes, yes!  I used to love this heartwarming show about a group of midwives/nuns who delivered babies in the 1950's. If I want to watch a show about political correctness, I will watch news programs and documentaries. When I watch TV at the end of a long day, I want to leave behind controversy and pettiness and be entertained.  A little lesson learned once in a while is fine--I have learned a great deal from this show about how different birth defects were once handled. Hopefully, they will get back to what made this show so good in previous seasons and give us more of the midwives--I miss Cynthia, Chummy, and Sister Evangelina too!  

 

As for Tony, I found him to be incredibly selfish. He made a choice to marry, and his wife was about to give birth.  He then commits an illegal act (whether it should have been illegal is irrelevant) in public, yet he acted like he was the victim the whole time. Oh Tony, you had no idea you were gay until after you got married and got your wife pregnant? How about instead of whining about everything, you just do your best to be a good father to your child?  Hate, hate the fact the show tried to manipulate us emotionally by making us feel sorry for a guy who was ultimately a self-centered person.

[anna0852]

As for Tony, I found him to be incredibly selfish. He made a choice to marry, and his wife was about to give birth.  He then commits an illegal act (whether it should have been illegal is irrelevant) in public, yet he acted like he was the victim the whole time. Oh Tony, you had no idea you were gay until after you got married and got your wife pregnant? How about instead of whining about everything, you just do your best to be a good father to your child?  Hate, hate the fact the show tried to manipulate us emotionally by making us feel sorry for a guy who was ultimately a self-centered person.

Yes!  This, a thousand times this. I'm not condemning the gay thing at all. I'm condemning the whole 'cheating, selfish, law-breaking, victim card' thing. Right or wrong (and I think that law was wrong, wrong, wrong) he knew what he was doing could get him arrested. He knew he was gay and chose to marry, father a child and take such a risk. That's on him.