S05.E06: Episode 6

[LADreamr]

Oh my god, this show.  It gets me every week, but this one was more... everything.  I'm constantly amazed how they balance the brutal honesty of these situations with compassion, strength, understanding, and even humor, and yet it is never cheesy nor tone deaf.  And that the stories are written from the perspective of women (not women filtered through men's eyes), makes it all the more powerful.  I think something that makes it even more visceral, is that things haven't changed enough in the last fifty years and it is exhausting to live with every day, so the show is also a catharsis.  

[Lillybee]

5 hours ago, marceline said:

 

 

At the end of the day, Sister Julienne is a product of her times. Even now, too many people kneejerk to how the victim caused the crime. Read the comments on any news story about sexual assaults, police shootings, or even online harassment and you see a festival of victim blaming no matter how heinous the perpetrator is.

Back in 1995, my step niece was raped, beaten and almost had her throat slashed by her rapist.She was his third victim, the first woman died after he slashed her throat, the second survived and was so traumatized that she couldn't speak about it. My niece survived only because he jammed his switchblade and couldn't open it. She had to crawl naked to a main street to get rescued. I am so proud of this girl because like Sister MC she gave an excellent description and noticed the tattoo on his hand. She testified in court and he was sentenced to 311 years in jail.

I thought it was so very wrong of the local newspaper to refer to her as a transient every time the newspaper mentioned the case. She lived in this city since she was 11 years old and was living in shared housing. The only thing transient was that she was waiting for a public bus and the unknown to her rapist offered her a ride.

Edited May 10, 2016 by Lillybee

[kat165]

Thank you for the info, Anothermi, much appreciated! I'm glad to hear that Miranda is getting more work & more mainstream exposure. She's incrediblly talented.

[Trixieagogo]

Bryony Hannah BROUGHT IT this episode.  Sister Mary Cynthia's mix of emotions was potent and palpable and believable and the acting was extraordinary.  Sending in Sister Monica Joan to help her bathe was perfection.  

[LittleIggy]

Thanks, doodlebug, for the expert info. I was expecting the girl to hemorrhage to death due to that trauma.

[izabella]

I thought Trixie was wonderful in this episode, as well, of course as CM and SMJ.  Incredible episode.

They made a point of showing the mom giving iron pills to her daughter...was that somehow related to her placenta staying attached?

[Leia1979]

1 hour ago, izabella said:

They made a point of showing the mom giving iron pills to her daughter...was that somehow related to her placenta staying attached?

No, I think that was meant to show the mom was trying to be a midwife to her daughter as best she could. We've seen many other patients on this show be given iron pills to combat pregnancy-related anemia.

[JudyObscure]

I didn't hear  Sister Julienne's remark about riding bikes alone as victim blaming at all.  To me it seemed like the frustration and guilt parents feel when their child gets hurt. If I told my son not to play on the rickety swing set and he fell and got hurt, my first words would be, "I told you not to play on that!"  It wouldn't be victim blaming, just a natural reaction to my own upset, first that he was hurt and second that he didn't mind me and so he was hurt.  Sister Julienne loves all her nuns and knows she is responsible for them.  In that moment she must have felt both horrified and helpless to think that she was never going to be able to keep them all safe, particularly if they didn't mind her. 

[attica]

Quote

Bryony Hannah BROUGHT IT this episode.

Even the little jaw-working she kept doing all the way to the end of the ep, to show that injury. So subtle, so powerful.

[pelicanlover]

I agree with everyone here about the power of this episode. It still stays with me all of these days later, particularly the scene of Sister Monica Joan bathing Sister Mary Cynthia. What amazing writing and acting.

I was reminded in that scene of Sister Julienne's sadness in Episode Four about not baptizing the thalidomide baby who died in her arms. She explained that you don't have to be a priest to perform a baptism. I immediately thought of that while watching Sister MJ bathing Sister Mary Cynthia. It was like she was baptizing her again, renewing her faith, and that renewal seemed to to give MC the calmness and strength to fight and pursue the attacker who was preying on women. What a beautiful, uplifting scene.

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

Shameful Secrets Won't Stay Hidden On Call The Midwife

And Al Lowe wonders why we even need men around at all.

[Thumper82003]

On May 9, 2016 at 7:57 PM, kat165 said:

Squirrels are just rats with tails. I can easily imagine a small child being afraid of them. They are also very jittery. A friend of mine had a bunch of pet squirrels (I don't recommend this!) and one always enjoyed jumping on my head. I was terrified to go over there.

Where is Mirand Hart anyway? I've looked on line to see what she's been up to since she's not on Midwife and have not found anything. She's also no longer doing her half-hour sitcom which was hilarious. I thought she'd given up the sitcom to be more available to Midwife. I miss Chummy. She's really the only character on the show that I'm attached to now that Jenny is gone.

Re: squirrels. When I was a child in NYC, going to a cemetery, my father was concerned that the overly friendly squirrels were rabid. Although I think the cemetery squirrels were just used to being fed, my father was raised in the country where a squirrel coming close to humans were usually rabid. He then passed on his fears to me.

Then the convent's attic was overrun with squirrels and they found out that squirrels were a protected species in NYC, could only be trapped & released, not killed, lol.

[BookThief]

The pulling of the cord was difficult to watch--and I guess I didn't realize pulling out the womb could be quite so easy! I was disappointed more about that quack doctor wasn't said aloud to other characters. But there was a cute moment in the show with the little girl playing the Turner's daughter. In the tent she shrugged her shoulders and smiled quite happily (twice!)--yet no one seemed to react to it! I was like "why are her parents ignoring how happy she is!?"

[Trixie Belden]

@Lillybee, I just couldn't bring myself to "like" your post, it was just too heartbreaking, but I am so horrified by what happened to your niece.  She sounds like an amazingly strong woman.

The actress playing Diane completely nailed a laboring woman.  I was a L&D nurse for years and her terrified/wild eyes while she stared at her mother were exactly perfect.  

[JudyObscure]

Quote

But there was a cute moment in the show with the little girl playing the Turner's daughter. In the tent she shrugged her shoulders and smiled quite happily (twice!)--yet no one seemed to react to it! I was like "why are her parents ignoring how happy she is!?"

I saw that and it was so adorable.  I figured it probably had nothing to do with her "parents" and the lines they were speaking, but maybe a camera man or her real parent standing behind them.  By the second time the young actor playing the Turner's son had caught onto it and looked at her and laughed, too.  It was so sweet, I think those two have a real bond on and off screen.

[operalover]

Yes squirrels are just rats with a better PR firm. 

I had a friend who just moved here from Japan and she'd never seen them and was worried they were mean. I hate them because they eat all my bird seed- but now it's all in expensive squirrel proof feeders. Of course I've noticed a few lately doing a mating dance: just sitting on the deck shaking their tails! My friend was just here from Italy and at the beginning of the week he was feeding them leftover bread and by the end of the week he was yelling "disgraziato" at them (good-for-nothing) ha ha ha!

I don't think the womb comes out that easily- I think the mom really YANKED on it, like pulled with all her might!

[jtallman]

This show has always been hard to watch, but this season in particular has been brutal. I'm afraid to tune in next week to see what brutalities will be visited on the community. I thought thalidomide would be the worst plot. Boy, was I stupid.

[jtallman]

Also they don't utilize Sister Monica Joan enough, but when she's on, she's a national treasure.

[txhorns79]

Quote

I don't think the womb comes out that easily- I think the mom really YANKED on it, like pulled with all her might!

I cringed throughout that entire scene, and my heart broke for the mom when she realized what she had done.   

Quote

Sister Julienne loves all her nuns and knows she is responsible for them.  In that moment she must have felt both horrified and helpless to think that she was never going to be able to keep them all safe, particularly if they didn't mind her. 

I didn't view it as victim blaming, so much as a simple statement of fact.  It's a bad idea to go out on the docks late at night alone.  Sister Mary Cynthia said as much herself when she said she thought she would be protected (where other women may not be) because she was a nun.  It doesn't mean that Sister Mary Cynthia deserved to be attacked, or otherwise caused the attack.  I don't think Sister Julienne would ever mean to imply that.       

[kat165]

The little girl who plays the Turner daughter is amazing. I'm not sure which ep it was I saw, might have been during the marathon & not this ep but the son was holding her & standing in a doorway & speaking to Shelagh. He said something about the baby & the little girl turned to him and gave him such a huge smile/laugh and he looked back at her and grinned also & it was so perfectly timed, fit right in with what they were saying. Max (who plays Tim Turner) was really really impressive also the way he responded to her, so natural. I've enjoyed watching his character grow up.

[dcalley]

On 5/9/2016 at 7:23 PM, MaryHedwig said:

Also, didn't Mr. Chummy mentioned that our-beloved Chummy was now taking an art history class?  Did the deleted scene include some mention of this?

Made up example of what I mean:

Delia: Trixie, Patsy and I have a new card game to teach you.

Trixie: I'd love to, but not tonight, I have an art history class.

Patsy: Oh, Chummy's in that class, say "hi" to her for us...and tell her to stop by some time.

No, Noakes said Chummy was doing pottery. Deleted scenes: https://celtic-dragon.me/2016/05/04/call-the-midwife-series-5-missing-scenes-505-508/

[purist]

Quote

I didn't view it as victim blaming, so much as a simple statement of fact.  It's a bad idea to go out on the docks late at night alone.

Quote

I didn't hear  Sister Julienne's remark about riding bikes alone as victim blaming at all.

You might not have seen or heard it as victim blaming, and I'm sure Sister Julienne wouldn't have meant it that way. But think about it from Sister MC's point of view. On hearing that, it would be hard for her not to immediately think: 'Oh God, she's right. It's all my fault. The reason I was attacked is because I was out there alone.' That's why such statements are called victim blaming.

It's NEVER the victim's fault.

[Megan]

Mrs. Hill looks soooooooooooooo much like my MIL. When she claimed to be pregnant with her 5th at her age, it sorta even fit my MIL's life. She had 6 kids between 54 and 79. My oldest SIL is the same age as my parents.

Poor Cynthia.

Every time I watch this show I am SHOCKED that this is already the 50's and 60's. The way women are treated is astounding to me. I never really realized it was still this bad, I assumed this type of stuff happened in the 20's and things were so much better by the 50's.

Like this was healthcare?!

 

The things that are happening today politically are even more angering. Why anyone would want to go back to this shit.

Edited May 25, 2016 by Megan
more incredulousness

[Driad]

People investigating family history often run across cases like what Mrs. Hill was planning.  Teenage daughter stops going to school and stays in the house.  Mama later appears with "her" latest baby.  Friends and neighbors try not to mention having heard all about Mama's hysterectomy two years earlier.

[dustylil]

1 hour ago, Megan said:

Every time I watch this show I am SHOCKED that this is already the 50's and 60's. The way women are treated is astounding to me. I never really realized it was still this bad, I assumed this type of stuff happened in the 20's and things were so much better by the 50's

 

1 hour ago, Driad said:

Teenage daughter stops going to school and stays in the house

I am glad we haven't seen more than  one story in the series (to the best of my recollection)  of a very young teenage girl getting pregnant. I recall a few girls in my working class neighbourhood stopping going to school and staying in the house in the seventh and eighth grade, making them all of thirteen and fourteen at the time. And this was in the early/mid sixties in a large Canadian city. What was startling in retrospect was that it wasn't shocking at the time. Quickie marriages were arranged and life went on. Ack!

[kassa]

On 5/23/2016 at 3:21 AM, purist said:

You might not have seen or heard it as victim blaming, and I'm sure Sister Julienne wouldn't have meant it that way. But think about it from Sister MC's point of view. On hearing that, it would be hard for her not to immediately think: 'Oh God, she's right. It's all my fault. The reason I was attacked is because I was out there alone.' That's why such statements are called victim blaming.

It's NEVER the victim's fault.

I think that line was meant to illustrate that even the most kind and loving among us are capable of saying the worst possible thing at the worst possible time. Then and now.

Then you realize the gravity of what you said, that you've inflicted even more pain.

[LeGrandElephant]

Wow, that was a tough episode.

Did Trixie just shove the uterus back up in there? Would that work, and would the girl be able to carry another pregnancy safely in the future? Having an organ come out of your body seems like a really big deal, but they all sort of acted like the midwife could just fix it! 

Cynthia did say she wasn't raped, but I wasn't sure I believed her. Its hard to think there would be a non-sexual motive for those attacks, and she was certainly acting like a rape victim afterwards (not wanting to be touched, etc), but I guess its possible that the attacks were sexual but he didn't technically rape them because he couldn't get it up or because he did some other form of release while attacking them. I thought there was a possibility she was raped and would end up pregnant, but maybe that's a bit much for this show. I also thought she would lose her faith and leave the church or at least have her crisis of faith last longer than that. But she seems to have decided that God planned for her to be attacked because no one would blame a nun and so she was the one who could come forward to identify the attacker. 

I was surprised they tried to stop her from taking a bath because she had to be examined - was there really any kind of forensic evidence they could get from her body at that point? Certainly not DNA. I was also surprised Sister Julienne didn't seem to blame herself at all, when she was the one who told the mother to go walking at night. Not that its her fault, but that would have been a natural and obvious reaction. 

And I'm surprised in general that, for a show about pregnancy and childbirth before abortion or birth control, in five seasons they don't seem to have ever shown a woman who was pregnant as a result of rape. 

Edited June 16, 2016 by LeGrandElephant

[RadiantAerynSun]

I raise Pomeranians as a hobby and have pulled on quite a few cords (with hemostats) to pull out a slow placenta... but eeep this episode made me rethink it. Luckily they have all come out easily. YIKES.

[RedbirdNelly]

these comments make me glad I looked away during the pull on the chord scene and did not fully appreciate how awful it was

Cynthia really killed it this episode. I felt like the make up really was well done--she truly looked like she'd been beaten up.

I felt like Sister Julienne's statement on why  were you riding alone was well done--this show tends to not make its characters perfect and I appreciate it. I saw it as one of those moments when you blurt out something, realize that was not the right thing to do, but it's too late. 

Timothy's little sister was all kinds of adorable in that tent. I continue to love the Turners.