Season 2 Rewatch Discussion

[Guest]

This week we will start with Episodes1 and 2!

[OnceSane]

Episode 1 always makes me so mad.  If it's not the abusive husband, it's the asshole sea captain.  So many nut punches to deliver, so little time.

First, the abusive husband…I remember being surprised he almost struck Jenny.  Just the freedom he felt to even raise his hand to her (or his wife in her presence).  He either knew Jenny could do nothing or didn't care.  And the way the couple left their children behind to do…what?  I think the hubby didn't want the kids taking his wife's focus off of him, and the wife was so wrapped up in him she didn't care as long as he stayed with her.  SMDH.  

Now for that piece of shit excuse for a father.  How does a man think the wellbeing of his crew is more important than his daughter?  Whoring her out…wait, not whoring because no one got paid.  He turned his daughter into a sex slave.  And I don't think he would have stopped if Trixie & Sister Evangelina hadn't been Kirsten's midwives.  And the men singing after they heard the baby cry made me sick.  I'm sure they meant well, but that makes it even worse!  A couple dozen men could have been the father all because Kirsten's father didn't care enough about her.  But I loved Kirsten sticking up for herself and her daughter and telling her dad she was going home.  And, Trixie!  She was absolutely fabulous; not only dealing with the captain, but handling the difficult birth so well.  Loved her threatening the captain with the cops, finding a way to fix the cord when Kirsten couldn't get in the proper position, and showing Sister Evangelina her spine throughout.

[OnceSane]

Episode 2 thoughts:

This one always makes me cry.  Always.  The baby's funeral at the end just ends me when the door opens and the redheaded mom comes through the door.  And her prayer asking God to keep him safe and warm until she can again.  Buckets o' tears.

And I feel for Cynthia…her fragility really comes through in this episode.  I was disappointed in Sister Julienne when she sent Cynthia out to another birth--way too early.  Though I think that's part of the British "get on with it" philosophy, and Sister Julienne thinking Cynthia would get through her doubts faster if she could get through a successful birth and aftermath.  So glad Cynthia hadn't made a mistake, but, damn, the community was ready to turn their backs immediately!

Jenny all butthurt that Jimmy moved on…eat it, girl.  You didn't want him, but you don't want him to move on either.  Selfish bint.  I'd like to believe she honestly didn't want him "trapped", but the butthurt was too strong to believe that wasn't a more minor concern than him daring to move on with his life.

Sergeant Noakes getting in shape to help with Chummy's dream of missionary work in Africa was fantastic!  And I liked Chummy realizing she was acting like a jerk and immediately apologized.  I love knowing they are off to Sierra Leone as my dad is from there, kinda cool seeing that connection.

My fave part of the episode is when the cubs sing Peter & Chummy's song as a goodbye to their Akela(sp?).  So sweet and extra lovely to see Timmy and Jack front and center.  Fred giving Chummy a bell "they'll hear all the way in England and come running" was just so Fred!

[latetotheparty]

34 minutes ago, OnceSane said:

Episode 2 thoughts:

This one always makes me cry.  Always.  The baby's funeral at the end just ends me when the door opens and the redheaded mom comes through the door.  And her prayer asking God to keep him safe and warm until she can again.  Buckets o' tears.

And I feel for Cynthia…her fragility really comes through in this episode.  I was disappointed in Sister Julienne when she sent Cynthia out to another birth--way too early.  Though I think that's part of the British "get on with it" philosophy, and Sister Julienne thinking Cynthia would get through her doubts faster if she could get through a successful birth and aftermath.  So glad Cynthia hadn't made a mistake, but, damn, the community was ready to turn their backs immediately!

Jenny all butthurt that Jimmy moved on…eat it, girl.  You didn't want him, but you don't want him to move on either.  Selfish bint.  I'd like to believe she honestly didn't want him "trapped", but the butthurt was too strong to believe that wasn't a more minor concern than him daring to move on with his life.

Sergeant Noakes getting in shape to help with Chummy's dream of missionary work in Africa was fantastic!  And I liked Chummy realizing she was acting like a jerk and immediately apologized.  I love knowing they are off to Sierra Leone as my dad is from there, kinda cool seeing that connection.

My fave part of the episode is when the cubs sing Peter & Chummy's song as a goodbye to their Akela(sp?).  So sweet and extra lovely to see Timmy and Jack front and center.  Fred giving Chummy a bell "they'll hear all the way in England and come running" was just so Fred!

That's interesting that you read her as being hurt that he's moved on. I've always read her as being judgmental about the out of wedlock pregnancy. 

[HazelEyes4325]

I'm finally caught up here! 

Episode 2 thoughts:

The story of the Swedish woman and the sailors is just so completely disgusting to me.  First of all, the idea of one woman on a boat for the sole purpose of meeting the sexual urges of the entire crew is horrifying, and then add into the fact that she's the captain's daughter and he put her in that role?  My stomach just turns thinking about it.  This show actually made me feel sympathetic towards a case of incest, but this one I just couldn't....  I actually found it hard to believe that Trixie and Sister Evangelina didn't have a bigger problem with the situation.

Jenny's story line didn't pull me the way it probably should have, but I have a hard time getting too involved in anything involving too much Jenny.  After watching so many episodes of her just being SHOCKED at what was going on in the East End, there was no way I could buy her suddenly growing a backbone.

Oh, and this was it...the one episode that didn't make me cry.

Episode 3 thoughts:

Again, I really couldn't care less about Jenny and Jimmy.  I don't buy into her being too heartbroken about Jimmy's current situation.  Of course, if it were me, I'd just be glad I had dodged a bullet.  Yes, I know I'm probably being unfair to her, but oh well.

What really struck me with me about Cynthia's situation was

Spoiler

how we're starting to see glimpses of her mental illness later in the series.  I've also noticed how much Trixie is drinking, which is something that I hadn't even picked up on the first time I saw these episodes (and before it was acknowledged that she was an alcoholic).

Another strange thing I've noticed is how young Dr. Turner looks.  I mean, it's only been 6 years or so of filming time, but he looks much older in the latest season than that.  All of the other cast members, on the other hand, don't seem to have aged a bit (well, Sister Monica Joan has, but that is more in regards to acting than appearance).

[Guest]

The holiday threw me off, but this week we are watching Episodes 3 and 4!

[HazelEyes4325]

I watched episode 3 last night and...BLONDE PATSY!  I remember her being in this episode, but I didn't remember her being so, um, platinum. 

This was a strange episode for me.  I still can't scrounge up a care for Jenny and Jimmy and I felt the show tried to bestow the hero role on Jenny, and Jessica Raine couldn't quite live up to it.

As for the sisters married to the same man...the story was interesting but I was kind of amazed that no one was more scandalized by the fact that they were in a bigamist marriage.  The only person who seemed to know anything about it was Sister Monica Joan and she didn't seem to see anything that wrong with it.  There have been other unconventional, shall we say, situations in the show--the brother and sister and the Swedish captain and his daughter.  I get why Sister Julienne wasn't upset about the brother and sister (she had known both of them and their history) and while I thought Trixie and Sister Evangelina should have been a bit more upset about the Swedish woman on the ship, there was at least some concern.  Here, however, no one seemed to bat an eye.

[OnceSane]

The double Mrs. Carters always make me smile, especially at the end when they come for  wellness check for the babies.  And I love that they named the twins after each other.  But yeah, the bigamist relationship is surprising…I wonder if people didn't complain because they weren't sure which Mrs. Carter actually married Mr. Carter!  And maybe some were afraid of the twins and didn't want to ask.

I felt for Jimmy being misdiagnosed, but Jenny was doing her usual "I smell shit" face and I didn't care about her again.  Especially when she complained to Cynthia that Jimmy was doing the right thing for his fiancée; it didn't sound like she was upset for him, it sounded like she was upset he wasn't kissing her ass anymore, I felt this mostly when she started whining about the married man she loved.  Like everyone was supposed to love her always no matter how that would adversely affect their lives.

I did love the Matron at TH hospital telling Jenny that Jenny wasn't having difficulty with the work, she was having difficulty dealing with not being the one in charge/with all the answers.  Matron had her number! 

And yay for Jane!  Love her quiet strength and little bits of bonding with the group.

[HazelEyes4325]

1 hour ago, OnceSane said:

The double Mrs. Carters always make me smile, especially at the end when they come for  wellness check for the babies.  And I love that they named the twins after each other.  But yeah, the bigamist relationship is surprising…I wonder if people didn't complain because they weren't sure which Mrs. Carter actually married Mr. Carter!  And maybe some were afraid of the twins and didn't want to ask.

My guess is that they weren't that well-known among the community beyond being just the people with the fruit cart.  I mean, Meg wasn't exactly the most friendly person in the world and Maeve pretty much hid in her sister's shadow.  Also, I'm not sure how "visible" their marriage was.  I don't mean so much that they had the same husband, but the husband seemed particularly separate from them.  I could see how their neighbors may have thought they were the Ms. Carters (although I don't think that term was in use then) and Mr. Carter was perhaps a brother.  Or maybe that he was married to one of them and the other was sort of adopted into the family.  I doubt that the possibility of bigamy entered most people's minds and, when they came across that family, their minds may have gone in a different direction to explain what they were seeing.

Still, I don't know why there wasn't more shock among the midwives, nuns, and Dr. Turner--that's what I had a hard time buying about the whole thing.

Edited September 5, 2017 by Morksmate

[Fireball]

I'm very behind in the re-watch. Busy at work and then lots of shows I wanted to watch were leaving Netflix this month so I was watching other things....... I'm finding that I'm not enjoying the re-watch as much as I thought I would. Knowing where characters storylines go is affecting my attitude. The first time watching I didn't find certain people annoying but now I do; also knowing that characters do X,Y,Z later in the series has me annoyed that the writers didn't go a different route when it was possible. 

I know many of you find Jenny annoying and I do too; however, I do very much appreciate that the writers didn't make the protagonist, Jenny, into a Mary Sue. So many female protagonist are written as idealized and seemingly perfect that it's nice to have a protagonist that seems human with faults.

[OnceSane]

Episode 4:

Sister Evangelina almost always has the perfect advice.  The parents can't know IF they can cope if they never HAVE to learn with the nidwife there doing most everything.  And Mr. Roberts is one of my fave husbands on the show.  A bit of a gambler, but a good heart and a lot of love and understanding in such  short time on-screen.

I like that the talkative Reverend and the oh-so-quiet Jane hit it off.  Her speech to him at the end was brilliant!  Plus, the goldfish finally received a name!  Too cute.  And Trixie's gentle teasing was just that--Jane is fitting in nicely at Nonnatus.

Oh and Fred talking about Chummy as he showed Jane to her room had me in stitches!

[latetotheparty]

3 hours ago, OnceSane said:

Episode 4:

Sister Evangelina almost always has the perfect advice.  The parents can't know IF they can cope if they never HAVE to learn with the nidwife there doing most everything.  And Mr. Roberts is one of my fave husbands on the show.  A bit of a gambler, but a good heart and a lot of love and understanding in such  short time on-screen.

I like that the talkative Reverend and the oh-so-quiet Jane hit it off.  Her speech to him at the end was brilliant!  Plus, the goldfish finally received a name!  Too cute.  And Trixie's gentle teasing was just that--Jane is fitting in nicely at Nonnatus.

Oh and Fred talking about Chummy as he showed Jane to her room had me in stitches!

I love Jane so much. I wish we had gotten more resolution on her story arc. 

[Guest]

Now up.... Episodes 5 and 6!

[OnceSane]

Episode 5:

That poor mother!  I cannot imagine having eight kids, another on the way and unable to provide for them.  Once again, Jenny's sanctimonious nature outweighs her compassion.  Yes, abortion was illegal and seen as morally wrong, but last time I checked "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife" was on the same tablets as "Thou shalt not kill."  But that's Jenny for you, always willing to look down her nose at others while excusing her own.

And I knew Trixie's idea would end poorly.  I liked that Cynthia and Jenny reassured her that she wasn't st fault, no matter how "silly" she felt she'd acted.  I also liked Trixie standing up for herself with Clifford Raines (the ass).

I also adore Jane, she's really come into her own as this season progressed.  She feels comfortable enough to let her personality shine more and has been  a great help.  I really liked her plan with Cynthia to give Sister Monica Joan something useful to do.  And I was thrilled she made Sister Monica Joan the judge for the baby show.  By the way, how about that chunky baby in the yellow sweater?  So cute and happy.

Sister Bernadette is struggling.  It's obvious she has feelings for Dr. Turner and now we see he reciprocates.  I like that she turned away (after all, she's a married woman) & that Dr. Turner admitted he could do nothing but accept her choice--he wouldn't come between her and her faith.  Even Sister Monica Joan noticed something was up as Sister Bernadette kept trying to pray away the problem.

[MissLucas]

Episode 5: I'll never forget that stunning/shocking montage of Trixie doing her blood-red nails and the illegal abortion - so powerful. And the fact that a woman wanting her tubes tied had to make a request and it was up to a medical panel to decide whether she'd meet the criteria, urghh. A stark reminder of how many battles women (and men) had to fight over the past decades to give women control over their bodies and reproductive rights (not duties!).

[OnceSane]

^^^^^ All of this.

Episode 6:

The amount of hoop-jumping needed to get proper screening for those who needed it most was ridiculous…and still plays out today.  Wow.  I really liked Sister Bernadette backing up Dr. Turner's assertions and encouraging the little girl to get her x-ray.  And poor Sister Bernadette!  She's struggling with her life choices and then is faced with a life-threatening illness.  It must both clarify things and murk them up all at once.  And I love seeing the midwives (Trixie & Cynthia) go the extra mile to make sure all of their patients in the district get the news.

Loving Jane still.  Especially her telling Fred that normally she'd have sympathy for his fear of heights, but not today.  Makes me laugh every time I watch that scene.  She's a tiny bit sassy now and it's great to see her come out of her shell.  But it's situations like this where I sometimes want Sister Monica Joan to make things easier rather than more difficult or those around her.

[Guest]

As a reminder, please do not discuss or allude to anything from seasons past season 2 in this thread.

[OnceSane]

Episode 7:

I really liked Cynthia standing up for Mrs. Lacey against her abusive husband.  Cynthia was strong and capable and put Mr. Lacey in his place.  But Mrs. Lacey did it even better when she left to meet her son.  She is no slave and refused to put up with being treated badly going forward.  And Mr. Lacey sure hopped to when he realized she was serious.  The dinner and dressing up for her showed Mrs. Lacey she had been heard…and he didn't want to lose her.  Almost sweet, really.

But the best was Fred not knowing how to ride a motorcycle yet teaching the ladies regardless.  It cracked me up to watch them circling the chairs pretending to drive and signal.

Chummy returns!  And she's super pregnant!  Peter must have knocked her up on the boat ride to Sierra Leone!  Loved Chummy saying they had plenty of adventures waiting around the corner when asked if she'd miss their travels.  Aww!  Love it.  They are an adorable couple.

[Sew Sumi]

Chummy, don't scare me like that! I was glad that all's well. 

[Guest]

A day late, but this week we are on Episodes 7 and 8! 

[Guest]

I'm behind and on episode 1, but man- that poor girl on the ship is breaking my heart. 

[OnceSane]

Fred's daughter was adorable!  I loved her and her son.  I laughed when Chummy wanted her to pee in a cup and she didn't want to because it was a "good" cup.  And I'd try a steak & kidney pie.

"Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket…"  I cried every time they sang that song except during the montage.  I'm so glad it helped Chummy.  And I adored all of Nonnatus working on the quilt for Chummy as they waited for word on her and the baby.  And when she woke and cuddled Baby Fred…buckets.  I liked Jenny saying that Chummy's family already knew about her condition because they are her family.  One of the few times I liked Jenny.

Fred telling her earlier that being a parent means being there, that consistency is so important--I really liked that whole convo.  So wonderful.

Nonnatus House up for demolition?  Noooo!

[Barlowe]

On 2017-09-03 at 11:43 PM, Morksmate said:

I'm finally caught up here! 

Episode 2 thoughts:

The story of the Swedish woman and the sailors is just so completely disgusting to me.  First of all, the idea of one woman on a boat for the sole purpose of meeting the sexual urges of the entire crew is horrifying, and then add into the fact that she's the captain's daughter and he put her in that role?  My stomach just turns thinking about it.  This show actually made me feel sympathetic towards a case of incest, but this one I just couldn't....  I actually found it hard to believe that Trixie and Sister Evangelina didn't have a bigger problem with the situation.

Jenny's story line didn't pull me the way it probably should have, but I have a hard time getting too involved in anything involving too much Jenny.  After watching so many episodes of her just being SHOCKED at what was going on in the East End, there was no way I could buy her suddenly growing a backbone.

Oh, and this was it...the one episode that didn't make me cry.

Episode 3 thoughts:

Again, I really couldn't care less about Jenny and Jimmy.  I don't buy into her being too heartbroken about Jimmy's current situation.  Of course, if it were me, I'd just be glad I had dodged a bullet.  Yes, I know I'm probably being unfair to her, but oh well.

What really struck me with me about Cynthia's situation was

  Hide contents

how we're starting to see glimpses of her mental illness later in the series.  I've also noticed how much Trixie is drinking, which is something that I hadn't even picked up on the first time I saw these episodes (and before it was acknowledged that she was an alcoholic).

Another strange thing I've noticed is how young Dr. Turner looks.  I mean, it's only been 6 years or so of filming time, but he looks much older in the latest season than that.  All of the other cast members, on the other hand, don't seem to have aged a bit (well, Sister Monica Joan has, but that is more in regards to acting than appearance).

Spoiler

But also notice how Trixie is almost always the one to bring out a bottle or ask for a baby cham even in the first series. 

 

 

On 2017-09-05 at 1:27 PM, Morksmate said:

I watched episode 3 last night and...BLONDE PATSY!  I remember her being in this episode, but I didn't remember her being so, um, platinum. 

This was a strange episode for me.  I still can't scrounge up a care for Jenny and Jimmy and I felt the show tried to bestow the hero role on Jenny, and Jessica Raine couldn't quite live up to it.

As for the sisters married to the same man...the story was interesting but I was kind of amazed that no one was more scandalized by the fact that they were in a bigamist marriage.  The only person who seemed to know anything about it was Sister Monica Joan and she didn't seem to see anything that wrong with it.  There have been other unconventional, shall we say, situations in the show--the brother and sister and the Swedish captain and his daughter.  I get why Sister Julienne wasn't upset about the brother and sister (she had known both of them and their history) and while I thought Trixie and Sister Evangelina should have been a bit more upset about the Swedish woman on the ship, there was at least some concern.  Here, however, no one seemed to bat an eye.

A horrifying thought that had only after reading this thread is, did the entire crew sexually abuse the Swedish mother or was it just the sailors/workmen?

[OnceSane]

Christmas Special:

I always enjoy the Christmas episode and this one is no different.  The unexploded bomb scenario was crazy!  I cannot imagine living through the Blitz and then having it come back in this way.  And when it detonated?  Oh how I felt for Chummy, not knowing if Peter was okay until he came through the doors.  I did like what she said about the experience--she had so many ideas for their son's first Christmas, but she feels so blessed just having him that all the rest doesn't matter.

I also liked learning more about Trixie's childhood and how she used it to help Alan with his PTSD.  "This blood is beautiful."  I'm tearing up just thinking about the scene.  And knowing she was expected to be the one to keep her father okay during the day…that had to leave some serious emotional scars.  But as she said, it made her into the woman she is today.  Alan & Yvonne were an adorable love story, and Yvonne wishing she'd been in Korea with him was everything.  I kind of wish we'd seen a tiny bit of that Scottish dancing.

Shelagh and Patrick's wedding looked fantastic!  I'm glad Sister Julienne helped her have the wedding she wanted, not the one she thought she should do.  Shelagh looked lovely and I adored Trixie's bridesmaid dress.  Also, I thought Sister Julienne made the right choice to not walk Shelagh down the aisle…"You belong to no one but yourself, and you know exactly where you're going."  Just a lovely moment.

I felt so much for Patrick when Timothy contracted polio, extra devastating when you are also your kid's doctor.  But Timothy hid it well.  I think he didn't want anything to stop his father marrying Shelagh, but what a consequence to pay.  At least by the end, he was breathing on his own and walking with a little help.  

[RedbirdNelly]

On ‎9‎/‎26‎/‎2017 at 12:18 PM, OnceSane said:

Christmas Special:

I always enjoy the Christmas episode and this one is no different.  The unexploded bomb scenario was crazy!  I cannot imagine living through the Blitz and then having it come back in this way.  And when it detonated?  Oh how I felt for Chummy, not knowing if Peter was okay until he came through the doors.  I did like what she said about the experience--she had so many ideas for their son's first Christmas, but she feels so blessed just having him that all the rest doesn't matter.

I also liked learning more about Trixie's childhood and how she used it to help Alan with his PTSD.  "This blood is beautiful."  I'm tearing up just thinking about the scene.  And knowing she was expected to be the one to keep her father okay during the day…that had to leave some serious emotional scars.  But as she said, it made her into the woman she is today.  Alan & Yvonne were an adorable love story, and Yvonne wishing she'd been in Korea with him was everything.  I kind of wish we'd seen a tiny bit of that Scottish dancing.

Shelagh and Patrick's wedding looked fantastic!  I'm glad Sister Julienne helped her have the wedding she wanted, not the one she thought she should do.  Shelagh looked lovely and I adored Trixie's bridesmaid dress.  Also, I thought Sister Julienne made the right choice to not walk Shelagh down the aisle…"You belong to no one but yourself, and you know exactly where you're going."  Just a lovely moment.

I felt so much for Patrick when Timothy contracted polio, extra devastating when you are also your kid's doctor.  But Timothy hid it well.  I think he didn't want anything to stop his father marrying Shelagh, but what a consequence to pay.  At least by the end, he was breathing on his own and walking with a little help.  

in watching the episode I was confused by what Timothy was doing--did he realize he was sick and try to self-medicate taking medicine from his dad's bag? that part confused me.

[OnceSane]

8 hours ago, RedbirdNelly said:

in watching the episode I was confused by what Timothy was doing--did he realize he was sick and try to self-medicate taking medicine from his dad's bag? that part confused me.

Yeah, Tim didn't know he had polio, but he knew he was sick.  I think he was worried about his illness getting in the way of the wedding.

[RedbirdNelly]

thanks; I was so relieved he got his breathing back. I loved the episode where he goes with his dad to find Shelagh and then the so sweet proposal--just could not bear something happening to him.

[Cetacean]

CBC (Canada) just started a daily dose of the Midwifes at 4 Eastern time.   I was blown away at how Trixie looked back then.  And I was thinking Sister MJ was goofy later on but she started out that way.  Lovely to see Sr. E again.