S07.E08: Episode 8

[StatisticalOutlier]

1 hour ago, libgirl2 said:

The Chens! I remember them!

I have a DVR device where I can edit the shows, and I cut that episode down to a 1-minute scene where grandma takes the baby and it scrunches up its face so adorably.  I'll be scrolling through the shows and see that one, stop for a minute, go "awwwww" and continue scrolling. 

I also did it with the Turner kid when she was singing on the stage, where she does a really fast smile that is beyond adorable.  The camera loves her.

[Driad]

IIRC, British carousels turn clockwise (as we saw in the clip of the wedding).  American ones turn the other way.  The toy Reggie brought was likely American made.

[Popples]

11 hours ago, helenA said:

I have a question...where is baby Teddy? Remember that he was born in the last season's finale. Angela's birthday with all the cute kids was great to see amidst the sadness in the episode, but it is so strange that baby Teddy's birthday doesn't even get a mention. Also, with both parents and older brother looking after the party, who is looking after him? Babies need round the clock care, we can only assume that he's taking a nap or at daycare.

Did he turn one, yet? I can't find the date of his birth, but it was just before Tom and Barbara's wedding which was winter (well, it was snowing). If President Kennedy was just shot, then he might a month or so before his first birthday.

[willowk]

20 hours ago, txhorns79 said:

Phyllis has become the heart of the show, in my opinion.  She's just lovely.  I practically melted down at that little moment when the new mother said she was going to name her daughter Barbara. 

I kind of rolled my eyes at the secret gay dad storyline.  It wrapped up way too easily and nicely.  It practically became a gay 60s version of My Two Dads.  I do appreciate that the show doesn't shy away from those topics, but I think if you are going to do it, try to stay true to the era.     

Yes, I agree, Phyllis has become the linchpin of the show, even though I would think it should be Sister Julieanne. I was resentflul when Phyllis first came, thought she was too similar to Sister E. But now I adore her, enjoyed her scenes in this episode with Josie. Josie saying Phyllis was "old" for a nurse is the 1st time in a while we've heard reference to Phyllis being an oddity for not marrying and staying in the working world. I remember when she 1st moved into Nonnatus house she really didn't fit with the younger midwives.

And I agree about the gay dad storyline being not realistic -I could see the daughter softening a little but not so quickly being okay with living with the two of them.

[Kohola3]

2 minutes ago, willowk said:

And I agree about the gay dad storyline being not realistic -I could see the daughter softening a little but not so quickly being okay with living with the two of them.

Especially with an new baby and Uncle Donald having Alzheimers.  There has been quite the trend for that this season - the episode of the girl sexually abused by her dad just forgiving her mom at the drop of a hat.  Not quite what real life looks like.

[txhorns79]

Quote

And I agree about the gay dad storyline being not realistic -I could see the daughter softening a little but not so quickly being okay with living with the two of them.

Yeah.  I thought it was a little much to think she just got over her apparent betrayal to be fine with the situation in record time.  But more to the point, the father appears to have a full time job.  Who exactly will be looking out for Uncle Donald while he is at work?  Is it supposed to be the daughter who just had a baby? 

Quote

Phyllis has become the linchpin of the show, even though I would think it should be Sister Julieanne.

I was surprised at how little they used Sister Julieanne this season.  Maybe most of her scenes ended up getting cut by PBS, but it felt like they gave her nothing to do. 

Edited May 8, 2018 by txhorns79

[caitmcg]

1 hour ago, txhorns79 said:

I was surprised at how little they used Sister Julieanne this season.  Maybe most of her scenes ended up getting cut by PBS, but it felt like they gave her nothing to do. 

Reading the PTV recaps, it doesn't sound as if they edited out many scenes with Sr. J. The show's just sidelining her for some inexplicable reason, such that we mostly only ever saw her in her office or in a meal scene. She was barely seen in any active midwifery or nursing, which we did see in past seasons, so she had little interaction with the community beyond Nonnatus House.

[Emily Thrace]

22 hours ago, Bonzie said:

Yeah, they did a better job of realism with Delia and Patsy in that regard.

I'm not sure tonight's story unrealistic or more just a sign of things changing. Gross Indecency was repealed only 4 years after this episodes timeline. Its not the Fifties anymore and 1963 was when a lot attitudes started to shift. I also think the fact that one of these men had been married and they had a long standing friendship means people wouldn't jump to a homosexual relationship as their first thought. Especially since Dennis was ill. As far as most of Poplar would be concerned they are just neighbourly and taking in a sick friend.

It also wasn't unheard of for gay couples to live together in that era (Delia and Patsy planed to at one point.). They just had to do so quietly and pretend to be roommates if anybody asked. These two also had less to lose than Delia and Patsy, only one of them is employed and theatres would be much more tolerant of gays than Nuns or the NHS. Olive would have been the only sticking point and she came around pretty quickly. 

[txhorns79]

Quote

I'm not sure tonight's story unrealistic or more just a sign of things changing. Gross Indecency was repealed only 4 years after this episodes timeline. Its not the Fifties anymore and 1963 was when a lot attitudes started to shift. I also think the fact that one of these men had been married and they had a long standing friendship means people wouldn't jump to a homosexual relationship as their first thought. Especially since Dennis was ill. As far as most of Poplar would be concerned they are just neighbourly and taking in a sick friend.

I mean unrealistic in terms of how the storyline was handled.  From what we saw, the dad dumped a huge amount of information on his very pregnant daughter, both about his relationship with the daughter's dead mother and his relationship with his boyfriend.  He then announced that his demented boyfriend is being moved into he and his daughter's shared home.  The daughter barely gets a moment to process any of it before she gives birth and suddenly is totally fine with an arrangement she was extremely upset about a day or so before.     

[Ina123]

I want Phyllis to be my BFF.

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's Previously.TV's EPIC OLD-SCHOOL RECAP of the episode!

Call The Midwife Copes With Death, Then Gets Back To Life, Back To Reality

And one Poplar mother must face the music about her dad.

[bythelake]

In the early 1960's homosexuality was still a crime in the UK. The law wasn't changed until 1967. So, the uncle and father would have been in danger of criminal charges if discovered.

 In the 50's, Alan Turing, a famed theoretical scientist, responsible for cracking many of the German codes including Enigma during the 2nd World War, was outed and given the choice of imprisonment or chemical castration with hormones. He chose the hormones, which unfortunately made him ill not only in body but in mind. He committed suicide in 1954.  Queen Elizabeth pardoned him after 60 yrs.in 2012. It was a sad ending for a brilliant man, who, it has been said,by his discoveries,had shortened the war by 3 yrs. 

On the whole, I liked the episode and the whole season. I did my nurses training in the 60's, and the show's interpretations of the treatments of that time are usually spot on.

[JeanneH]

On 5/8/2018 at 5:21 PM, txhorns79 said:

I was surprised at how little they used Sister Julieanne this season.  Maybe most of her scenes ended up getting cut by PBS, but it felt like they gave her nothing to do. 

 

On 5/8/2018 at 6:59 PM, caitmcg said:

Reading the PTV recaps, it doesn't sound as if they edited out many scenes with Sr. J. The show's just sidelining her for some inexplicable reason, such that we mostly only ever saw her in her office or in a meal scene. She was barely seen in any active midwifery or nursing, which we did see in past seasons, so she had little interaction with the community beyond Nonnatus House.

According to IMDB, Jenny Agutter was making a movie with Bill Nighy recently, so maybe that explains it. "Sometimes Always Never" was listed as being in post-production as of December.

[Thumper82003]

Our PBS has a short that runs between programs. In the short, they show the Queen dedicating a memorial to President Kennedy in Britain, with Jackie Kennedy attending. Complete with an American flag. That short told me that the English did respect and admire him as well.

On 5/8/2018 at 9:59 AM, AZChristian said:

"The Crown" sometimes takes liberty with timelines.  The Kennedys visited Buckingham Palace in June of 1961; the assassination was in November, 1963.

Hubby and I met for the first time the weekend of the assassination.  When they mentioned it on "CtM," I said to him, "Well NOW we have a definite understanding of the history of the time the show is representing.  It's OUR history of time!"

[tennisgurl]

Can we just call this show “Ugly Cry: The Series” and be done with it? 

[Ceindreadh]

I think Sister Monica Joan’s comment about having grief as entertainment was spot on for this show!

[Nessie]

On 5/6/2018 at 9:06 PM, JustDucky said:

This episode felt like it could have (Heaven forbid!) ended the show quite well.  And I don't mind saying I boo-hooed through the last 10 minutes of it, but in a good way - in a way that I haven't since, oh, season 4-ish.

I wondered if they were going to touch on the JFK assassination, and I'm glad they did, even if it was brief.  (With them being in England, I know it wouldn't be the huge deal it was Stateside.)  It was a great way to bring Sister Monica Joan into a profound and lucid moment, which are the good ones for her (in my opinion).

Also... Phyllis is officially my favorite.  If you have to ask why, you may never know.

I'm weird...character deaths themselves don't bother me.  What gets me crying are the reactions of their loved ones.  That being said, the scenes of Barbara under the credits got to me in a way that totally surprised me, seeing as how she was never a favorite of mine.

I was talking to my mom about this episode last night, and she said that the Kennedy assassination was a huge deal to her and her friends, and she was a 21-year old in Scotland at the time.  She said her best friend cried for days and could talk of nothing else.

Also, agreed about Phyllis.  I just love Linda Bassett...she was my favorite in my much-missed Lark Rise to Candleford, as well (which I just discovered is on Amazon Prime, much to my delight!  There goes my weekend...).

[Clanstarling]

On 5/8/2018 at 10:53 AM, Driad said:

IIRC, British carousels turn clockwise (as we saw in the clip of the wedding).  American ones turn the other way.  The toy Reggie brought was likely American made.

That's some next level paying attention to detail! Kudos.

[Kohola3]

See, learning something new every day!  Who knew!

[Spunkygal]

1 minute ago, Kohola3 said:

See, learning something new every day!  Who knew!

Heck, I think I could deliver a baby at this point and I've never had one! 

[jjj]

On 5/6/2018 at 6:46 PM, Bonzie said:

One of the cut scenes was from the preview last week. WTH, PBS? We saw Tom return and go to Nonnatus House, but the scene with Barbara's laundry and Tom throwing a chair in rage was cut. GRR.

Thank you -- I thought he was going to go back and throw furniture around after the birthday film, and the anticipation of that detracted from the film segment.  I was thinking that would be an awful way to end this season, and then ---- it ended, and I realized that the furniture throwing had been cut.  Why show us that in the preview?!!

Edited May 21, 2018 by jjj

[pasdetrois]

The older actors leave the younger ones in the dust, and I watch for them. Each episode is crammed full of melodrama and hammy acting and writing - the angry mother wins the trophy in this episode - which is only relieved when Agutter, Bassett, Profitt and a few others show up. David Bamber will always be my favorite Mr. Collins!

We had too much of the new midwife at the expense of the others.

I enjoyed this episode more than all the season's others combined, as it touched back to the series' earlier, better times. Love the inclusion of Reggie.

Here's hoping PBS eliminates the stupid extras and gives us the full episodes. And cuts Trixie's awful ratty fall. And returns to the Crayon box for something other than teal clothing.

Edited May 31, 2018 by pasdetrois

[JudyObscure]

32 minutes ago, pasdetrois said:

David Bamber will always be my favorite Mr. Collins!

I could barely adjust to a non-smarmy character!

[pasdetrois]

He was the very definition of smarmy and unctuous. Delicious!

[RedbirdNelly]

On 5/8/2018 at 11:03 AM, proserpina65 said:

OMG, the crying, the crying.  Mine, that is.  I was weepy from the get-go, but really lost it when Reggie gave Tom the carousel, and when the teenaged mother said that the name 'Barbara' had just come to her.  And the photos at the end?  BAWLLLLLLLL.

that was me--you named the 3 moments for me. I was barely holding it together with the photos until the younger photo of Sr E, Sr J and Sr MJ popped up. Then I was sobbing. 

[GirlMom]

I’ve only just discovered this series thanks to Netflix. I am so hooked! We just finished season 7 & I have so many comments. However, no one I know watches it so I very carefully came to Google to find a forum. I hate googling for small questions about a series I’m watching because most of the time I’ll end up seeing a spoiler due to the auto fill suggestions. Which is how I saw a few days ago that Barbara was going to die. 

I read all of the above comments & love seeing other people have had the same thoughts as I have. One thing I really dislike about any show is how a character just disappears without any reference or mention of it- are we all supposed to have amnesia all of a sudden? I don’t really care about Jenny (sorry, not sorry), but where is Chummy? Cynthia? Peter? Patsy? The Turner’s baby?? They did at least make reference to Patsy & Delia once & we know Cynthia is seeking mental health treatment. But the others? I never saw one mention of Peter leaving. I just realized once that gruff, walrus-looking cop started appearing that it must mean Peter is gone. 
 

I also didn’t expect to be that moved by Barbara’s passing, but it was soooo sad seeing a young, healthy, kind-hearted & much loved character leave so suddenly. The conversation with Phyllis when she said “the next bit will be hard” was Sooo Barbara. I don’t remember hearing a reference to her mom, but I assume she passed when Barbara was young…? Especially given how close she was to her Dad. It occurred to me maybe an episode before she died that she was the daughter Phyllis never had & Phyllis was the mother she needed. I’m sure I was the last person to have that realization. 

I’ve also long been annoyed at the scenes were there are all these random nuns. Like where do they live? What do they do when they’re not singing? 
 

I want to know more about Sister Winnifred. And I maybe have her name wrong. All we get to see about her is she’s a terrible driver & she’s super sweet. Oh! And she was a teacher. That’s it. 
 

I’m kind of over “getting to know” new midwives though I know that’s life- people come and go. I’m sure there’s more I could say, but it’s late and I’m sleepy. I’m also 99% sure no one will ever see this as I’m years behind on this show. :) 

[Clanstarling]

On 5/25/2021 at 11:30 PM, GirlMom said:

I’ve only just discovered this series thanks to Netflix. I am so hooked! We just finished season 7 & I have so many comments. However, no one I know watches it so I very carefully came to Google to find a forum. I hate googling for small questions about a series I’m watching because most of the time I’ll end up seeing a spoiler due to the auto fill suggestions. Which is how I saw a few days ago that Barbara was going to die. 

I read all of the above comments & love seeing other people have had the same thoughts as I have. One thing I really dislike about any show is how a character just disappears without any reference or mention of it- are we all supposed to have amnesia all of a sudden? I don’t really care about Jenny (sorry, not sorry), but where is Chummy? Cynthia? Peter? Patsy? The Turner’s baby?? They did at least make reference to Patsy & Delia once & we know Cynthia is seeking mental health treatment. But the others? I never saw one mention of Peter leaving. I just realized once that gruff, walrus-looking cop started appearing that it must mean Peter is gone. 
 

I also didn’t expect to be that moved by Barbara’s passing, but it was soooo sad seeing a young, healthy, kind-hearted & much loved character leave so suddenly. The conversation with Phyllis when she said “the next bit will be hard” was Sooo Barbara. I don’t remember hearing a reference to her mom, but I assume she passed when Barbara was young…? Especially given how close she was to her Dad. It occurred to me maybe an episode before she died that she was the daughter Phyllis never had & Phyllis was the mother she needed. I’m sure I was the last person to have that realization. 

I’ve also long been annoyed at the scenes were there are all these random nuns. Like where do they live? What do they do when they’re not singing? 
 

I want to know more about Sister Winnifred. And I maybe have her name wrong. All we get to see about her is she’s a terrible driver & she’s super sweet. Oh! And she was a teacher. That’s it. 
 

I’m kind of over “getting to know” new midwives though I know that’s life- people come and go. I’m sure there’s more I could say, but it’s late and I’m sleepy. I’m also 99% sure no one will ever see this as I’m years behind on this show. :) 

Miscalculation. :)

I've been rewatching the series. So I've just gone through the same process, even though it's the second time around for me.

Chummy took over a position running an unmarried mother's facility (I think). For awhile it she'd show up - like she was commuting. But yes, I was not happy when Peter just disappeared. I think they've showed the Turner's baby now and again.

I have the same question about the random nuns. They did bug me, especially when they weren't there at dinner time.

I was much more moved by Barbara's passing this time around. The first time I was just ticked off that they were killing her off, and was in denial. But I got pretty choked up this time around. Putting the toy carousel on her grave really got to me, even more than the death.

I hadn't really thought of Nurse Crane being like a mother to Barbara and vice versa. You nailed it on the head.

Edited May 30, 2021 by Clanstarling

[MissLucas]

On 5/26/2021 at 8:30 AM, GirlMom said:

I’ve also long been annoyed at the scenes were there are all these random nuns. Like where do they live? What do they do when they’re not singing? 

Lots of things as explained here and here - and welcome 🙋‍♀️