S07.E04: Episode 4

[magemaud]

Wow! I never knew Argo made both kinds of starches! Then again, I've never used powdered laundry starch in my life, only liquid or spray. 

[Tara Ariano]

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

Call The Midwife Puts Trixie Back In The Bottle (But She's Still The Best)

And: Sister Monica Joan finally sees the light. (Not the eternal light! Don't freak out!) Allison Lowe Huff takes you through in our latest EPIC OLD-SCHOOL RECAP!

[catrice2]

8 hours ago, Ohwell said:

Ahh, so your mother's friend's taste was a little more "refined" if she ate the cooking starch.  My aunt ate the Argo laundry starch, the same that she washed clothes with.  The box was blue with white lettering. 

Then I am wrong....it was the laundry starch, that I know for sure.  Maybe she ate both, but I remember my mom talking to my sister about.....she may have even slipped me some one time. 

[Badger]

Regarding Christopher, my take is that he's moved back into the family home, but he and his ex are pretty much living separate lives except for meals and other family activities with Alexandra.

[Tara Ariano]

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

Call The Midwife Puts Trixie Back In The Bottle (But She's Still The Best)

And: Sister Monica Joan finally sees the light. (Not the eternal light! Don't freak out!) Allison Lowe Huff takes you through in our latest EPIC OLD-SCHOOL RECAP!

[Sarah 103]

On 4/11/2018 at 12:48 AM, LittleIggy said:

I know the little girl is being manipulated by the ex. I just think that the shrink could talk to her about that.

Given how rare divorce was, I am not sure how much of that behavior would have been known or common. I am also not sure how aware Alexandria would have been. I have no idea if she would repeat what her mother said or what did or did not come up in therapy sessions. 

[Blackie]

On ‎4‎/‎9‎/‎2018 at 6:55 PM, jschoolgirl said:

From reading the recap, it looks like there were no essential scenes cut

I don't know if that makes me happier or angrier.  This week seemed so disjointed, so badly edited, so unwatchable I thought they had to have cut out tons.  Now reading that they didn't, just makes me angry that the writing and editing of this great show has gone so badly down hill.  A lot of blame goes to stupid PBS that did edit all the transitions that would make scenes make sense, that allow us to get invested in stories. But a lot of blame goes to the writers that just seem to be shoving stories together even if it makes  the characters act OOC. Now it just seems like a bunch of jumbled scences stuck together that I really don't get any enjoyment out of.  And now with Trixie leaving, I can't say I am motivated to watch more of this season.

[LadyChaos]

Anyone else feel like this season is mostly just a filler season?  Not that the stories aren't great, but it just feels like its meant to just get us through to next year.

[Fireball]

20 minutes ago, LadyChaos said:

Anyone else feel like this season is mostly just a filler season?  Not that the stories aren't great, but it just feels like its meant to just get us through to next year.

Yes, I've finding this season kind of boring myself. I can't help but wonder if they shouldn't have renewed the show for 3 more seasons.

[OtterMommy]

My guess is that they might be have had some trouble working around Helen George's pregnancy.  I actually think they wrote her out fairly well (except for the pica), but it doesn't seem like they've been able to balance the stories over the other characters yet.  Even with these hiccups, this is still probably the most well-done show I'm currently watching, so I'm willing to overlook it all.

[LadyChaos]

29 minutes ago, OtterMommy said:

My guess is that they might be have had some trouble working around Helen George's pregnancy.  I actually think they wrote her out fairly well (except for the pica), but it doesn't seem like they've been able to balance the stories over the other characters yet.  Even with these hiccups, this is still probably the most well-done show I'm currently watching, so I'm willing to overlook it all.

I still love it......its just feels like its an off season. 

[Calvada]

Nice to see the wardrobe people put Fred in a shirt in this season's color.  I'm waiting for Dr. Turner to show up in a teal tie. 

I think this season has suffered by Helen George's pregnancy, because without Sister Evangelina, Trixie really is the heart and soul of the show (IMO).  Sister Julienne is not what she was, and they've never developed Sister Winifred into anything beyond comic relief, and I don't feel we know Valerie and Lucille in the same way we knew some of the former characters.  I blame the writers for this, since I felt as if I knew some of the former characters in just a few episodes in Season 1 or 2, but that's changed. 

[RachelKM]

On 4/8/2018 at 7:50 PM, anna0852 said:

Well based on the definition above Mr. Gani would have had trouble bringing Paveen into the country. The citation said that polygamous marriages were not recognized for immigration or citizenship purposes. And a big old pox on Dr. Turner for pressuring the first mrs. Gani to take on this teenage mother and her child. Mrs. Gani has been betrayed and one of the most cruel ways possible by her husband and now she is being told that she simply has to suck it up.

On 4/8/2018 at 9:37 PM, izabella said:

Since she was his wife's cousin, could he have been able to bring her over as a relative?

Pakistani immigration into the UK would not have been particularly difficult in the 1960s. In 1963, they were only 16 years out from Pakistani independence.  The older couple would have been born commonwealth citizens and it sounded like they moved to London before independence. 

And I'm sure moving in with a family member who was a citizen would have streamlined the process.

Edited April 16, 2018 by RachelKM

[theatremouse]

I found it really hard to have much sympathy for SMJ. I get that the point was she was very afraid of the scalpel, and it's reasonable for people to sometimes have fears that aren't 100% logical.But the way it played out to me wasn't so much "she's terrified and they need to talk her down" as it was she initially says she's terrified but then proceeds to be all woe is me I have no options when she very much did have an option, and she was just rejecting it. I see didn't see the fear throughout the timeline. She just seemed obstinate and begging for pathos. If there had been some element of her seeming torn it would've made more sense to me. Or if they'd hit harder on the issue of her not always being lucid. But they did neither of those things. The whole plot felt very tell not show and I wasn't buying most of it.

[jschoolgirl]

12 hours ago, theatremouse said:

I found it really hard to have much sympathy for SMJ. I get that the point was she was very afraid of the scalpel, and it's reasonable for people to sometimes have fears that aren't 100% logical.But the way it played out to me wasn't so much "she's terrified and they need to talk her down" as it was she initially says she's terrified but then proceeds to be all woe is me I have no options when she very much did have an option, and she was just rejecting it. I see didn't see the fear throughout the timeline. She just seemed obstinate and begging for pathos. If there had been some element of her seeming torn it would've made more sense to me. Or if they'd hit harder on the issue of her not always being lucid. But they did neither of those things. The whole plot felt very tell not show and I wasn't buying most of it.

I hope they get it together before they ruin her character.

[dcalley]

On 4/15/2018 at 8:34 PM, OtterMommy said:

My guess is that they might be have had some trouble working around Helen George's pregnancy.  I actually think they wrote her out fairly well (except for the pica)

I know I shouldn't think about Trixie going away too deeply as it's only been done to accommodate the actress's needs, but I couldn't help but wonder what she will do for 6 months when she is not earning a salary and her room and board are also going away. I know she had more money than Barbara, but enough to take 6 months off?

[LMS]

On 4/9/2018 at 10:39 AM, Ohwell said:

Regarding pica:  I remember as a kid, my aunt and some of her friends used to eat starch while they watched their soap operas on tv.

I used to sneak and eat my mom’s solid chalky laundry starch when I was a child. The doctor said it was pica and that I would outgrow it. I did!

[Ohwell]

16 minutes ago, LMS said:

I used to sneak and eat my mom’s solid chalky laundry starch when I was a child. The doctor said it was pica and that I would outgrow it. I did!

Yeah, I forgot to mention that I ate some of it too, but didn't like it. 

[Rap541]

Quote

I found it really hard to have much sympathy for SMJ. I get that the point was she was very afraid of the scalpel, and it's reasonable for people to sometimes have fears that aren't 100% logical.But the way it played out to me wasn't so much "she's terrified and they need to talk her down" as it was she initially says she's terrified but then proceeds to be all woe is me I have no options when she very much did have an option, and she was just rejecting it. I see didn't see the fear throughout the timeline. She just seemed obstinate and begging for pathos. If there had been some element of her seeming torn it would've made more sense to me. Or if they'd hit harder on the issue of her not always being lucid. But they did neither of those things. The whole plot felt very tell not show and I wasn't buying most of it.

It's awkward because I get the idea of what SMJ is supposed to represent and in earlier seasons, I think they did it well. She is the elderly spirited woman who is failing enough that you're never quite certain if she's just being spirited or if she really thinks the position of the stars matters in current events. The problem is that the show has run so long, it becomes a bit ridiculous that SMJ has existed in this functional sort of dementia for six years. (this is similar to how no matter how much I love Dame Maggie Smith, it was ridiculous that the Dowager Countess had to be 90+ for the end of Downton Abbey)

It's also frustrating in that I don't care how kind Sister Julienne is, she's not the Mother Superior and she isn't actually the one to decide that SMJ gets to exist as essentially the pet of Nonnatus House. A HUGE part of the problem of SMJ's behavior is that she is treated like a spoiled child and all of her misbehavior is winked at. No matter how petty or rude, or *obviously lucid* she is, every time she does something annoying or shitty - and I love SMJ but the constant cake and cookie theft and the constant snide remarks coupled with knowing winks as her behavior is excused as she's "off with the fairies" - she gets away with it. And the really serious behavior - not being able to answer the phone, wandering off in the middle of the night, means that realistically, SMJ needs to be at the mother house where she can be taken care of. And despite the gentle presentation, nunneries really were kind of strict and Sister Julienne and SMJ really wouldn't be allowed this much leeway.

[Driad]

1 hour ago, Rap541 said:

SMJ needs to be at the mother house where she can be taken care of.

And it may be kinder to move her soon. The longer she stays at Nonnatus House, the harder it may be for her to adjust to a new place.

[Kohola3]

But that would only leave us with Winifred (for comic relief) and Julienne.  Need more nuns, please!

[LeGrandElephant]

I didn’t buy the whole British cast being so cool with polygamy. Why didn’t anyone suggest she could divorce him under English law? Maybe she wouldn’t want to, but I would have expected one of the western characters to think that was the obvious response. 

And ok maybe the husband was forced to marry the young cousin, but how could he possibly justify not warning his wife what had happened and just springing it on her like that? I could never respect him or expect respect from him again after that. 

[RedbirdNelly]

the 2nd wife story was odd

I still enjoy Sister MJ unlike most people posting on this episode. I think the actress does an amazing job