Every season, GBH Drama prepares to bring you coverage of the latest and greatest in British dramas. This month, we return to Poplar for the twelfth season of Call The Midwife. With complex medical cases, heartwarming found family, and more births and deaths than we can count, this series is sure to make you laugh and cry (probably more of the latter, if we're being honest). GBH Drama contributor Amanda-Rae Prescott is here to recap the magic as it happens.
Spring 1968 brings new challenges to the residents of Nonnatus House. A new nun arrives and has an unconventional approach to adjusting to a new situation. Tensions among the residents of Popular rise because of rising unemployment and racist politicians blaming immigrants for these problems. Along with all of this are two new district cases which highlight new challenges for treatment. Let’s discuss what happens:
The New Girl
Sister Veronica arrives at Nonnatus House on recommendation from Mother Mildred. We find out that she spent the last 12 years at the mission in Hong Kong. She first began her journey in medicine in pharmacology. There’s one big problem with Sister Veronica: she’s a habitual liar, especially in regard to her health and ability to perform duties. After annoying Fred by asking for constant repairs to the bike assigned to her, Sister Veronica ends up hoodwinking Matthew into buying her a scooter! He wasn’t around to get Sister Julienne’s warning. How long will it be before Sister Veronica gets on everyone’s nerves?
Vein Troubles
Greta Pickard is this week’s principal expecting mother. She has two children already and is expecting her third. She has severe varicose veins and is refusing to wear the compression stockings prescribed. Lucille makes a house call and notices that Greta has a cut on one of her legs that has gotten infected. Lucille begs Greta to use the stockings so that the swelling goes down. Later on, Dr. Turner comes to visit Greta because her older daughter Anita is complaining about pain in her mouth. Greta says she can’t afford a dentist because her husband is struggling with employment, but the family is eligible for free treatment. Wally Pickard (Greta’s husband) is a dockworker, but there’s no work. Greta is also frustrated because he is very politically active in the union and other socialist activism. Wally’s politics become a problem because he’s angry that Greta has taken charity via the social services they are entitled to use. Will Wally get in the way of getting the help his family needs?
A Secret Life
Nancy is assigned to Olive on the district rounds. She was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma which is a cancer that affects the bone marrow. Olive discharged herself from hospice care which means the Nonnatus nurses have to assist with her end of life care. Doctor Turner also visits in order to prescribe oral and injection morphine. Olive isn’t entirely alone; her landlady Jessie is there to assist. After Nurse Corrigan brings Olive a wheelchair as her walking has become more painful, Jessie ends up explaining to Nancy that Olive is not just someone who’s paying rent to stay: they’re actually partners, but they had to live in secret. Olive and Jessie met while they were both Land Girls during World War II. Nancy says Olive and Jessie are the first lesbians she’s ever met but Phyllis says that she’s likely met other queer women before but didn’t know. Trixie realizes Olive refused hospice care because legally Jessie cannot be her next of kin. Even though lesbianism was never criminalized the way sodomy is, the nurses discuss that the social stigma has adversely affected Olive and Jessie’s lives.
Paint & Retirement
Violet wants to give the haberdashery a fresh coat of paint but she’s dithering on the color. She finds Royal Purple paint and asks Fred to paint swatches. While Violet is pondering the painting, Fred is facing a career crisis. He received a letter stating that the Civilian Guard is being disbanded. He feels like there’s nothing else for him to do because wearing uniforms to work has been part of his life since before WWII.
The bright purple paint unfortunately fails the swatch tests. Violet tells Fred to get rid of it. He gives the paint to Sister Monica Joan, and she ends up painting several of the chapel chairs purple. Sister Julienne is so angered by the unwanted paint job that she interrupts Compline to complain about the paint. The next morning, Sister Monica Joan stands outside of Nonnatus House with a sign to take the cans of paint. Who ends up taking the paint?
Awkward Afternoon Tea
Trixie, in between assignments, is really busy planning the wedding reception. She’s planning vegetarian entrees and striking golf clubs off the bridal registry list. Matthew, meanwhile, asks Trixie if she is willing to meet Fiona’s parents because they will still be a part of his life after their wedding. Trixie is of course anxious to make a good impression, starting with her outfit. Matthew gives her a chance to back out but she realizes this tea will reduce future hard feelings. Unfortunately we don’t see how the afternoon went.
“Not Sick Just Sad”
Lucille is feeling down for a few reasons. After her miscarriage last season she hasn’t been able to get pregnant again. Also, she received in the mail photos from her sister Celine’s wedding. She felt guilty that she couldn’t afford the time off work to go to Jamaica. Her initial interactions with Greta were ok but then things take a turn when she mentions that her next-door neighbor Mrs. Saeed made a curry but she claims it is too spicy. Greta’s loss is Cyril’s gain.
Later on, Lucille ends up calling out because she’s not feeling well. This is when she says to Cyril she’s not really sick but feeling sad. He’s ready to support her but he rules out a trip to Jamaica because of work. Phyllis visits Lucille after her shift to check in. She tells her she really wants to go home. What will help Lucille heal?
The Quiet Goodbye
While Lucille is trying to improve her mental health, Olive’s prognosis hasn’t improved. Her kidneys are failing and the pain is preventing her from waking to the bathroom. Trixie is assigned to assist Nancy in caring for Olive as it’s clear that the cancer is at an end stage. Jessie is there telling Olive stories of the good times in their life right until she passes away. Nancy hugs Jessie but she says that after the funeral there will be no evidence of her life with Olive.
Miss Higgins and Nancy discuss this predicament of how to register Olive’s passing with the authorities. The terminology used today doesn’t exist and yet for closure something needs to document their relationship. Miss Higgins suggests to write that Jessie was present at death because there is nothing illegal about being there for someone as they are dying.
Crawling Out From Under The Rocks
Remember Colin Jordan and his thugs from last year’s MASTERPIECEminiseries Ridley Road? By 1968 there are more fascists ready to take up his cause. This time, however, the immigrants from the Commonwealth countries — aka Britain’s former colonies — are the targets of hate speech. Lucille ends up hearing on the radio a “speech” from Enoch Powell denouncing the Race Relations Act of 1968. He claims that the immigrants are upending UK society and other racist trash.The radio soundbites in this episode are real fragments of his infamous “Rivers of Blood” speech, the archived full text of which is here if you have the mental fortitude to read. Somebigots on both sides of the Atlantic are still repeating Enoch’s sentiments today which is why this discussion is relevant.
Both Lucille and Cyril are incensed that Powell is abusing his government position to incite violence against them and other people of color. While Lucille’s happy to hear that Powell was fired, that doesn’t stop his supporters from amplifying his message. Right in Poplar, Wally Pickard and the other dockworkers are organizing a march to support Powell. As Cyril is walking to work he notices that all of the racist and xenophobic signs have bright purple paint. He remembers Fred also had the same paint a few days ago and rushes to confront him. Fred denies he had anything to do with it and said that he gave the leftovers to Nonnatus House. Clearly all the fascists took advantage of Sister Monica Joan not asking questions. Cyril is powerless to stop the angry crowd on the march and walks away.
Lucille also has to face the same battle with Poplar bigots but while at work. Even though Greta claims she’s annoyed by her husband’s politics, she still ends up internalizing his hatred. Greta goes into labor at the maternity home but her progress is slow. A new patient Zoya Patel comes through the door screaming in pain as she’s much closer to delivery. Shelagh ends up helping Zoya deliver her baby boy Hussein. Meanwhile, Greta sees Zoya being helped and rages at Lucille that immigrants are “ruining” the NHS, but apparently Lucille is “one of the good ones”. Lucille stands up for herself and says that she deserves to be in England just as much as everyone else. In a rare act for any midwife on the show so far, Lucille walks away from Greta and right out the door. Sister Veronica ends up helping Greta deliver her little girl Marie. Some fans may say that Lucille overreacted but walking away from extreme racism is a valid response. No one should have to put up with or be kind to bigots while at work.
Greta does not have the opportunity to apologize to Lucille but she is forced to confront her own racism. Zoya wakes up in the middle of the night worried that Hussein is crying out for her. Greta helps her to the nursery where it turns out Marie was crying. The anxiety of caring for a newborn is something that transcends race and ethnicity. Greta ends up admitting that she’s descended from French silk weavers who emigrated to the UK 200 years earlier. This admission doesn’t make up for what happened, but it’s clear she’s starting on the path to recognition. At the end of the episode we see Greta accepting one of Mrs. Saeed’s curry dishes.
Later on, Sister Julienne says that Lucille won’t be disciplined since she wasn’t the only midwife there. Lucille can take sick leave in order to feel better which she is not entirely keen on. Cyril believes it's a great idea since what Lucille is feeling is not short term homesickness but clinical depression.
Despite the grief and the anger that punctuated the episode, this episode does end on a note of closure. We see Sister Veronica riding on her new scooter embracing the future as the other midwives are on their bikes. There’s also a shot of Jessie leaving the registry office hugging the paper that says she was there when Olive died. Lastly, we see Matthew, Trixie, baby Jonty and Fiona’s parents posing for a group photo. The only thing we don’t know at the end is if Lucille will indeed take extended time off of work to focus on healing. We’ll have to watch next week’s Call The Midwife to find out.
