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.
This week’s episode of Call The Midwife allows Sister Veronica to use her personality quirks for the greater good. At the same time, Trixie discovers one skill that will likely elude her. An expectant mother discovers her family’s secret is an inherited chronic illness, and a follow-up on children’s vaccinations leads to the discovery of an abusive relationship. Let’s discuss what happens with a warning that rape and domestic violence will be discussed which will be triggering to some readers and viewers.
It Runs In The Family
This week’s expecting mother is Lorna Price, who has a little girl named Karen, and is close with her mother. Lorna and her mother are almost inseparable, even at the clinic examinations and when it’s time for labor. Lorna names her son Ian after her father, which her mother doesn’t seem entirely pleased about. He appears healthy except for a mark where the forceps were. Later on, Shelagh discovers unusual bruises on his back. Dr. Turner refers Ian to St. Cuthberts for specialist observation. Baby Ian is then diagnosed with hemophilia, a rare but inherited blood disorder. The disease only affects male children and women can pass the gene on.
Lorna finds out from her mother that her father also had hemophilia and this is why she was worried about Lorna having a girl. The disease only affects boys and men, but their mothers can pass on the gene. Lorna grew up thinking her dad died of cancer, not hemophilia. Finding out the truth is so devastating that Lorna stops talking to her mom. Will they ever reconcile?
Kitchen Nightmares
Trixie hasn’t had to worry about meals since she’s lived at Nonnatus House but now that she’s going to be married she wants to learn how to cook. She’s signed up for classes with Cordon Bleu. Her first practice meal was Mille Feuille and Nurse Crane struggled to enjoy the custard. Trixie decides that throwing a dinner party for her friends would be the best way to practice more.
Nancy, Cyril and Phyllis pile in the car for the affair, and Sister Monica Joan invites herself along. Trixie has planned a 3-course meal with the finest in French cuisine. Unfortunately, these recipes are too complicated for her to successfully recreate. The food looks like those$20 Erewhon smoothies from TikTok. Everyone is struggling to compliment Trixie on something. Cyril has a point that everything in British cuisine could be improved with garlic. He’s also happy to eat something that isn’t casseroles since everyone has been sending them since Lucille left. Things get progressively worse as one dish is completely burnt. Trixie realizes she has to throw in the towel but there are only eggs, spinach, and French butter. Cyril salvages the event by scrounging up Eggs Benedict. Later on, Trixie tries again with cooking but this time she makes an omelet that Matthew is actually able to eat. Bon appetit!
Suffering In Silence
While sifting through records, Nurse Crane notices that Mrs. Macay’s son Peter missed his routine vaccinations. She noted that Mrs. Macay was a widow struggling to keep the household going. Sister Veronica goes to check in and stumbles into a swinging party. It turns out Mrs. Macay remarried and is now Mrs. Talbot. Sister Veronica is offered a slice of wedding cake and a “joke” about Sister Veronica not needing to watch her figure. Sister Veronica agrees to come back after the party to discuss the vaccinations.
We then see Mrs. Talbot, who wants to be called Sandy, struggling to keep up with the housework and cleaning up her feminine products. She also has an unusual bruise on her neck. Her husband Joe is angry with her for not making more of an effort. Something is definitely wrong but we’re not entirely sure what yet. Sandy comes into the clinic and asks for the doctor but begins to walk away. Sister Veronica stops her from leaving, and Sandy tells Sister Veronica that Joe keeps the kids fed and vaguely alludes to a problem. Sister Veronica is confused by Sandy’s unwillingness to open up but Sister Monica Joan says that trust has to be cultivated with patience.
Later on we see exactly what the problem is. Sandy starts arguing with Joe. He’s yelling about how she should be a better wife, and her younger daughter Ann Marie can hear them screaming in the other room. Joe starts yelling at Sandy about his desires and rapes her. Ann Marie meanwhile can hear Sandy saying no and crying. This is what Sandy wanted to tell Sister Veronica but couldn’t find the words to say. In the middle of the night Sandy successfully gets the children to quietly follow her out of the house. She spends the night in the alley behind Violet’s store. Fred finds them and takes them to Nonnatus House for help. Sister Julienne finds Sandy and her kids a hostel to stay in until they can figure out next steps. During this, Fred reveals that his own father used to abuse his mother until she escaped, and he remembered what happened. What will happen next?
Champagne Tastes On A Penny Budget
In between the patient stories and Trixie’s cooking mishaps, Nancy has her own spot of trouble. We’ve noticed Nancy is really into the latest fashions, but she doesn’t have a rich fiance to buy her clothes. Nancy receives a letter about money owed which she ignores. Later on, a man is banging down the Nonnatus House door to repossess the TV Nancy brought because she’s failed to make payments. Thrifting her clothes didn’t help either because the shop owner only gave her a pound for several items. While Colette is doing really well in math class, Nancy is struggling to figure out how she can pay her bills.
Phyllis comes to the rescue by helping Nancy come up with a workable budget so she can pay off her bills. Nancy owes about £100 in layaway payments which doesn’t sound like much to us but that’s many months of her salary. Using an inflation calculator, Nancy’s debt is actually £1,415.94 or $1,747.96 which is an amount someone today would definitely want to pay off their credit card. Nancy tells Phyllis that she was motivated to spend more than she should have because she grew up in care, and had none of the little things, let alone luxuries, that the other kids had. After the budgeting session, Nancy shows Colette her savings book which will track how much money they have for their own house one day. We hope they get it!
Love & Forgiveness
At St. Cuthberts, Ian receives a blood transfusion which gives him the platelets that allow for blood clotting. Shelagh and Dr. Turner are used to bad medical news affecting families, but Mrs. Price and her mom appear different because their bond was so secure before the diagnosis. Once baby Ian is ready to come home from the hospital, Lorna realizes all of the maternity prep was done by her mom and she’s struggling to find her breastfeeding pads and other materials. She’s also overwhelmed with fear about losing Ian at a young age. Her dad died in his late 20s but Ian has a better chance of surviving falls now that medicine has advanced. Lorna realizes that her mom didn’t hide the truth for a malicious reason, but to protect her from worrying too much about parenthood. She forgives her mom and brings both baby Ian and Karen around to meet her. Baby Ian is very content and as long as the adults can keep smiling and laughing, he has great odds for living with hemophilia. Aren’t we glad Lorna and her mom reconciled?
Systemic Misogyny
Sandy may have escaped but there’s still a tough road ahead. The hostel is crowded and Peter left his favorite toy behind. Joe comes around to Nonnatus House to find Sandy but all they tell him is that she isn’t there. He threatens Sister Monica Joan but she doesn’t bend. Later on, Sister Veronica tries to get the police to help Sandy reenter the house to retrieve the rest of her belongings but they refuse to help. Here’s where Sister Veronica’s storytelling actually becomes useful. She tells the officer Sandy was abused by her husband so they can be persuaded to act. The officer asks Sandy if she wants to report her husband and she agrees. Unfortunately, the laws at this time do not recognize marital rape as an offense. The law in the UK wasn’t even changed until 1991. Laws in the US were also slow to change: it was only in 1993 all states made marital rape a crime. Not even Sandy showing the police the bruises on her body persuades them to do anything about it. Sandy now feels Sister Veronica shouldn’t have opened her mouth at all because there appears to be no way out of her situation. Sandy’s story shows how both today and in 1968 the process of reporting rape and domestic violence ends up retraumatizing victims.
Matthew confirms that the police are following the law on what is defined as spousal abuse at the time. He says rape is only a reason for divorce if the husband attacks another woman. But there’s still some legal recourse for Sandy. Sandy can petition for divorce citing gross depravity and deprivation because she’s been married for less than three years. She has a case, but it would take a good lawyer to prove it. Matthew promises her to make the connections necessary to get Legal Aid for her case. Sister Veronica gives Sandy a testimony letter for the solicitor. Joe Talbot, after failing to find Sandy, dumps off all of her stuff including Peter’s toy in front of Nonnatus House. He’s still claiming Sandy should have been “grateful” that he took care of the children. Peter finally gets his overdue vaccines. Sandy has a long battle ahead but we’re hoping the rest of the season can follow her story!
Will Sandy get her divorce or find a loophole to arrest Joe? Will Nancy pay off all her bills? Can Trixie cook more than eggs? When will Lucille return? We’ll find out next week on Call The Midwife!
