What’s going on in Poplar:
After a television program shows the host burying a time capsule, all the kids (and some of the grownups) in Poplar catch time capsule fever. The Turners, the Cubs troop led by Miss Higgins and Phyllis, and Reggie all put together biscuit tins with items they hope will be enjoyed by the folks in the faraway future of 2000. At the last minute, Sister Catherine also puts in a Nonnatus entry, so that even if the order shuts down operations in Poplar, they’ll still be part of the community.
What’s going on with our friends:
Rosalind gets confirmed, and as a present, Cyril gives her his special bible that he brought with him from Guyana. As ever, they are adorable. Cyril’s also been asked to lead a guest sermon at Rosalind’s church, which will be a bit challenging as the two churches have very different styles. While visiting Nonnatus, he’s encouraged by Sister Monica Joan, who remains the president of the Cyril fan club, and in the end, he’s inspired by the intense experience Rosalind has this week.
Sister Veronica got sent on a prevention of accidents course by Phyllis and now she’s drunk with power. There are OSHA violations everywhere for those with eyes to see, apparently.
Sister Julienne asks Trixie to talk late at night about the whole NHS thing, because she doesn’t feel like she can lean on her sisters. Trixie says she’s been researching the funding structure of the Very Posh Maternity Hospital, but Sister Julienne shuts down that line of inquiry immediately. The Very Posh Maternity Hospital is only for the Very Posh, and not the needy, which is who the Order serves. She’s not wrong, but this clearly hurts Trixie’s feelings, which is a bummer since she’s been ride or die since Season One and is obviously only trying to help.
Last but not least, St. Cuthberts is having a staffing problem, and requests that Nonnatus send someone over. Since Joyce wants to one day be a ward sister, she’s seconded for the episode. And this isn’t just an opportunity to work towards her long-term dream job: she also meets a potential mentor in her temporary supervisor Sister Marcus, who is also a Black woman. She advises Joyce that the only way to get ahead is to outperform everyone else, and since Joyce is amazing at her job, she proceeds to do just that. At the end of the episode, Sister Marcus tells Joyce that she’s asked the doctor if Joyce can stay for a few more weeks, and Joyce happily accepts.
Family Number 1: Eileen Hudson
At St. Cuthberts, Joyce primarily works with a young woman named Eileen, who’s about to deliver her first baby and is pretty much alone in the world. After her parents died, Eileen was raised by an aunt, but when Eileen fell pregnant, her aunt tried to insist that Eileen give the baby up for adoption for propriety’s sake. This is a bit odd, because Eileen’s aunt runs a strip club. Unfortunately for Eileen, family drama is only one of her worries. She tells Joyce that she’s noticed some bleeding, and after an x-ray, Eileen is diagnosed with placenta previa. This basically means that the placenta is covering the cervix, i.e. is between the baby and the exit. The solution? A cesarean section. Eileen is hesitant, since she knows the recovery will be quite challenging, but doesn’t really have a different option, and her daughter is delivered soon after.
After her surgery, Eileen wakes up to find her baby has been taken to the nursery. Joyce explains that this is standard practice, designed to allow Eileen recovery time, but agrees to bring Eileen’s baby down for a quick visit. But when she returns with the baby, she finds Eileen having a serious postpartum hemorrhage. Joyce gets help, and they stabilize Eileen, but since she’s got a rare blood type, they quickly run through the entire hospital supply. Realizing that Eileen’s got a relative who might be able to donate to save her life, Joyce goes to visit Eileen’s aunt at the club, and convinces her to come give blood. The aunt explains that she just wanted Eileen to have a good life, and after some light prodding from Joyce, apologizes to her niece and mends fences.
Family Number 2: The Kovacses
Rosalind has been assigned to look in on Vera Kovacs, who has MS and has been in occupational therapy. Vera and her husband Laszlo are refugees from Hungary, and Laszlo dotes on his wife. It’s very sweet (or at least that’s how it seems). While Rosalind is visiting, she notices that the couple’s cousin, Agata, who has come to help Vera around the house, is sneaking food out of the trash can and also suffering from a nasty burn. When Rosalind looks Agata up back at the practice, they can’t find a sign of her. Rosalind starts to suspect that Agata is being abused by her relatives, and goes back when they’re out for a walk to find out more. Unfortunately what she finds is even worse than she feared: the Kovacses have taken Agata’s passport and don’t pay her so she’s unable to leave them, and Laszlo has been repeatedly raping Agata in an effort to conceive a child that Vera, who seems to be infertile, can take for herself.
Rosalind goes straight to Cyril to try and get help, but he reminds her that he has to go through official channels given his job. He also explains that the women’s shelter is full. But Rosalind doesn’t want to wait, so she tells Agata to go to the shelter anyway, and implies to the staff there that Agata is her patient even though Agata says she doesn’t think she’s pregnant. When Agata makes her escape to the hostel, they call Nonnatus and Trixie ends up examining Agata. Later, Trixie explains to Rosalind that while she has a good heart and tried to do a good thing, this went from a dangerous situation to a very dangerous situation, and Rosalind should loop in her senior colleagues before doing stuff like this in the future. She also says that she’s examined Agata and determined that their patient actually is pregnant.
Trixie and Dr. Turner bring Agata to the maternity home, which is safer and cleaner than the hostel, and confirm Trixie’s diagnosis. They also get Agata to agree to talk to the police, which she is afraid to do because she’s undocumented. The cops don’t care to prosecute the rapes, calling it a “he-said she-said situation,” but they will investigate the passport theft. Everyone is furious, including me. Trixie retrieves Agata’s things from the Kovacs home, and unfortunately they follow her back to the Maternity home and barge into Agata’s room, where they continue to lie and imply that she’s simple and unwell. But nobody’s buying it, and Agata stands up for herself and tells them to leave. They’re eventually charged with false imprisonment, and our friends find a Hungarian enclave where Agata can remain hidden from them until the trial concludes. She might even be able to go back to Hungary, if she wants, but whatever happens next will be her choice.
Will next week’s episode feature some less horrifying story lines? Will Joyce end up staying at St. Cuthberts for good? And will Sister Julienne and Trixie make up? We’ll just have to come back next time to find out!
