Call the Midwives 4.02
Jan. 28th, 2015 08:58 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakIn which Sister Julienne meets the road not taken, and the series tackles grief in several ways.
As coincidence would have it, I heard a report just a few days ago about how for the longest time stillbirths were basically treated as medical waste, with the parents not having the chance to say goodbye to their dead child, so this plot doubly resonated with me. It was dealt with so sensitively, too; the living twin doesn't compensate for the dead one, the fierce grief for the dead child is still there. (And Tom proves again he's really good at his job by figuring out the parents need their grief acknowledged and a way to say goodbye.) Ditto for the way the midwives are affected; I can recall episodes with children born ill, though not many, but I think that's the first one about a child born dead.
Sister Evangelina taking off to have her operation off screen reassures me somewhat, since it makes it less likely they're going to do a sickness arc with her and more likely the actress simply needed some time off. (BTW, loved the leavetaking of Sister Monica Joan!) And of course her temporary replacement is a very prickly woman, too, yet in a quite different way from Sister Evangelina, so the character doesn't feel like a copy.
Sister Julienne reencountering the man she loved before entering the order as he's dying made for a moving subplot, and Jenny Argutter was sublime. BTW, considering he's leaving Nonnatus House a legacy the choice of Chaplin's City Lights as the film they never watched when young but watch now is great; the Tramp in said movie becoming the benefactor of the blind flower girl, and the bitter sweet final scene where she can finally see him is very fitting the whole vibe between Sister Julienne and her old admirer, the simultanous sense of loss and knowing they had a good life without each other. And of course Shelagh is the one person whom Sister Julienne in the end confides in. Who else? I do so adore their relationship.
Lastly: I was wondering what the point of the "Patsy takes over Chummy's work with the boyscouts" subplot was until the last part of the episode, when it dawned on me the point was so the audience meets her friend the nurse who seems to be not just her friend but her girlfriend? Unless I misunderstood? Anyway, Patsy as a lesbian character works for me.
As coincidence would have it, I heard a report just a few days ago about how for the longest time stillbirths were basically treated as medical waste, with the parents not having the chance to say goodbye to their dead child, so this plot doubly resonated with me. It was dealt with so sensitively, too; the living twin doesn't compensate for the dead one, the fierce grief for the dead child is still there. (And Tom proves again he's really good at his job by figuring out the parents need their grief acknowledged and a way to say goodbye.) Ditto for the way the midwives are affected; I can recall episodes with children born ill, though not many, but I think that's the first one about a child born dead.
Sister Evangelina taking off to have her operation off screen reassures me somewhat, since it makes it less likely they're going to do a sickness arc with her and more likely the actress simply needed some time off. (BTW, loved the leavetaking of Sister Monica Joan!) And of course her temporary replacement is a very prickly woman, too, yet in a quite different way from Sister Evangelina, so the character doesn't feel like a copy.
Sister Julienne reencountering the man she loved before entering the order as he's dying made for a moving subplot, and Jenny Argutter was sublime. BTW, considering he's leaving Nonnatus House a legacy the choice of Chaplin's City Lights as the film they never watched when young but watch now is great; the Tramp in said movie becoming the benefactor of the blind flower girl, and the bitter sweet final scene where she can finally see him is very fitting the whole vibe between Sister Julienne and her old admirer, the simultanous sense of loss and knowing they had a good life without each other. And of course Shelagh is the one person whom Sister Julienne in the end confides in. Who else? I do so adore their relationship.
Lastly: I was wondering what the point of the "Patsy takes over Chummy's work with the boyscouts" subplot was until the last part of the episode, when it dawned on me the point was so the audience meets her friend the nurse who seems to be not just her friend but her girlfriend? Unless I misunderstood? Anyway, Patsy as a lesbian character works for me.
no subject
Date: 2015-01-28 11:43 am (UTC)That was such a beautiful episode. Difficult to watch in places, but I felt like all the plots were handled in just the right way. This is why Call the Midwife remains one of my favourites :-)
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Date: 2015-01-28 09:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-01-28 12:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-01-28 08:59 pm (UTC)