Call the Midwife 5.07
Feb. 29th, 2016 08:45 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakIn which the pill is finally there, and so's a hurricane.
And so is Sister Evangelina, praise the Lord. The show milked her arrival for maximum gladness among audience and characters arrive by delaying it, which I can't begrudge - well played. And the reunion with Sister Monica Joan in particular was lovely.
I thought everyone's reactions to the pill were both period-appropriate and ic - Dr. Turner glad and all for it, the non-clerical midwives, too, the younger nuns cautiously for it, and Sister Julienne thrown into soul searching because on the one hand, she can see the implications for pre marital sex, on the other, she's seen too much through her life not to be aware of the benefits. This week, the comic relief C-plot - Barbara's and Tom's make out session leaving a stain on the wall due to Tom's hair gel - was neatly tied into the main plot when Sister Julienne ropes in Tom for ecclastical support and Barbara points out the inherent hypocrisy.
The tie between Patsy's case of the week - Daisy the barge woman with a class chip on her shoulder who doesn't want her children estranged from their community - and her changing relationship to what being a Lesbian means to her (going from "I'm only interested in you and me" to going to the Lesbian club with Barbara where she can be part of a community), I'm less sure about, because I don't think the two issues compare well. After all, the barge community may offer solidarity but also genuine drawbacks for Daisy's children, who are going to be affected their entire lives by the choices their mother makes for them (re: lack of regular education) and don't make those choices themselves. It's a double edged sword at best. Whereas for Delia and Patsy to be with other Lesbians is a positive, identity-confirming thing, it means being in an environment where they don't get judged for being themselves and making their own choices. This being said, I did appreciate that Daisy didn't just change her mind, - after a life time of experience -, due to a pep talk by our heroines, and of course whether just a chang of clothing would keep the kids at school from being ostracized or discriminated against is questionable. Still, couldn't help but think of Jackie Tyler's "airs and graces" comments to Rose in the pilot of New Who there (which wasn't meant to be a good thing). Anyway,good for Patsy and Delia to have found the club.
Trivia: Phyllis Crane had two great scenes in this episode, her pithy summary of male objections to using condoms, and later her reflection on seizing the moment with the man she fancied during the war. They made me realise I've grown very fond indeed of Nurse Crane.
Trailer for next week: seems that'll be the episode where Patrick Turner figures out the truth about thalidomide. Bring it on!
And so is Sister Evangelina, praise the Lord. The show milked her arrival for maximum gladness among audience and characters arrive by delaying it, which I can't begrudge - well played. And the reunion with Sister Monica Joan in particular was lovely.
I thought everyone's reactions to the pill were both period-appropriate and ic - Dr. Turner glad and all for it, the non-clerical midwives, too, the younger nuns cautiously for it, and Sister Julienne thrown into soul searching because on the one hand, she can see the implications for pre marital sex, on the other, she's seen too much through her life not to be aware of the benefits. This week, the comic relief C-plot - Barbara's and Tom's make out session leaving a stain on the wall due to Tom's hair gel - was neatly tied into the main plot when Sister Julienne ropes in Tom for ecclastical support and Barbara points out the inherent hypocrisy.
The tie between Patsy's case of the week - Daisy the barge woman with a class chip on her shoulder who doesn't want her children estranged from their community - and her changing relationship to what being a Lesbian means to her (going from "I'm only interested in you and me" to going to the Lesbian club with Barbara where she can be part of a community), I'm less sure about, because I don't think the two issues compare well. After all, the barge community may offer solidarity but also genuine drawbacks for Daisy's children, who are going to be affected their entire lives by the choices their mother makes for them (re: lack of regular education) and don't make those choices themselves. It's a double edged sword at best. Whereas for Delia and Patsy to be with other Lesbians is a positive, identity-confirming thing, it means being in an environment where they don't get judged for being themselves and making their own choices. This being said, I did appreciate that Daisy didn't just change her mind, - after a life time of experience -, due to a pep talk by our heroines, and of course whether just a chang of clothing would keep the kids at school from being ostracized or discriminated against is questionable. Still, couldn't help but think of Jackie Tyler's "airs and graces" comments to Rose in the pilot of New Who there (which wasn't meant to be a good thing). Anyway,good for Patsy and Delia to have found the club.
Trivia: Phyllis Crane had two great scenes in this episode, her pithy summary of male objections to using condoms, and later her reflection on seizing the moment with the man she fancied during the war. They made me realise I've grown very fond indeed of Nurse Crane.
Trailer for next week: seems that'll be the episode where Patrick Turner figures out the truth about thalidomide. Bring it on!
