Call the Midwife: Christmas Special

[selenak]

In which our heroines travel to the Hebrides.



This was charming and endearing as per usual for the show, with only a very few darker moments - Lucille faced with a racist greeting, Trixie seeing herself in young Effie, Effie's adolescent despair earlier than that - and other than that fluff in the best way: our heroines winning the locals over by sheer competence, Sister Monica Joan conning poor well meaning Sister Hilda and in the end seeing her stag, everyone pulling through for Reggie.

No big continuity relevant thing happened, except for Phyllis confiding in Trixie about her childhood, which was a lovely character moment for them both as well as one of those scenes which in lesser actorly hands would feel as pure exposition but as played here were a wonderful character scene, both in terms of Phyllis as a girl and Phyllis in the present.

In conclusion: Awwww. Which is how I generally react to Christmas Specials of this show.

Comments

[daybreak]

When young Effie said she was a mistake, I started crying. I think Trixie is right about seeing yourself in someone. She really thought her aunt was going to dump her when the new baby came. I do wonder what's she going to do there, though. It would be easy to feel trapped there.

I also liked the continuity of Dr. Turner's terror about being in the war. He didn't freeze up but he was so worried he would.

[selenak]

Yes, I remembered he had a nervous breakdown post-war, and I appreciated that the show trusted its audience to associate Dr. Turner's war experience throughout him operating without hitting us over the head with it.

re: Effie: I wonder whether she'll be inspired to get into medicine? That would allow her to leave (for the university) for a while, and then decide whether she wants to come back to practice on the Hebrides or live elsewhere.