Snow is falling. Office holiday parties are in full swing (online, this year). Winter is here, and so is a drama fan favorite holiday tradition: the Call The Midwife Holiday Special! I’m here to recap the special just in case you missed it, or just couldn’t get enough of our favorite nurses, nuns, and other assorted denizens of Poplar.

How are we at the last episode of the season already? I don’t know, but I don’t like it! Regardless, it’s happening, so buckle in. In Poplar, our friends are starting this week off still reeling from what we learned last week about Boots’ secret past. And in case you were wondering where Sister Hilda was, she’s back just in time to get the update from Sister Julienne

Back in Poplar, our young trainees are getting into the groove of things, but they’re not quite ready for emergencies, and, alas, that’s how this week starts off. Phyllis answers the phone, and then runs through Nonnatus house to send Lucille off to a BBA (born before arrival) call. Alison the Trainee, who was meant to shadow Lucille, goes with Phyllis instead, and folks, I’m not sure she’s excited about this change of plans. Don’t worry, Alison the Trainee, all of our midwife friends have something fun to offer!

In Poplar, the entire Turner family is incredibly stressed out. Shelagh even almost lights up a cigarette! Why? Because they’re all waiting with bated breath for Timothy’s exam results, which soon arrive through the mail slot. And because we need to experience their stress ourselves, we have to wait and see our boy open that envelope for at least a few scenes.

Episode four kicks off with two, to my mind, equally exciting things: England is moving ahead in the World Cup, and Lucille is wearing a truly incredible hat. But alas, we don’t have time to talk millinery, because Team Nonnatus is busy going over the logistics of taking on a bunch of pupil midwives.

Last week, we learned that Sister Julienne’s plan to save Nonnatus through privatization was an unfortunate bust. Back to the drawing board!

Remember how I thought last week was unusually grim, even for Call The Midwife? Episode 2 is shaping up to be no different, starting with the Nonnatus crew reacting to news of the Moors Murders, a horribly upsetting true crime story that Americans may not know (it involves a couple who murdered and sexually assaulted five children, which explains why all of our midwife friends are so righteously furious). The episode also starts with a family, the Clarkes, getting evicted while a crowd boos their landlord, so it seems that the housing crisis in Poplar is only getting worse.

Now where were we? Last season, Nonnatus house’s budget cut/rent hike was briefly reversed, and we dealt with addiction, death and a whole bunch of babies. This season starts on a hopeful note, as Sister Monica Joan gets back up on her feet and walks, creakily, down the hall. Across town, Vi bustles into her store and greets Fred with a typical honey-do list: go get Easter candy at lunch!

I’ll be honest with you, reader: when we first started Guilt, I was half convinced it couldn’t possibly sustain four whole episodes. How, for instance, could Cheekbones and Softie possibly maintain their charade long enough? Clearly, I was mistaken, and this thing has now gotten so deliciously convoluted I’m starting to wonder how it’ll all get wrapped up in this final episode.

Now where were we? Last time, we found out that L’Americain might just not be who she said she is after all (and is, at minimum, in cahoots with Rear Window), that Cheekbones is in deep with a loan shark, that there really are limits to how much of her husband’s crap Long-Suffering Lady Cheekbones is willing to put up with, and that Softie both lives up to his name AND might be more savvy than any of us thought.