Every season, the Drama After Dark team gathers ‘round the (yes, still online) conference room table to watch the latest and greatest in British dramas. As summer fades into autumn, we have more than just the metaphorical birth of a new season to contend with: it’s also time for the return of PBS favorite, Call The Midwife. Between our scrappy nurses, sassy nuns and gut-wrenching emotional trauma that somehow keeps you wanting more, there’s a lot to be excited about. Need a refresher on what happened last season? Check out our Season 9 and 2020 Holiday Special recaps here. Ready? Take a deep (Lamaze) breath, and prepare yourself for Season 10!
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.
Sister Julienne: Ok, I checked at Vi’s shop and there’s no press about Trixie’s appearance on the BBC yet.
Sister Hilda: Well, it definitely did not make for a relaxing visit to the mother house, that’s for sure. Hope you’re ready for an earful when you get there.
Sister Julienne: Oh, definitely. Can’t wait. TBH, I can’t figure out if the timing of my visit is good or bad, especially now that I know about Boots.
Sister Hilda: Well, to be fair, you had no way of knowing those other nuns faked her references.
Sister Julienne: Yeah, but I do now! And I also know that she’s been through a lot and needs support. Anyway, you’re in charge while I’m out and you have to be warm and welcoming, but do it exactly the same way I would. No changes!
Sister Hilda, plans for an office redesign scuppered:
Elsewhere, the rest of the midwives talk over their schedule: Phyllis will take Boots with her for the week, just to try and keep that whole situation as controlled as possible.
Sister Frances: I’m worried about her — I heard her crying last night. Tried to knock but she didn’t answer.
Phyllis: I know you’re trying to help but listen: we’re doing Fight Club rules here. The first rule of learning about Boots’ dark past is don’t talk about Boots’ dark past!
Trixie: Not that you’ll have time to think about Boots, you have a delivery across town.
Sister Frances: But this lady isn’t on our list?
Trixie: Well, deliver first, ask questions later, I guess?
Intriguing! Meanwhile, at Vi’s shop, Fred shows up just in time to get a talking to about his organizational choices for the magazines.
Vi: Dude, you did all this wrong. Also:
No, reader, Fred isn’t wearing the merch of a fictionalized Roman divine hero, but he IS carrying a large tray of zucchini that his allotment has overproduced (and isn’t that always the way with zucchini?). They look pretty great, but Vi isn’t keen to let Fred sell them in the shop, which is a shame, since he doesn’t work in an office, and therefore can’t go around leaving them on people’s desks like a harvest Santa Claus. Anyway, since they’re decidedly not hippies, and thus might be unlikely to know the joys of zucchini cake, I’m not sure what’s gonna happen with the surplus, but time will tell.
Across town, Sister Frances arrives at her delivery, where she’s met by a pregnant neighbor of her patient who informs our midwife friend that the water has gone off. Again. Before we get into that mess, we get to see the end of a different disaster: it seems that young Timothy Turner has successfully retyped all the damaged records from the flood in episode five, in addition to confirming ongoing med deliveries with local pharmacies and sending off samples. If he decides to skip med school after all, it seems that our collective son has a future ahead of him apprenticing for Miss Higgins, who’s proud enough to give Tim one of her rare smiles and verbal pats on the back. But that’s not all: she also gives him her pen.
Miss Higgins: When you use it, think of me, and try to write more legible prescriptions than your dad.
Touché, Higgins, touché. Across town, things are decidedly less orderly, as Sister Frances struggles to even examine her patient, Cheer Up, because her mattress is so saggy. Did I give this poor woman that name because of this iconic scene from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory? Maybe! (yes.)
Cheer Up, literally being engulfed by the mattress: It’s not so bad, we manage!
Sister Frances: Cheer Up, does your husband know you’re in labor?
Cheer Up: I’m not sure he knows I’m pregnant.
Sister Frances: Yikes, ok. Well let’s get you onto the couch, that’ll be easier. And once this contraction is over, I’m calling for reinforcements.
Back at Nonnatus, as Trixie packs up some supplies, Sister Monica Joan explains that the building where Cheer Up lives has been a miserable disaster as long as she can remember (and as we all know, that’s a pretty long time). She even once had to use her wimple to help keep a draft out from a broken window, which feels ever so slightly metaphorically significant. Thankfully for Cheer Up, the labor goes as well as it ever does on Call The Midwife, and she soon delivers a lovely baby girl. But unlike some of our typical moms, she immediately starts sobbing, and not, I think, with joy.
Cheer Up, to her baby/the world at large: I’m sorry. Everything is a mess.
Please don't blame yourself for the broken system that's led you to this reality, Cheer Up! But also, if you want to have a good cry, you've earned it. Meanwhile, Lucille welcomes a new student to one of the Nonnatus prenatal classes: this mother is about to have a long-awaited child via adoption. Everyone is very welcoming, so Lucille is surprised to find About to Adopt crying in the loo after class.
About to Adopt: Oh, I’m just happy! I’ve been married for 10 years, and sure, we didn’t want a kid right away, but we’ve been struggling with infertility for a lot of that time. I’ve always felt like I’m watching from the sidelines, you know?
Lucille: Yes, but now you’re right here in the action, precious!
Back at the Miserable Disaster Apartments, Sister Frances is preparing to stay the night to keep an extra eye on Cheer Up.
Trixie: And we’re going to get you booked into the maternity home tomorrow — you need to be able to recover, and your landlord needs to fix this place.
Cheer Up: We’ve pretty much given up: there’s a bunch of landlords subletting from an owner, and no one has a clue who that guy is.
Sister Frances: Oh hey, look, the water is back!
Cheer Up, coping with humor (relatable): We always have water, it just sometimes runs down the walls instead of in the sink!
Trixie: Funny, but also, really really not funny!
Later that evening, Lucille supports Cyril, who's just gotten some sad news: his grandfather has passed away.
Cyril: He was a good man, and I really looked up to him. When I said goodbye, I knew I would never see him again, and I thought that getting to have that goodbye would be enough. It’s not. The funeral is Friday, and I can’t be there.
Lucille: What if we have a prayer meeting at the same time? That might help.
Cyril: God does meet us wherever we are…
Lucille: Exactly. We’ll be at the funeral in our hearts, that’s what matters. And soon we’ll go home for the wedding!
Cyril, gently teasing: Home to Jamaica, or home to Guyana?
Lucille: We’ll figure it out — it’s a long engagement!
Poor Cyril — I can’t imagine how hard it is to be distant from family while grieving without even having any of our current technology!
Meanwhile, at Miserable Disaster Apartments, Sister Frances wakes up to the crying baby, who to my untrained eye seems to be moving around an awful lot for a newborn. Sleepily making her way over to check on the kiddo, she soon discovers, to her absolute horror, that the baby isn’t alone in the drawer where she’s sleeping, and instead of a cuddly toy, her bedmate is a rat.
Sister Frances, and us, the folks at home:
Scream screamt, Sister Frances scoops up the baby and hands her to Cheer Up, and then grabs a large heavy object and proceeds to mercilessly beat the rat to death. Now look: I’ve mentioned before that I live in a city with a massive rat problem, and so while I do think rats have an unfairly bad reputation (people are ok with gerbils, for some reason, and rats are loyal and clever), this was basically what I looked like watching this:
The next day, a bubbly smiling Trixie arrives to check in on the squad.
Sister Frances: Look at the draining board, you’ll see why I’m still furiously cleaning out this dresser drawer.
Trixie, suddenly becoming terrifying: Pack your stuff and go home, and throw this out on the way. I’ll get Cheer Up and the baby brought over to the maternity home.
Boy, I sure would hate to be the mysterious landlord of this place when Trixie and Sister Frances get ahold of him! You know who else I wouldn’t want to be? Vi, because as their councilwoman, Sister Frances doesn’t hesitate to bring the matter to her attention. And no, she doesn't write a strongly worded letter: she marches into Vi’s shop and throws down the bloody dead rat gauntlet.
Vi:
Sister Frances, fired up and righteously angry: I just found this next to a sleeping baby in our city, where you’re an elected representative!
Vi: Come to my office hours! Oh my god!
Ok, yes, nobody wants a dead rat on the counter of their corner store, but Sister Frances’ face says it all: if you’ve taken on the responsibility of elected office, you have a duty to do what’s best for the people you represent, even when it’s inconvenient!
Meanwhile, at the clinic, Phyllis and Boots finish an appointment with About to Adopt’s sister, who’s carrying the baby her sister will adopt.
#1 Sister: Is it ok if my sister is there for the delivery? I want her to get that experience.
Phyllis: Totally. Do you need any help with the adoption paperwork or anything? I know it’s pretty complicated.
#1 Sister: Nope, About to Adopt had a lawyer look over everything! We’re doing it all by the book even though it’s all in the family, as it were.
Phyllis: Well, it’s clear you’ve really thought all of this through carefully, which is pretty neat.
#1 Sister: I promised our mother I’d look after the baby — I was a teen when mum died, and About to Adopt was little. Now when we say the baby we mean this one I’m about to have.
Boots: Did you mean to get pregnant?
Phyllis, silently: OMG you can’t ask people that!
#1 Sister: Bless you, but no. I’m 42, and I have 4 kids already, two of whom are out of the house. My husband and I were both shocked and less than thrilled when we found out.
Phyllis: Well, enough of that: get that paperwork done, will ya Boots?
Back at Nonnatus, with Sister Julienne away, Sister Hilda leans into her newfound responsibilities, to mixed results.
Sister Hilda: Sister Monica Joan, maybe you can always say grace, since you’re the most senior. Well, I guess not in rank, but in age.
Sister Monica Joan:
Sister Hilda: And Sister Frances, Vi called earlier...
Sister Frances, apparently going through a late and highly entertaining adolescence: It was only one rat! And it was dead!
Trixie: Sister Frances, I told you to throw it out, not squire it around town!
Sister Frances, unrepentant: She needed to know how serious the situation is.
Sister Hilda: Well, you represent the order! You have to live up to that.
Honestly, I think Sister Frances did the right thing, but to be fair, I am very much not a nun. Anyway, it worked: later, Vi tells them the name of the company that owns the building, and that a member of their board has agreed to meet with someone suitable to discuss the issue.
Sister Frances: Well since I’ve actually slept there, it should be me.
Sister Hilda, drunk with power: And I’m the voice of reason, so. Me.
Vi: The secretary said to have someone go to their office this afternoon.
Trixie: No way! If they’re going to understand what’s up they need to see how bad the conditions are. Why don’t we have them meet us at Cheer Up’s place, assuming she’s on board?
Smart. Across town, #1 Sister is nearly done with labor, and getting a small forceps assist from Dr. Turner while Phyllis holds her hand. Soon, the baby arrives, to everyone’s delight.
Dr. Turner: He looks good — you can hold him in a minute!
#1 Sister: No, give him to his mum!
About to Adopt, overcome with happiness, cradles her kiddo, thanking her sister over and over. It’s a super sweet moment and I’m very here for it. In a less sweet moment, Boots has arrived at the orphanage where her daughter lives, and gets a shady dressing down from the nun in charge, whom I dislike on sight.
Mean Nun: This is unacceptable! You’re only supposed to come here once a month and with an appointment. You don’t have an appointment!
Boots: Well, those might be your rules, but that’s not how the rest of the world does things.
Mean Nun: Who says?
Boots: Me, a person who no longer lives in an orphanage and works with babies. See, I’ve heard of social workers now. There are people who can enforce my right to see my kid whenever I want.
Mean Nun: As long as Colette is here she’s your SISTER, not your daughter. It’s one of the terms of our agreement, which you agreed to follow. Stay in line or you can’t see her at all.
Apparently having had her fill of being a jerk, Mean Nun releases Boots to go visit her “sister,” a sweet and well behaved kiddo who’s happily playing with pieces of felt. Boots, noticing that Colette is sitting under the heater, suggests she take off her sweater so she doesn’t overheat, and when the cardigan comes off, it reveals a gigantic hand shaped bruise on this poor kiddo’s arm. Before we find out how Boots handles the situation, we head back to the maternity home, where About to Adopt excitedly tells her sister about the cute outfit she got for the baby, before insisting that #1 Sister hold her nephew. #1 Sister does all the normal new baby in the family stuff, including giving her sister a gift: a little cup she can engrave with the baby’s name. About to Adopt gratefully takes the cup and tells her sister she’s planning to name her boy Justin. Phyllis, there to keep an eye on everyone, tells them not to worry about those forceps bruises, but she also makes a face that makes me feel like she’s holding something back. We’ll just have to wait to see what it could be.
Over at the orphanage, Boots is ready to throw down with Mean Nun, who’s trying to claim that a kid left those bruises on Colette. As a former kid who played rough, now an adult who practices martial arts, and thus somewhat of an expert on weird bruises, I’m calling BS: you just don’t get giant hand shaped marks on your body casually.
Boots: Colette said one of the nuns did it, and won’t tell me who. And that makes me even more angry and worried, because it means she’s scared of retaliation! I remember feeling that exact way!
Mean Nun: Well the apple doesn’t fall far, and bad behavior has to be corrected!
Boots: And who’s deciding what counts as bad behavior!? You?
Mean Nun: Since there’s no one else around, yes.
Boots: I’ve been here this whole time. And if she’s so much trouble, I’ll bring her up myself. Colette, let’s go.
Back at the surgery, Dr. Turner confirms Phyllis’ suspicions after examining baby Justin: the newborn has Down’s Syndrome. Now they just have to tell the family, which they do.
About to Adopt: I don’t care about the medical name, I know what this means. He’s not normal.
Dr. Turner: I think what you mean is he isn’t average: there’s no such thing as normal.
#1 Sister: It’s going to be ok!
About to Adopt: No it’s not!
Phyllis: I know this isn’t what you expected, but sometimes when babies are born there are surprises. You just need time to readjust.
Phyllis is probably right, but About to Adopt isn’t about to do that processing on camera, and she runs out of the room.
Across town, Vi brings that no good crook of a landlord into Miserable Disaster Apartments. After stepping on a roach and making the exact same noise of disgust as I did, he turns around. Who is this miserable slumlord? Bad news: it’s freakin’ A for Effort, who I feel like I’m going to have to rename pretty fast depending on how this conversation goes.
A for Effort, horrified: Uh, why is there an oven on the landing?
Vi: It’s a kitchen.
A for Effort: For who?
Vi: Well several of the tenants share it.
A for Effort, clearly wondering how he ended up as the bad guy in the UK remake of Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, heads into Cheer Up’s apartment. And who’s waiting inside to read him for filth? You guessed it: Trixie.
Trixie:
Well, hi, former potential love interest.
Vi, getting everyone back on track: This is a pretty typical apartment for Miserable Disaster Apartments. Although this one has its own sink which is pretty good actually.
Sister Hilda, noticing that A for Effort seems to be short circuiting: A woman gave birth in here recently, assisted by Trixie. This is the only home she knows, and she’s going to have to come back here and share that bed with both kids.
A for Effort, faced for the first time with the realities of how normal people live: But the bed... It’s wet. Can’t it be… not wet?
Sister Hilda: Uh, no? The whole building is falling apart, the water comes in from all sides.
Vi: Oh yeah, sometimes you can’t tell if it’s mold or wallpaper. I brought a copy of the latest survey from the medical officer. As you’ll see there’s info on the extermination policies and the incidences of the various infestations of buildings unfit for human habitation. Like this one!
A for Effort, who we all know has a baby at home, notices the baby’s bed (which you’ll recall from that time Sister Frances beat a rat to death is a dresser drawer) and promptly loses it. He says he’ll talk to all the lease holders, because the tenants deserve better, and then hightails it out of there. Now look, I think we’re supposed to like this guy, so I’m hoping he actually follows through, but none of the women left standing in the flat seem convinced.
Sister Hilda, annoyed: Great, well, I guess that’s the meeting?
Trixie, furious, and already storming after him: Like hell it is.
She snatches up the baby’s stuffed animal, which so upset A for Effort, and follows him into the hall.
Trixie: How DARE you walk away!?
A for Effort: What do you want me to do?
Trixie: Oh, I don’t know, maybe feel bad, apologize, and share a plan to fix the problem?!
A for Effort: I’m so horrified I don’t know where to start.
Trixie: Well buck the hell up! There’s rat piss on this baby’s toy, maybe start there.
A for Effort, dodging as Trixie flings the tiny pee-soaked toy at his head: What, you want me to bring this home as a souvenir?
Trixie: Well it sure won’t fit in with the rest of baby Jaunty’s pristine nursery, will it?
A for Effort: This belongs to another baby. I don’t want them to miss it.
And with absolutely nothing resolved, he puts the toy on the stairs, and flees, hopefully to have a good hard look in the mirror, the coward.
Back at the maternity home, #1 Sister gets up to look in on her baby nephew and give him a bit of a cuddle. Given her sister’s reaction, I’m so happy to see such a warm and thoughtful presence in baby Justin’s life, but good gravy do I hope About to Adopt gets her crap together.
The next day, Trixie answers the phone at Nonnatus.
A for Effort: Hi, it’s me, a jerk. We left things in a bad place yesterday and I want to apologize.
Trixie: To the people who live in Miserable Disaster Apartments? Because they’re the people who deserve your apology, not me.
And then she hangs up on him! Look, it’s not every day that you get to direct your righteous wrath on an actual capitalist stooge, and so to Trixie I say: get it girl! Upstairs, Lucille very nicely brings Boots a cup of tea, only to discover that Boots is definitely not in her room, and her bed hasn’t been slept in.
Thankfully, Sister Monica Joan is, as always, a font of insight, immediately surmising that Boots would have gone to visit Colette. Nonetheless, the rest of our friends have pursued other avenues of inquiry: Lucille called the cops, who’ve taken a description but can’t do much else, and Sister Hilda called Boots’ old convent, who were… less than pleasant, but did tell her the name of the orphanage. Sister Hilda phones them up right away, but of course, Mean Nun isn’t particularly helpful either (to be fair, Boots definitely didn’t share any plans with her, which makes sense given how mean Mean Nun has been so far).
Sister Hilda: Well gosh, I’m really worried! She didn’t leave here with much of anything.
Mean Nun: Yeah, well she’s the worst! She just did what she always does: run off after what she wants. Goodbye!
Phyllis, entering the chat: Oh hey, just in case you didn’t think this day could get any worse, Sister Frances brought bed bugs back from Cheer Up’s delivery. I told her to gather her stuff in a pile and get in an antiseptic bath.
Sister Monica Joan, slightly snarky, to Sister Hilda: Wow, I sure would hate to have to report all of this to Sister Julienne when she gets back.
Quick Boots update: she and Colette are safe and dry, in what looks like a rented room, having spent the day exploring the city and eating candy. Colette seems completely unperturbed by this adventure, but Boots is worried: she’s definitley about to run out of money.
At the maternity home, #1 Sister and About to Adopt are in the middle of a loud fight, watched by Cheer Up, who’s probably just happy to have entertainment that doesn’t involve trial by combat between a rat and a nun. The basics: About to Adopt no longer wants to adopt the baby (ableist, we hate it) and #1 Sister is mad as hell (as she should be). Phyllis, on the sidelines, tries to keep everyone calm, but it’s not working out so well for her.
About to Adopt: She’s not thinking straight! He’ll have to go in a home!
Phyllis:
#1 Sister: The only home he’ll go into is mine. You’re looking at a beautiful baby and all you can see is what you’re scared of.
About to Adopt does seem to be somewhat chastened by this accurate assessment of the situation, so hopefully she gets her head out of her butt soon, if only because this baby deserves an aunt who treats him right. Meanwhile, at the Turner residence, young Timothy is going through a major rite of passage: he’s trying on his first white coat. Nowadays, many medical schools hold White Coat Ceremonies to inject a little more pomp and circumstance into this moment, but fun fact: that didn’t start until the 1990s!
Tim: It’s too long!
Shelagh: Yeah, why do you think I have my tape measure and sewing kit? I’ll have you know I’m very good at mending medical garments! When your dad and I were only colleagues —
Tim: You mean when you were a nun?
Dr. Turner: LOL.
Shelagh: Hush. He lost a button on his coat and I secretly sewed it back on so he wouldn’t look unkempt.
Dr. Turner: Yeah, and look what happened ;)
Tim, suddenly faced with his parents flirting aggressively in front of him:
Hey did you really think Phyllis’ antiseptic bath would kick the bed bug problem? If so, I’m very sorry to be the bearer of bad news: it didn’t. While Nonnatus sleeps, Trixie wakes herself up scratching her leg, and then realizes, to her horror, what’s going on. Soon, the cavalry arrives, with Sisters Hilda and Frances stripping the bed, and Phyllis starting to inspect Trixie’s clothes.
Sister Hilda: We need to get all your stuff into the boiler.
Sister Frances: And don’t forget your slippers — bed bugs lay their eggs in everything.
Trixie: Excuse you, my slippers are trimmed with ostrich feathers; they’re not going into a boil wash!
Phyllis: Bad news: your clothes are very much covered in bed bugs. I hate to say it but I think I saw something jump.
Trixie, about to lose her damn mind: Stop. Don’t say it.
Phyllis: There’s only one solution: everything has to go to the council fumigator to be stoved.
Now look, I would venture that any of us would be distraught at the prospect of stoving all of our clothes, but this is Trixie we’re talking about, our resident fashion maven. She’s beside herself.
Back at the maternity home, Phyllis and #1 Sister chat about the baby.
Phyllis: He sure is cute. Have you picked out a name?
#1 Sister: Yeah. I think Robert. You know, when I was carrying him, I wondered what I’d do when the milk came in, and I never thought about when the love came in.
Phyllis: Hmmm. Yes, once you start loving a kiddo you really can’t dry that up with epsom salts, huh? Dr. Turner will go get your husband as soon as you’re ready.
#1 Sister: Do it now.
Once both parents are gathered, Dr. Turner gives them an overview of what to expect: yes, Robert will walk and talk more slowly than other kids, but he will.
#1 Sister’s Husband: He won’t get… put away?
#1 Sister: No. And we aren’t hiding him either. You’ve seen that kid at the paper shop!
Dr. Turner: Oh, you mean Reggie! He’s lovely.
#1 Sister’s Husband: You’re his mum: what do you want?
#1 Sister: Him. I just didn’t know.
And with that, it’s settled. Their two teen daughters are also very excited about their new brother, immediately cooing over the baby and asking about logistics. And speaking of logistics, over at Nonnatus, everyone’s going about the business of trying to rid the house of bed bugs when a bedraggled Trixie appears.
Trixie: I look like a librarian.
Me: Hey!
Lucille: I was a librarian; we never dressed like that!
Me: I said, HEY! Et tu, Lucille?
Then the doorbell rings, and while Sister Frances offers Trixie the out, our pal buckles down to greet whoever it is, treating the whole thing as “an exercise in humility.” Hilariously, and predictably, it’s A for Effort at the door, who straight up lies to Trixie’s face and tells her she looks nice.
Trixie, still pissed: If this is business, I’m sure you’ll want to see Sister hilda.
A for Effort: It’s not; I’m here to see you. I need to apologize.
Trixie: A lady always accepts an apology.
A for Effort: Yeah, and a gentleman needs to admit when he’s wrong. Apparently my family has been in the wrong for about a hundred years. Please, can we talk about this?
Trixie: Yes, but not here. And not today.
Fair enough! Look, good for him for knowing he’s in the wrong, but that’s definitely not enough, so I’m eager to see how A for Effort plans to make things right.
Over at the maternity home, Vi visits #1 Sister, bringing a very fancy gift for her new baby.
#1 Sister: You didn’t have to do that!
Vi: Uh, yeah I did, pal! He’s lovely. I wish I could have held Reggie when he was a baby like this, but we took him in when he was already grown up! Look, not a lot of people are going to say this to you, but I hope it’s ok that I do: you’re very lucky.
Later that evening, after the memorial prayer meeting for Cyril’s granddad, church lady Mrs. Wallace pulls him aside and tells him it was a beautiful service. As the crowd disburses, Lucille rushes out, trying in vain to bring one of the congregation the pyrex she’s left behind.
Cyril: Too late, she’s gone. But the dish will keep; let’s focus on what matters.
Lucille: If you’re planning to kiss me out here on the street, reconsider: this is a busy area!
Cyril: I was thinking of something else. Kissing is involved, but it isn’t the whole picture.
Awwww! Meanwhile, as Boots reminds Colette about good toothbrushing habits, the landlord of the room she’s renting arrives: rent is due.
Boots: Uh, well… I don’t have any cash. I took a leave from my job, and I spent what I have. I don’t know when I can pay you, but I promise I will.
Landlord: It’s hard to be doing this single parent thing. I’ll wait.
Boots, breathing a sigh of relief: You will?
Landlord, doing the gross thing I was worried he’d do: Yeah, I’m nice. You can be nice too.
Boots, the spitfire, isn’t about to let this old perv win, and slams the door, unfortunately getting whacked in the face in the ensuing struggle. Colette, returning from brushing her teeth, barely has time to comment on the blood before Boots hustles her inside and jams a chair under the doorknob, just in case.
Back at Nonnatus, Cyril elaborates on what he was saying earlier, and get your minds out of the gutter: he was talking about their wedding.
Lucille: We’re going to get married here. And instead of a long engagement, we’re getting married at Christmas. Because WE want to, and not because this show has a perfectly timed holiday special that requires a massive emotional arc every season. No, not that second thing at all!
Sister Frances, no tact: OOOH that’s fast! Hopefully no one starts gossiping!
Cyril:
Sister Monica Joan: Unlikely, everyone knows these two are exceptionally proper!
Cyril: We’re from different countries, and they’re pretty far away from each other. We’d have to save up so much to be able to get all of our family in one spot. Sometimes we just have to look at where God put us, and with who, and do what makes sense.
You know what, he’s not wrong! Also following the “look at where God put us” advice is Boots, who brings Colette back with her to Nonnatus the next morning, even though she seems a bit worried about the welcome she might get.
Phyllis, going full mom: You should have come straight here! You put both of you in danger, you made nuns fight each other, and we’ve all been sick with worry!
Sister Monica Joan: We’ve been over the list of Boots’ wrongs enough: we all know the situation. We’re supposed to help people. Ask Boots what SHE wants!
Sister Hilda: Yeah, good call. What do you want, Boots?
Boots: I want to be a midwife, I want to make a home for my kid and be honest with her, and with everyone. I want to be trusted, and to have a place I belong.
Everyone is, of course, on board with this vision, but Sister Hilda is worried: how can they make this happen within the constraints of the rules society and the church have created? Across town, Trixie has tea with A for Effort, who explains that the whole slumlord thing is only one sideline in his family’s vast business empire.
A for Effort: It was a strategic investment, from many many years ago.
Trixie: Well no one should be living like it’s still all those years ago.
A for Effort: You’re right, and I’m going to change that. It’s the right thing to do. I also have to do something looking toward the future, but I’m still struggling because….
Trixie: Because you’re grieving.
A for Effort: Yeah.
Meanwhile, back in Poplar, #1 Sister’s Husband is mid-pint at the pub when Fred and Reggie arrive. Even though both men are having a great time, and clearly well-known and liked by the rest of the pub, #1 Sister’s Husband, perhaps thinking about his own son’s future, turns tail and leaves. But Fred isn’t about to let that slide, and follows the other man into the street, trailing a disappointed Reggie behind him.
Fred: You not feeling ok dude? Look, it’s ok, come home with us.
#1 Sister’s Husband takes him up on it, and on the way, he shares his fears with Fred. It’s not just the fact the baby was a late in life surprise, or the whole adoption situation, but those things combined with having a child with Down’s Syndrome, and his patriarchy-induced inability to talk about what’s on his mind, has caused quite a bit of stress for ol’ #1 Sister’s Husband.
Fred: Do you want to talk about it?
#1 Sister’s Husband: Yes! I’m not totally comfortable with what’s happening! It’s going to be hard, and it’s not something I expected to experience.
Fred: Oh, me neither. People like Reggie, and your kiddo, when we were growing up you’d only see them if they were on an outing from a home.
#1 Sister’s Husband: And what did you think when you saw those kids?
Fred: I wish I didn’t remember, but I do. It wasn’t great.
#1 Sister’s Husband: Same. I threw stones at a kid like that once. I was part of a group, but that doesn’t make it ok or absolve me of what I did. We hurt that boy, and he just wanted to play.
Fred: We were kids, and we were ignorant. Some people stay that way, but we can’t. I’ve learned a lot from Reggie: he taught me how to love more.
#1 Sister’s Husband: Is that always going to hurt like this?
Fred: Sometimes. But not always, no.
Fred: a source of wisdom too often discounted on this show! Over at Nonnatus, things are looking up for Boots, who’s having a chat with Sister Hilda.
Sister Hilda: We can help. You can keep living here, and keep training. We’ll vouch for you and provide honest references.
Boots: But you’ll have to tell people I’m an unwed mother.
Sister Hilda: Well, 11% of the kids born in this area are illegitimate, so you’re in good company. I don’t think it’s right to set us apart.
Boots: And what does Sister Julienne think?
Sister Hilda: We talked. She agrees, and she thinks we should find a good local family to help take care of Colette until you’re done with training.
Boots: Can I tell her I’m her mother?
Sister Hilda: Yes, but wait until she’s a little more settled, and you are too.
Not gonna lie: I kind of wish we’d seen Sister Julienne reversing her stance from last week with Boots, because I think Boots deserves that, but I’m not going to look this particular gift horse in the mouth. Across town, Reggie and Fred visit baby Robert to take him for a stroll with #1 Sister’s Husband and Robert’s sisters. Once they leave, About to Adopt finally makes a reappearance, giving her sister back the gift from earlier in the episode, which she’s engraved. As far as olive branches go, I can’t say that I find this one particularly structurally sound, but that’s for them to sort out.
Everyone else is basically doing their normal end of the season stuff, but there’s one last plot thread to tie up: A for Effort finally opens the letter his wife wrote when she found out she was dying earlier this season, and Trixie reads it. It’s just as beautiful as Trixie said it would be, and as they both cry, they read the letter and talk about Can’t Have It All. It’s a stunning scene that definitely had this recapper choked up. Later, A for Effort finds himself in Sister Julienne’s office once again, with another donation in hand.
Sister Julienne: I don’t get it, you just gave us money? And this is… this is too much.
A for Effort: This is my personal contribution, and I’m going to give the same amount every year, for as long as you’re working here in the East End.
Trixie: Please accept it.
Sister Julienne: How could I not? This completely secures our future.
A for Effort: It’s my way of making reparations for what our family has done here. And it’s in memory of someone very special.
Guys, it’s a big donation: somewhere around $20,000 today. While the ladies take Lucille to Vi’s shop to start making her wedding dress, Sister Julienne puts a framed photo of Can’t Have It All in the Nonnatus office so they can remember her. And as the episode ends, all of our friends (including A for Effort!) gather at the clinic for a harvest supper in their autumnal finest. Whew, what a lovely note to end the season on, don’t you agree? Don’t worry: we won’t have to wait long for more Call The Midwife: the annual holiday special will of course be happening in December, and Season 11 will be with us all this spring! While we all wait with bated breath for the LuCyril Wedding, I hope everyone has a lovely fall season of enjoying cozy dramas. See you in December!
Episode 1 Recap: Losing My Religion
Episode 2 Recap: What Dreams May Come
Episode 3 Recap: Wish You Were Here
Episode 4 Recap: Always Be My Baby
Episode 5 Recap: Slipping Through My Fingers
Episode 6 Recap: You Don't Own Me
