Call the midwife review
WARNING:
THE BANDERSNATCH BLOG CONTAINS INFORMATION AND OPINIONS THAT THE PUBLIC MIGHT FIND OFFENSIVE. PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL INFORMATION WILL BE CHECKED AND OPINIONS DO NOT REFLECT THE OPINIONS OF THE MAIN BLOGGER HERSELF.
Hey there Earthlings, Alternatives and Trollers. Put down that mouse and lend an ear. Welcome to The Bandersnatch blog where we talk weird, wacky and wondrous. I'm The Bandersnatch and I have no idea what I'm doing.
Random blog day boo yah. As you should know Fridays is random blog day were we talk anything and everything and pretty much run with it. Today's blog is The Review of 2021 Christmas Episode and S11 of Call the Midwife.
PLEASE NOTE:
This blog contains the synopsis of all 8 episodes of S11 so spoiler warning ahead.
Call the Midwife is a BBC period drama series set around a group of nurse midwives working in London's East-End during the19 50's and 1960's. The series was created by Heidi Thomas and the first few series were based on the Memoirs of Jennifer Worth, who worked with an Anglican religious order in their East-end Convent called the Community of St. John the Divine. The Series is produced by Neal Street Productions (Founded and owned by director/producer Sam Mendes, Call the Midwife producer Pippa Harris and Caro Newling), The first series set in 1957 premiered on January 15th 2012 in the UK on BBC 1.
Call the Midwife's cast includes and has included Jessica Raine, Miranda Hart, Helen George, Bryony Hannah, Laura Main, Jenny Agutter, Pam Ferris, Judy Parfitt, Cliff Parisi, Stephan McGann and others. Its thanks to the actors along with storylines tackling many topical subjects such as local community, miscarriages and stillbirths, abortions and unwanted pregnancies, common and epidemic illness and disease as well as religion, faith, racism and prejudice. Even same-sex attraction and female genital mutilation has come up in some series. Love in its various forms including maternal/paternal/fraternal/sisterly love, romantic love and love between friends is explored in every episode.
CHRISTMAS EPISODE
(December 25th 2001)
Lucille and Cyril prepare for their Christmas wedding but an accident during the hen party leaves her with an eye injury, leading her to insist the wedding must be called off. Dr Turner's drastic approach is to use leeches, which solves the problem and the wedding goes ahead. Dr Turner attends a house call which embroils him in the circle of a group of gangsters. The wife of one of them is pregnant but is using heroin; after the birth the baby shows signs of addiction. The Turners are shocked to learn from Mother Mildred that May was born under similar Circumstances in Hong Kong. Sister Frances handles her first breech birth.
I felt extremely happy watching Lucille and Cyril finally getting married, despite the few hiccups leading up to it such as Lucille's black eye and how it was dealt with, with leeches. What added to this storyline was Lucille and Cyril playing in the snow, Cyril's moments with Reggie and Nurse Crane and Miss Higgins gathering together the children who Lucille helped deliver when she first arrived in poplar to be the bridesmaids and pageboys added meaning to what Lucille said about things and positions having meaning. The baby born with addiction storyline tugged at the old heartstrings for different reasons, the mother for turning to drugs following a shitty history (Although turning to drugs is never the answer) and the baby born with an addiction it never wanted or turned to is hard to watch, even though it does happen in present times, having this storyline to give a tidbit about the Turners foster daughter May's past definitely added to the episode. Having all of this coincide with a wave of pregnant mothers having babies around Christmas adds to the madness of pregnancy and being working midwives and showing Sister Francis hitting a milestone by attending a Breech birth by herself adds a little bit of yay to it as well as watching Margoleys's Mother Mildred telling a Christmas Carol near the end adds extra warmth to my little chilly heart and shows a little extra Christmas spirit. I give this episode an 8/10.
EPISODE 1
(AIRED: January 2nd 2022)
At Easter 1967, Nancy begins her first day as a qualified midwife: later she finally tells her daughter the truth about their relationship. Trixie visits Matthew Aylward at a demolition site, where the workmen are shocked to find the remains of two babies. The police investigation leads to an old woman with dementia, who is suspected of being the mother of the babies until her daughter confesses that it was actually her who gave birth and hid the infants. Derek and Audrey Fleming, whose previous baby was born with deficiencies linked to Derek's exposure to radiation while in the army, are expecting another child and are concerned about complications.
The burial of two babies underneath the floor and inside a floo is a terrible thing to hear about let alone watch. But seeing how the writers carefully showcased this storyline through the eyes of a woman caring for her dementia suffering mother shows that it could happen to anyone and everyone handles it differently. The showcasing of mental health within this storyline shows that caring for those with mental health during a crisis especially when something bad has happened that warrants police involvement is usually a good thing and shows that taking care is always a good thing. I quite liked having Nancy in the position of being able to be honest in telling her daughter the truth and not feel judged or punished for it, especially since (following on from last series) she's now a nurse and can eventually provide Colette with a happier home and future. Seeing the Flemings return to have a healthy child from their loss the previous series was very much a joy to watch and feels like it closes the door somewhat on that part of their storyline and opens another in regards to what they collected in reference to soldiers children being harmed due to their fathers experiences with radiation. This definitely could be a great storyline continuation in future series so I give this episode an 8/10.
EPISODE 2
(AIRED: January 9th 2022)
At the regular cervical screening clinic, Trixie discovers that a patient is suffering from scabies; the condition rapidly spreads through the community. Another young clinic patient's tests reveal that she has cervical cancer; she is offered a hysterectomy, which may remove the cancer, but struggles with the idea of a future in which she will not be able to have children. Lucille looses the trust of a patient after being pressured by a social worker into an awkward conversation with her about contraception.
Just like the current pandemic of the past few years, the scabies outbreak shows how quickly things can spread though a community regardless of how quickly it was found. It was lucky Trixie found one of the early sufferers which helped put the cure in place and had awareness up almost instantly. I appreciate it shows how an illness outbreak can be handled quickly with care and dignity. The cancer storyline is almost a direct tie to present day and how cancer changes peoples lives and those of their families on a dime. This story line was handled with care and grace, especially since it shows the cancer sufferer in question struggle with such a diagnosis and how to proceed with the next few steps that is a life saving hysterectomy against what she wants...to start a family, having Sister Francis help the lady in question see the future by having the procedure shows that life is worth fighting for. The single mother being hounded by social services unfortunately does happen in today's circles and showing that Lucille truly cares even though she messes up a bit with the single mother by fixing it by coming together with others to find a solution. I give the episode a 7/10.
EPISODE 3
(AIRED: January 16th 2022)
The Issue of homeless men drinking Methylated spirits becomes a concern for the people of poplar. After Nancy helps one such man in his last days, Violet resolves to provide facilities in the community for people struggling with Alcoholism. Phyllis helps an expectant mother whose pregnancy jeopardises her hopes of a career as a professional singer. After Sister Julienne is taken ill, she asks Shelagh to take over organising an event to mark the centenary of the order's work in poplar, which upsets Sister Hilda, who had hoped to be asked.
I quite like this episode despite it feeling a little all over the place, especially showing how Violet decides to handle the problem of the meth drinkers in her position as Councillor through the political side after an almost disastrous meeting with a councillor at Westminster, as Nancy cares for Alcoholic Bernard in his last few days shows how multi-sided an issue can be beyond who it affects personally. The storyline of Julie choosing to be the mother of her child over her career as a singer is a very strong one as she spends a good chunk of the episode worrying about which choice is best for both her and the baby she's carrying, I think they had her choose the right one. Having sister Julienne being ill for most of the episode and having the choice of who takes her place to set up an event had me giggle. I give this episode an 8/10.
EPISODE 4
(AIRED: January 23rd 2022)
Trixie attempts to help a new mother who is struggling to cope but refuses to ask for assistance. Largely because she is comparing herself with her sister, who seems to be coping admirably with motherhood. The Polish-born Jewish husband of one of the midwives patients is tormented by his memoires of his time in a Nazi Concentration camp; later Sister Hilda arranges for him to have the Bar Mitzvah which he missed out on as a teenager. Trixie and Matthews relationship continues but he needs some pointers from Nancy on how to be romantic. Cyril hopes to obtain a job more in keeping with his qualifications but is rejected after an interview. Later Lucille reveals to him she is pregnant.
The storyline with the Jewish furrier really tugged at the heartstrings especially since it shows how long lasting the effects of war can have, especially on survivors both soldier and civilian (This is extra important to see given the current climate of this blog's posting) and having Dr Turner and Sister Hilda helping both him and his wife both physically, mentally and through faith definitely adds to their characters being shown as good people generally doing good. The storyline of the mother who doesn't ask for help and compares herself to her twin is both sad and inspiring at the same time, having to compare yourself to those around yourself when your suffering can show both someone's strength and how badly it can affect you. I give this episode a 7/10.
EPISODE 5
(AIRED: January 30th 2022)
Trixie attends to a patient left paraplegic after a fall from a crane; Glenda, his wife, is resistant to accepting outside assistance. Later it transpires that Glenda has been physically abusing both her husband and children. While in the throes of a delivery, Lucille realises she is miscarrying her own baby. Phyllis is shocked to learn she has won a Premium Bond prize of £5,000 (equivalent to £90,000 in 2020) and resolves to take a holiday in continental Europe. Trixie also departs, to care for her terminally ill godmother in Portofino.
I liked this episode for showcasing what can happen in lie, that abusers and the abused can be either male or female and surprise pregnancies can end just as quickly and in surprise as they happen and are found out. I definitely feel sorry for the abused family and for Lucille for what they ended up going through. I do not condone abuse for there is no excuse for it and miscarriage is a terrible thing to go through. Seeing Phyllis receive something good and using it for something happy was heartening to see and seeing Trixie deciding to take care of her ill godmother was both a heart warming thing to see and a little sad because she was leaving someone she loved to go help. I give this episode a 7/10.
EPISODE 6
(AIRED: February 6th 2022)
Matthew discovers a group of hippies squatting in one of his warehouses; one is heavily pregnant. Shelagh delivers the baby in difficult conditions, and then finds the baby has been born with the potentially life-threatening condition gastroschisis. Angered by lack of attention from the local health committee, Dr Turner resolves to a roll out a widespread programme of measles vaccination. Perturbed by a series of what she takes to be bad omens, sister Monica Joan seeks the assistance of an eccentric clairvoyant. Although she is ultimately able to help the woman with her own problems, the elderly nun is left shaken when the clairvoyant predicts that an unfortunate event will occur at Nonnatus House.
Seeing the little baby born with his body parts outside of his body made me sad, especially when his mother was looking for acceptance and was struggling to find it from both her father and chosen family of hippies who effectively chose not to help in the end, I'm happy Matthew was kind hearted enough not to be a dick during that time too. I cheered a little when Lucille helps the measles vaccination programme along by telling off the mothers who didn't want to vaccinate. I also liked seeing Sister Monica Joan be helpful whilst looking for help even if she didn't like what she heard from the clairvoyant in the end. I give the episode an 8/10.
EPISODE 7
(AIRED: February 13th 2022)
Sister Frances befriends Carole, a troubled teenaged mother who has only recently left foster care and is struggling to adjust living alone. When Carole collapses, it is discovered that she is pregnant once again and Sister Frances is the only one who can provide emotional support at the birth. Sister Julienne, Dr Turner and Nancy attend a midwifery conference; as their train arrives back in Poplar t crashes causing widespread damage. The Episode ends with it unclear if Dr Tuner and Sister Julienne have survived.
The storyline with Carole does boil my blood a little, especially since it shows how unfair it can be both for single mothers and those who've gone through care to find stability. I did feel for Carole as it's shown how hard she's trying and how she feels both inadequate as mother and wants to be loved but has been abandoned by those she thought would do so. Having Sister Francis as someone near her age to lean on especially when it was found out Carole was pregnant again was definitely a good idea. The train crash was a terrible accident and shows how quickly they can happen especially with the driver Lionel Corbett suffering with migraines/headaches due to his eyes has an attack. Leaving the episode on the wonder if our favourites of Doctor Turner and Sister Julienne would make it out alive. I give the episode a 9/10 and a shake to the BBC for making us both wait and worry.
EPISODE 8
(AIRED: February 20th 2022)
In the aftermath of the train crash, the staff of Nonnatus House rally round to help the injured. Dr Turner and Sister Julienne have survived but are trapped in the train and Injured. In the middle of a delivery Sister Hilda discovers that her patient's husband was the driver of the train and that he has died. Sister Julienne suffers a suspected heart attack, leaving her colleagues fearing the worst. Both she and Dr Turner make a full recovery.
This episode was the ending to make most endings worry. Especially since it shows the aftermath of the train crash and how the people of the east end rally around not only to rescue the survivors and heal the injured but take those who passed and make sure their buried with care and respect. The ending of Carole's storyline with her baby buried with a woman who loved children and having access to others for support and talking to gives the show a brilliant uplift. I give the episode an 8/10.
COVID-19 NOTICE:
Remember to follow your governments guidelines during this time.
If you follow any creative artists, content creators or the like and cannot buy any of their Merch but consume their content keep an eye out for their Patreon and donate a small amount if you wish, that will help the creative community thrive.
STAY SAFE, STAY INFORMED, STAY ALIVE.
If you wish to contact for whatever reason and/or work with The Bandersnatch blog the Business Email is:
THE WEBSITE BIBLIOGRAPHY:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Call_the_Midwife_episodes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Call_the_Midwife
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/p0118t80/call-the-midwife
https://linktr.ee/TheBandersnatchsMamaOgre
https://ko-fi.com/thebandersnatchmama
And there you have it, we'll be leaving this here for today. Please be considerate when you leave a comment. Share with others if you want or not. Don't forget We HAVE KO-FI! please consider becoming a KO-FI doner today, link is in the bibliography above. Tuesday is book blog day and remember all abuse will be tracked and reported to the appropriate people.
THIS IS THE BANDERSNATCH, I'M THE BANDERSNATCH AND REMEMBER STAY WEIRD, STAY WACKY, STAY WONDEROUS AND I'LL SEE YOU SOON...
Comments
Post a Comment