Call the Midwife: We Are Family

Previously on Call the Midwife: Chummy came back, all knocked up and Jenny lost Jimmy, for good, it seems.

JVO talks about how exciting things are at Nonnatus now that Chummy’s back and how everything just seemed soooo perfect. Nothing going to go wrong here! Chummy and the girls are washing baby clothes that Cynthia’s mother sent for Chummy to use. Chummy unwittingly puts one of the little cardigans through a wash wringer, crushing the mother-of-pearl buttons that came off of Cynthia’s mother’s wedding dress. Chummy apologises profusely for her fumbling.

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EditorBeeMarch 12, 20131 Comment

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Call the Midwife: Barely Breathing

Previously on Call the Midwife: Kitchen table abortion. Enough said. Also, Bernadette had a bit of a thing going with Doctor Turner, though she was fighting it as much as she could.

Bernadette wakes early in the morning, rolls over, and stares at the ceiling, then at the cross on the opposite wall for a moment before checking out the scar on her palm and doubtless thinking of the stolen kiss of last week. JVO chimes in and says that, as midwives, they saw a lot, and they kept a lot of secrets, and who could they turn to when they needed to confide?

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EditorBeeFebruary 27, 20134 Comments

20th Century, Call the Midwife, Recap, Series

Call the Midwife: Desperation

Previously on Call the Midwife: Shy Jane finally got kissed, Jenny lost Jimmy and also discarded her lousy attitude.

JVO: East End families in the 50’s tended to be large, thanks to the lack of birth control. There were rumours of a magic pill being developed that could help with that, but it kind of seemed like a fantasy to Jenny and her patients. As JVO speaks, Jenny bikes through the neighbourhood, stopping to let some schoolkids pass. She nods in greeting to one of the mums, who’s toting a baby.

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EditorBeeFebruary 20, 20132 Comments

20th Century, Call the Midwife, Recap

Call the Midwife: The Broken Ones

Previously on Call the Midwife: Chummy took off for Africa and was replaced by the seriously shy and awkward Jane. Jimmy got married, presumably leaving Jenny behind permanently.

Jenny cycles through the neighbourhood and receives some wolf whistles from a crew of older teen boys. JVO talks about how unintimidated she was by her surroundings after having been there for a year. It’s about time she acclimated. I will say, she hasn’t been as obnoxiously judgmental as she was last season. Fred and a man who’s such an absolute dead ringer for Hugh Dancy that I actually find it distracting are playing cards and talking about how Jenny’s teen admirers spend way too much time and money on Brylcreem. This guy is actually played by Jamie Thomas King, better known to us as Thomas Wyatt from The Tudors and possibly best known to the world at large as the guy who got his foot cut off by a lawnmower in Mad Men. Good to see him again! Fred asks his partner, Douglas, if his wife’s due soon and Doug says she is, and he’s sure that, after two girls, it’s going to be a boy. Fred asks if he wants to wager that and Doug agrees.

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EditorBeeFebruary 12, 20135 Comments

20th Century, Call the Midwife, Recap, Series

Call the Midwife: Sudden Death

Previously on Call the Midwife: A childhood friend of Jenny’s, Jimmy, declared his love for her and got turned down; Chummy decided she wanted to give the missionary life a try.

Jenny and Cynthia leave a home after a birth while JVO talks about how the mothers gave them their trust, which made the midwives brave. They weren’t invincible, of course, and faced challenges of their own.

Chummy and Noakes, meanwhile, are adorably dancing to You Are My Special Angel, dressed in their PJs and dressing gowns. God, how I love these two. So cute! Chummy can’t believe they’re actually going to be going to Africa and worries she might be making a mistake. He tells her he’s at her side, and that she can change her mind if she wants to, but he’ll support her no matter what she wants to do. So cute!

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EditorBeeJanuary 30, 20131 Comment

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Call the Midwife: Pimp Slap

Previously on Call the Midwife: Women gave birth, Sister MJ was a bit out of it, Sister Evangelina was fabulous, Chummy got married.

To some strangely ominous sounding twangy guitar music that doesn’t quite jive with the usual soundtrack, Jenny bikes through the East End, along with some of the men on their way to work. JVO reflects that her journey to womanhood began with this job, which kept her very busy all the time. Jenny arrives at Nonnatus, where the nuns and other midwives surprise her with a birthday cake (Sister MJ swipes her finger right through the icing). Jenny thanks them and attempts to blow out the candles.

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EditorBeeJanuary 23, 20134 Comments

20th Century, Call the Midwife, Recap, Series

Call the Midwife: Dealing With What the Lord Has Sent Us

London, 1957. Jenny Lee, our main character, makes her way through the East End with a big suitcase, looking around and ignoring catcalls. In voiceover, Vanessa Redgrave tells us that she could have been a model, or a pianist, or something else equally glamorous, but instead she chose to become a midwife and head to the poorest area of the city, for some as yet undefined reason. As she approaches her destination, she comes across two women catfighting. It seems that the woman who has the upper hand has been stepping out with the other one’s husband. The neighbors gather to cheer, and finally a few bobbies appear and try to break it up. They continue fighting until a fierce-looking nun busts in and loudly asks which one is her patient. Wronged wife stands up and we can see she’s pretty preggo. Nun shakes her head, unsurprised either that this woman, Pearl Winston, is fighting or knocked up. Nun marches Pearl inside as Vanessa tells us that midwifery is the very stuff of life and midwives see it all. Thanks for giving us the reason for this show at the start—makes my job easier!