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“Call the Midwife” recap (4.2): A Warm, Dry Place

This week’s episode of Call the Midwife was at turns both funny and heartbreaking, a tonal balance that the show has proved quite adept at maintaining. We open with Sister Julienne in the garden when it starts to rain. She runs inside only to find it’s still raining; the roof is leaking. Sometimes all you want is a warm, dry place.

Our Mum o’ the Week is Abigail Bissette, from the West Indies, who is expecting a baby with her bus driver husband Terrence. They are adorable and happy, which means that something terrible is about to happen.

Over at the clinic, Trixie has just arrived from a birth. She’s brought the placenta with her, wrapped in newspaper, like it’s fresh fish n’ chips. Girl, that stain is never coming out of your bag! Trixie is showing off her engagement ring and planning the engagement party to end all engagement parties.

Sister Evangelina is back from the doctor, with a diagnosis of fibroids. The doc recommends a hysterectomy, but Evangelina doesn’t want to spend so much time in the hospital when there is work to be done. Sister Julienne informs her that a new midwife will be arriving, and she acquiesces to the surgery. She also refers to her ladybits as “an old pocket and some apron I’ll never use,” which is my new favorite slang for the reproductive system.

Sister Winifred gives a baby care class on sanitary diapers, and the mums are jealous that Abigail has a washing machine. Sister Monica Joan is dubious of these new fangled washers, because old people are scared of technology. To be fair, I have used European washing machines, and they are terrifying.

Fred invites Patsy to join his scouting troop, which is great news for us because Patsy spends the entire episode dressed like a Scoutmaster. It’s probably the gayest thing this show has done so far. Fred has the boys demonstrate their fire starting techniques, which of course ends with everyone getting burned and Patsy bandaging a roomful of children. It’s funnier than it sounds.

Phyllis Crane, the newest midwife, arrives. She is older than the girls, and full of opinions and criticisms of Nonnatus House. She refuses to wear the uniform, and she is a vegetarian, which really upsets Sister Monica Joan. It’s okay MJ, she can still have cake! Sister Evangelina takes an instant dislike to her temporary replacement.

Barbara has to room with Phyllis, and comes home to find that Phyllis has divvied up the entire room with masking tape so they don’t encroach on each other’s territory. Barbara complains to Patsy and Trixie, who tell her to have a drink and relax. Luckily, Barbara is sticking to non-alcoholic beverages this week.

Sister Julienne gets a call about a mystery benefactor who wants to donate money to Nonnatus House. She and Sister Winifred take the bus to visit the wealthy benefactor, Charles Newgarden, who turns out to be an old beau of Julienne.

Charles and Julienne were childhood friends, who dated before Julienne took her vows. Julienne also stood him up for a cinema date, because that’s what happened in a world before cell phones. It’s been 30 years since they’ve seen each other. Charles doesn’t hold a grudge though; he always respected and admired Julienne’s calling.

Charles has since been married and had a family, but now he is dying of heart failure. He wants to bequeath some of his money to Nonnatus House, but Julienne becomes overwhelmed at seeing her old friend and rushes out with a confused Winnie.

Barbara examines Abigail and cannot find the baby’s heartbeat, so she calls an ambulance. The doctors find the heartbeat and keep Abigail for observation, so Barbara rushes back home. That night at dinner, Barbara is reprimanded for breaking protocol. Apparently, she was supposed to call Dr. Turner first, not the hospital. Phyllis complains of the smell of sausage rolls, and Sister Monica Joan recommends she see a phrenologist to get her dumb vegetarian head examined.

Crane is further perturbed by the shabby state of the house, with rats pooping up a storm in the bathroom. Sister Julienne takes off her wimple and looks at an old photo of herself and Charles when they were young, that she keeps nestled in a book about love.

Abigail is wandering the hospital when she comes across a woman being wheeled in, bleeding out from a botched abortion. A female cop tries to interrogate her before a nurse kicks her out of the OR. Horrified, Abigail runs home in her night gown. I can’t blame her, hospitals are terrifying. Dr. Turner visits her the next morning and assures her she can have a home birth, where she feels safe.

Barbara feels terrible that she’s fucking things up, but Patsy assures her she’ll get the hang of it. Meanwhile, Phyllis wants to get a rolodex to keep the patients organized, but Evangelina is in no mood for her modern age organizational sorcery.

Fred visits Sister Julienne, and tells her that in addition to the rat problem, all the lead has been stolen off the roof and they’ll be soaked by the next storm. The house needs repairs and it needs them now.

At the next scout meeting, Patsy introduces the boys to her friend Delia Busby, who is an ambulance nurse. She’ll be teaching the boys first aid, and she’ll be teaching Patsy how to scissor. JK, they’ve been scissoring for years.

Trixie and Tom argue about registries and china patterns, because Tom doesn’t want to buy into the marital industrial complex. Trixie assures them that this is the one time they get to be greedy, so pick a fucking china pattern already! Delia and Patsy arrive at the house with fish n’ chips, and listen in on the fight while they dine. It’s like a live soap opera without commercial breaks. Delia asks Patsy if she thinks they are going to hell, and Patsy assures her that God doesn’t mind fish n’ chips/lesbianing.

The next morning, Evangelina and Phyllis are arguing over the day’s assignments and the first call. It’s Abigail, so Patsy and Barbara head over to assist with the birth. Abigail is in labor, and she finally gives birth to a baby girl. Everyone’s joy is quickly silenced when they realize that the baby girl is stillborn. Barbara comforts Abigail while Patsy wraps the infant in a towel and takes her to the kitchen, where she is forced to break the news to Terrence. Everyone is in tears and it’s terrible.

Julienne has decided to visit Charles, and finds him in the middle of a children’s birthday party. She apologizes for leaving so abruptly before, and Charles apologizes for wanting to see her when he could have just cut a check. The truth is, they both wanted to see each other and reconnect.

Abigail is still in pain post-birth, and Dr. Turner comes to check on her. Apparently, she has undiagnosed twins, and there’s another baby in there waiting to be born. Phyllis shows up with Evangelina, and shows great compassion during the crisis. She comforts a crying Barbara and makes tea for Terrence. Seeing this, Evangelina finally accepts Phyllis as a suitable replacement and the ladies reach a detante.

Abigail gives birth to a healthy baby boy, but she and Terrence are unsure of how to feel. There is so much joy but so much sorrow, and they are caught in the middle. Phyllis comes home with the dead baby in her satchel, and Trixie calls the undertaker.

A distraught Patsy goes to Delia’s apartment, where Delia comforts her and kisses her head. Patsy spends the night, and sneaks out the next morning before anyone can see anything.

Evangelina leaves for her surgery, and Sister Monica Joan wishes her godspeed. Julienne gets an invitation to the cinema from Charles, and goes to his house to watch Chaplin’s City Lights. Together they laugh, eat Klondike bars, and even hold hands. It’s pretty adorable. They talk about the road not traveled, and agree that they have both led the lives they were meant to. Charles asks how she’d like to be notified of his death, and she says she just wants a letter.

Meanwhile, Abigail feels like a failed mother and can’t stop crying for her stillborn. Reverend Tom tries to comfort them, but according to church rules, stillborns don’t get funerals. WTF, Christianity. Abigail didn’t even get to see her daughter. The nuns help Abigail knit a pair of booties, and Tom arranges a memorial service. Everyone mourns baby April, and they commemorate her passing by burying her with one of the booties, while keeping the other bootie for their son. Trixie is so moved by Tom’s love that she agrees to a low-key party.

This provides a sense of closure for Abigail and Terrence. Once home, she puts the bootie in a drawer and dances with her husband and their baby.

Julienne gets the letter of Charles’s death, and seeks comfort in Bernadette, who was formerly a nun but left the order for love. Bernadette tells Julienne that God never wastes love, and that her friendship with Charles will live in with his donation to help save Nonnatus House.

With the house and the hearts mended, Julienne presses a flower in Charles’s letter and places it alongside her picture in her book. Phyllis finally dons the Nonnatus house uniform and is officially a member of the team.

The episode ends with a simple engagement party for Tom and Trixie in the Nonnatus House kitchen.

So, what did you think of the episode? Are you excited to see what happens with Delia and Patsy? Tweet me @chelseaprocrast and let me know!

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