SERIES 10, EPISODE 3
Please feel free to comment on my review.
This ‘Call the Midwife’ episode is a better instalment compared to the previous two episodes in Series 10. There are disturbing medical issues regarding patients, but I found the storytelling good. 🙂
It’s also fair to say that the episode concludes on sort-of happy notes for the guest characters. I think one of them ends up in a mental institute, but at least they’re in far better places than ever before. 🙂
It’s also worth mentioning that Helen George as Trixie doesn’t feature much in the episode. Mind you, she had a lot of focus in the previous two episodes, and I believe she has more to do next time.
In the episode, Fenella Woolgar as Sister Hilda and Stephen McGann as Dr. Turner become involved with a young woman who has health issues. It presents a series of quite difficult challenges for them.
Essentially, the young woman, Jenny Walser as Louise Wrigley, is revealed to be someone with mental health issues. At first, she’s convinced she’s pregnant and she says she has pains in her sides.
But as the episode progresses, Sister Hilda and Dr. Turner find that she may not be physically ill as she makes out to be. Mentally ill however is something Dr. Turner takes into account very seriously.
I can’t claim to know a lot about mental illness and I know a few people who have suffered from it. But it’s disturbing to consider what people like Louise Wrigley are going through in those conditions.
It’s intriguing how it’s handled in a 1966 setting in ‘Call the Midwife’. I don’t think the issue of people who have mental illnesses has been fully resolved lately, but I hope certain medical institutes are improving.
I like how Sister Hilda and Dr. Turner tackle the issue. Louise struggles to understand the mental condition she has, but at least Sister Hilda and Dr. Turner do their best to be sensitive towards her. 🙂
It’s also interesting how Louise reveals some of her family background and how she seems to be rejected by her family, including her mother. Whether there’s truth in her story is yet to be determined.
This episode also features a complicated pregnancy that leads the Nonnatus House team on a path of discovery. The pregnant woman in question happens to be Sandra Marvin as Mrs. Pat Williams. 🙂
There’s a suggestion that Mrs. Williams happens to be obese and her glucose level is quite high. Laura Main’s Shelagh and Leonie Elliot’s Lucile do all they can to help Mrs. Williams deliver her baby.
Initially, Mrs. Williams wanted to have her baby at home, as was the case for her previous two children. But that’s impossible and very soon a caesarean delivery for her takes place at the hospital.
It was interesting to see the difference in attitude for Mrs. Williams in the episode. At first, she’s a cheerful, strong-willed soul. Halfway, she becomes depressed and wishes to be home with her baby.
With the help of her husband, Dempsey Bovell as Anthony, Mrs. Williams takes her baby back home too early. This causes medical problems that Dr. Turner and Lucille are able to sort out for her in this.
Thankfully, Mrs. Williams is able to settle at home with members of her family helping her out. It was quite off-putting when David Acton’s Mr. Richards was rude regarding Mrs. Williams’ condition.
In the episode, Zephryn Taitte as Cyril tries to recreate a happy memory for Lucille by planning to take her to the seaside for a picnic. Sadly, that doesn’t happen when Lucille is rather busy with work.
Thankfully, Linda Bassett as Nurse Crane, Cliff Parisi as Fred and Annabelle Apsion as Violet help Cyril out. In the end, Cyril and Lucille have their picnic together indoors since the weather is against them.
There’s still the issue of Judy Parfitt as Sister Monica Joan going through a crisis of faith. People like Jenny Agutter as Sister Julienne become concerned about her well-being, but nothing cheers her up.
Even the visiting curate Tom Morley as Rev. Raymond Spragg can’t seem to help her. Ella Bruccoleri as Sister Frances also has dental issues, needing to see the dentist twice in order to help her recover.
So this ‘Call the Midwife’ episode is a little more cheerful compared to the first two episodes. I’m curious about what will occur in the next episode when Trixie is reunited with a returning character.
‘Series 10, Episode 3’ rating – 7/10
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