This is still one of my favorite shows on TV, though some
plots of season two weren’t nearly as good as in season one.
First, let’s start with the Christmas Special, which
includes a horrifying look into the workhouses of London’s past and involves a
hidden pregnancy, where a teenage girl is pregnant and hides it from everyone.
I kept hoping that it wasn’t incest. It wasn’t, thank goodness. She leaves the
baby on the steps of Nonnatus House, but she is discovered because she turns
terribly ill as not all of the placenta came out. Though her parents are
horrified at first, despite the social rules of the era, they allow her to keep
her baby. In this episode, we also learn that Dr. Turner (Stephan McGann) is
widowed, with a young son. That is not just a toss away detail.
That was a wonderful way to start off the season, and then, second two came, with
plot lines aplenty.
Jenny (Jessica Raine) copes with plenty, including a woman
who cannot afford the eight children she already has and tries everything in
her power to self-abort the current baby before turning to drastic measures of
having a back-alley abortion, nearly dying from the dirty tools used. She also
must help a woman trapped in an abusive marriage, where, to earn more money,
her husband forces her to have sex with other men for money, while the children
are alone at home, sleeping, dosed with milk and alcohol. Naturally, her
horrible plan comes to an end when the house catches on fire and the new baby
and toddler nearly die. The parents are arrested for child endangerment. She
also helps the only surviving child reunite with her father just before his
death, able to meet his newborn grandson, only minutes before his death. Yeah,
melodramatic much. But I was desperate for it to happen. Also, a couple has a
baby born with spina bifida, and the mother is unable to cope for the longest
time. It is a devastating episode. One a more personal level, she must deal
with her one-time boyfriend, and lifelong friend, Jimmy (George Rainsford),
suffering from stomach cramps. She also diagnoses the stiff surgeon with having
Parkinsons’ disease as he suffers from memory lapses and shaky hands. As it
turns out, though she successfully helps save Jimmy’s life, it turns out that
she will never be able to have him because he is seeing another girl and got
her pregnant. I didn’t think he’d be that loose. He does the right thing and
marries her and adores the daughter, Caroline, they have together. By the end of the season, one of Jimmy’s
friends, another architect, has a crush on Jenny, though it takes her some time
to warm up to him.
Cynthia (Bryony Hannah) has her own devastating crisis to deal
with when a baby she delivered dies suddenly. Though no one outwardly blames
her, she feels horrible and wonders if and what she did wrong. Though the event
is still devastating, it turns out that the death had nothing to do with her at
all, as one of the lungs was underdeveloped from the start. She also has to deal with twin sisters,
married to the same man (a situation that I can’t put into words), one of whom
is pregnant and electing to have natural medications as opposed to midwife
care. That was the most awkward episode of the season, and it gets worse. The
woman also has twin daughters, after a difficult delivery, and they name them
after each other, claiming that they never liked boys in the first place.
Interesting. They must have liked a boy in the first place, or else they
wouldn’t have been in that situation.
Trixie (Helen George) deals with a pregnant woman on a ship,
forced into prostitution as her father was captain. Trixie is appalled by the
whole situation, as well she should be. She also meets a celebrity whom she
recruits to be a judge at a baby festival, but when she refuses his advances,
he doesn’t show up, though Sister Monica Joan (Judy Parfitt) is called upon
instead, which is wise, given her expertise.
Chummy (Miranda Hart) is settling into married life well,
though she wants to go to Sierra Leone, and Peter (Ben Caplan), naturally,
wants to go with her, but he may not be able to get the clearance he needs to
work there because his weight is too high, so he and Fred (Cliff Parisi) begin
an exercise regiment. They do not return until the second to last episode of
the season.
The other nuns, with the exception of Sister Bernadette
(Laura Main) do not have much to do this season, except support the others,
which is wonderful. Sister Julienne (Jenny Agutter) assists Jenny in dealing
with the illegal abortion, asking no questions, not worrying that the act is
illegal and against her religion. And Sister Monica Joan enjoys visits from her
nephew and pays for a baby’s funeral, as his own parents could not afford it.
In addition, she still gets some great lines. It’s wonderful.
There is also a new addition to the house, Jane (Dorothy
Atkinson), a painfully shy young woman. But she is helpful and sweet.
Now to the most intriguing plot lines of the season. Dr. Turner begs to have an x-ray van to visit
Poplar as many are coming down with tuberculosis. And this is a wonderful
thing, because it is a horrible disease and one that is totally treatable.
Sister Bernadette (Laura Main) is his assistant, but as she helps a young girl
overcome her fear, it is discovered that she has the early on-set of the
disease and is sent away to the sanitarium for treatment. Now, for some
context. I don’t know when exactly the switch flipped in my head, but once I
discovered that Sister Bernadette was falling in love with Dr. Turner, they
became the couple I was rooting for. So imagine my devastation when Dr. Turner
informs her that she is sick, instead of confessing his true feelings. Which
leads to an awkward exam. Naked on a professional level, not a personal one.
Yeah, awkward is the understatement of the year. And then, while she is away in
the sanitarium, he writes her letters but she can’t even open them. Now, I did
wonder how no one else picked up on the mutual crush, not even Trixie, who
adores gossips. Finally, Sister Bernadette decides that she will leave the
order just as she is released from the sanitarium.
Now, to the season finale. Fred’s daughter comes to visit as
her husband is away with the navy again. I had no idea that Fred had children.
However, his daughter is having a difficult pregnancy and is ordered to have
bed rest to prevent preeclampsia. Just as she goes into labor, Chummy also
begins experiencing pains, though she ignores them until Fred’s new granddaughter
is born. Dr. Turner calls Sister
Bernadette, though she informs him that she will no longer answer to that name.
Sister Bernadette decides that she will leave the sanitarium and doesn’t
arrange a ride to come pick her up. Instead, she will take the bus, in the
gross, foggy weather, a bad idea. Luckily (for her), Dr. Turner leaves Fred’s
daughter in the capable hands of Jenny and Chummy and he and his son drive to
try and find Sister Bernadette. Fortunately, she is found and Dr. Turner drapes
his coat around her and says he doesn’t even know what to call her. As it turns
out, her real name is Shelagh (pronounced Shelia) and his is Patrick. A lovely,
sweet moment.
Now back to Chummy. Her delivery takes a turn for the worse
when she begins to hemorrhage. An ambulance is immediately called, she and
Peter are taken away to the hospital for an emergency caesarean section, Peter
nervous the whole time. Jenny suspects a placental abruption. All the while, the midwives and nuns at
Nonnatus House lovely sew together a quilt of squares and Sister Julienne and
Jenny present to the still sick Chummy at the hospital the next day. Luckily,
soon she and the baby, a little boy whom they name Fred, are doing
wonderfully. I would have never forgiven
the writers if something bad had happened to either Chummy or her baby. The
show ends with them baptizing both babies.
And back to the proposal of Dr. Turner (his first name is
Patrick, by the way) to Shelagh. It’s an interesting one to say the least. He
gives her a little box with a piece of paper wrapped around it. The paper has
the words “Will you marry my dad?” Naturally, the answer is yes and I am super
happy, despite the fact that I like the traditional proposal where the man gets
down on one knee and all that jazz, but this one was also nice, certainly
non-traditional. But Dr. Turner’s son also liked Shelagh, so there won’t be any
of that wicked stepmother stuff going on, well hopefully not. I can’t wait to
see their wedding.
Their relationship was a slow moving one, but one that is
undeniably real because Sister Bernadette’s nun uniform is the most
unattractive thing ever. When Sister Bernadette drops something and cuts her
hand, she doesn’t even really let him see it, saying that she will be fine. But
she doesn’t put a bandage on top of it, letting the touch of his hand linger.
Yes, never before has hand holding meant so much or been so forbidden. Dr.
Turner later apologizes for his actions. And, at least on screen, he pops the
question before they even kiss. And yet, it’s still so romantic.
This leads me to my rant about wedding rings. I know that
this is the late 1950s, but there is no consistency as to who wears wedding
rings. All of the married women do, but not all of the men which drives me nuts
as there is no rhyme or reason to it. Dr. Turner wears his, despite his wife
having recently passed away, until he finally sheds it. I first noticed him not
wearing it in the scene where he proposes to Shelagh. Peter never wears one,
but he is a policeman, does that make a difference, though? Some the husbands
involved do while others do not. Yeah, I
know that it is a petty detail, but one that I always pick up on so it bothers
me when something is awry.
As for the overall show, it is probably even better than
Downton Abbey, as this show doesn’t have rich, useless people. These are all
people making a real difference in the lives of everyone around them. The
characters have their share of heartbreaks, but, for the most part, they are
happy and dare to make their own decisions, sometimes not doing what is safe, taking
risks. The men are also truly nice, decent individuals. It’s quite odd when you
have little bad to say about the main characters.
Sure, some of the plots are odd and disgusting, but the show
rarely hits a false note. The scenery is incredible and everything is
breathtakingly realistic, down the set pieces, costumes and music. The whole
set is fantastic and the editing is flawless, something you don’t see too often
in television series. Grade: A-
No comments:
Post a Comment