Every season, GBH Drama prepares to bring you coverage of the latest and greatest in British dramas. This month, we return to Poplar for the twelfth season of Call The Midwife.
With complex medical cases, heartwarming found family, and more births and deaths than we can count, this series is sure to make you laugh and cry (probably more of the latter, if we're being honest). GBH Drama contributor Amanda-Rae Prescott is here to recap the magic as it happens.
Season 12 of Call The Midwife finally gives Trixie the happy ending she richly deserves. However, there are a lot of organizational issues, tragedy befalling a patient, and stressors leading all the way up until the actual ceremony. Let’s discuss how the season finale wraps up all of the plots this season except one.
The Vanishing Tiara
The episode begins a few days before the wedding. Trixie’s brother Geoffrey arrives from Milan as he’s giving her away. He also delivers the finished bridal gown and a bag of remnants. Trixie is excited about having the diamond and sapphire Edwardian tiara that was passed down through the Aylward family to secure her veil. It’s something old and something blue. There’s one big problem: Matthew finds out his mother sold the tiara to pay for Daddy Aylward’s celebratory cruise and that they had less money in the bank than they advertised. The couple end up having a fight over the tiara. The last-minute stress is clearly a factor here.
Cyril then finds Matthew silently contemplating the argument. Cyril is gathering fresh carrots from the garden for the soup kitchen. Matthew realizes he was way too harsh and also wrongly assumed Trixie’s interest in the tiara was about having the status symbol. Matthew calls Trixie to fully apologize and admits that he’s nervous about the wedding. We’re glad they worked it out!
Later on, the nurses find out about the missing tiara and surprise Trixie with a pillbox hat made of the wedding dress remnants. They also sew a blue bow made from the uniform scraps to tuck inside a seam or anywhere else. There is of course a plot twist. Matthew managed to negotiate borrowing the tiara from the new owner! Although Trixie appreciates the gesture, she tells Matthew there’s no way she can disappoint her friends by not having a piece of Nonnatus House with her. Aww!!
Dueling Mothers
This week in the clinic, Shelagh examines Lizzie, a first-time mom with a lot of family stress. She arrives at the clinic right after she married her husband Arnold at the registry office. Her husband is Chinese and both her mother and mother-in-law want to be the ones in charge since the baby is the first grandchild for both sides of the family. Lizzie bonds with Shelagh; she's seen May around the neighborhood. She wants the baby to have Arnold’s eyes and black hair.
During and after the prenatal exams, the mothers are arguing about a lot of things, especially the name of the baby. Lizzie’s mom wants a British name for the baby while Arnold’s mother wants a traditional Chinese name to match their last name Yu. Dr. Turner recommends that Lizzie see him in a few days because she has a UTI, and no one wants that to become more severe.
Shelagh suggests that Lizzie call the maternity home as soon as she feels the initial pangs because it’s very obvious that she’s caught in the middle of too much drama and will need some quiet time. Arnold ends up putting his foot down and banning both of the moms from the delivery room because of the conflict. Will Lizzie finally get the peace she deserves?
The Lucky Sweep
Trixie is still seeing district patients because she has no intentions of quitting after the wedding, and there are still many people who need help. This week she visits Mrs. Estelle Hopkins who, like Lizzie, is expecting her first child as well. Her husband is a chimney sweep and she offered the old tradition of a sweep at Trixie’s wedding at a discount. Trixie declines because her actual ceremony will be in Chelsea and not in the East End. Estelle’s labor goes on longer than initially expected but she ends up giving birth to a healthy baby girl.
The Future Is Calling
Nancy secretly applied for a job in a hospital in Surrey a few weeks ago but didn’t hear back from them. Sister Julienne calls her into the office to tell her that the hospital asked for references. Nancy was surprised but said she was tempted by the job offer because she and Colette could live together and they were offering more money. Word, of course, spreads of the job offer and there’s also continued chatter about the Board of Health’s threats to shut Nonnatus down.
Trixie accidentally opens Nancy’s acceptance letter. She got the job! Nancy says she’ll give them a reply after the wedding. She needs time to think after all, especially since Nonnatus has given her and Collete community and family. Trixie is also thinking about the future as she prepares to move in with Matthew.
Speaking of the threats to shut Nonnatus down, there’s an important development on that front. Cyril puts on his civil engineering hat to inspect the building. He says the council ordered it, but of course, this makes Phyllis a bit on edge. Phyllis confides to Sister Julienne about the threats plus Nancy’s news. She says that she’s feeling how parents must feel when the kids are ready to move away from home. Sister Julienne agrees, but then reveals that she negotiated a two-year partnership with St. Cuthberts to bring in new midwife trainees. In addition, Matthew bought the Nonnatus House building from the council for an undisclosed amount which wipes their rent slate clean!! This is cause for celebration!!!
Spa Night
Geoffrey is disappointed that Trixie’s bachelorette party isn’t taking place at a club or bar. He didn’t get the memo that Trixie has given up alcohol completely. She was supposed to get a day off to go to the “health farm” (a very interesting development in British slang) but her friends decided to bring the comforts of the spa to Nonnatus House. Honestly, free pedicures, facials, and massages for the bridal party and close friends are a great idea instead of the usual drunken chaos. It was great seeing Phyllis and the Sisters out of their uniforms as well.
Logistical Mishaps
November 23rd has finally arrived and of course, you can’t have a wedding without some sort of last-minute issues. The groomsmen’s suits are all too small. Colette has a nosebleed that doesn’t go away and blood ends up on her bridesmaids' gown. All the flowers were delivered to the wrong place. Worst of all, there’s a sudden problem with the venue for the wedding reception. The bridal party stayed at the hotel the night before. As they’re getting ready to leave, the fire alarms start ringing. Many people dismissed it as a drill. It turns out that by the time Trixie and Matthew’s ceremony starts, there’s a full-on blaze. What’s going to happen?
The Accident
Lizzie tells Arnold quietly that she’s feeling the beginnings of birth pains so they quietly leave for the Maternity Home. On the way there, they turn in front of the Turners heading to the church. Up ahead, the Turners hear a loud crash. They rush to figure out what happened and see Lizzie unconscious and Arnold looking very confused. Dr. Turner asks bystanders to call for the ambulance. He examines Lizzie and determines that she had a heart attack. She’s medically dead but the baby still has a heartbeat. Dr. Turner asks for a screen so he can perform an emergency c-section. Lizzie’s baby girl is safely delivered and the ambulance comes to check over the baby and Arnold. Dr. Turner asks Arnold if there’s anyone he should call and he says immediately his mom and Lizzie’s mom. Although this is a tragedy, the one bright light in this situation is that the mothers have stopped their bickering to focus on helping Arnold. He named his daughter Lizzie after his wife.
Get Me To The Church On Time
Sister Monica Joan has recovered from the worst of last week’s infection but she’s still not entirely out of the woods. The reading she initially picked for the wedding is now not the one she wants to do. She’s also feeling tired still, and says she’s not going to attend the ceremony after all. Sister Veronica agrees to stay behind to make sure she’s ok. Sister Veronica figured she went to bed but it turns out Sister Monica Joan isn’t there! Sister Veronica hops on the scooter and drives to the church just in case. Meanwhile, Sister Monica Joan pulls up in a taxi at the church just in time to hear the priest ask for any objections to the marriage. We’re glad she made it!
It’s lovely to see everyone from Nonnatus House and the larger community in the pews. Sadly, Lucille isn’t there which suggests that what Cyril said about her in the last episode means this is the likely end of her story on the show. Trixie’s wedding dress is gorgeous and reminiscent of Jackie O! While Geoffrey walks down the aisle, Jonty tries to hug her which is super endearing. Sister Monica Joan ends up switching her reading after all and swaps the Bible verses for a Robert Louis Stevenson poem. All the small drama is worth it to see Trixie and Matthew vow to spend the rest of their life together!
Poplar Saves The Day
Trixie isn’t told about the hotel fire until after the wedding photos are taken outside the church. After the photos, everyone returns to Nonnatus House. Dr. Turner tells everyone to come outside. It turns out that in the meantime the community rallied to save the wedding reception! There are refreshments, food, games, and all sorts of supplies donated. Many former patients felt bad about the hotel fire and wanted to give back. The episode ends with a view of all our favorite characters enjoying the reception.
Season 12 of Call The Midwife has been quite the journey! It’s too soon to predict what Season 13 will bring for Nonnatus House but we can at least expect more expectant mothers and more sick Poplar residents.
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