The episode opens with Dr. Patrick Turner (Stephan McGann) decorating the Christmas tree and Nurse Shelagh Turner (Laura Main) making mince pies. Sister Veronica (Rebecca Gethings) removes a pan of mince pies from the oven. Sister Monica Joan (Judy Parfitt) tries one of the pastries and likes it. Violet Buckle (Annabelle Apsion) receives a call from Reggie Jackson (Daniel Laurie) saying he is coming home. She informs him that she will be a judge in tomorrow’s mince pie competition. He expresses his dislike of mince pies. Fred Buckle (Cliff Parisi) arrives home, takes the phone, and assures Reggie that his travel accommodations are good. Reggie boasts of the Christmas roses that he grew for Violet. Nurse Phyllis Crane (Linda Bassett) arrives at the clinic as Veronica puts an “Ante Natal Baby Clinic” outside. Veronica and Nurse Joyce Highland (Renee Bailey) help Phyllis carry in the pastries. Shelagh drops off her mince pie for the competition. Nurse Rosalind Clifford (Natalie Quarry) prepares the exam table. Sister Julienne (Jenny Agutter) asks if she can handle today’s busy clinic. Rosaline assures her that she and Joyce have recovered before playing down the seriousness of the flu. Patrick says St Cuthbert’s staff is getting hit hard and Teddy Turner (Edward Shaw) is munching down on ice cream. Santa makes an appearance in the children’s ward. Teddy recognizes Fred. Shelagh urges him to keep it quiet.

The bailiff (Ben Roddy) evicts Dilys Shaughnessy (Madelyn Smedley) and Pete Shaughnessy (Peter Hannah). Dilys grabs for her grandmother’s stool but the bailiff kicks it away. Alice Moody (Anna Kirke) retrieves it and urges Dilys to not cry in front of them. A man dumps their children’s clothes on the ground. While retrieving them, Peter scolds them for not showing his children some dignity. Alice gives them a bag of groceries and gives them a few words of encouragement. At the children’s ward, Karen Louise Shaughnessy (Myla Park) tells Santa that she doesn’t have a preference as long as it is wrapped. Santa opens his bag for her to rummage through. Teddy tells Shelagh that he is going to ask for a guinea pig. Her smile turns a startled look. Miss Millicent Higgins (Georgie Glen) hands out treacle toffee to the pregnant patients. Lesley Abingdon (Elle McCloskey) declines a candy and stresses the need to see a midwife. After examining her, Patrick says her episiotomy stitches are infected. Phyllis attributes it to improper care. He tells her that he is going to remove her stitches and prescribe antibiotics.

A pregnant Dilys, Peter, and Suzy Shaughnessy (Azalea Amzi) arrive at their new flat to find it infested with rats. He apologizes. May Tang (April Rae Hoang) insists on visiting the Funfair. Angela Turner (Alice Brown) reminds her that they are supposed to go straight to Nonnatus House. Ignoring her, Alice runs over to the carousel. Alma Curran (Kirsty Rider) tells them that the fair will open tomorrow. Angela says they are not allowed to talk to strangers. Alma gives them brochures for the fair. Sid Curran (Kurtis Thompson) approaches as the girls are leaving. Alma questions what is going on in their house because one of the girls is Chinese. He asks if it makes her want a baby girl again. She says the gender hardly matters as long as the baby is healthy. At the mince pie competition, Violet awards Shelagh with the winning prize and Sandra Okwe with the runner-up prize. Veronica watches with disappointment as her name is not called. She later attributes her loss to store-bought mincemeat. Joan says they are perfectly acceptable. Julienne picks Joyce to fill in at St Cuthbert for two weeks. Joyce tells her that she plans to divorce her husband. Julienne promises to introduce her to a suitable solicitor next year.

Dilys is visiting Karen in the children’s ward when Dr. Rand (Christian Roe) and a team of residents arrive. Rand explains Karen’s condition, a hole in the heart. Dilys tells him that Dr. Mackerton usually sees Karen. He says Mackerton plans to discharge her tomorrow. At Funfair, Alma and Sid take a ride on the Ferris wheel. She flinches in pain. At the children’s ward, Teddy is playing with a toy plane when he hears Karen weeping. He approaches her bed and asks why she is crying. She says it is Christmasy in the hospital and turns away from him. Millicent denies receiving notification of Lesley’s discharge. Julienne blames it on the National Health, not her Rolodex. Nurse Nancy Corrigan (Megan Cusack) is eating candy at her desk when Roger Noble (Conor O’Donnell) enters. She hurriedly puts the tin away. He tells her that he is a tranquilizer salesman and would like to speak with the doctor. She makes him an appointment for 10am tomorrow. At St Cuthbert, Sid refuses to let Alma leave because she has been having pain all night. Joyce asks her how she is feeling and offers to make her more comfortable.

Shelagh turns on the TV for Teddy while he eats. A TV reporter (Edward Cartwright) says several inmates are on the loose and expected to be in the London area. Fred listens to the news report on a handheld radio. Karen complains about their new flat. Dilys covers Karen with her coat. Karen stares at her snow globe. Dilys tells her about a game – Everything Is Really Something Else – she played as a child. She places the snow globe on the mantel. Patrick tells Lesley that she is doing well. Phyllis promises to visit daily. He steps into the hallway and kneels to tie his shoes when he sees a nearby door covered in bugs. Lesley says an elderly lady lives there alone. Alma tells Joyce that she wanted to give birth at the cottage hospital. Joyce promises to keep her comfortable. The landlord unlocks the door to find the room filled with flies. Joyce returns to the exam room to find Alma in labor on the floor. She hurriedly covers the floor and grabs her cart. Patrick suggests the elderly woman died of the Hong Kong flu several days ago. Joyce offers Alma encouragement. Alma gives a big push and gives birth to a baby boy. Joyce hands the baby to her. Alma talks to her son who she believes looks like Sid. Patrick fills out paperwork for the deceased woman, Gertrude Torrance. Phyllis finds a small Christmas gift on the table. Sid weeps when he sees his son for the first time. He believes the baby looks like Alma.

Geoffrey Franklin (Christopher Harper) visits the sisters. Phyllis receives a call from Mr. Leadbetter about Gertrude’s dentures. She says one of his undertakers should have picked up the dentures and agrees to speak with the janitor. A news report about the escaped inmates from HMP Calder plays in the background. The police apprehended 39-year-old Anthony Belgrano near Bristol. Colette Corrigan (Francesca Fullilove) plays a game to see if Geoffrey will marry. Dilys cares for a sick Pete. She urges Karen to take Suzy to see the carolers tomorrow. Rosalind finds Gertrude’s dentures. Phyllis suggests Gertrude was a respectable lady. She tells Rosalind that she will wash her clothes for the burial. At Funfair, Angela and Patrick watch May, Teddy, and Angela ride the carousel. Rosalind expresses her desire to be better at prayer. Joan says the only assessor doesn’t rate them. Rosalind wants to say a prayer for Gertrude. Joan says to leave Gertrude’s soul with her and go get some rest. A man knocks on the door of Gertrude’s fat.

Fred is sweeping up broken glass when Cyril Robinson (Zephryn Taitte) approaches and asks what happened. He says their shop was broken into last night. The mailman gives Cyril several letters. Fred criticizes the police for showing up two hours later. Cyril tells Mrs. Wallace (Linda Hargreaves) that Lucille sent him a letter but said nothing. Elsewhere, Nurse Phyllis Crane talks about how she feels. She tells Rosalind they’re short-staffed, so she’ll have trouble getting through her district list. Sister Veronica is told she’ll be put on the midwifery call board after Julienne. Dr. Patrick Turner says good morning to Millicent Higgins who asks Nurse Clifford for reinforcements. Shelagh Turner watches over the kids. Veronica tells Mrs. Ali she’s going to be a textbook case. She says the baby has lined himself up very nicely. Veronica asks her to drink water. Mrs. Ali says she’s not good at drinking.

Roger with Winton Daymont Pharmaceuticals speaks to Millicent to say he made an appointment to speak to Dr. Turner. Millicent tells him to sit and wait until a spot becomes available. Veronica coaches Afira Ali through the birth. Before long, Ali learns she has a baby girl. Roger speaks to Nancy again. Veronica notices bleeding so she gives Afira an injection. Nancy gives Roger a leaflet for the People of Poplar Carols. Veronica comes out and asks for Dr. Turner to check on Afira. Ms. Bibi is told she’s in good hands. Dr. Turner checks on Afira who holds her baby all the while. He finally gets rid of the baby. Veronica takes the baby to Mrs. Bibi. Dr. Turner says the bleeding has stopped, but Afira’s heart will fail without sufficient fluid in her system. Veronica begins praying. Mrs. Bibi (Leesa Gazi) prays on the floor in the nursery. Of course, Afira is just fine. Joyce asks about Baby Curran. She learns the parents are taking him home to Kent. Phyllis sees the coffin and asks Sister Monica Joan what has occurred. Nancy sees Roger again.

She doubts he’ll be seeing Dr. Turner today. Roger invites her out if she ever gets the time. Nancy doubts she’ll have the time. Roger says it’s okay and he’ll see her around. Monica and Phyllis talk about Gertrude. Monica believes she deserves to be accompanied to her grave. Nancy and others hang out at the fair. Rosalind asks Nancy why she’s looking pensive. Nancy says her first time at the fair was when she brought Collette. She wants her to have all the things she hasn’t got now. When Nancy looks at Collette up there, she realizes how alone they are. Phyllis and Millicent make something for Harry. Millicent reveals Harry is coming for Christmas. Jock and Stanley hang out. Stanley (Simon Meacock) has a gun and he may be serious about the sub-post office. He says they knew where they were heading. Stanley tells Jock McKechnie (John Kazek) that they need to disappear and that will take money. Stanley just needs Jock as a lookout.

The next day, Veronica and Geoffrey talk about the Christmas lights. Violet brings Fred some firelighters. She tells him to get going because he’s already late collecting Reggie. Alma and Sid hang out in the camper. Alma points out that Richard never cries. Sid thanks Alma for staying with him. She wants them to be together while he’s still so new. Sid believes the baby is twitching. Turner arrives with the kids and tells Millicent and Phyllis that something seems to be happening on Commercial Road. Trixie Aylward (Helen George) arrives and is promptly greeted by Geoffrey. Fred finally leaves to get Freddie. Geoffrey tells Trixie she’ll be in the attic. Reggie waits with a gift. Fred gets tired of waiting in line. He learns there’s been an armed raid on a sub-post office. One man has been arrested and the other is still at large. Jock runs through the fair. Reggie gets on the bus alone. Jock breaks into the mom’s house. Reggie learns he’s not in Poplar.

Fred makes it only to find that Reggie is already gone. He finds his bag sitting nearby and Christmas gifts inside.

 

 

Call The Midwife Review

The story is bloated with too many side characters and side stories. It is cumbersome, filled with clichés, and has no depth. Many of the characters are stereotypical and uninteresting.

The constant switching between scenes disrupted the flow of the story and made it feel disjointed. Too many shallow subplots comprised of characters that have not been developed properly. The episode deserves a 5.2 out of 10.

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