A Day at the Beach in 'Call the Midwife' Leads to Calamity for the Turners

Normally, a day at the seaside would sound lovely. I was certainly looking forward to a nice beach day this week on Call the Midwife, but it was pure naiveté to believe that our favorite Poplar townspeople could enjoy some ice cream, sun, and sand castle building without any major drama.  

What's most upsetting is that the day started so well. Trixie (Helen George) passed her driving test. The seaside adventure was supposed to celebrate her accomplishment and support Violet's (Annabel Apsion) first event as mayor. The nuns made it down to the beach along with student nurses Joyce Highland (Renee Bailey) and Rosalind Clifford (Natalie Quarry). Even Nurse Crane (Linda Bassett) made it down to the sand to take pictures of everyone enjoying the sunny day. 

It was all enjoyable until our patient of the week went into labor on the beach. Nurse Crane and Miss Higgins (Georgie Glen) drove Lindy Webster (Lydia Fleming) back to town to deliver her baby at the maternity ward. Lindy's husband, Melvin (Tom Anson), left much to be desired on the responsibility front, but we'll get back to that later. 

Back at the beach, Nurse Turner (Laura Main) took her eyes off the small children for just a moment, and poor May (April Rae Hoang) almost drowned. Luckily, Nurse Highland and Cyril (Zephryn Taitte) were able to pull May from the water, but the water in her lungs shortly put her in the hospital to recover. We'll go ahead and tell you that May survived physically, but the Turners are gearing up for a custody battle to keep her with them. 

Meanwhile, Matthew (Olly Rix) continues to be infuriating while Trixie is oblivious to the storm brewing in her own apartment. Let's get into it. 

When we first meet Lindy Webster, she confesses to Nurse Crane that she doesn't really feel like a mother despite being almost full-term with her second child. Her husband isn't much better off, spending his non-working waking hours at the pub. Neither Nurse Crane nor Nurse Higgins is impressed when he shows up to the delivery with his drinking buddies, which causes an uproar in the maternity ward waiting room. 

However, nothing will make you grow up faster than finding out that your children are sick. An eye exam of Lindy and Melvin's newborn revealed a mysterious spot that did not become clear until Nurse Crane showed Doctor Turner (Stephen McGann) a photo from the beach that revealed a similar affliction in Lindy and Melvin's eldest daughter, Danielle. A terrifying round of further exams with eye specialists revealed that both girls had developed a genetic eye cancer. Danielle's was so advanced she had to have her right eye removed while baby Michelle was sent to infant radiology. 

Nurse Crane yet again proved she's a real one. She stood up for the couple as everyone around them doubted whether they could handle two children who needed such intensive medical care. Nurse Crane told everyone to stop underestimating the young couple, but she also gave Melvin the pep talk he needed to step up and be there for his family. Melvin took on an extra job. He officially proposed to Lindy, but they used the money he would have used for a real ring to get Danielle a prosthesis for her eye. They stopped playing around and became the parents they were meant to be. The best news is that both of the girls' cancers didn't spread, so they are expected to grow up happy and healthy. We love a happy ending around here! 

As I mentioned before, things are not going too well for the Turner family. After May's terrifying day at the beach, Shelaigh and the doctor were greeted with an unexpected visit from the Hong Kong Foster Project agency. They required an interview with May to make sure the incident at the beach wasn't because of neglect or abuse. The Turners passed that test, but news of May's hospitalization was also shared with her biological mother in China. 

The biological mother is dismayed that her daughter is in the hospital and questions whether she was safe with the Turners. She's now requested a formal investigation into their foster home, and if the results are not to her liking, she can have May placed with another family member she deems more fit to care for her daughter. 

Shelagh decided to go with a hail Mary to try and convince May's mother how much the Turners care for her daughter. She told Patrick that she would send a picture of May in the dress that her biological mother sent for Christmas – the same one that Shelaigh had to re-sew so that it would actually fit May. Shelagh is convinced that May's biological mother will see the photo as proof that the Turners are taking excellent care of May, but Patrick is worried the mother will be insulted that Shelagh re-made the dress. And we have to wait on tenterhooks to see which way that goes! 

I consulted with my Call the Midwife superfan mother about whether I was being too harsh on Matthew, and she said yes. I'll admit that this week's episode gave him some sympathy points, but his overall macho-man routine this season is still so grating on the nerves. 

This week, we discovered that Matthew's uptightness about Trixie's choice of couch was because he was facing money troubles. Those money troubles have apparently escalated to dire because he looked like he was about to stroke out when Trixie went shopping for a new car (she wants something to go with her new license!) and when he brought home bags of shopping. 

The Aylwards' lack of funds may also explain why Matthew was so whiny last week about the baby keeping him up. What it doesn't explain is why he doesn't just talk to Trixie. If she knew what Matthew was dealing with, Trixie would stop bringing up buying expensive cars or going shopping. She'd help him brainstorm solutions! She definitely wouldn't give up her job knowing they need the extra income. 

It looks like the couple are going to have it out in next week's episode, and then maybe they can get back to normal footing. For now, Matthew's lack of communication is blocking him from being redeemed in this recapper's eyes. Step it up, my guy! I am begging you! 

Call the Midwife Season 13 continues on Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on PBS, with new episodes available streaming on the PBS App and the PBS Prime Video Channel. As always, check your local listings.