'Call the Midwife' Celebrates Mother's Day in the Season 13 Finale

Call the Midwife celebrates mothers every week, but the Season 13 finale went all out to highlight maternal instincts and surrogate mothers in all forms. The season-ender began with the announcement of the Poplar Mother of the Year competition with the grand prize of a brand new washing machine (fancy!). 

From there, the episode explored the various definitions of mother. Nurse Turner (Laura Main) questioned if she would remain May's (April Rae Hoang) mother as the investigation into May's placement continued. The final hurdle was having May speak to her birth mother over the phone, and the young girl confirmed that she was happy with her British family and would like to stay with the Turners. We are so happy to see this issue finally put to bed. 

You know that if something works out on Call the Midwife, then something else will be determined to make us cry shortly afterward. The need for an entire box of tissues in this episode came from Miss Higgins (Georgie Glen), who we learned gave up a baby for adoption when she lived in India in the 1920s. Her adult son, Victor (Rez Kempton), traveled to England and wished to meet her. They had a joyful reunion, learning about each other and eating welks by the seaside before Victor collapsed. It turns out traveling across continents aggravated his kidney disease, pushing them into failure just as he and Miss Higgins were getting to know each other. 

Victor sadly died in Miss Higgins' apartment. She was able to spend quality time with him, his wife (Shanaya Rafaat), and her grandson Harry (Eisa Latif). And she acknowledged it was a privilege to be there for his first breath and his last because not many mothers got to say that. We admire Miss Higgins for trying to find the silver lining in the situation, but it was gut-wrenching to watch her lose a son she only just met. 

Neither of these women nor Violet Buckle (Annabelle Apsion) won Mother of the Year, though, despite the latter's touching recommendation from Reggie (Daniel Laurie). The honor went to Sister Julienne (Jenny Agutter), who has played mother to so many in Poplar. In this episode alone, she refereed a disagreement between Sister Veronica (Rebecca Gethings) and Sister Monica Joan (Judy Parfitt), saved Trixie (Helen George) from setting herself on fire (more on that in a bit), and helped Nurse Highland (Renee Bailey) ditch her abusive and blackmailing ex-husband. (And we know that Nonnatus House could desperately use the washing machine!)

We are so happy for Sister Julienne to get the love she deserves from her community. However, ending the episode with her win left us with burning questions about the series' future. Most specifically, are we going to lose Trixie? 

It became apparent in the finale that Trixie was not taking Matthew's (Olly Rix) absence well. Her insomnia continued to plague her. She started taking caffeine pills during the day to stay awake and sleeping pills at night to try and get some sleep, but instead, it caused her to be distracted at work, which led to her accidentally setting herself on fire. Luckily, Sister Julienne was there, but it was a wake-up call, and Trixie needed help. 

Geoffrey (Christopher Harper) came to the rescue and told Trixie she needed to give up the prescription drugs and go after what makes her happy – Matthew and her family. She called Matthew and told him she'd join him in New York. He swore that it wouldn't be forever – only five months – but would there be a reason to return to London if the family was all together in America? We know that Trixie is going out to see Matthew, but will she return to her post at Nonnatus House? 

Season 13 does not give a firm answer, so now we wait with bated breath for the next season. We hope that Trixie comes to her senses and comes back. Matthew doesn't deserve her after his behavior this season and it is so hard to imagine this show without her. It wouldn't be the same if she decided to stay in New York, and it wouldn't be true to Trixie's passion for her job.

All episodes of Call the Midwife Season 13 remain available to stream on the PBS App, PBS Passport, and the PBS Prime Video Channel through the end of May 2024 before they make their move to Netflix. The 2024 Holiday special will return in December, with Season 14 to follow in 2025. As always, check your local listings.