The Lost Children of ‘Call the Midwife’s Fourth Episode
All this week’s storylines on 'Call the Midwife' focus on the loss of children, both literal and metaphorical.
All this week’s storylines focus on the loss of children, both literal and metaphorical. Drama unfolds in Poplar when a newborn is stolen from the maternity home. Things escalate when test results show the baby has the chickenpox virus in his eyes, and without treatment, the infection could blind him. Sister Catherine, who was the last to put the baby safely in the nursery, blames herself for the kidnapping. Though distraught and guilt-ridden, she keeps calm and carries on, ending up playing a pivotal role in the baby’s safe return.
After symptoms of back pain and incontinence, a woman in her 60s gets the peculiar news that she was once pregnant, but the fetus became a lithopedion. She’s been carrying this “stone baby” for roughly thirty years. When she and her husband learn this, they are heartbroken anew, having wished for children. The show allows them to process their unexpected grief.
Last but not least, it’s time to say goodbye to Christopher. Not because his chemotherapy is complete, but because he’s simply not coping with the treatment well. The Turners weigh the options of sending him back home to his mother in Hong Kong. Shelagh is particularly devastated by this possibility, but they also worry about sending Christopher back with his dangerous father, still a consideration. As one would hope, things work out for the best, with Christopher’s interests being held paramount.
Missing Colin
Pam (Sophie Ford) is at the maternity home with Phyllis, about to give birth. Her mother, Marjorie (Gina Murray), takes Pam’s toddler, Lisa, and offers to inform her daughter’s husband, Kenny (Nick Armfield). Pam’s divorcing him, so naturally she doesn’t want him at the birth, but he shows up anyway. Phyllis protects Pam and prevails on Kenny to leave. He does, but not without protest and a hint of violence.
The next morning, Pam’s new baby, Colin, disappears from the nursery. When the police arrive, DI Holbrook (Martin Delaney) discovers that someone forced the locked back door. Dr. Turner gets Colin’s chickenpox test results; the baby’s need for immediate treatment intensifies the search.
It soon becomes clear that Kenny has kidnapped his own son as revenge for the divorce. He also tricks Marjorie into handing over Lisa and sends Pam a taunting postcard. The police go public immediately, holding press conferences and publishing Kenny and Lisa’s pictures as front-page news.
Marni Cerise
On the lam with both his children, Kenny is distressed when Colin won’t stop crying and won’t eat. Despite his actions, he clearly loves Lisa and Colin. He calls Pam, and Sister Catherine answers, begging Kenny to return Colin so they can treat his infection. Instead, Kenny sends Lisa back anonymously. Over the radio, he hears Sister Catherine speaking to the press and imploring him to bring Colin back before his infection worsens.
Kenny calls Nonnatus House for advice when Colin does get worse; his eyes are crusted, and he’s stopped crying at all. Sister Catherine urges a saline wash and listens as Kenny insists he’s not a bad person; he was just angry at being cut out of his kids’ lives. He returns to Poplar with Colin but is afraid to turn himself in, so instead he calls Pam from a booth near her house. When Sister Catherine gets on the phone again, she recognizes the ice cream van’s jingle in the background, and the police run out to capture Kenny.
Colin is safely returned and responds well to antibiotics, though he may yet experience vision issues. Kenny is released on bail and explains himself to an angry Pam. They make a kind of peace when Pam assures she’ll never keep him from his kids, but he can only visit when she and a social worker are present.
The Robbins’ Stone Baby
Molly Robbins (Kate Rutter) suffers from back pain and increasing incontinence, which makes her too mortified to seek help. But the pain has other plans, and her loving husband Edwin (Philip Martin Brown) brings Dr. Turner in for a house call. He finds a lump in her back and sends Molly for a hospital X-ray. The Robbins worry about cancer.
The X-ray is inconclusive, and Molly goes in for surgery. Mr. Parry and his team are shocked to find the lithopedion. He excitedly invites Joyce (still on her hospital rotation) to see the calcified fetus, the result of an ectopic pregnancy. After surgery, when Joyce is with Molly as she processes the news of the baby that never was, they overhear Mr. Parry inviting a group of enthusiastic med students to view “the monster.” Joyce is horrified and tells an equally upset Molly that it’s an outdated medical term they shouldn’t be using. When Molly tearfully asks if Joyce saw it, she kindly tells Molly it “looked like a baby.”
Molly and Edwin are very upset at their baby being “passed around” and gawked at. Though they have no control over it being stored in the archives of King’s College Medical School, with Sister Veronica’s help, they arrange a visit. “It doesn’t look like a monster to me,” Molly says softly, touching the sides of the glass it’s now preserved inside of. She and Edwin cry and comfort each other.
A Farewell to Christopher
The Turners learn that Christopher’s chemotherapy must stop, at least temporarily, for his developmental health. Mentally and physically, he’s too weak to continue. Shelagh wonders if they’ve even done the right thing by bringing Christopher to England, and Sister Veronica promises the boy wouldn’t have survived without their intervention.
As they consider sending Christopher home, they’re unsure if his mother is even capable of supporting him. A phone call to Sister Hilda in Hong Kong confirms that Esther is now employed, her baby is thriving, and Christopher’s gangster father is on trial and will soon go to jail.
Dr. Turner learns that Christopher’s chemotherapy drugs also come in powdered form and are portable, so arrangements are made for his treatment at the British Army Hospital in Hong Kong. Shelagh is upset to let him go. She comforts her three children, promising May that they can return to Hong Kong to find Christopher when she’s older.
The Turners and Sister Julienne say goodbye to Christopher. (Poor child. Actor Max Ho is so not into this – always crying when onscreen!) At the Turners’ request and because of her special bond, Sister Veronica accompanies Christopher on his journey home.
Late Deliveries
- Sister Monica Joan is mostly in the background this season, but her appearance is always a joy. This episode opens with her hiding a puzzle piece from Sister Veronica, then giggling to herself when she stealthily returns it.
- Cyril gets word he’ll be officially divorced in six weeks and “free to marry again.”
- Relatedly, Cyril invites Rosalind on a weekend away but frustrates her when he books them separate hotel rooms – especially after she’s been to the gynecologist for a preparatory pelvic exam and the pill.
- Rosalind urges the chivalrous Cyril to “assume” her intentions, or she’ll “blow up.” Credit to the lady for stating her sexual needs.
Call the Midwife Season 15 continues Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on most PBS stations, the PBS app, and the PBS Masterpiece Prime Video Channel. The series has already been streaming on PBS Passport for members. The series will stream on the PBS app and the PBS Masterpiece Channel weekly through mid-May. As always, check your local listings.
