Call the Midwife – Season 9, Episode 4

By starrymag | April 25, 2020

By: Ellie Dolan-Yates

 

 

Sister Julienne (Jenny Agutter) tells Dr Turner (Stephen McGann) about her concerns for the order’s position in Poplar. Dr Turner tells Sister Julienne that Nonnatus House is an integral part of the community, but Sister Julienne says that doesn’t make them safe. Nonnatus House is under threat from demolition and more women are giving birth in hospitals. Sister Julienne says that for Nonnatus House to survive they need to change with the times and for that, she needs Dr Turner’s support.

 

The ladies at Nonnatus House are watching the TV, but Phyllis (Linda Bassett) can’t be bothered with the lovey-dovey plot line. So, she starts to head for bed. Sister Monica Joan (Judy Parfitt) says that young love is vital for the continuation of the human race, she’s not wrong. Valerie (Jennifer Kirby) says that she does enjoy a doctor that is easy on the eye. Lucille (Leonie Elliot) says they are few and far between at St Cuthbert’s. Right on cue Dr Turner and Sister Julienne appear to tell everyone that there will be four male, junior doctors joining them at Nonnatus House! All the girls will have to bunk in together whilst the doctors are accommodated for.

 

Fred (Cliff Parisi) is leading an exercise for the Civil Defense Corps (CDC) when he hears a glass smash. He goes to investigate and finds a man, George (Phil Daniels), trying to get his pigeon Dot to come down from the top of the window. George lives in an abandoned building and has a very nasty cough. Fred says he needs to keep an eye on it, but George tells him to mind his own business. Fred has told Violet (Annabelle Apsion) and Reggie (Daniel Laurie) about George. Violet says he needs to get in touch with the Housing Officer as the house isn’t safe. Reggie is sad that George will lose his home and Fred asks Reggie if he fancies a “little jolly” after work tomorrow.

 

Sister Julienne has drawn up a bathroom roster for Nonnatus House in preparation for the doctors’ visit. Phyllis tells Valerie and Trixie (Helen George) that it is most likely hers and Lucille’s room that will be used for the doctors. Valerie offers her bed to Phyllis for purely selfish reasons. She doesn’t want Phyllis putting her back out and being unable to work.

 

Fred has brought Reggie to meet George’s pigeons, purely as an excuse to check up on George. George lets Reggie hold Dot and George tells him “not too loose, but not too tight.” Fred properly introduces himself to George and suggests that George does a talk for the CDC to get him out of his house. George says there’s nothing wrong with his house, but ignores Fred when he tells him it’s due for demolition. George takes Reggie to meet the rest of his pigeons and Fred notices blood on the hanky that George has left behind.

 

The new doctors have arrived in Poplar. Trixie lets them in and Dr Benedict Walters (Sam Woolf) remarks that nuns have changed since he was at school. Trixie sternly tells him that she’s a resident midwife. Trixie leaves them with Sister Monica Joan whilst she fetches Sister Julienne. Sister Monica Joan tells the doctors about Raymond Nonnatus and Dr Kevin McNulty (Lee Armstrong) notes that he was born by cesarean section, which impresses Sister Monica Joan. Sister Julienne arrives to show the doctors to their room and tells them that some food has been saved for them. Benedict and Kevin join the girls at the table and introduce themselves. Lucille fan-girls over Benedict’s father who has written seminal works in the field of midwifery. Phyllis hands the doctors the bathroom roster and tells them that punctuality is imperative. She praises Benedict’s observation skills when he notices they’re last on the list.

 

Fred calls Dr Turner from a phone box near George’s house. Dr Turner arrives with his stethoscope to examine George and puts him on a course of penicillin as a precaution. George is convinced he has TB and is worried he’s going to get sent to a sanitarium like his uncle. Dr Turner says they need to do more tests first. Back home Fred tells Violet that George won’t want to be in a box half way up the sky all alone. Reggie asks about George’s pigeons and Fred tells him that’s an excellent point.

 

At the maternity clinic the new doctors are being put to the test. They all seem to be having trouble with addressing the patient rather than their mentors. Valerie and Kevin’s patient, Lesley (Poppy Gilbert), is worried that the baby feels bigger this time. Dr Turner asks Kevin what he thinks and Kevin tells him it’s not unusual for a second child. Dr Turner tells him he’s right, but he needs to make sure he addresses Lesley. Another woman, Elise (Lisa Kerr), goes into labor and Benedict is quick to offer his assistance before smirking at Kevin. He still doesn’t get the hang of addressing the mother though. He’s managed to assist in the easiest delivery of a baby ever.

 

At George’s house Fred is trying to convince him to move into a flat. George lets Reggie hold Dot on his own and tells him he’s a natural. George reminisces about how his father and grandfather were pigeon breeders and it still amazes him how they find their way home. He wasn’t really that into it until he found a pigeon in his yard with a broken wing and before he knew it he was building a pigeon coop. He says his birds are his family.

 

It turns out that Lesley’s husband, Harry (Micky Dartford), is a bit of a wheeler-dealer. Lesley is worried about him getting caught, but he says that’s why he picked a flat on the top floor, no-one will bother coming to check. He says he’s doing it all to provide for the family and he’s building an empire. Lesley tells him his food is on the table, but he says he’s got a whole van load of  Teasmades to flog before taking a sausage.

 

At the Nonnatus House dinner table it turns out that doctors get very hungry. Phyllis appears late due to a complicated delivery and Kevin offers his seat, but she passively aggressively says that she’ll be fine with a couple of digestives and a glass of milk in her chambers, or wherever she now lays her head. Later that evening the doctors hang around the chalkboard they have made to keep track of how many babies they have delivered. As Benedict takes great pride/smugness in having a tick, an unimpressed Lucille tells them that their patients are not just boxes to mark.

 

George is delighted to hear that he doesn’t have TB. He tells Dr Turner all about his pigeons. He’s so proud and says they’re more than just a past-time, they’re part of him. Dr Turner tells him that’s why he needs to keep taking his antibiotics and maybe get some air. George gives a talk to the CDC, but he can’t get through without coughing. Fred cuts his talk short and gets everyone to give him a round of applause.

 

Trixie, Lucille and Valerie head to keep fit, but they haven’t managed to convince Phyllis to join them. She’s going to enjoy her evening of peace. The boys, though, are having anything but a peaceful night. Benedict is leading them all astray by encouraging them to drink whisky from test tubes and other measuring cups. Do they know what’s been in those test tubes?! He teases Kevin for not wanting to take part and calls him “Dr Immaculatta.” Benedict tells Kevin that “one won’t hurt” to which Kevin replies “not when daddy can bail you out.” The next thing we hear is a glass smashing which wakes Phyllis and the Sisters. Phyllis bravely takes one for the team and heads downstairs to investigate. Trixie, Lucille and Valerie have just about made it home after their exercise class when they notice that a window has been smashed. Sister Julienne gives the doctors a good dressing down. She basically tells them to follow the rules or get out.

 

Violet tells Reggie to not bother George whilst she and Fred are out. However, as soon as she closes the door a pigeon feather falls out of nowhere. Reggie takes this as a sign and goes to visit George. There are pigeons flying everywhere and George is lying on the floor struggling to breathe. Reggie finds Fred and tells him George needs help. Dr Turner wants to send George to hospital but he’s worried about his pigeons. Reggie says he will look after them and Fred tells George that’s what friends are for.

 

Dr Turner is discussing his concerns about George with Sister Julienne. He just can’t seem to figure out what’s wrong. Kevin overhears and becomes very interested when pigeons are mentioned. He thinks he knows what’s wrong but doesn’t tell Dr Turner as he feels Dr Turner has too much experience to be told. Valerie gets Dr Turner’s attention so Kevin has no choice but to tell him. From past experience with an illness his uncle had, Kevin thinks that the pigeons’ excrement is causing George’s bad lungs.

 

Harry finds Lesley in labor outside their flat and he runs to call for help. Valerie and Kevin are on their way. The birth is very complicated. The baby has an arm twisted around its back and Valerie needs to get her hands in there (yep, there) to help. Kevin makes a few mistakes, such as being way too quick to suggest an episiotomy, scissors at the ready, and nearly cutting the umbilical chord before it’s clamped which could have caused the baby to bleed. He redeems himself though as when the baby doesn’t cry he helps Valerie give it a good rub on its back and all is well. Back at Nonnatus House Valerie tells Kevin to give himself a tick.

 

Dr Turner tells George that he thinks he has histoplasmosis. He needs to have a daily dose of treatment for two months but he will need to be in hospital for this. Fred and Dr Turner explain that his pigeons are making him sick and he needs to let them go before the disease becomes life threatening.  George knows that the best person to care for Dot is Reggie and Fred has cleared it with The Glasshouse so that Reggie can take her home. Later, we see George in his new high-rise flat and a pigeon lands on his balcony. Could it be Dot?