Hello everyone! 🙂
Welcome to ‘Bradley’s Basement’ blog and I’m Tim Bradley!
I apologise for the delay to my review on Series 8, Episode 8 of ‘Call the Midwife’. I was away last weekend for the ‘London Comic Con Spring’. It has taken a while for me to settle back in. Thankfully I saw the season finale for Series 8 of ‘Call the Midwife’ via BBC iPlayer with my parents on Monday.
Well, what can I say? Series 8, Episode 8 has been an emotional rollercoaster of a season finale in ‘Call the Midwife’. It ties up a plot thread that has been reoccurring throughout certain episodes of the season – most significantly the abortion storyline and Valerie Dyer’s grandmother’s involvement.
In this final episode, Jennifer Kirby as Nurse Valerie has a tough time when her grandmother, Ann Mitchell as Elsie Dyer has to go to court and face the legal consequences for performing abortions. You can see how miserable Valerie is in this tale, especially since she’s torn between duty and family.
It’s interesting how things get tied up in the episode, both in terms of the series overall and in an emotional manner. And it’s not just echoes from Episodes 4 and 7 that are in this episode. There are also echoes in Episode 1 when Emily Barber as Cath Hindman returns and gives evidence in the trial.
The episode also has Fenella Woolgar as Sister Hilda helping a couple to deal with a baby on the way whilst the daughter has Hodgkin’s disease. I must admit, I was shocked to see the condition the daughter was in, since she had red burn marks around her neck and she required special treatment.
Sister Hilda forms a bond with Bessie Coates as Julie Shroeder, the daughter with Hodgkin’s disease, by giving her a final wish to attend the special dance at the end of the episode. It was interesting when it became revealed that Julie’s father was a prisoner of war – hence the German name he has.
The episode also resolves a plot thread where Stephen McGann as Dr. Turner and his wife Laura Main as Shelagh get their adoptive Chinese girl May back. There’s also a plot thread where Shelagh arranges a special dance for the community which serves as the finale’s final scene at the tale’s end.
There’s also a plot thread where Cliff Parisi as Fred Buckle and his and his wife’s ward Daniel Laurie as Reggie seem to be keeping secrets from each other. Annabelle Apsion as Violet Buckle insists the two talk to each other. It soon gets revealed Fred has bladder trouble while Reggie has fallen in love.
Series 8, Episode 8 of ‘Call the Midwife’ has been an emotional rollercoaster of a season finale. I’ve enjoyed watching Series 8 of ‘Call the Midwife’ this year and have been able to get into the characters more. I hope it won’t be long for me to catch up on previous seasons of this drama series.
Incidentally, ‘Call the Midwife’ has been recently green lit for two more seasons and two more Christmas Specials. I’m sure I’ll be watching those when they come out in the future via TV or BBC iPlayer. But I’m surprised that ‘Doctor Who’ doesn’t get the same treatment as ‘Call the Midwife’. 😀
Thanks for reading!
Bye for now!
Tim. 🙂
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