‘Call the Midwife’ season 4, episode 2 review (PBS): Patsy’s relationship; Phyllis’ arrival

“Call the Midwife” is meant to be a series about subtle flux. While life goes on and there are still mothers in need of care, that is only a part of the story in Poplar. Tonight’s episode was a reflection of the social and at times financial issues that can plague the establishment and its women, and we’re excited to see what the reaction is going to be from U.S. audiences.

We are entering this story at the moment with a rather nice advantage, largely in that we’ve already seen the entirety of the season from when it aired earlier this year on the BBC. If you want to get our full review from earlier this year, you can do so over at the link here. The main focus of this article is to discuss a number of little points that were important tonight, and will continue to be as we move deeper into the season.

1. The Delia – Patsy story to us is the most powerful, mostly because of the bravery that they have in continuing this companionship in this particularly time period. The show even presents it in a way that would be reflective of how they would react around each other in the time period of the show, and they quickly become two of the series more endearing couples when paired together.

2. How do honor those who are gone? This story was told to us in a story-of-the-week format, but it is a microcosm to something that looms large this season. This does not even mean just the deceased, but also characters like Jenny. How do you deal with the fact that there is suddenly a big void at Nonnatus?

3. The decaying state of the establishment will be an issue throughout the season, and at times even in surprising ways. Costs need to be kept low, and at times this will be frustrating.

4. The introduction of Phyllis to the series was an engaging one, especially since she is an older presence to Nonnatus that will challenge the characters.

What did you think about this “Call the Midwife” episode? Let us know in the comments, and head over here to get some other news now, including a preview for what may lie ahead! Also, you can sign up now to get some other news on everything we cover via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: BBC.)