Call the Midwife season 6 episode 1 reaction (PBS): Shelagh’s surprise

Call the Midwife season 6 episode 1 first aired on the BBC earlier this year, but on Sunday night, this installment managed to come on and deliver some updates for American viewers for the first time. It was dramatic, emotional, and above all very enjoyable.

If you’re new to CarterMatt this year, what we do with some of our US – Call the Midwife stories weekly is look at one major plot per episode for a deep-dive. You can read our full review of the premiere from earlier this year over at this link.

Shelagh’s surprise – More so even that the story of Trudy or the letter from Patsy’s father, the biggest news of the hour was the announcement that Shelagh Turner is finally pregnant! It didn’t seem like it was ever going to happen for her and Dr. Turner, but over the course of the episode, the good news was officially handed down that the two are going to become parents.

What this means for the two of them is that it really does pay off to continue to have hope, even at a time in which such a concept can be difficult. There’s a reason to keep believing, and there are chances for you to be able to look towards such things as a possibility.

In theory, you would imagine that Shelagh would be the perfect person to be pregnant, when you consider what both she and husband do for a living. If anyone should know how to care for this child, you would certainly think that it would be someone who’s spent the majority of her life being around infants … right? Well, here’s where things could get interesting as a result of this reveal. There are clear differences between being able to care for someone else’s child, and then being able to care for your own. That is something that we firmly expect Call the Midwife to explore, since Shelagh is someone so devoted to helping out other people.

Also, the show may look at this situation as an opportunity to further play around with the concept of guilt. Remember for a moment or two here that Turner has been wrestling with the aftermath of his thalidomide treatments since the end of last year, and he could start to spiral emotionally as a result of some of his guilt.

In theory, the news about Shelagh’s pregnancy is tremendous — it remains to be seen how it is in practice.

What did you think about the way Call the Midwife handled Shelagh’s pregnancy reveal? Share some of your thoughts in the comments!

Meanwhile, be sure to head over here to preview further what’s next on Call the Midwife this season! (Photo: PBS.)