‘Call the Midwife’ season 5, episode 3 reaction (PBS): Barbara and Tom’s story

Through much of “Call the Midwife,” romance really has not been at the forefront of many stories. While we do see it come to the surface here and there, it’s not always a priority so much as it is showing the lives of the people in Poplar, and some of their personal stories as they struggle with parenthood, medical crises, or even just their era. While romance exists, we’re not calling this a love story. (Spoilers ahead!)

Therefore, what really made the whole Barbara – Tom storyline on Sunday night’s new episode on PBS all the more interesting is that it feels ultimately rather organic. Sometimes, having a person date their ex’s friend can feel a little bit forced, but in this case, it almost felt expected that these two would get together. Both are lonely when it comes to love, and we also think that the two of them are nice people who are trying to move forward and figure out what they want their future to be.

For Barbara, we think that for the most part, she handled this newfound romance about as well as she could had, with one key exception: Waiting on telling Trixie. We don’t think that the character would have objected at all to the two being together, and it would’ve been far better than her finding out later on her own. The show played this really well to not make it appear like something straight out of a soap opera.

This romance between Barbara and Tom feels like something classical and perfect for people of this time, but who knows? This is a complicated show, and it may not end up being so cut-and-dry. Stay tuned for more on that. (We provide snapshots of specific scenes during our American “Call the Midwife reviews. You can read our full take on this installment here.)

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