Call the Midwife season 6 finale review: Barbara’s wedding; Patsy’s return
There was another challenge that quickly approached one other woman in the opening minutes of the episode: The idea of Tom potentially leaving for missionary work. If there was a time for he and Barbara to get married, this was it. The idea of this opportunity is what propelled the two characters to the altar. We’re personally rather thrilled that there is some sort of understanding now as to why the characters are married now, since otherwise seeing the two tie the knot on a whim would make no sense.
One thing that Barbara started to realize over the course of the episode was that not everyone was going to be anywhere near as excited about the wedding as she was. It wasn’t because of anything that she did, but the reality here is that not everyone else (namely, Nurse Crane) has that happiness. It’s hard to find the inner joy when you feel yourself lacking of it in some capacity. Barbara did find a way to eventually get her roommate more involved. She made it clear that she wanted her to be a bridesmaid, and that proved invaluable. Barbara soon realized that she needed all of the help that she could get, which was critical given that she fell asleep while making a wedding dress.
Even Trixie did her part in order to be supportive, despite whatever sort of perceived awkwardness could be present given the fact that Tom was at one point a great love of her own. She did recognize that she had Christopher, though she was still waiting to determine whether or not the relationship was ready for her to meet his daughter.
Contraceptive chaos
The arrival of contraceptives to Nonnatus House was drawing a wide array of opinions. Sure, they may be a way to help reduce unwanted pregnancies, but there were also religious protests behind many of them. There were some funny moments we saw here and there, including Barbara learning a thing or two about certain (ahem) technologies, but this was still serious business, and we saw it get serious down the road with the short-lived patient-of-the-week story. It is meant to be no offense to some of the writing and the power of this story, but we nonetheless still was overshadowed by some of the other events that transpired in the hour.
The big takeaway was that this potential contraceptive was one that did not provided the needed purpose, and instead did so much more harm than good.
Shelagh’s arrival
There are many things about Shelagh that are great, but one of her greatest flaws in her character was explained when it was clear that she was too busy caring for her other people to care for herself. She was afraid to give up work, and skipping some of her own classes. She made the assumption that just because she was a midwife, she would know how to take care of everything when it comes to her birth. This was something that felt true and smart to her character, given that she is often so concerned with the feelings of others more so than her own.
Eventually, Shelagh did decide to stay at home, and asserted to Dr. Turner that he wanted him to be like a normal father for her and not a doctor. This eventually changed, much as everything did come together. She welcomed a child (a boy!) with Turner at her side.
The wedding and your surprise guest
The ceremony took place in the closing minutes of the episode — Barbara made it down the aisle, Tom was waiting for her, and there were tears all across the board for this happiest of occasions. What made it even happier, beyond Tom’s special merry-go-round surprise for his new bride, was the realization that Patsy did in fact make it back! Right when hope appeared to be lost for Delia after some lost messages, she saw her great love once more.
Overall, a lovely end to Call the Midwife season 6
This was a lovely farewell to the story of the season, and one that was themed all around love and how it comes in many forms — whether it be love between a future husband and wife, love between a mother and her new child, or love between two women who found their way back to each other. A pretty perfect finale for the season, and it would have been a more than capable end of the entire series as a whole. We’re nonetheless glad that it was not. Episode Grade: A.
Want to discuss Call the Midwife season 7?
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What did you think about tonight’s new episode of Call the Midwife? Was it a worthy way to end the season to you? Be sure to share your thoughts now with a comment!