Call the Midwife season 7 episode 7 on PBS ends with shocking tragedy
Unfortunately, this episode instead marked the exit of series cast member Charlotte Ritchie from the series. Barbara succumbed to her sudden illness and no matter the help that was given to her during the episode, none of it ultimately ended up working. The character died in an episode that featured many of the nuns at Nonnatus praying for her survival, with one even going so far as to say that they wished they were taking her place since Barbara still had so much life to live.
So why did this story decision happen this week? This was not due to any decision be show writer Helen Thomas; instead, it all comes down to a decision made by Ritchie herself to depart. Call the Midwife is not a show that has a tendency to lock any of its cast members into long-term deals and with that in mind, they operate with a sense of constant flux in relation to their future. Ritchie is far from the only cast member on Call the Midwife to depart the series, as we have also said farewell to such other performs as Miranda Hart, Jessica Raine, and Emerald Fennell as they have gone on to pursue other opportunities. The big difference here between this exit and the others is that Ritchie is the only cast member whose character was killed off. There’s still a chance that Chummy, Jenny, and Patsy could appear in the future. With Barbara, it’s only going to come in the form of a flashback.
We know that there were some happier moments that took place for other characters in this episode tonight, including Lucille working to find herself a place; unfortunately, it’s hard to really focus on that in the midst of the tragedy that we saw near the end of the road tonight.
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