Call the Midwife (TV Series) Episode #12.1 (2023) User Reviews

Revisiting familiar territory but with less good writing

[wolfstar_imdb · 7/10 · 4 January 2023]

It's not that the show has gone "woke" - it's more that Call The Midwife is rehashing storylines and themes that it has already handled in previous series with much more dexterity and sophistication. Take the hard-hitting and period-appropriate episode about male homosexuality back in series 4, Patsy and Delia's closet relationship in series 5, or the occasions on which Lucille encountered racist attitudes in series 7 and 8. All were much better scripted and characterised than in this episode, and I'm concerned about what this augurs if race is going to be the central topic of this year's series.

Lucille is a highly professional, devoutly Christian and socially conservative character, and in previous episodes when she encountered racism, she kept a stiff upper lip and got on with the job, then dealt with it afterwards with grace, dignity and wisdom. She was never one to go into meltdown or get outraged over something. However, since her miscarriage she has been written as increasingly flaky and histrionic, which is a sexist stereotype and not a good direction to develop this well-acted character in.

No-one likes to feel they're being preached to, even if they completely agree with the message, and I found that tonight's episode was just too didactic and overwrought to be dramatically effective. Even back in the Jenny Lee days the show sometimes handled race issues, but did so far more naturalistically.

A lot going on

[studioAT · 6/10 · 6 January 2023]

Most shows by their twelfth series are running out of stories. Not so 'Call the Midwife' it seems, which probably actually goes too far the other way here, with at least five attempting to be told over the course of an hour.

It manages to do a decent enough job, but I did find myself wanting more of some of them, and thinking that they had been resolved a bit too suddenly/easily.

It's still the best drama the BBC has on its books, and the fact they are able to breeze through so many storylines I suppose bodes well because it means they've got more in the bank to come.

It's another reliable episode.

Definitely not Call the Midwife at its best

[Nyssareen_77 · 4/10 · 24 June 2023]

I agree with the other reviewers who complained of too many plots, heavy-handed preaching, and inconsistent characterizations. This show does usually have multiple threads going on in each episode, but for a regular episode to have this many threads going on at once it was overwhelming. These were all also issues which have been very well covered in previous episodes, and dealt with much better, might I add. It isn't uncommon for a woman to be more emotional and more easily upset after a miscarriage, but for Lucille's character to change so much and so suddenly just seems like inconsistent writing, especially with no indication of change for her character in the Christmas episode. Racism was definitely an issue in this time and place, but this was a very heavy-handed and sloppy way to handle the issue. If they are going to readdress an issue previously covered, it can't feel like it was tacked on as an afterthought and that is how the whole protest thing felt. I also agree with the comment that if racism is going to ne the overarching theme of this season, I'm not sure if I will remain interested. After getting beaten over the head with "racists everywhere" for the past 3 years, getting preached at by my favorite show is just a bit too much.