Hello Nonnatuns! Here’s a special Thursday post with some thoughts about the 2020 Christmas special, and particularly about this one plot that I thought was the best thing about the episode--the continuing story of Gloria Venables, and how Shelagh figures into that story. More thoughts follow:
So, I rewatched episode 6x04 in preparation for this post because it was the last time we saw Gloria on the show, and I noticed a bunch of parallels not just in this story, but in others as well. Those include(briefly)--Valerie is hired in 6x04, and her departure is announced in CS2020. There’s a birth in which Patrick is called out at night for a forceps delivery in each episode, and a brave young man (Tim/Reggie) is given beer. Also, Sister Julienne drinks from a “Lady’s glass” in the Black Sail (whiich is also featured in this CS),and Phyllis drinks from one in this episode. The biggest parallel, though, is the obvious one--the continuation of the interaction between Shelagh and Gloria.
This is an excellent story! It’s been so well written and filmed, even with the COVID restrictions. Even though I would have loved to see more “normal” filming conditions, this worked for the most part, and especially in this plotline. The re-introduction of Gloria has been handled especially well and Katie Lyons has done a great job of playing the same character a few years later, and showing us in just a few quick scenes how much those years--and additional lost pregnancies--have changed her. The Gloria in 6x04 still seemed to be holding on to hope and focusing on trying to be cheerful (at least before her miscarriage in that episode), but here she seems weary, more fearful, although she does talk about wishing she could be more cheerful. It’s an excellent performance and strong writing.
I also think this was a great story for Shelagh, and the bond between her and Gloria is portrayed believably, even after a few years of not seeing one another. Shelagh is there to be a supportive friend as well as a midwife. I’ve noticed that before on this show, that when there’s a midwife with more of a bond with the patient and it’s a two midwife birth, the one who’s closer to the patient has been there as the emotional support while the other midwife delivers (I’m thinking of Shelagh delivering the baby for Lucille’s patient with tokophobia while Lucille was there as the primary emotional support).
In addition, while I think the whole story is great, I think the whole sequence (about 7 minutes long by my count) in which Gloria is in labor and is talking about her lost babies by name is up there with the best scenes this show has ever done. It’s so perfectly pitched and expertly edited, and when it becomes time for Gloria to push and deliver her baby, it seems like just the right moment. And even the use of masks in this scene by the midwives adds to the dramatic effect, as when Shelagh takes hers off to respond to Gloria after Rachel Rose is born, to remind Gloria that she’s been a mother for a “long, long time”. It all works so well, and I’ve rewatched this whole sequence a few times now.
Also, on another note--it’s good to finally “meet” Gloria’s husband Tony in this episode. He didn’t appear in 6x04 (mostly for filming convenience/brevity reasons, I’m guessing), but here we get to see that Gloria is married to a kind, devoted man. I’ve written before that I want this whole family to become recurring characters, and I mean that. It would be great to check in on them from time to time, and also see Shelagh with a friend who isn’t part of the Nonnatus crew (although I love her friendship with Sister J).
That’s all for now. At some point, I hope to share a few more thoughts about this episode in general, but I especially wanted to write about this one story because in my mind, it’s the highlight of this Christmas special.
