In a dramatic departure from the familiar streets of Poplar, the beloved nuns and nurses of Nonnatus House found themselves confronting a formidable new adversary in the Call The Midwife Christmas special. The two-part festive episode on BBC1 transported a detachment of the team to Hong Kong, where they quickly discovered that organised crime in the Far East operates by a far more ruthless code than anything back home.
From East End Gangsters to Hong Kong Hardmen
The episode opened with a striking comparison from Dr Turner (Stephen McGann). He reflected that the infamous Kray twins, Ronnie and Reggie, held a certain reverence for the nuns of Nonnatus House. Had they ever tried to run a protection racket against the formidable Sister Julienne (Jenny Agutter), Dr Turner mused, one stern look would have seen them emptying their pockets into the collection plate.
This stood in stark contrast to the reception the team received in Hong Kong. They had rushed to aid a community after a church orphanage collapsed. However, the local Triad criminal gangs showed no such deference to their wimples or mission. Vital aid packages and medical supplies were brutally ransacked. "These have been forced open!" gasped Dr Turner. "It's all gone."
The situation escalated when Sister Julienne, having raised funds for a new orphanage in Kowloon's Half Lotus Street, attempted to pay a deposit. In a chilling scene, a scowling thug took the keys from her at gunpoint, leaving the nuns' humanitarian mission in grave jeopardy.
A Stark Warning and Defiant Hope
Also in Hong Kong were Poplar locals Violet and Fred Buckle, visiting their policeman son, Derek. He offered a sobering reality check to his mother, stating plainly, "Kowloon isn't the East End. It's about as dodgy as it gets." Undeterred, the ever-optimistic Fred Buckle (Cliff Parisi) stuck out his jaw defiantly: "It's the same as Poplar, innit? Bad things happen, good people sort it out."
This sentiment encapsulates the enduring heart of Call The Midwife's Christmas specials. Over the years, viewers have seen the community battle snowstorms on Scottish islands, escaped convicts, and circus fires. Yet, the core belief that goodness can triumph always prevails. How the nuns and nurses would overcome the threat of the Chinese mafia in the concluding episode posed a gripping question, potentially requiring more than just the power of prayer.
The missionary team was bolstered by the presence of the formidable Nurse Crane (Linda Bassett) and the return of Sister Hilda (Fenella Woolgar), leading to speculation that a different kind of resolution might be needed. As the preview suggested, perhaps everybody was going to be nun-fu fighting.
Festive Drama Back in Poplar
While part of the team faced peril abroad, the usual festive baby rush continued back in Poplar. A gypsy matriarch and her eldest daughter both required midwifery assistance simultaneously. Complications arose when Dr Turner's locum stand-in proved unable to perform a forceps delivery, a situation so dire it required the assistance of the venerable Sister Monica Joan (Judy Parfitt).
Trixie (Helen George) returned from New York, now largely acting in a double act with her Harley Street osteopath brother, Geoffrey. Meanwhile, Doctor Turner's son, Timothy (Max Macmillan), was back with a new 1970s-style haircut, a taste for cocktails and cigarettes, leading to concerns about Poplar's moral standards with the nuns away on the other side of the world.
The Christmas special masterfully wove together high-stakes international drama with the intimate, heartfelt stories of birth and community that define the series, setting the stage for a tense and hopeful conclusion.
