Editor’s Note: Trigger warning - This episode contains references to self-harm and suicidal ideation.

It’s a new week in Poplar, and everyone is slowly adjusting to a new season of life at Nonnatus House. The women have welcomed Sister Veronica into the fold, as well as her passion for making and canning marmalade – though most, if not all, of the midwives seem to have developed an aversion to the delicious fruit preserve. #MarmaladeForDays aside, thanks to Sister Veronica’s arrival, the midwives are finally finding stability again at work. 

Miss Turner’s School of Dance

More help means more time for everything else that the midwives do for the community beyond deliveries, clinic, and district house calls. For Shelagh, that means organizing the upcoming Maypole dance for the local Whitsun Celebration. Nadine of Miss Nadine’s School of Dance is in the hospital after an upsetting and painful case of ovarian torsion, and is no longer fit to choreograph the dance. Instead, her duties fall to the community committee aka Shelagh. We know Shelagh can sing… but can she dance?

As she begins her preparation for the Whitsun Celebration, she also stops by Nonnatus House to see if they have anything to offer for the raffle she’s organizing. Sister Monica Joan takes this opportunity to generously donate all of Sister Veronica’s marmalade. We can already imagine how that will go over.

A Safe Space for New Mothers

Following in Shelagh’s footsteps on her journey to Most Generous and Selfless Person of the Year, Sister Julienne also hopes to use her additional free time to meet with members of the community. So she decides to hold a class for first time mothers at Nonnatus House where they can learn and connect with each other in a less formal setting.

Sister Monica Joan is not pleased to have the parlor and her beloved television room taken over for the occasion, but it’s at this class that Sister Julienne meets Lilian Reynolds. After the breastfeeding demonstration that Sister Julienne has arranged for the women, Lilian pulls Sister Julienne aside after class to tell her that she’s been experiencing breast pain during her pregnancy. Sister Julienne recommends that she attends their clinic, and the next day Lilian meets with Dr. Turner for observation. He rules out mastitis as a possible cause for her symptoms, but worries that she may have an infection and schedules an appointment for her at St. Cuthbert’s Hospital.

Lucille’s Call Home

While Lilian waits for her biopsy, we return to Lucille’s story following her troubles last episode. Though it’s usually the midwives who must earn the trust of their patients, this week, Lucille is trying to build back her trust in the community. During the season premiere, anti-immigrant protestors took to the streets in support of politician Enoch Powell, and Lucille found herself subjected to racism by one of her own patients.

Feeling unwelcome in the country, while also missing her family and coping with a recent miscarriage, she’s struggled to find peace with Poplar and the people she has to work with. Seeing new patients is the last thing she wants to do, but she meets with Thomas Woodleigh this week, who is recovering after a bad fall and a progressing case of macular degeneration. She shares in his feelings of loneliness when he tells her that he doesn’t have any family nearby to support him and finds a tiny bit of relief in the kindness he shows her unlike her last patient.

Things at work start to look up, but at home, it only gets worse. Cyril surprises Lucille with a phone call to her family in Jamaica, but the excitement is short-lived. Lucille learns that her sister Celine, who is recently married, is already pregnant, and this, of course, is a major blow.

A Lonely Patient

Pushing through her grief, however, Lucille follows up with Mr. Woodleigh with work being a mild distraction from everything happening at home. Her visit is immediately worrisome when she realizes that Mr. Woodleigh has lost vision in one eye completely and can barely see out of the other. She brings Dr. Turner in and he notices bleeding at the back of Mr. Woodleigh’s eye. He recommends that Mr. Woodleigh sees an occupational specialist at the hospital as soon as possible. Though Mr. Woodleigh is resistant to leave the comfort and safety of his home, Lucille is able to convince him to get the help he needs and promises that she’ll see to his return.

An Intervention Gone Wrong

During this time, Mrs. Wallace and Phyllis schedule a secret meeting to discuss Lucille’s situation. Since Phyllis works with Lucille day-to-day and was present with her during her miscarriage, she has seen firsthand how much this has impacted her friend. Though she believes that Lucille might require medical intervention, she hopes that a little support from her religion might help her.

When their meeting is done, Mrs. Wallace goes to Cyril and encourages him to pray for her with their congregation. Cyril doesn’t think this is a good idea, but it’s too late to put a stop to it because Lucille walks in on their conversation following a long day of work and, understandably, is distraught to find that they’re talking about her business behind her back. She reveals that she’s lost faith in God to help her feel welcome in England and to provide her with a baby.

Though her work and personal life have been more challenging than ever, Lucille continues to visit Mr. Woodleigh. When it feels like no one else in her life understands what she’s going through, she feels a connection to her patient and wants to make sure he’s not alone. She even treats him to his favorite biscuits, and during a followup visit, she brings him good news. Knowing how badly he wants to be home, she has worked with his occupational therapist to assess him for at-home care.

While she’s visiting though, she’s greeted by an unexpected guest: Mr. Woodleigh’s granddaughter. When she inquires how this is possible since he previously claimed not to have any family beyond a distant grandson, his granddaughter Janet reveals that he actually has three daughters, eleven grandchildren, and a few great-grandchildren as well. From their conversation, Lucille realizes that Mr. Woodleigh’s real issue is that he refuses to leave his home in Poplar having lived there all his life. Learning that he has a family so close to him, and seeing that he is the one who has chosen to be apart from them, severs the bond she thought they both shared.

Lilian’s Diagnosis

As Lucille takes in this news, Lilian and her husband Ronnie visit the hospital following her biopsy. They are stunned when Lilian’s doctor reveals that she has a rare type of cancer which has caused the inflammation and tenderness in her breast.

Lilian is also distraught to learn that despite her hope for a home birth, her doctor at St. Cuthbert’s has already scheduled her to be induced at the hospital without her approval in order to start her radiotherapy soon after. Though there’s not much that Dr. Turner and Sister Julienne can do as the messengers in this situation, they promise to support her throughout her treatment.

Putting Lilian First

As it turns out however, Lilian’s body has different plans for her. Trixie visits Lilian later for a routine checkup, and she’s surprised to see that her blood pressure has gone up. Lilian also complains of discomfort from what she believes to be practice contractions, and Trixie recognizes that Lilian has gone into labor early.

When Lilian expresses her fears to Trixie about being forced to go to the hospital, Trixie convinces Sister Julienne that they need to put Lilian and her baby first. With her cancer already controlling her life, letting her have the home birth she wanted is the only way to give her some of her power back. Sister Julienne agrees, and the two women work together to help Lilian deliver her first baby Andrea.

Sister Monica Joan’s Dancing Shoes

While little Andrea arrives at the perfect time, Shelagh is late to her first Maypole dance class at Florrie Hall, where Sister Monica Joan and Fred are waiting for her. The kids are running wild without Shelagh’s supervision, but Sister Monica Joan is not one to tolerate chaos and quickly brings order to the room.

Though she’s only there to watch rehearsals, it’s not long before she takes matters into her own hands. Surprisingly, she is quite the choreographer. Watch out Miss Nadine! When Shelagh eventually arrives following a forceps delivery that caused her delay (we think that deserves a pass) she’s pleased to see the children in perfect formation, having memorized all their steps.

Lucille’s Cry for Help

Later, as the episode returns to Lucille, she leaves Mr. Woodleigh and his family at the hospital. It is clear that now, more than ever, she feels completely alone and like she has no one to turn to. After her shift, she begins to wander the streets of Poplar in a serious state of distress and at her breaking point. In this heartbreaking scene, Lucille is distraught, and for a brief moment, we see her as she contemplates taking her own life. When she returns home to Cyril, she acknowledges that she needs to see someone to help her.

So she turns to one of Poplar’s most compassionate doctors and someone she trusts- Dr. Turner. She admits that she imagined stepping into a busy road that day believing that it might be able to “take her home.” Dr. Turner, of course, promises to help her every step of the way. He later explains to Cyril that Lucille is experiencing a nervous breakdown and that she needs as much rest as possible and most likely, a massive change in scenery.

A Prescription for Change

Though Dr. Turner reassures Cyril that he’ll do all that he can to help Lucille with her road to recovery while she’s in Poplar, Cyril worries that it isn’t enough. The day after Lucille’s appointment with Dr. Turner, Cyril surprises her with a ticket to Jamaica for an indefinite stay. Though he can’t join her abroad, he knows it’s the real rest and change that she’s needed all along.

As the episode wraps up, the midwives celebrate Whitsun with food, a Maypole dance, and raffle prizes. Sister Monica Joan receives a healthy dose of karma when she unintentionally wins Sister Veronica’s marmalade in the raffle, but the event is a success thanks to everyone’s efforts.

Lucille is missing from the festivities, but after saying goodbye to Phyllis earlier that day, she quietly slips out while the others enjoy the party. She leaves Poplar in style, riding alongside Cyril in his motorcycle sidecar just like she did on their first date together.

Forgot how we got here? Catch up on “Call the Midwife” with the Season 12, Episode 1 GIF Recap.