Fasten your seatbelts, everybody: Apollo 11 is soaring toward the moon! It’s July of 1969, and everyone in Poplar is awaiting the momentous expedition to outer space… particularly Sister Monica Joan, aka the biggest (unofficial) space enthusiast at Nonnatus House.

In other news, following the emotional rollercoaster of Fred’s frightful scare from last week’s episode, Violet has momentarily relegated her husband from his typical day-to-day routine. That’s right – no traffic guard duties this week. Instead, a period of low-key convalescence awaits him. Yet, considering the panic he gave all of us, he can’t really complain too much, now can he?

Reviewing the Pupils’ Case Books

It’s that time of the year for Sister Julienne and the senior midwives to review the pupils’ casebooks and their progress. (Who doesn’t love a fun performance review?) Overall, the women have kind things to say about Rosalind, although Nurse Crane is concerned that the nurse lacks overall self-confidence. Joyce, on the other hand, is clearly more than set in that department, however, Shelagh believes she still could benefit from overseeing more home births.

As such, Sister Julienne assigns Joyce and Trixie to Prudence Stanton, a mother who isn’t, let’s say, the most… amenable of patients. Upon dropping by the mother’s house for a visit, the two midwives pick up on Mrs. Stanton’s M.O. – she isn't particularly concerned with following advised protocols, as is made clear by her failure to show up for clinic check-ups. Nevertheless, Joyce and Trixie are two women who won’t take “no” for an answer, and ultimately make the mother agree to show up at the clinic for some mandatory testing. 

Testing for TB 

Meanwhile, Dr. Turner and his staff have set up a health clinic to administer tuberculosis vaccines to secondary students. However, to treat the schoolchildren, each student must first be screened for the disease.

As instructed, the students receive their skin tests and return a few days later to show their results to the staff. Much to Timothy’s disappointment, it looks as though everyone has tested negative… that is until Samuel and Esther Chdozie step forward. While the siblings don’t exhibit any signs or symptoms of the illness, their test results are irrefutable: positive.

Dr. Turner consults with Sister Veronica and Nancy about the best steps to take for the Chdozies, who will both need to get X-rays. Nancy offers to visit the students’ home to explain to Esther and Samuel’s parents their medical situation…

Eyes to the Sky

Similar to the buzz surrounding Apollo 8, Sister Monica Joan can't help to contain her giddiness at the news of the impending Apollo 11 mission. And because Fred is still convalescing from his tetanus diagnosis, she’s luckily found a close companion to discuss matters with.

Meanwhile, over at the antenatal clinic, Joyce inspects Mrs. Stanton who has begrudgingly shown up for her appointment. Upon assessing the mother’s stomach, Joyce concludes that the fetal head hasn’t dropped fully down yet, meaning that once Mrs. Stanton’s water breaks, she is to call Nonnatus House right away (just to err on the side of caution).

Diagnosing Felix

As promised, Nancy goes to visit the Chdozie residence to discuss with Samuel and Esther’s parents their children’s positive diagnoses. However, upon arriving, she discovers the apartment’s deplorable living conditions, and worse yet, it appears as though the children’s father, Felix, is also sick. In fact, very sick – so much so that he’s coughing up blood into his napkin.

Nancy immediately calls for Dr. Turner, who is then quick to confirm that all of Felix’s symptoms point to tuberculosis. Because of the setup of England’s healthcare system, Dr. Turner is able to assure the Chdozies that he can register the entire family at Dr. Turner’s clinic as well as have them receive more tests at St. Cuthbert's at no cost. The one caveat, though, is that the prescription Dr. Turner wishes to prescribe Felix won’t be covered; he’ll have to pay out of pocket, which will inevitably be an added burden to the family’s current financial struggles. (On top of all of that, Felix was recently dismissed from his job, likely in part because of how his illness affects his mobility.)

To show their further support, Nancy and Rosalind visit the Chdozies a couple of days later, bringing over supplies and essentials for the family. Mrs. Chdozie is earnestly moved by the midwives’ generosity and ashamed by their current living conditions. Gently, Rosalind reminds the mother there’s “nothing wrong in needing help,” and furthermore, “no shame in accepting it.”

Medical Complications

Over at the Stanton household, Prudence’s water finally breaks (while she’s preoccupied smoking her cigarette, no less). Naturally, her reaction is to nonchalantly tell her daughter to put a kettle of tea on before calling for Nonnatus House. When Shelagh and Joyce arrive at the household, they discover that the mother’s baby is still not in the right position to push. Instead, they choose to walk her around to help encourage her contractions.

In other news, the test results for the Chdozie family have come in, and they’re worse than anticipated. Felix looks to be suffering from lung damage, swollen lymph nodes, and cavities in his lungs. Dr. Turner asks Miss Higgins to find an isolation ward immediately for Felix and heads off to visit the family at once.

Apollo 11: Liftoff!

You heard it here first: We have liftoff! Sister Monica Joan and Fred crowd around the television to watch the rapid U.S. rocket launch toward the moon.

But while the prospect of space exploration remains the topic of interest among Poplar, something appears to be consuming Nancy’s mind. Following her first visit to the Chdozies, where she saw Felix cough up blood in his handkerchief, Nancy has been wondering whether her mother, too, fell ill with the disease. She confides in Nurse Crane about her suspicions – telling her that the image of the bloody handkerchief conjured up memories she may have forgotten as a child.

Later on, without consulting Nancy, Nurse Crane turns to Miss Higgins, our #ResearchQueen, to get help with uncovering more details about Nancy’s past...

Conflicting Priorities

As Mrs. Stanton is still in labor, Trixie arrives at the house to take over for Shelagh. Not long after, though, Rosalind comes rushing to the Stantons on a bicycle to deliver an urgent message to Trixie: Matthew’s called Nonnatus House and is asking for Trixie to call him back as soon as possible.

Trixie rushes to a nearby payphone, imagining the worst has happened – leaving Joyce alone to tend to Mrs. Stanton. When she finally gets ahold of Matthew, however, she learns that nothing cataclysmic has occurred. Instead, he’s experiencing a headache and stress from work; Jonty also refuses to go to sleep.

Trixie is beyond annoyed that he only called to tell her this, and worse yet, that he made her leave her patient for a non-emergency. Matthew reminds his wife that she “has other responsibilities” in addition to her job (maybe not the best timing, Matthew?) and asks her when she’ll be home. Flustered, Trixie hurries back to the Stantons.

A Rushed Signature

By the time Trixie returns, Prudence is fully dilated and ready to push; however, Joyce suspects that Mrs. Stanton has a textbook presentation of a “face first” baby. Trixie is doubtful of this but soon realizes Joyce is correct. They call for Dr. Turner, who is fortunately able to safely deliver Prudence’s baby boy.

While the parents marvel over their baby, Trixie leaves once again to call Matthew who doesn’t pick up. It’s clear by the time she returns to Mrs. Stanton’s bedroom that she’s in a rush to leave, even disregarding Joyce’s concern over Mrs. Stanton’s afterbirth. Instead of inspecting further why the placenta is so dark and gritty-looking, Trixie tells Joyce to finish up the report so she can sign it and leave.

Making Up

After her stressful evening at work, Trixie returns home to discuss the earlier matter with Matthew. The two of them seem to make up over their disagreement, with Matthew particularly happy that Trixie is back home.

Meanwhile, Nancy expresses her anger to Nurse Crane upon learning Miss Higgins went to dig up information about Nancy’s past without consulting Nancy first. Nurse Crane explains that it was she who prompted Miss Higgins to reach out on Nancy’s behalf, and apologizes to her colleague if she did something she shouldn’t have.

Nancy’s frustration softens, and chooses to listen to what the two women discovered. They were able to track down a nun, Sister Agnes Mary, who now goes by her given name Kathleen Flanagan. Despite not having the best of health, Miss Flanagan appears to be open to speaking with Nancy at her nursing home. When Nancy goes to retrieve the address from Miss Higgins, she graciously offers to drive Nancy herself.

Weakened Patients

Dr. Turner comes with Timothy to the Chdozies to express good news: He found an isolation ward for Felix; the ambulance is already on its way to transport him there.

Soon after stepping inside the apartment, Dr. Turner is able to gauge Felix’s critical state. After weakly standing up to put on his jacket, Felix tells Dr. Turner how proud he is of his son Samuel and all the more he wishes he could do to help his family. Dr. Turner assures the ill father that he has done a fine job, but not soon after, Felix coughs up a mouthful of blood and collapses onto the floor.

Timothy rushes to call for an ambulance while Dr. Turner performs CPR on Felix. But in the end, he’s not able to resuscitate him. The sickly father dies in front of his heartbroken family. No words can fully capture the weight of this devastating loss.

Over at the Stanton residence, Shelagh and Joyce find Prudence in a poor condition. Shelagh examines the mother and sees she has a fever, pain in her stomach, and… lots of blood on the sheets. An ambulance is called to take Mrs. Stanton to St. Cuthbert’s.

While she is carried out of the room, Shelagh remarks to Joyce that the mother was demonstrating all of the typical signs of a partially retained placenta and that it should have been spotted when the nurse checked the afterbirth. A look of worry and contemplation flashes across Joyce’s face, as she very well remembers how Trixie was quick to rushen the afterbirth examination.

What will Joyce do? Can she speak out against Trixie?

Coming Forward

After confiding in Rosalind the details about Prudence’s birth, Joyce’s friend insists she tells Sister Julienne the truth of the situation. If Joyce doesn’t share her account, she could face sizable repercussions to her future and career. The two young pupils pay Sister Julienne a visit, who is at first surprised to hear Joyce’s version, but begins to comprehend the full picture of fault.

With this newfound information brought to light, Sister Julienne calls Trixie in to talk about Prudence’s case. Realizing her fault in the situation, Trixie breaks down in front of Sister Julienne – taking full blame and responsibility for getting caught up with her home priorities while at work.

Sister Julienne reminds Trixie she, nor is anyone, infallible, but Trixie announces she will resign from her position if Sister Julienne thinks it’s best. Of course, Sister Julienne turns down this idea but suggests they agree on a way to minimize the damage done to Joyce going forward.

Meeting Miss Flanagan

At the nursing home, Nancy is accompanied by Miss Higgins – with a notebook and pen in hand to take notes – to speak with Miss Flanagan.

After talking with the former nun, Nancy learns her entire family succumbed to tuberculosis, which was the reason why she was sent to live at the convent. It’s a bittersweet, cathartic moment for Nancy – knowing that she wasn’t abandoned by her family, but rather was tragically the only survivor of the deadly illness.

Fallout from the Mistake

Joyce meets with Sister Julienne and Nurse Crane to learn that they wish to revise Mrs. Stanton’s case notes so that it is clear Trixie was the one to declare the placenta to be complete. Some good news for Joyce, considering she would have bore the brunt of responsibility had she not spoken up. Even more importantly, however, it sounds as though Prudence will make a full recovery.

Meanwhile, a disconcerted Trixie returns home to discuss with Matthew the fallout from her mistake at work. While she has agreed to take full accountability and still stay on at Nonnatus House, she’s clearly still distraught from her error. When Matthew suggests she maybe takes some time off from her job, Trixie is shocked at his lack of understanding of her: midwifery is her vocation and a paramount part in her life.

But Trixie’s mind is fully made up. She decides that going forward, she will stay at Nonnatus House three nights so she can fully dedicate her attention to her patients. Matthew is certainly not overjoyed to hear this news, and responds to Trixie with the question: “Are you a wife or a midwife?”

Yikes! The marital bliss at the Aylward household looks to be in murky waters at the moment. 

One Large Step for Mankind...

And at last, the moment we’ve all been waiting for is here: Apollo 11 has landed on the moon! Everyone – and I mean everyone – is glued to their television sets as they await to see man’s first step on the moon…

Yet, with this big leap in space, a lot of unresolved issues remain for Poplar’s finest. While the Chdozie children are set to receive treatment for their TB, it still will be an uphill battle from here. Trixie and Matthew are well away from harmony…

Forgot how we got here? Catch up on “Call the Midwife” with the Season 13, Episode 3 Recap..