‘Call the Midwife’: How a Routine House Visit Became a Dark Descent into Human Trafficking

The following post contains discussions of abuse and sexual assault.

In one of its most intense episodes, Call the Midwife turns its focus to the hidden dangers facing those on the margins, particularly recent immigrants navigating life in a new city, and the risks they can face.

In a central storyline featuring Nurse Rosalind (Natalie Quarry), the nuns and midwives of Nonnatus House find themselves facing a horrific circumstance involving human trafficking and the forced labor and abuse of a young woman.

How do the nuns and midwives resolve the issue, along with the other problems within Popular? Scroll down to find out. Warning: Spoilers ahead for Season 15 Episode 3 of Call the Midwife.

What happened to Nurse Rosalind this week?

The central case of the week centers on a domestic worker named Agata Balassa (Bogi Bondor), a young Hungarian woman whom Nurse Rosalind discovers scavenging for food. Noticing a burn similar to one she has treated before, Rosalind steps in, offering both medical care and compassion.

Agata’s situation soon reveals something far more disturbing. She has been taken in by Vera (Margareta Szabo) and Laszlo Kovach (Aleksandar Mikic) under the guise of work, but is instead held in domestic servitude. Stripped of her passport and denied pay, Agata is trapped and isolated, told she is not allowed to leave the couple’s residence. The Kovachs subject her to ongoing abuse, with Laszlo repeatedly sexually assaulting her in an attempt to force a pregnancy, as they desperately want a child. When she is unable to provide, they hurt the young woman. However, by the time Rosalind intervenes, Agata is already three months pregnant.

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Recognizing the danger, Rosalind and the midwifery team act quickly, bringing Agata to the Wensley Road Women’s Hostel and keeping her hidden from the Kovachs. When the couple attempts to reclaim her, Agata begins to stand up for herself. And while the police initially dismiss her case as “he said, she said,” they do take an interest in the theft of her passport, offering a potential path toward justice.

Throughout the episode, the midwives become Agata’s lifeline. They not only provide medical care, but also help her rebuild her sense of self, encouraging her to make her own choices, reconnect with her faith, and find the strength to speak out. In the end, the police charge the Kovachs with false imprisonment, while Agata is given the support she needs to make her own decisions for herself and her baby.

Agata’s story is one of survival and reclaimed agency, with the midwifery team playing a crucial role in helping her escape modern slavery and begin again.

What about the other midwives of Nonnatus House?

Nurse Joyce (Renee Bailey) assists at a nearby clinic, St Cuthbert’s, where she helps admit a young unwed mother, Eilene Hudson (Abra Thompson), to the ward. While there, Joyce meets the head of the ward, Sister Marcus (Doreene Blackstock), who shares that she has been passed over for promotion multiple times due to racism and feels she must work twice as hard to be recognized.

Neal Street Productions/PBS

Eilene later undergoes an emergency C-section due to dangerously high blood pressure. She gives birth to a baby girl, but begins to hemorrhage and requires a blood transfusion. A bit difficult due to her rare blood type. Her estranged aunt (Cathy Murphy), who disowned Eileen for not being “respectable, comes to the rescue and donates the blood she needs. The ordeal ultimately brings the two closer, allowing them to reconcile. Sister Marcus is very impressed with Joyce and wants her to stay a while longer.

And everyone else in the Popular?

Most of the community, children and adults alike, are busy with a time capsule to bury for the year 2000. Also, Cyril (Zephryn Taitte) and Rosalind are going strong.

Call the Midwife, Season 15, Sundays, 8/7c on PBS, PBS.org, and the PBS app