‘Call the Midwife’: Is This the End for Nonnatus House? Will Mayor Buckle Come to the Rescue?

In the penultimate episode of Call the Midwife, the future of Nonnatus House is dire at best, as its doors appear to be on the verge of closing, even as its occupants experience both highs and lows. While some members of the midwife team have reason to celebrate new beginnings, others are wrestling with uncertainty, loss, and the weight of decisions that could change their lives and the future of Poplar forever.

As Season 15 nears its close, Rosalind (Natalie Quarry) and Cyril ( Zephryn Taitte) make a life-changing decision, while Sister Veronica (Rebecca Gethings) continues to wrestle with a crossroads of her own. The Mullucks’ family faces one calamity after another as a past story resurfaces to haunt them, and Mrs. Buckle (Annabelle Apsion) puts a plan in motion to try to save Nonnatus House.

Here is a breakdown of Episode 7, the second-to-last episode before the season finale. Warning: Spoilers ahead for Season 15 Episode 7 of Call the Midwife.

Mayor Buckle to the rescue?

Nonnatus House is forced to shut down as the council pulls its funding, with other maternity homes also under threat. Dr. Turner (Stephen McGann) fears the new system will confuse the community and strip patients of a meaningful voice in their own care. With home births on the line, an entire way of life hangs in the balance.

Mayor Violet Buckle has a plan: As the mayor of Poplar, she called the Gazette and, for a story, will shadow the midwives in their duties, photographing and detailing their days to draw attention to the importance of midwifery services provided by Nonnatus House and their role in the community.

Nonnatus House mobilizes, and at St. Cuthbert’s Annexe, the team organizes petitions, hangs signs, and does everything it can to spread the word about the impending closure. Soon, a photographer joins Mrs. Buckle to highlight the vital work the midwives do.

At the committee meeting, the unsympathetic Dr. Threapwood (Timothy Harker) calls for the closure of the maternity home, drawing the ire of Dr. Turner and others on the board. When asked for further comments, Mrs. Buckle steps in with her petitions and newspaper articles, but Threapwood dismisses them, insisting the decision is dictated by the National Health. He brushes past their concerns and arguments, ignoring their outcries.

Meanwhile, amid the upheaval, Trixie meets with Dr. Herbert Scarisbrick (Richard Dillane) at the Lady Emily Clinic for Women & Babies, where he offers her the position of matron. Though tempted, she asks to wait until the new year so she can help guide Nonnatus House through its final transition. The decision weighs heavily on her. Letting go of the work she loves is heartbreaking, but she remains committed to supporting women, and the clinic offers her a way to continue that mission.

Young Dr. Turner’s day out

Timothy Turner (Max Macmillan) is well on his way to becoming a doctor like his father. During rotations with Joyce (Renee Bailey), he is called to help Subhankar Das (Nikhil Singh Rai) and his wife, Ranjini (Anushka Chakravarti), deliver their first child, where the overwhelming need for care is clear.

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When Joyce is pulled away to save a baby who stops breathing, Teddy delivers a healthy baby girl on his own, only to discover Ranjini is hemorrhaging. Both ultimately pull through, leaving Teddy and Joyce shaken but quietly triumphant.

Rosalind and Cyril make a happy move forward

Rosalind is in the early stages of her pregnancy, with only Joyce and Cyril aware. When Cyril presents her with a pearl engagement ring, the couple quickly announces their plans to marry, shocking the rest of Nonnatus House with a wedding just three weeks away.

Telling her parents goes poorly. “The niceness I’d always seen in them, the general decency they have always shown, I thought would somehow come out on top,” she cries. She chooses not to reveal the pregnancy, fearing they might reject both the baby and the man she loves.

They then share the news with Cyril’s landlady, Mrs. Wallace, who had already guessed the truth and, despite her prickly nature, is genuinely happy for them.

Sister Veronica has a brand new bag (and dress, and lipstick…)

Sister Veronica is enjoying her time away from the convent, discovering who she is through new experiences, like sleeping in and getting her hair done. Geoffrey (Christopher Harper) encourages her to make a list of everything she wants to do before deciding whether to return to the order. The two have a dandy time putting it together: buying a new dress (not in navy blue, possibly tiger print), drinking wine while making crepes (done), and, more importantly, figuring out how to earn some money. Geoffrey even offers her a job as a secretary. “You can be the Ms. Higgins of Harness Street,” he jokes.

Viewers are then treated to a montage of fashion lewks from Veronica, also known as Beryl, as she tries on the latest Day-Glo styles of the ’70s. She also gets a makeup tutorial from Trixie and discovers the joy of a bold lipstick.

Story of the week: The Mullucks’ family is surrounded by crisis

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Rhoda Mullucks (Liz White) and her family are selected for a council initiative to upgrade their flat, but with daughter Susan (Emily Webb), a thalidomide survivor, the family is already stretched thin. Rhoda has delayed needed gallbladder surgery, relying on milk of magnesia to cope.

At a support group, her husband Bernie (Chris Reilly) reflects on becoming a mortician and the toll it has taken, recalling a family lost to carbon monoxide poisoning. “I am not at ease with what was done to her, because sometimes I compare her to the dead,” he says through tears, drawing painful parallels to Susan.

When Rhoda’s condition worsens, she requires emergency surgery, leaving the family scrambling. Bernie asks their eldest daughter, Belinda (Rachel Andrews), to return home from university to help, but she refuses.

Left alone, Susan tries to climb the stairs and falls, prompting a desperate call to Belinda. It’s then revealed that her resistance is rooted in fear: she is eight months pregnant and ashamed to come home. In the end, Bernie can only hold her, offering quiet reassurance.

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The sisters prepare to say goodbye to one of their own

Sister Monica Joan (Judy Parfitt) is rapidly declining, now relying on Sister Julienne for even the simplest needs, something she feels strips her of her dignity. She can no longer walk or stand in the garden. Sister Catherine (Molly Vevers) arranges for a wheelchair so she can enjoy the outdoors, but it only aggravates Sister Monica Joan, who sees the gesture as pity because “she is not long for this world.”

Sister Catherine loses her temper at times, though she tries her best. When Sister Julienne leaves for the Mother House on missionary work, Sister Monica Joan tells Catherine she will no longer continue treatment to delay the inevitable. “You would have me out in nature, but I would sooner admit nature into this room and let it take its course,” she says.

The decision devastates Sister Catherine, who struggles to accept it. In turn, Nonnatus House rallies around her, helping her find her footing as she faces the loss.

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