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sincerelybluevase · 7 years

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Turnadette and Hands, Part 3

The third and final instalment of my Turnadette and Hands series, guys! We’ve discussed Season 2 in the first post, and Seasons 3 and 4 in the second post. This post will therefore discuss Seasons 5 and 6.

Just a quick reminder of what we’ve already discovered: - The Turners do a lot of hand-holding and/or hand-kissing. It is their go-to way of showing affection. - We therefore often see them doing it when they’re discussing emotional or difficult subjects. Sometimes, these topics are happy; sometimes, they are sad. - During scenes that provide turning points for the Turners, there is often an ‘anomaly’ in their hand-behaviour, e.g. the finger-wagging of Patrick during their first argument. - Season 4 has introduced another pattern of showing physical intimacy that doesn’t have to include hands, i.e. kissing.

With this information fresh in our minds, let’s go and look at the hand-related things the most recent two seasons have given us!

Season 5 is one of the more, let’s say, unbalanced seasons regarding Turnadette: there are episodes that are very Turner-heavy, whereas there are also episodes in which we don’t get to see Turnadette at all. The episodes filled with Doctor T and his lovely wife are full of hand-holding, though, with the first instance being S05X01. In the maternity home, Rhoda gives birth to a severely handicapped baby girl, which she calls Susan. When Shelagh is distressed about little Susan, Patrick takes her hand to comfort her. This fits into the previously established pattern.

The next case of hands we find in S05X04. By now, it has become clear that little Susan is not the only baby born in the district with malformations. The rate at which these children are born is a case of concern. Shelagh, who hasn’t been called ‘Watson’ just for being a medical professional, decides to delve into the case together with Patrick. Whilst they’re trying to solve the malformed-babies-case, there is a bit of hand-holding. Season 4 showed us that these two are becoming more and more OK with physical intimacy, which is shown in this instance, too: not only is there hand-holding, but cuddling as well. It is another case of holding hands in emotionally charged/difficult moments.

Luckily, Season 5 also gives us a bit more happy hands! S05X06 gives the Turners the chance to go on holiday (and provide the audience with some necessary comic relief). The planned camping trip isn’t everything they dreamed it to be. Fed up with the bad weather and inadequate tenting, the Turners decide to book into a hotel. There, we see one of the more intimate Turnadette scenes: Patrick and Shelagh are lying in bed, discussing their trip and Patrick’s worries about taking a few days off. They are totally toying with each other’s hands. When we combine this with all the previous instances of hand-holding+ the fact that Shelagh is clearly dozing off, we come to understand once again that hands are a basic way for the Turners to show intimacy.

Season 5 was one of the most impressive seasons of CtM precisely because of the Thalidomide storylines. Patrick and Shelagh are very involved with this, even if they weren’t aware of it till the season’s finale, in which it is discovered that the malformations that so many babies have recently suffered from are caused by Thalidomide. One of the more intense cases of grabbing hold of each other’s hands therefore naturally takes place in S05x08. Patrick grabs Shelagh’s hand when he thinks she’s upset because of Sister Evangelina’s death (as if this episode wasn’t sob-worthy enough!) When Shelagh tells him that that’s not the case, she puts her hand on his, basically sandwiching his hand, because she now needs to tell him something that will be a heavy blow: there is a possible link between the handicapped children and Thalidomide.

I have to say that there’s not a lot of ‘new’ stuff going on with hands in the fifth season. Every instance continues the previously established pattern of holding hands in case of emotional situations, whether happy or sad. Let’s see if Season 6 adds something new, shall we?

Season 6 is one of the most Turnadette-heavy seasons so far, with Shelagh finding out that she is pregnant despite her earlier infertility diagnosis. What struck me most about the first episode as well as the CS2016 is the absence of hand-holding. There is plenty of physical contact and intimacy (they hug when Shelagh tells Patrick the good news, and we know they can’t have been idle in Africa because of this good news), but the first case of Turnadette+ hands happens in the second episode. In S06X02, Patrick grabs Shelagh’s hand when they’re talking about Thalidomide. This is still a highly painful subject for the two of them, and will probably remain so for the rest of their lives. After all, Thalidomide has severely impacted a lot of families, and will continue to do so for years. Patrick feels responsible for Susan and other children born affected by the drug, because he prescribed Thalidomide to dozens of people. Here, he reaches out to Shelagh because he needs her to comfort him and he needs to draw strength from her. However, it is not just a case of him ‘taking’ something from her. After all, Patrick changes the subject to the joy her surprise pregnancy has brought them, and caresses her belly with his free hand (that the baby should be a whole lot lower and that he, as a doctor, should know that, is a discussion for another time ;)).

This is not the only incident with hands in this episode. In fact, S06X02 is a very good episode for hands. @like-an-officer-and-a-sergeant already pointed out that Season 6 echoes important scenes of previous series in a myriad of ways, often with subtle but important differences. Since hands are such a prominent part of their relationship, it was inevitable for them not to play a starring role in this season, either. As a direct echo of S02X05, Shelagh hurts her hand again (even the same hand, guys). This time, though, we have Patrick there to tend to it completely. The first time he does this, it is all professionality. This forms a stark contrast with S02X05, in which his concern for Sister Bernadette quickly slid into something altogether not professional. The second time Patrick bandages Shelagh’s hand, though, we see a bit more intimacy. There are two reasons for this, in my opinion: 1) in the first instance, there are other people present (i.e. Sister Julienne and Valerie Dyer). The Turners are private people, and do not show a lot of intimacy, especially not when they are in a professional setting. The second time, though, they are at home, and thus at liberty to indulge themselves a bit more. 2) In the second case, their conversation leaves the realm of the professional very quickly: they decide to tell Timothy and Angela the news of Shelagh’s pregnancy. An emotional topic, therefore worthy of a bit of hand-holding.

Did you guys think we were done with this episode, yet? Nope! S06X02 encompasses all patterns of hand-holding. We’ve already seen the professional and the happy hands, but there’s a case of sad hands, too. Patrick takes her hand after Shelagh tells him how upset she is about how the inquest into the explosion at the docks went. This time, he is here for her, and can give her his strength.

S06X03 continues the parallels with previous seasons, this time with Seasons 3 and 2. Patrick and Shelagh are not above squabbling. They have learned a bit from their previous fights, though. Shelagh is no longer the one who needs to reach out to Patrick and has to be afraid that he will not let her close, like in S03X08: this time, Patrick reaches out his hand to Shelagh as a way to reconcile for snapping at her.

Another echo, this time of S02X06, also takes place in this episode. Shelagh again needs to be whisked away to the hospital (no longer because of TB, but because of a sudden bleeding). This time, though, Patrick can be there for her. They hold hands when he tells her he’s the one to take her to St. Cuthbert’s, and does the same when he sees she’s stressing out in the car. Patrick is not the only one to do the reaching out: Shelagh gives him her hand in the hospital. This will be an emotional time for the Turners, which makes it logical for Shelagh to do the reaching out: she needs to draw comfort and strength and hope from her husband, instead of the other way around.

We continue the echoes of previous series in S06X04: Patrick takes Shelagh’s hand when she expresses her fear of the baby being dead and having to give up hope. The echo happens when Patrick wags his finger at her, trying to convince her that everything will be alright, no matter what happens with the baby. In S03X04, he wagged his finger at her, too. This time, though, I think it is not so patronizing. We’ve seen Patrick do this more than once, establishing that he simply does this a lot in stressful situations. Plus, he kisses her hand two times afterwards, showing his love and devotion for his wife. The amount of handkissing shows just how emotionally charged this episode is for the Turners, because it doesn’t end with these two kisses: when they’ve found baby’s heartbeat, thus confirming it is still alive, Patrick holds Shelagh’s hand and presses a kiss upon it.

Turnadette is given a bit of respite after this. S06X06 is the next case of hands, and gives us something familiar and something new. Shelagh and Patrick are holding hands when they’re discussing the Cuba Crisis. The new part is that Patrick is stroking Shelagh’s belly, another level of intimacy (which, granted would not have made any sense before her pregnancy).

S06X07 gives us more of the familiar, showing us that these two are at a very happy place. Shelagh touches Patrick’s face when she tells him she loves to see him laugh after a hard day. He then takes her hand in his and places it over his heart.

The finale of this season is fraught with hands once more, though, and in a new and beautiful way. We start off with the usual: Patrick kisses Shelagh’s hand before leaving to work, knowing she’s probably in the early stages of labour. Then, of course, the birth scene happens, and everyone into hands could squeeze their own hands into chubby little fists and squeal. Shelagh has tried to be like everyone else, only to realise somewhere during her difficult labour that she and Patrick are not like everyone else. She wants him in the room with her, and damn everyone else’s opinion! So, she lets him in, and he sits behind her on the bed whilst she gives birth. They’re holding hands in an intense way: both their knuckles are completely white; they’re squeezing so tight. More than ever, Shelagh needs Patrick’s strength, and he is willing to give it to her.

I’m curious to see where the upcoming seasons will bring us regarding hands. I hope we’re going to see a lot more hand-holding and hand-kissing, as well as some hand-action involving Angela and baby Teddy (I mean, who doesn’t want to cuddle with babies and toddlers?). See you guys next week with another post!

#turnadette #call the midwife #sunday symbolism #Patrick Turner #Shelagh Turner

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