Call the Midwife season 13 ending spoilers follow.
After Call the Midwife's penultimate episode, it seemed nothing could save Matthew (Olly Rix) and Trixie's (Helen George) relationship.
Matthew's abrupt exit to New York with Jonty, but sans Trixie, seemed like the final nail in their marital coffin.
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Yet somehow Call the Midwife has found a way to not only salvage the remains of their scorched marriage, but to flip things around for a wholesome season 13 ending that honours the core Matthew/Trixie bond we've come to love.
After a disastrous finale episode involving a lack of diligence at work (something Trixie takes the utmost pride in), a creeping dependency on sleeping pills and her setting herself alight, Trixie gets some much-needed advice from her brother Geoffrey (Christopher Harper).
Related: Is Olly Rix leaving Call the Midwife?
Spotting the tell-tale signs of an addict, Geoffrey counsels Trixie and advises her that if she is going to run from her problems, she should at least run in the right direction.
As he poetically put it: "Sis if you have to run, if you have to stay in perpetual panic motion, run towards him, and run to the girl you were on your wedding day."
This was all the push Trixie needed to make the crucial decision that would repair her marriage.
Picking up the phone, she called Matthew to tell him her news. But he beat her to the punch, confirming that his move was not permanent – something he had only alluded to last week.
News that his stint in New York is just that, a stint, clearly fills Trixie with happiness.
While it would have been easier for her to accept this news and carry on with her life in Poplar, simply counting the minutes until Matthew's return, an emboldened Trixie proceeds to tell him her own life-changing decision.
Related: Is Helen George leaving Call the Midwife?
"I will be soon," she tells Matthew, when he expresses how much he wishes she was there. "I'm coming out to join you."
This may not seem like such a big deal but, by Trixie's own admission, she has always somewhat feared love, or rather feared that "it wants too much from [her]."
In her work as a midwife, however, there is no room for fear, only the strength from her inner confidence.
"In that room, I am in control of everything. The power is all mine. The wisdom is all mine," she explains to Geoffrey.
Her work has always been something she could rely on, her anchor. Love, however, not so much.
It's part of the reason she wasn't willing to give it up for the Reverend Tom Hereward (Jack Ashton), who she was engaged to in season four. Mention of his being reassigned to a parish in Newcastle was the final straw for their tense relationship.
This time around though, Trixie has been brave enough to lean into love – despite not knowing, at the time of making her decision, that Matthew was already making his own concessions for their marriage too.
He had intended for New York to be a fresh new start, and an escape from the embarrassment he felt over his mistakes. There is no doubt that he would have relished the chance to start again, where no one knew of his failures. However, his love for Trixie forced him to find another way.
Their willingness to give a little in order to save their marriage restores the power balance that Matthew threatened to eradicate with his "act first, tell the little woman later" attitude (Trixie's words, not ours).
With that, they have the fighting chance they need to build something even more real together than they had before.
Related: Why Call the Midwife fans are wrong about Matthew
Call the Midwife's decision to have the couple stop thinking of their independent wants and needs, and to instead start considering the other, was the only way to save their heartbreaking season 13 story arc.
Matthew has been the most egregious, it's true, and he didn't make it easy for Trixie to be flexible in considering a life outside of Poplar. But her stubbornness to hold her ground didn't help either, and was indicative of her fears.
What if she gave up work for love? Who would she be then? To sacrifice something stable for something she considers a huge risk is frightening.
But with the mutual decision in the season finale to bend, they both grew, and it brought them closer to the couple that they once were.
Sustaining this blissful reconciliation, however, is heavily dependent on Rix's future in the show, which still seems uncertain.
Matthew may have stated that they will be back in Poplar in four to five months' time, but we have a feeling that doesn't truly secure his return.
Call the Midwife seems to be making every effort to leave the door firmly wedged open for Rix to come back, but whether or not he will walk through it in season 14 remains to be seen.
His absence could have serious implications for Matthew and Trixie's on-screen relationship. Equally, the show could find a way to make long-distance work.
Who knows? Creator Heidi Thomas, that's who. But we have a feeling she's not spilling the beans any time soon.
All episodes of Call the Midwife are available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
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TV writer, Digital Spy Janet completed her Masters degree in Magazine Journalism in 2013 and has continued to grow professionally within the industry ever since. For six years she honed her analytical reviewing skills at the Good Housekeeping institute eventually becoming Acting Head of Food testing. She also freelanced in the field of film and TV journalism from 2013-2020, when she interviewed A-List stars such as Samuel L Jackson, Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson. In 2021 she joined Digital Spy as TV writer where she gets to delve into more of what she loves, watching copious amounts of telly all in the name of work. Since taking on the role she has conducted red carpet interviews with the cast of Bridgerton, covered the BAFTAs and been interviewed by BBC Radio and London Live. In her spare time she also moonlights as a published author, the book Gothic Angel.
