Does anyone think that one reason they are portraying Louisa in these last couple of episodes as so "tense" and preoccupied with trying to adjust to the demands of a full-time job + baby+ new marriage, is that it makes her less attuned to what is going on with Martin, and him more reluctant to add one more (big) thing to the mix, i.e., his blood phobia returning? In other words, perhaps he is trying to protect her (in addition to other reasons he might have for not confiding in her).
I thought it was such an odd look he gave her as he was standing at the sink, and she was kissing James good-bye and leaving for school. To me, almost uninterpretable, but perhaps it had some element of not wanting to disturb her cheerfulness at that moment.
I didn't think he looked at Louisa at all. He finally glanced towards the door after she left. I think Doc is too preoccupied to notice anybody right now. He's terribly worried about his blood phobia returning. Remember when Mike asked if Louisa was alright? Doc said yes, she had a cup of tea.
Agree, especially about the freedom of speech. FOS is one thing; printing something that's wrong without owing the facts is quite another. I know it's only a school newspaper, but still I think Louisa should have agreed to print a retraction.
Have to agree, bookaddict. It is a teachable moment (as we say in the teaching trade) and I think Louisa misses an opportunity here. It is an easily remedied thing, as would be having her go about collecting what she could of the papers as an immediate beginning to rectifying it. I was a bit disappointed that Bert agrees to the ad without a retraction. Louisa's handling speaks to me of mollycoddling the girl who is perfectly capable of understanding what she's done.
I find it even more interesting that when at the Doc's afterward to get the test results, DM is the one who respects her academic capability enough to teach her, when he uses those 3 words--possibility, probability, certainty--so that she has something to think about that can inform her future writing.
I don't mean to be petulant or disagreeable but the blood phobia seems to be a complex ingrained set of behavior. I feel that it was doomed to come back on its own and Robert just happened to be the first one he drew blood on since this "crisis of trying to live as a family began . I really don't think that off the cuff question triggered the process. I watched it last night and noticed that he got sick before Robert asked a out his wife or an aunt. It would have come out if the next blood draw had been Chippy Miller or Mrs. Poustie. My opinion only...no disrespect intended.
Mofromco, just responding to the bolded text. Actually, Robert does inquire about family, Ellinghams just before the blood draw. It may not be related, but I can't dismiss it either. And yes, the problem is much more complex in its makeup, I feel. But as for a trigger for it, we know it started with the family scene when he was a surgeon. The after blood draw words of Robert continue re family. And Doc's face continues to react one way or the other.
Not being disagreeable either, just my interpretation.:)
Digital spy turns out to be incorrigible with respect to ads. I'd rather have the text blockers. I left my computer on one night and my husband woke me up to say he heard voices downstairs -- it was the blasted audio ads from DS.
And your dh sent you downstairs with a baseball bat to check it out?
What an interesting post, Paperchase. We tend to recycle our discussions here, but this strikes me as quite a new thought.
I'll have to mull it over a bit, but I wonder how you think a couple of things fit in. 1) In the ambulance, he told Louisa that being a surgeon was "the only thing he was ever really good at." So it seems that he did have positive feelings about actually doing surgery. 2) Why then do you think the blood phobia returns now, when apparently he has given up the thought of returning to his career as a surgeon?
We are going to get a chance to look at what I imagine will be his deeply ambivalent feelings about his father pretty soon, when Mom returns with news of his deaths. Dealing with the death of a parent from whom is estranged is often extremely difficult = "complicated mourning."
To answer the first part of your question:
A person may see themselves technically good at anything. What makes a surgeon truly GOOD? The best surgeons I know are able to synthesize both the clinical and the technical pieces. They also understand their own limitations. Who presents themselves as the more proficient surgeon: Edith Montgomery or Martin Ellingham? Edith is a board certified member of the Royal College of Surgeons and Obstetrics/Gynecology. Technologically EM is top notch. However, she does not know her own limitations as a clinician. When asked by colleague(ME) what the results of the abdominal CT, she explained they were not ordered. She implied full confidence in her exam.
Most surgical residency programs teach if there is no CT, there's no surgery. Surgeons hate surprises! When Edith did not order a CT she disrespected the patient/doctor relationship. The fact she was willing to jeopardize a patient's life with the insult of unnecessary surgery demonstrated poor professional judgment. Series 4, episode 1.
I did not get to see episode 3 yet. However, having the blood thing return makes complete sense b/c ME was desensitized to the presence of blood, but he never had to deal with the underlying issues. The fact that he becomes nauseated tells us much. Mothers provide a source of nourishment. A child who vomits is rejecting the very source of nourishment. ME is starting to physically nourish his own son( feeding him.) This act may be contributing to how ME feels about himself. The very act of being loved by this child may be stirring some old, old feelings of never being adequately loved by his mother.
We all have been trained by the writers from DAY #1 to focus only on the blood issue. To figure this person out, look at the nausea/vomiting issue!
What an interesting post, Paperchase. We tend to recycle our discussions here, but this strikes me as quite a new thought.
I'll have to mull it over a bit, but I wonder how you think a couple of things fit in. 1) In the ambulance, he told Louisa that being a surgeon was "the only thing he was ever really good at." So it seems that he did have positive feelings about actually doing surgery. 2) Why then do you think the blood phobia returns now, when apparently he has given up the thought of returning to his career as a surgeon?
We are going to get a chance to look at what I imagine will be his deeply ambivalent feelings about his father pretty soon, when Mom returns with news of his deaths. Dealing with the death of a parent from whom is estranged is often extremely difficult = "complicated mourning."
This might help you to think it over so you can interpret it.
This is from the press pack for ep 4:
"Family life is invading Martin’s once tranquil existence, clutter and noise is everywhere. Louisa wants Martin to engage more with James."
To answer the first part of your question:
A person may see themselves technically good at anything. What makes a surgeon truly GOOD? The best surgeons I know are able to synthesize both the clinical and the technical pieces. They also understand their own limitations. Who presents themselves as the more proficient surgeon: Edith Montgomery or Martin Ellingham? Edith is a board certified member of the Royal College of Surgeons and Obstetrics/Gynecology. Technologically EM is top notch. However, she does not know her own limitations as a clinician. When asked by colleague(ME) what the results of the abdominal CT, she explained they were not ordered. She implied full confidence in her exam.
Most surgical residency programs teach if there is no CT, there's no surgery. Surgeons hate surprises! When Edith did not order a CT she disrespected the patient/doctor relationship. The fact she was willing to jeopardize a patient's life with the insult of unnecessary surgery demonstrated poor professional judgment. Series 4, episode 1.
I did not get to see episode 3 yet. However, having the blood thing return makes complete sense b/c ME was desensitized to the presence of blood, but he never had to deal with the underlying issues. The fact that he becomes nauseated tells us much. Mothers provide a source of nourishment. A child who vomits is rejecting the very source of nourishment. ME is starting to physically nourish his own son( feeding him.) This act may be contributing to how ME feels about himself. The very act of being loved by this child may be stirring some old, old feelings of never being adequately loved by his mother.
We all have been trained by the writers from DAY #1 to focus only on the blood issue. To figure this person out, look at the nausea/vomiting issue!
I'm going to repeat myself by saying DM DID deal with the the etiological factors of his blood phobia.
For people who believe he didn't, what does he have to do?
He did not just meditate.
He went and found love, and struggled through all the problems to achieve marriage. He had a child he loves tremendously. He is changing as a man to be a better husband and father. All these directly relate to the emotional response he had to the mother whose family held onto her before her surgery. He now has people who will hold onto him if he is ill, and he will hold onto Louisa and his son, if G-d forbid they were.
The only remaining emotional issue is his relationship with his parents, and that profoundly deep hurt that has gone untreated and has been buried. I wonder if that is the core of its return, that now that he has his family, his parents are still cut off from him and never did say they loved him, or can he show them that he has love in his life, finally.
Mofromco, just responding to the bolded text. Actually, Robert does inquire about family, Ellinghams just before the blood draw. It may not be related, but I can't dismiss it either. And yes, the problem is much more complex in its makeup, I feel. But as for a trigger for it, we know it started with the family scene when he was a surgeon. The after blood draw words of Robert continue re family. And Doc's face continues to react one way or the other.
Not being disagreeable either, just my interpretation.:)
I realize that..I believe the question was something like,"There are more of you about, Ellinghams?" Didn't think that was too personal. But...
Does anyone else love DM's relationship with his AR? I think it is so much better than his relationship with AJ. With AJ, he was always the child to her mother figure, never the equal. As a result, she would judge and chide him in that role, until she grew to be an impatient, bitter, angry old woman. AR and DM are presented more equally, and thus more mutually respectful of each other. There is no judgment but there is, absolutely, love. The hug they shared, and now DM literally putting his life on the line for her, with her responding with her "I Love You" to attract a dangerous mental patient to her to save his life.
This change in the relationship of DM to his aunt really pleases me.
For people who are looking at the blood phobia, how does Martins age affect the phobia? He is now at least 5 years older in the show and, say, 6 years older from occurrence of the bood phobia He is well into middle age where it is generally accepted that change becomes more difficult, particularly for someone who had a solitary life.
What about Al? Doesn't Aunt Ruth think of Al as a friend?
Wow, interesting that neither the Doc nor Ruth have friends. Do they want friends? If so, what are the criteria for friendship? Would they screen out anyone with only average intellectual capacity, insufficient education, or status? If so, who measures up? The available "pool" is fairly small, particularly in PW.
I did not get to see episode 3 yet. However, having the blood thing return makes complete sense b/c ME was desensitized to the presence of blood, but he never had to deal with the underlying issues. The fact that he becomes nauseated tells us much. Mothers provide a source of nourishment. A child who vomits is rejecting the very source of nourishment. ME is starting to physically nourish his own son( feeding him.) This act may be contributing to how ME feels about himself. The very act of being loved by this child may be stirring some old, old feelings of never being adequately loved by his mother.
We all have been trained by the writers from DAY #1 to focus only on the blood issue. To figure this person out, look at the nausea/vomiting issue!
Absolutely, 100% agree with you that becoming a parent very often stirs up unresolved childhood issues. You phrase it as being loved by this child stirs up feelings of not having been loved by his mother -- and another twist on it is that being able to feel love for you own child, and recognize how dependent it is on that loving care, has to also raise the question, what was so wrong with me that my own mother didn't feel this way. Or what was wrong with my mother. At any rate, an acute sense of what was missed, and so far in his life, not acknowledged or dealt with at all, on an emotional level.
This might help you to think it over so you can interpret it.
This is from the press pack for ep 4:
"Family life is invading Martin’s once tranquil existence, clutter and noise is everywhere. Louisa wants Martin to engage more with James."
You could just say "Louisa wants...."
He feels under pressure.
"Louisa wants".......I wish she could get the message....under pressure...as Freddy Mercury has sung
Still no physical affection between the Doc and Louisa in E2 and 3. Even he implication of affection. A natural moment in this last episode would have been when LGE asks in the consulting room if there's anything wrong and notices DM is pale. Just a hand to the cheek would have been nice.
However, having the blood thing return makes complete sense b/c ME was desensitized to the presence of blood, but he never had to deal with the underlying issues. The fact that he becomes nauseated tells us much. Mothers provide a source of nourishment. A child who vomits is rejecting the very source of nourishment. ME is starting to physically nourish his own son( feeding him.) This act may be contributing to how ME feels about himself. The very act of being loved by this child may be stirring some old, old feelings of never being adequately loved by his mother.
The only remaining emotional issue is his relationship with his parents, and that profoundly deep hurt that has gone untreated and has been buried. I wonder if that is the core of its return, that now that he has his family, his parents are still cut off from him and never did say they loved him, or can he show them that he has love in his life, finally.
Absolutely, 100% agree with you that becoming a parent very often stirs up unresolved childhood issues. You phrase it as being loved by this child stirs up feelings of not having been loved by his mother -- and another twist on it is that being able to feel love for you own child, and recognize how dependent it is on that loving care, has to also raise the question, what was so wrong with me that my own mother didn't feel this way. Or what was wrong with my mother. At any rate, an acute sense of what was missed, and so far in his life, not acknowledged or dealt with at all, on an emotional level.
I like that. Good insight, all three of you. He now has a family. He loves his wife. She loves him. He loves his son. His son loves him. The contrast to his own parents, his own childhood, is stark. I think it's all hitting him, although he doesn't consciously realize it. His parents didn't love each other. And they didn't love him.
The blood phobia first came on when he saw a family filled with love, clinging to the woman patient. And now it's back, now that he's got a loving family, most especially a child he adores. I bet that's where it's rooted. It makes sense too that we know (mild spoiler, most already know this one):
In a coming episode, here comes Mummy with news of his father's death. That's going to bring things to a head for him, isn't it?
And, another spoiler I'm aware of is that... (this one may not be so well known, so beware)
Louisa will have a medical emergency near the end of this season requiring Martin and Penhale to rush her to the hospital. Will he be clinging to her just like that family from way back when? Will we come full circle?
Wow, interesting that neither the Doc nor Ruth have friends. Do they want friends? If so, what are the criteria for friendship? Would they screen out anyone with only average intellectual capacity, insufficient education, or status? If so, who measures up? The available "pool" is fairly small, particularly in PW.
To clarify, Aunt Ruth said that she had no friends in Portwenn. Maybe she has friends in London or elsehwere
I think most of you have already seen ITV's "Drama Lives" trailer with stars from Doc Martin, Downton Abbey, Mr. Selfridge, and a bunch of other ITV shows in a really special little film.
Not sure why anyone anywhere can watch the actual trailer, but to see the "Making of" you have to be in the UK or, well, you know (read my mind).
Both are well worth watching if you haven't seen them. When I first saw the trailer itself, I thought a computer had put everyone together, but, no, they actually put all of those stars in one place. Would have been so cool to be there.
I like that. Good insight, all three of you. He now has a family. He loves his wife. She loves him. He loves his son. His son loves him. The contrast to his own parents, his own childhood, is stark. I think it's all hitting him, although he doesn't consciously realize it. His parents didn't love each other. And they didn't love him.
The blood phobia first came on when he saw a family filled with love, clinging to the woman patient. And now it's back, now that he's got a loving family, most especially a child he adores. I bet that's where it's rooted. It makes sense too that we know (mild spoiler, most already know this one):
In a coming episode, here comes Mummy with news of his father's death. That's going to bring things to a head for him, isn't it?
And, another spoiler I'm aware of is that... (this one may not be so well known, so beware)
Louisa will have a medical emergency near the end of this season requiring Martin and Penhale to rush her to the hospital. Will he be clinging to her just like that family from way back when? Will we come full circle?
I am in awe, and bowing down to all three contributors as well. Together, you've lined the phobia thing all out. Marvelous!
Why is LG mean to Bert in this episode? Bert has always stood by her side and 100% supported her. LG does not have the same consideration for him.
LG is not just tense with DM and Mike Pruddy. She is also pretty hurtful to Bert, too, when after he says he isn't having any customers she yells out "You never did, Bert!".
First that is a lie. She herself has eaten there numerous times. And, of course, there are customers there regularly. So, why say that? It's just being mean.
And, then later, LG completely at first was going to completely allow the review to stand; it was only when Bert complained she decided to do another focus on the restaurant.
Notice LG is always in a rush in this episode. She rushes to get to work, rushes to get home to check on her baby, rushes back to work, rushes away from Bert. She seems still completely disorganized in this episode.
What a full circle we've come! From DM being the main problem and LG the supposedly normal woman to win, to DM growing and changing and LG being the difficult person who is creating tension.
Why is LG mean to Bert in this episode? Bert has always stood by her side and 100% supported her. LG does not have the same consideration for him.
LG is not just tense with DM and Mike Pruddy. She is also pretty hurtful to Bert, too, when after he says he isn't having any customers she yells out "You never did, Bert!".
First that is a lie. She herself has eaten there numerous times. And, of course, there are customers there regularly. So, why say that? It's just being mean.
And, then later, LG completely at first was going to completely allow the review to stand; it was only when Bert complained she decided to do another focus on the restaurant.
Notice LG is always in a rush in this episode. She rushes to get to work, rushes to get home to check on her baby, rushes back to work, rushes away from Bert. She seems still completely disorganized in this episode.
What a full circle we've come! From DM being the main problem and LG the supposedly normal woman to win, to DM growing and changing and LG being the difficult person who is creating tension.
And this surprises you how, exactly?
Louisa is selfish and has unrealistic expectations of herself and everyone else. She has always been that way. We've seen that all through the show but especially in series 4 and 5. She had unrealistic expectations from the moment she showed up at the surgery six months pregnant. What did she expect? That the Doc would wear sack cloth and ashes the whole time she was gone? That he would be beating himself up and praying at some "Mrs. T like shrine" to her that she'd come back like some member of a bizarre cargo cult? That showing up unannounced like that and in that condition would not be a tremendous shock and surprise to him? She doesn't know the man she supposedly loves very well if she thought that. Sure he missed her but in his mind it was over-she was the one who had left the village and ran away to London, not him. He was starting to get on with his life and was doing what he should've been doing all along, trying to conquer his hemophobia and going back to what he does best-vascular surgery.
Once the baby arrived she thought that her childcare issues would be magically solved by the Doc essentially shutting down his practice to be her babysitter-on-demand so she could do what she wanted to do. When he'd point out that was an unrealistic expectation on her part she once again throws a tantrum and eventually stomps out. (Everyone seems to forget that right up until the baby was born she constantly pushed him away and repeatedly told him that she didn't need his help and he was to have nothing to do with raising the child, too.) One would think that someone who is supposedly intelligent enough to be a headmistress of a school would understand that the village GP has to work, too, and his job is is one where he can't drop everything whenever she can't find childcare. One would also think that she'd understand what is required out of him in his line of work and that his job is just a teeny bit more important to the community as a whole than hers. She doesn't hold people's lives in her hands, he does. (Don't give me the bull crap that her job is just as important-if your child is severely injured or ill who do you want to see him or her first? A doctor or a teacher? If you said teacher you're either a liar or a terrible parent.)
She jumps to conclusions and nothing or no one will dissuade her from them once she has them in her head. She immediately assumed that the Doc and Edith were essentially shacking up and she beat him over the head with Edith all during series 4. She doesn't know the man she supposedly loves very well if she thought that there was anything other than friendship with a colleague going on in his mind concerning Edith.
She also has always been mean and hurtful when she doesn't get her way. She was that way with Danny when she didn't get her way or he said something that she didn't like. She didn't sit down and discuss things with him, she just shut him down and walked away. I can't remember what episode it was but it was the one that had the scene where they bought some plants if you care to see an example of that. In the case of Bert, instead of accepting responsibility as the headmistress of the school for her error of not proofreading the newspaper and not keeping it and its publication under her control and not disciplining that child for her actions she makes lame excuses and/or throws a tantrum.
She's been that way numerous times over the years when it comes to the Doc-from her snippy comments about the Doc to Mylow's sister to her numerous comments to her co-workers about him when she's mad at him. Those are not the actions of the "feisty, independent woman" or the "suffering martyr" that most of you paint her as being but the actions of a selfish, petulant childwoman. The few times she rallies to his defense is when her reputation is also threatened, see the baby shower for an example of that. The comments the others were making were getting to the point where it was shining a spotlight on her bad judgement so she was forced to defend him as a means of defending herself.
Let's not forget how she treats the Doc himself. She treats him like a child and if she doesn't get her way or he doesn't do things exactly the way she wants him to she either throws a tantrum or stomps out-sometimes both. When she does she makes nasty comments about him to others. You all wonder why the Doc doesn't confide in her about the return of his Hemophobia. Well, if I had overheard someone say things about me like the ones the Doc overheard her say to Mylow's sister about him she'd be the last person I'd confide anything of consequence to. I wouldn't trust that person as far as I could throw them ever again and I wouldn't want to give that person any more ammunition to use against me.
Why do some people in this thread watch the show if they hate the character of LG so much? It confuses me. Or is your love for the Doc blinding your opinion? As he can do no wrong it seems. (I've been lurking a long time and everything the Doc does has a reason but everything LG does doesn't have a reason so it seems, in your minds).
I personally watch the show to (try) to enjoy it. I don't analyse it as it takes any enjoyment out of it.
This season and last are weak. They seem to be turning LG into something horrible just to make the Doc look good. That isn't the kind of show I like and if they don't change it I know I won't be watching the next series. Why bother if they keep rehashing things?
I know you all won't agree and that's fine. Just needed to vent.
The fact that JH is at 6 months developmentally speaks of his ability to engage, smile and interact. DM is being adored by this highly receptive and tiny human being. His son loves him for ALL HE is. There is total acceptance without any stings attached. Through the eyes of his own child, unconsciously he is aware something was amiss in his own relationship between he and his parents.
A child's initial cries of hunger if not satisfied become fear and then anger. A child who continuously has needs not satisfied blames themselves. That child grows up feeling their needs were too demanding. It is impossible for a child to ever believe they had a right to have their needs met. This sets the child up for believing he/she is the cause of all problems. "Mom and Dad are having problems and it is because of me." Technically, his mother validated this.(series 2.) However, retrospectively we can look back and realize they were having difficulties and the child had nothing to do with it. We (as viewers) understand DM's mother would always see her son as the interloper on her relationship with her husband. At Martin's birth, she had decided early on to push him and his needs away.
All this is hidden and layered in subtext within the unconscious. The adult conscious wants to believe they are loved because they grew up to be successful in the eyes of their parents. However, the child consciousness understands the truth. This schism may be a source of anxiety.
The fact that JH is at 6 months developmentally speaks of his ability to engage, smile and interact. DM is being adored by this highly receptive and tiny human being. His son loves him for ALL HE is. There is total acceptance without any stings attached. Through the eyes of his own child, unconsciously he is aware something was amiss in his own relationship between he and his parents.
A child's initial cries of hunger if not satisfied become fear and then anger. A child who continuously has needs not satisfied blames themselves. That child grows up feeling their needs were too demanding. It is impossible for a child to ever believe they had a right to have their needs met. This sets the child up for believing he/she is the cause of all problems. "Mom and Dad are having problems and it is because of me." Technically, his mother validated this.(series 2.) However, retrospectively we can look back and realize they were having difficulties and the child had nothing to do with it. We (as viewers) understand DM's mother would always see her son as the interloper on her relationship with her husband. At Martin's birth, she had decided early on to push him and his needs away.
All this is hidden and layered in subtext within the unconscious. The adult conscious wants to believe they are loved because they grew up to be successful in the eyes of their parents. However, the child consciousness understands the truth. This schism may be a source of anxiety.
I agree with this also. Generally, I believe that children who have been abused/neglected grow up with the notion that somehow they are at fault for this, that they deserved to be punished, etc., etc. (which we have certainly seen with the DM character in various remarks). It's preferable, at some deep level, to believing that their parents, who are supposed to keep them safe, can't or won't do so. This is the really long-lasting damage of such abuse, whether sexual, emotional or physical.
Along those lines, young children have a right to expect that their needs to be taken care of (dependency needs) will be met. If they are not met, then what may follow is the conclusion that a) I am not worthy of being taken care of and/or b) I don't really need to be nurtured and there's nothing I need from anyone else (counter-dependency). I personally think that this is one of the major keys to the DM character. Yet, b/c this need was never met, there is still this yearning, at some level, for nurturance. Leaving aside whether or not we think her character has changed, or that he was mistaken about this, I think that initially, this is one of the attractions that Louisa had/has for Martin. But also, now, a source of great conflict and anxiety, as you point out, for a number of reasons. One of which is, that now he needs her, and almost knows it, but her nurturing attention is almost fully devoted elsewhere. Troubling for many couples experiencing their first child, but in spades here.
Comments
What about Al? Doesn't Aunt Ruth think of Al as a friend?
I didn't think he looked at Louisa at all. He finally glanced towards the door after she left. I think Doc is too preoccupied to notice anybody right now. He's terribly worried about his blood phobia returning. Remember when Mike asked if Louisa was alright? Doc said yes, she had a cup of tea.
Have to agree, bookaddict. It is a teachable moment (as we say in the teaching trade) and I think Louisa misses an opportunity here. It is an easily remedied thing, as would be having her go about collecting what she could of the papers as an immediate beginning to rectifying it. I was a bit disappointed that Bert agrees to the ad without a retraction. Louisa's handling speaks to me of mollycoddling the girl who is perfectly capable of understanding what she's done.
I find it even more interesting that when at the Doc's afterward to get the test results, DM is the one who respects her academic capability enough to teach her, when he uses those 3 words--possibility, probability, certainty--so that she has something to think about that can inform her future writing.
Mofromco, just responding to the bolded text. Actually, Robert does inquire about family, Ellinghams just before the blood draw. It may not be related, but I can't dismiss it either. And yes, the problem is much more complex in its makeup, I feel. But as for a trigger for it, we know it started with the family scene when he was a surgeon. The after blood draw words of Robert continue re family. And Doc's face continues to react one way or the other.
Not being disagreeable either, just my interpretation.:)
And your dh sent you downstairs with a baseball bat to check it out?
A person may see themselves technically good at anything. What makes a surgeon truly GOOD? The best surgeons I know are able to synthesize both the clinical and the technical pieces. They also understand their own limitations. Who presents themselves as the more proficient surgeon: Edith Montgomery or Martin Ellingham? Edith is a board certified member of the Royal College of Surgeons and Obstetrics/Gynecology. Technologically EM is top notch. However, she does not know her own limitations as a clinician. When asked by colleague(ME) what the results of the abdominal CT, she explained they were not ordered. She implied full confidence in her exam.
Most surgical residency programs teach if there is no CT, there's no surgery. Surgeons hate surprises! When Edith did not order a CT she disrespected the patient/doctor relationship. The fact she was willing to jeopardize a patient's life with the insult of unnecessary surgery demonstrated poor professional judgment. Series 4, episode 1.
I did not get to see episode 3 yet. However, having the blood thing return makes complete sense b/c ME was desensitized to the presence of blood, but he never had to deal with the underlying issues. The fact that he becomes nauseated tells us much. Mothers provide a source of nourishment. A child who vomits is rejecting the very source of nourishment. ME is starting to physically nourish his own son( feeding him.) This act may be contributing to how ME feels about himself. The very act of being loved by this child may be stirring some old, old feelings of never being adequately loved by his mother.
We all have been trained by the writers from DAY #1 to focus only on the blood issue. To figure this person out, look at the nausea/vomiting issue!
This might help you to think it over so you can interpret it.
This is from the press pack for ep 4:
"Family life is invading Martin’s once tranquil existence, clutter and noise is everywhere. Louisa wants Martin to engage more with James."
You could just say "Louisa wants...."
He feels under pressure.
I'm going to repeat myself by saying DM DID deal with the the etiological factors of his blood phobia.
For people who believe he didn't, what does he have to do?
He did not just meditate.
He went and found love, and struggled through all the problems to achieve marriage. He had a child he loves tremendously. He is changing as a man to be a better husband and father. All these directly relate to the emotional response he had to the mother whose family held onto her before her surgery. He now has people who will hold onto him if he is ill, and he will hold onto Louisa and his son, if G-d forbid they were.
The only remaining emotional issue is his relationship with his parents, and that profoundly deep hurt that has gone untreated and has been buried. I wonder if that is the core of its return, that now that he has his family, his parents are still cut off from him and never did say they loved him, or can he show them that he has love in his life, finally.
I realize that..I believe the question was something like,"There are more of you about, Ellinghams?" Didn't think that was too personal. But...
This change in the relationship of DM to his aunt really pleases me.
Wow, interesting that neither the Doc nor Ruth have friends. Do they want friends? If so, what are the criteria for friendship? Would they screen out anyone with only average intellectual capacity, insufficient education, or status? If so, who measures up? The available "pool" is fairly small, particularly in PW.
Absolutely, 100% agree with you that becoming a parent very often stirs up unresolved childhood issues. You phrase it as being loved by this child stirs up feelings of not having been loved by his mother -- and another twist on it is that being able to feel love for you own child, and recognize how dependent it is on that loving care, has to also raise the question, what was so wrong with me that my own mother didn't feel this way. Or what was wrong with my mother. At any rate, an acute sense of what was missed, and so far in his life, not acknowledged or dealt with at all, on an emotional level.
"Louisa wants".......I wish she could get the message....under pressure...as Freddy Mercury has sung
I like that. Good insight, all three of you. He now has a family. He loves his wife. She loves him. He loves his son. His son loves him. The contrast to his own parents, his own childhood, is stark. I think it's all hitting him, although he doesn't consciously realize it. His parents didn't love each other. And they didn't love him.
The blood phobia first came on when he saw a family filled with love, clinging to the woman patient. And now it's back, now that he's got a loving family, most especially a child he adores. I bet that's where it's rooted. It makes sense too that we know (mild spoiler, most already know this one):
And, another spoiler I'm aware of is that... (this one may not be so well known, so beware)
To clarify, Aunt Ruth said that she had no friends in Portwenn. Maybe she has friends in London or elsehwere
http://www.itv.com/presscentre/press-releases/where-drama-lives-trailer#.Ujo0KH-bbXo
But have you seen this? The making of the "Drama Lives" trailer. Nice moment for MC/Doc Martin with Jeremy Pivens.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeElVdJdip4
Not sure why anyone anywhere can watch the actual trailer, but to see the "Making of" you have to be in the UK or, well, you know (read my mind).
Both are well worth watching if you haven't seen them. When I first saw the trailer itself, I thought a computer had put everyone together, but, no, they actually put all of those stars in one place. Would have been so cool to be there.
I am in awe, and bowing down to all three contributors as well. Together, you've lined the phobia thing all out. Marvelous!
Now I wonder where the writers will go.
LG is not just tense with DM and Mike Pruddy. She is also pretty hurtful to Bert, too, when after he says he isn't having any customers she yells out "You never did, Bert!".
First that is a lie. She herself has eaten there numerous times. And, of course, there are customers there regularly. So, why say that? It's just being mean.
And, then later, LG completely at first was going to completely allow the review to stand; it was only when Bert complained she decided to do another focus on the restaurant.
Notice LG is always in a rush in this episode. She rushes to get to work, rushes to get home to check on her baby, rushes back to work, rushes away from Bert. She seems still completely disorganized in this episode.
What a full circle we've come! From DM being the main problem and LG the supposedly normal woman to win, to DM growing and changing and LG being the difficult person who is creating tension.
http://online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-20130918-908621.html
And this surprises you how, exactly?
Louisa is selfish and has unrealistic expectations of herself and everyone else. She has always been that way. We've seen that all through the show but especially in series 4 and 5. She had unrealistic expectations from the moment she showed up at the surgery six months pregnant. What did she expect? That the Doc would wear sack cloth and ashes the whole time she was gone? That he would be beating himself up and praying at some "Mrs. T like shrine" to her that she'd come back like some member of a bizarre cargo cult? That showing up unannounced like that and in that condition would not be a tremendous shock and surprise to him? She doesn't know the man she supposedly loves very well if she thought that. Sure he missed her but in his mind it was over-she was the one who had left the village and ran away to London, not him. He was starting to get on with his life and was doing what he should've been doing all along, trying to conquer his hemophobia and going back to what he does best-vascular surgery.
Once the baby arrived she thought that her childcare issues would be magically solved by the Doc essentially shutting down his practice to be her babysitter-on-demand so she could do what she wanted to do. When he'd point out that was an unrealistic expectation on her part she once again throws a tantrum and eventually stomps out. (Everyone seems to forget that right up until the baby was born she constantly pushed him away and repeatedly told him that she didn't need his help and he was to have nothing to do with raising the child, too.) One would think that someone who is supposedly intelligent enough to be a headmistress of a school would understand that the village GP has to work, too, and his job is is one where he can't drop everything whenever she can't find childcare. One would also think that she'd understand what is required out of him in his line of work and that his job is just a teeny bit more important to the community as a whole than hers. She doesn't hold people's lives in her hands, he does. (Don't give me the bull crap that her job is just as important-if your child is severely injured or ill who do you want to see him or her first? A doctor or a teacher? If you said teacher you're either a liar or a terrible parent.)
She jumps to conclusions and nothing or no one will dissuade her from them once she has them in her head. She immediately assumed that the Doc and Edith were essentially shacking up and she beat him over the head with Edith all during series 4. She doesn't know the man she supposedly loves very well if she thought that there was anything other than friendship with a colleague going on in his mind concerning Edith.
She also has always been mean and hurtful when she doesn't get her way. She was that way with Danny when she didn't get her way or he said something that she didn't like. She didn't sit down and discuss things with him, she just shut him down and walked away. I can't remember what episode it was but it was the one that had the scene where they bought some plants if you care to see an example of that. In the case of Bert, instead of accepting responsibility as the headmistress of the school for her error of not proofreading the newspaper and not keeping it and its publication under her control and not disciplining that child for her actions she makes lame excuses and/or throws a tantrum.
She's been that way numerous times over the years when it comes to the Doc-from her snippy comments about the Doc to Mylow's sister to her numerous comments to her co-workers about him when she's mad at him. Those are not the actions of the "feisty, independent woman" or the "suffering martyr" that most of you paint her as being but the actions of a selfish, petulant childwoman. The few times she rallies to his defense is when her reputation is also threatened, see the baby shower for an example of that. The comments the others were making were getting to the point where it was shining a spotlight on her bad judgement so she was forced to defend him as a means of defending herself.
Let's not forget how she treats the Doc himself. She treats him like a child and if she doesn't get her way or he doesn't do things exactly the way she wants him to she either throws a tantrum or stomps out-sometimes both. When she does she makes nasty comments about him to others. You all wonder why the Doc doesn't confide in her about the return of his Hemophobia. Well, if I had overheard someone say things about me like the ones the Doc overheard her say to Mylow's sister about him she'd be the last person I'd confide anything of consequence to. I wouldn't trust that person as far as I could throw them ever again and I wouldn't want to give that person any more ammunition to use against me.
I personally watch the show to (try) to enjoy it. I don't analyse it as it takes any enjoyment out of it.
This season and last are weak. They seem to be turning LG into something horrible just to make the Doc look good. That isn't the kind of show I like and if they don't change it I know I won't be watching the next series. Why bother if they keep rehashing things?
I know you all won't agree and that's fine. Just needed to vent.
A child's initial cries of hunger if not satisfied become fear and then anger. A child who continuously has needs not satisfied blames themselves. That child grows up feeling their needs were too demanding. It is impossible for a child to ever believe they had a right to have their needs met. This sets the child up for believing he/she is the cause of all problems. "Mom and Dad are having problems and it is because of me." Technically, his mother validated this.(series 2.) However, retrospectively we can look back and realize they were having difficulties and the child had nothing to do with it. We (as viewers) understand DM's mother would always see her son as the interloper on her relationship with her husband. At Martin's birth, she had decided early on to push him and his needs away.
All this is hidden and layered in subtext within the unconscious. The adult conscious wants to believe they are loved because they grew up to be successful in the eyes of their parents. However, the child consciousness understands the truth. This schism may be a source of anxiety.
I agree with this also. Generally, I believe that children who have been abused/neglected grow up with the notion that somehow they are at fault for this, that they deserved to be punished, etc., etc. (which we have certainly seen with the DM character in various remarks). It's preferable, at some deep level, to believing that their parents, who are supposed to keep them safe, can't or won't do so. This is the really long-lasting damage of such abuse, whether sexual, emotional or physical.
Along those lines, young children have a right to expect that their needs to be taken care of (dependency needs) will be met. If they are not met, then what may follow is the conclusion that a) I am not worthy of being taken care of and/or b) I don't really need to be nurtured and there's nothing I need from anyone else (counter-dependency). I personally think that this is one of the major keys to the DM character. Yet, b/c this need was never met, there is still this yearning, at some level, for nurturance. Leaving aside whether or not we think her character has changed, or that he was mistaken about this, I think that initially, this is one of the attractions that Louisa had/has for Martin. But also, now, a source of great conflict and anxiety, as you point out, for a number of reasons. One of which is, that now he needs her, and almost knows it, but her nurturing attention is almost fully devoted elsewhere. Troubling for many couples experiencing their first child, but in spades here.
I am also sending you a PM (private message).