Summary
The penultimate episode of Black Cake is the most moving yet, as it explores the circumstances surrounding Mabel’s adoption when Covey was young.
Forgive me a small observation, but something occurred to me in the first few seconds of Black Cake Episode 7, and it’s niggling. I haven’t taken much issue thus far with Season 1’s use of Covey’s recordings as a framing device, but I’m about to.
You’ll recall that Covey had promised to reveal to Mabel, Benny, and Byron, who all assembled in Episode 6, the circumstances surrounding Mabel being removed from her care. And that’s fine! But in the portion of the recording that serves as the introduction to “Birth Mother”, Covey explains that when, in a previous recording, she said that she found her way back to Gibbs almost immediately after arriving in London, she was lying. An entire year elapsed between Covey’s arrival and that reunion.
Why would she do this? The answer, as far as I can tell, is that it’s a slightly more naturally dramatic structure for a TV series. But, in-universe, this isn’t supposed to be a TV series. It’s supposed to be the personal confession of a dying mother to her children, one of them completely estranged. The efforts to build suspense break the illusion for me. I, as the audience member, feel more considered in Covey’s stories than her actual children. I’m unsure how this comes across in the novel, but it was noticeably janky here.
Black Cake Season 1 Episode 7 Recap
The Church Intervenes
Anyway, “Birth Mother” catches up with young Covey finding out she’s pregnant through a doctor who incredulously blames her “predicament” on young women being “liberated”, even after Covey outright tells him she was raped. He also not-so-subtly pushes her towards having an abortion by reminding her that time is of the essence, which doesn’t strike one as a great bedside manner.
Covey needs time to think, but she’s totally alone in London so can’t find anywhere to do it. This is how she ends up in a church, being treated kindly by a nun, Sister Madeline, who leads her to a church-funded boarding house for unwed mothers. Everyone there is white, but at least in the same predicament, and she’s greeted warmly by a girl named Irene who plans to escape the place and abscond with her boyfriend, Tommy.
Covey isn’t under any illusions about what’s happening. The nuns are clear — one of the first things she does is sign a form authorizing the church to find a suitable home for her baby once it’s born. And yet there’s still something about the place that feels creepy. The push towards adoption isn’t subtle. The pregnant girls are treated like indentured servants, forced to help with the cooking and cleaning in exchange for their place. Maybe it’s just having watched The Woman in the Wall recently, but the relationship between the church and young pregnant women is unavoidably sinister.
Babies Reduced To Numbers
Covey tries to distance herself from the baby she’s carrying. She doesn’t want to hear its heartbeat or feel it kicking. She offers Irene the same advice when Tommy decides he doesn’t want to be a father after all. Covey’s curse is that she’s realistic. The world isn’t kind to young women, let alone young single mothers. If Irene isn’t capable of raising her child on her own, both of them will suffer for that. Irene goes into labor, gives birth, and her child — a daughter, not the son she had expected — is labeled “Baby Number Three”. Irene parrots Covey’s advice back at her when she advises giving the child a real name, and she can see the silliness of it. A human life is reduced to just a number.
Covey had already started to become more attached to her child as Black Cake Episode 7 progressed, and seeing what Irene is going through — scrubbing the floors while she bleeds from her nipples, as she’s still expected to nurse the child until someone adopts her — exposes her to the inhumanity of the entire process. It’s only exacerbated when she goes into labor herself. The midwives congratulate the nuns on the birth, not Covey, and she’s only called upon to nurse the child every two hours. When she sees Irene deliberately trying not to feed her own daughter, Covey walks back her initial advice — perhaps it’d be in their best interests to try and care for their children for the few weeks they get to spend with them.
An Escape Attempt
Irene gets her wish — since she’s unable to feed the child, she’s taken away from the home. Covey, fearing this fate for herself and Mathilde, takes her and tries to flee. She walks right into Sister Madeline, who kindly talks her out of the attempt.
When Covey wakes the next day, Mathilde is already in the arms of her adoptive parents. Covey wasn’t even woken up to feed her. It’s obvious that Sister Madeline noted her getting cold feet and expedited the process. Covey tries to push her way past the nuns and chase the car of the well-to-do family who have claimed her child as their own, but she’s unable to catch them. Sister Madeline explains that the family agreed to keep Mathilde as her middle name, as though that’s any consolation at all.
How does Black Cake Season 1 Episode 7 end?
When Covey’s story catches back up to her chance encounter with Gibbs, we return to the present day for the only time in the episode. Mabel is very upset by the story, but Benny and Byron comfort her by showing her the daffodils that Covey planted for her and maintained throughout her life.
So, Covey’s story is told… almost. There’s still the small matter of her wedding day to consider. Who killed Little Man? The ending montage implies it was Pearl, but apparently, there’s someone still alive who can reveal all. That’ll do for the finale, won’t it?
What did you think of Black Cake Season 1 Episode 7? Let us know in the comments.
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