Has Call the Midwife's Olly Rix gone for good?
And what does this mean for his marriage?
In the penultimate episode of Call the Midwife season 13, a possible solution to Matthew's financial woes presented itself.
He had purchased two New York warehouses from his friend Chester, who is based there, and he'd done so with his own money, not that of Aylward Estates, which means the company cannot seize them from him as they had his car.
The property market in the 'Big Apple' is supposedly on the up – with the district where Matthew's warehouses are located marked for massive redevelopment.
"Chester thinks he can raise all of the necessary capital, so if we join forces I can see a return on my investment within five years," he explained to Trixie, visibly buoyant for the first time in weeks.
But there's a hitch – and one that changes the landscape of their marriage.
To give his new business partnership a real chance of success, Matthew has moved to New York – initially for three to four months, but if "things go well, we can confirm it's a permanent move," he said to his wife in last week's episode.
In the finale, however, his stance changed slightly.
"It's not forever," he said during a phone call, when Trixie confirmed that she would be joining him in the States after her initial hesitation (although there's every chance she could change her mind).
Does that mean Matthew will one day return to Poplar with his wife by his side?
RadioTimes.com understands that the door is being left open for actor Olly Rix to return in the future, so that's certainly a possibility.
But it's not a guarantee we'll see him reprise his role, or that Trixie and Matthew's marriage will survive this latest hurdle.
Speaking about filming the couple's final scenes together in season 13, Rix said: "The walls felt like they were closing in. It was exhausting and it was tough to get through. And it was a different experience filming the final episodes.
"Everybody, crew included, were just wiped out by the end of every day."
Rix also went on to say that he doesn't see a "villain" in either Trixie or Matthew, despite their sometimes questionable behaviour, with the the duo's biggest failing their inability to communicate.
"That's the really clever thing about the final arc," he explained. "I think they're both sympathetic characters. I don't think there's a villain here. But they just diverge in all the worst ways.
"As an outsider, if you were watching somebody's marriage during this, you'd be tearing your hair out and saying, 'Oh, God, please go to therapy, please talk it through, you can save this.'
Read more:
- Is Call the Midwife's Helen George leaving following Trixie's exit?
- Call the Midwife season 14: Everything we know so far
"And every attempt they make, every well-meaning, sincere attempt they make, somehow makes it worse."
Helen George added: "And because of the time period, he feels the pressure and the need to take the responsibility for fiscal responsibility on without including her, and she's such a collective, community-driven person that she wants to be involved.
"She wants to be involved in the decisions and has a very modern outlook on this idea of a relationship. But because of his upbringing, he’s very much into the notion of the man solves the problem. I will support this, and that’s hard."
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All 13 seasons of Call the Midwife are available to stream now on BBC iPlayer.
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Authors
Abby Robinson is the Drama Editor for Radio Times, covering TV drama and comedy titles. She previously worked at Digital Spy as a TV writer, and as a content writer at Mumsnet. She possesses a postgraduate diploma and a degree in English Studies.
