All Creatures Great & Small

All Creatures Great & Small
Season 2
Photo of DVD cover taken by Kate Dorsey

I fall in love with Siegfried Farnon a little more each time I watch All Creatures Great & Small. Yes, he’s blustery. And yes, he has a hard time admitting when he’s wrong. But beneath that, he has the biggest heart. He cares to the point it probably terrifies him, which is why he acts the way he does. Those are the reasons I have fallen for Siegfried.

Only now Siegfried has competition for my affections. Because, of course, I’m going to actually meet these fictional people in real life, right?

The more I watched season two of All Creatures, the more I came to adore Richard Alderson. A widow with two daughters, Mr. Alderson is a man of few words. He’s a little rough around the edges, but incredibly kind and caring. Mr. Alderson loves his daughters and wants them to be happy, even if their happiness means leaving him. He still becomes emotional over his deceased wife, even though it has been years. And while he can be cranky and blunt at times, Mr. Alderson is a good man. That is why Siegfried has some competition in my book.               

Having said all this, it’s about time I tell you about what all happened in season two of All Creatures Great & Small.

Veterinarian James Herriot (Nicholas Ralph) is visiting his parents in Glasgow when he gets a job offer from a local vet. He has been helping at the vet’s office during his visit and has greatly enjoyed the modern equipment, including an x-ray machine. Remember, this is 1938. Having an x-ray machine would have been new and exciting.

James is intrigued by the offer. It would be a big difference from what he must deal with in his current veterinary position in the Yorkshire Dales.

His mother is ecstatic. Hannah Herriot (Gabriel Quigley) assumes there is no doubt James is going to accept the offer and move back home. James’s father, James Herriot Sr. (Drew Cain), remains quiet on the matter.

What Hannah doesn’t understand is James loves his work in the Dales. He works in the practice of fellow veterinarian Siegfried Farnon (Samuel West). Together they live in a house with Siegfried’s brother, Tristan (Callum Woodhouse), and the housekeeper, Mrs. Hall (Anna Madeley). The work James does takes him far afield to farms at all hours of the day and night. As tough as this can be, James loves it. He also loves a woman who lives on one of the farms: Helen Alderson (Rachel Shenton).

Helen was supposed to marry estate owner Hugh Hulton (Matthew Lewis) at the end of season one. When the day came, Helen couldn’t bring herself to go through with it. She did not feel for Hugh the way she felt a woman about to be married should. Since that day, Helen has been hiding out on her family’s farm. It is James, when he returns from Scotland, who helps her come back out to life.

A Heart on the Mend
Artwork by Kate Dorsey

The first event James takes Helen to is a dance. After their first dance together, where James proves himself to be a horrible dancer, Helen begins to dance and become reacquainted with others she has not seen for some time. Watching Helen with other men makes James wonder if he really has a chance with Helen. What he is unaware of, as he slides into the background of the dance, is Helen does want to be with him. Bad dancing and all.

Once it is clear Helen wants to be with James, they start to date. After a while, with Siegfried’s pushing, James awkwardly proposes. Helen accepts, only there is concern about what her father may say.

They needn’t have worried. Mr. Alderson agrees to the marriage, although he feels he does not have much say in the matter. His daughter will do what she wants anyway.

Still, to show his approval, Mr. Alderson gives James his wife’s engagement ring for James to give to Helen. This action is a big improvement over how Mr. Alderson has treated James before. When the puppy of his other daughter, Jenny (Imogen Clawson), was misbehaving and causing trouble with a neighbor’s sheep, they disagreed on how the situation should be handled. By the offer of the ring, it is clear Mr. Alderson has moved past that. Besides, he is more concerned about his daughter’s happiness than anything.

Jenny is very excited for her older sister. The morning after she discovers the engagement, Jenny takes on all the chores Helen would normally do. She wants Helen to know everything will be taken care of when it comes time for Helen to leave home.

Siegfried is also in the middle of a romance. Sort of. His love interest from season one, Dorothy (Maimie McCoy), is off traveling. She sends postcards, but there is nothing serious between her and Siegfried. He is free to pursue other women.

The woman thrilled with this fact is Mrs. Diana Brompton (Dorothy Atkinson). Her husband left the year before, and she is having a great time being single. Siegfried is part of the great time.  Nothing too serious. Just some fun. Which is good because I still believe Siegfried is madly in love with Mrs. Hall. Something I think he may be slowly becoming aware of.

The reason I say this is because this season there were a few lingering moments between Siegfried and Mrs. Hall. When they worked close together on a project, Siegfried looked at her and became flustered. He became flustered again when Mrs. Hall dressed up for a party, looking more glamorous than she normally does. Also, Mrs. Hall touched Siegfried more.  On the shoulder and on the arm. Each time Siegfried would either take Mrs. Hall’s hand or look incredibly sad when she moved hers and was no longer touching him.

The final scene of the season I think is most telling about the feelings between these two. As James, Helen, and Tristan are all playing a game on the floor, Siegfried and Mrs. Hall stay in the background. Mrs. Hall’s hand on Siegfried. Siegfried’s hand on hers. It looks like a family portrait. The two parents looking on their children playing. This scene shows how comfortable and connected these two characters are. I am hoping this is shown even more in season three.

Unfortunately, Mrs. Hall and Siegfried getting together would mean hurting a very sweet man: Gerald Hammond (Will Thorp). Gerald is greatly interested in Mrs. Hall. He’s kind and understanding. He even says he is okay if Mrs. Hall simply wants to be friends. If that’s all they can be, he will value the friendship. Gerald is simply a good man. Which is why it would be great for a new love interest to come along for him. Because as good and kind as Gerald is, I think Mrs. Hall needs the fire of Siegfried. Siegfried gives her a challenge, and she most certainly challenges him. When they come together, they simply seem to fit. So, yes, please find Gerald a love interest. Someone who’s as good a fit as Mrs. Hall and Siegfried are.

Tristan is enjoying playing the field. At least he is until his old girlfriend, Maggie (Mollie Winnard), tells him no one takes him seriously as someone serious. This hits Tristan hard.  Possibly because it’s along the same lines of what Siegfried has been saying for years. The difference is Maggie is talking about relationships while Siegfried has been taking about work and life.

The thing is, Tristan has become more serious. He was proud of the fact he passed his exams and became a vet. Or at least he was until he found out Siegfried lied about the test results.  Something Mrs. Hall took Siegfried to task about once she found out.

After this revelation, Tristan isn’t sure what to do with himself. It takes time and some situations he becomes involved in for Tristan to realize he wants to become a veterinarian. He decides to go back to school and try his exams again. This time he passes.

In the background of these events, there is the threat of war. This is a concern mostly for those who remember World War I. Gerald was wounded in the war, which he still deals with decades later. Mrs. Hall’s husband was changed drastically by the war, for the worse. I’m not sure what Siegfried’s war experience was, but he is certainly old enough to have possibly served his country in some way during it.

The possibility of a new war makes everyone anxious, especially Mrs. Hall. Some become relieved when a treaty is signed with Germany. They believe the worry is over. It is Mrs. Hall who remains concerned. And it is Mrs. Hall who hears the plane overhead in the final moments of season two. A great foreshadowing of what is to come.

All Creatures Great & Small
Season 2 Cast
Photo of back DVD cover taken by Kate Dorsey

It will probably not be until next year before I am able to watch season three. I am greatly looking forward to it. Because no matter what happens on All Creatures Great & Small, everything always ends with a good feeling. The show is that well done. Even when a star had to be replaced, as is what happened with the death of Diana Rigg, a new actress was cast with care.  Mrs. Pumphrey and Tricki Woo are such big recurring characters, it would have been sad to see them eliminated from the story after Ms. Rigg’s death, but understandable. Instead, the show cast Patricia Hodge for the role of Mrs. Pumphrey. Ms. Hodge has taken over the role of Mrs. Pumphrey as though she has been part of the show all along without eliminating or overshadowing the work of Ms. Rigg. This is not an easy task to do, but it was done well by Ms. Hodge and the show.

There is one final thing I must mention. It is clear I love this show, yet there is something that always puzzles me. The farmers James deals with keep claiming they know better than him.  How they, as farmers, know better how to care for their animals than any vet ever will. If this is truly the case, why do they keep calling the vet?