All Creatures Great & Small
Mrs. Hall and Siegfried face their family pasts, and James must decide between family and duty
Get
ready for hard times ahead. Everyone in these two episodes of All Creatures
Great & Small must face an uncertain future. Some must also face their
past, which causes them to struggle with who they are and what they have done.
“Edward”
This
fifth episode of the season is so incredibly sad! In some ways it is too sad to
watch.
Mrs. Hall finally sees her son
After
years of estrangement, Mrs. Hall (Anna Madeley) has finally heard from her son,
Edward (Conor Deane). He has joined the Navy and has a bit of time to meet his
mother at a train station before he must return to duty. It is an invitation
Mrs. Hall has been waiting for with all her heart.
When
Mrs. Hall arrives at the station, Edward is not there. She waits and waits for
him, but it is only when she is about to leave that he shows up. They decide to
go to a quiet place to talk.
Past
events are brought up between mother and son, and Edward begins to shut down.
Not that this takes much. Edward was not exactly open in the first place. In
fact, Edward is very sullen the entire time he is with Mrs. Hall.
Despite
Edward’s behavior, he and Mrs. Hall are able to reach an understanding as he
rides away on the train, thanks to a woman who reads lips. Because of this
woman, Mrs. Hall is able to return home feeling lighter than she has in a long
time.
Tristan and Siegfried have a much-needed confrontation
While
Mrs. Hall is with her son, veterinarian Siegfried Farnon (Samuel West) is
having a boy shadow him in the veterinary practice for the day. Andrew Simmonds
(Austin Haynes) brings out the kind and patient side of Siegfried. It is a side
he has never shown his brother, Tristan (Callum Woodhouse), even when Tristan
was a child.
This
is the final straw for Tristan, who is usually the target of his brother’s
bluster and ire. He confronts Siegfried about why Andrew was treated so well
and why Siegfried could never show him the same kindness.
Forced
to look into his behavior, Siegfried speaks about his past. He talks about why
he and his deceased wife never had children, and how their parents treated
Tristan and him differently. Then he admits that he would have done things
differently with Tristan if he could go back and change things.
While I feel it was about time Tristan confront Siegfried, there is one element that he did not consider when comparing his relationship with Siegfried to Andrew’s with Siegfried. That element is history.
With Andrew, there wasn’t any old or
negative feelings Siegfried was harboring. Also, there was not the same sense
of responsibility with Andrew as Siegfried had with Tristan. The responsibility
and feelings of being treated differently by their parents altered Siegfried’s
behavior towards Tristan. Now that he is aware of this, Siegfried clearly
regrets it.
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| Gateway to the Future Kate Dorsey |
“For Whom the Bell Tolls”
War comes to Skeldale House
Germany
has invaded Poland, and England is on the brink of war. Everyone at Skeldale
House is worried about what is going to happen next. As they wait for answers,
they must continue on with life as usual.
James faces a dilemma between family loyalty and duty
Helen’s
father, Richard Alderson (Tony Pitts), was one of the first farmers to support
James in regards to the bovine tuberculosis (TB) testing. Now it is one of his
cows who is found positive, and he tries to convince James not to report it. If
James does report the positive result, there could be huge repercussions for
the farm. If he doesn’t, and the cow is confirmed positive for TB, it would put James in
trouble.
Reluctantly,
James agrees to withhold his result until he can do further lab tests. He does
not tell Helen this, though. She prepares a form declaring the farm clear of
TB. Mrs. Hall sees the envelope and sends it out in the mail.
The
cow, however, does have TB. Sending off the incorrect form made the situation
bad enough, but Richard makes it worse. Instead of letting the government
destroy the cow, he has it done himself. This could lead to severe
repercussions for James, including possibly losing his reserve occupation
status as a vet and be sent off to war.
Richard
tries to fix the situation by calling the Department of Agriculture and
admitting what he did. Still, with the form sent, James feels he must talk to
his contact at the department himself.
The
person James must see is Charles Harcourt (Adrian Rawlins). Harcourt is a very
pompous man who loves to lord over others with his superior position. It is
what he uses to intimidate those before him, along with his temper. Always
believing he has the upper hand, Harcourt has no idea how much he is going to
be bested by Helen when she comes with James to the meeting.
Let me say, it is a wonderful scene seeing Helen tell off Harcourt. Never mess with Helen!
A dog helps Siegfried show his love for Mrs. Hall
At
Skeldale House, a dog has been dropped off anonymously. The government has
decreed that all animals unwanted or unable to be cared for should be put down.
This does not sit well with Mrs. Hall, and she and Siegfried try to find the
dog’s owner.
The
owner cannot be found, and Siegfried finds himself in a no-win situation. Mrs.
Hall, who has named the dog "Dash," is horrified by the fact Siegfried may put
the dog down.
Siegfried
is not happy about having to do it either, especially after his experience with
the horses in the first world war. However, he knows he cannot take in every
animal that gets dropped at his door. They would be overrun with animals in no
time.
Still,
Siegfried does whatever he can to keep Dash alive. That’s because he would do
anything for Mrs. Hall.
James and Tristan make their decisions
By
the end of this sixth episode, war has been declared and the future is
uncertain. Because of this, the closing scene is difficult to watch.
James
and Tristan stand in line to enlist. Siegfried and Mrs. Hall hold hands to
comfort each other. Helen remains in the house, unable to watch her husband
sign up to go to war. No one knows what will happen next. All they can do is
wait.
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