All Creatures Great & Small
Christmas time at Skeldale House brings endings and beginnings for all
“Merry Bloody Christmas”
Siegfried compromises his beliefs to save Tristan
Now
that veterinarians James Herriot (Nicholas Ralph) and Tristan Farnon (Callum
Woodhouse) have enlisted in the military, Tristan’s brother, Siegfried (Samuel
West), will do anything to keep Tristan from going to war. He is even willing
to sacrifice the ethics and morals he has held strongly to his entire life.
During
a run, a horse named River was injured. He is supposed to run a race in a few
days, but Siegfried is certain River will not be healed enough to race. This
does not go over well with River’s owner, Albert Sebright Saunders (Michael
Maloney). Saunders wants River to race and he will do anything to make that
happen. He even implies that if Siegfried okays River’s health, Tristan will be
removed from the report to duty list.
Sending
an injured horse out to race goes completely against Siegfried’s belief that
the animals they care for always come first. It comes before any personal
interest their owner, or anyone else, may have. This belief is something
Siegfried has instilled in Tristan and James, which is why Tristan is so
surprised that he must remind Siegfried of it when he catches Siegfried
clearing River’s health when he shouldn’t.
Tristan takes a stand against Siegfried
Eventually,
Tristan realizes Siegfried is going against his own beliefs in order to keep
Tristan out of the war. Refusing to let Siegfried compromise himself, Tristan
calls the racetrack vet himself and has River pulled. River will not race, and
Tristan is back on the report to duty list.
When
Siegfried finds out what Tristan did, he returns home to Skeldale House and
bellows through the house for his brother. At the time there is a Christmas
gathering happening at the house, yet no one even flinches at Siegfried’s
bellows. They must be well-known.
In
the kitchen, Tristan and Siegfried finally have it out. Siegfried reveals his
reasons for his behavior towards Tristan through the years. He also admits he,
at one time, resented Tristan for being their parents’ favorite.
Mrs. Hall breaks Siegfried’s heart
When
Tristan leaves the kitchen, determined to run his life his way, not
Siegfried’s, Siegfried sits down with Skeldale House housekeeper, Mrs. Hall
(Anna Madeley). As he’s talking to her about all that is going on in his life,
it seems Siegfried is going to finally get around to telling Mrs. Hall his
feelings for her. Before he can, Mrs. Hall jumps up for the table and goes in
search of her love interest, Gerald Hammond (Will Thorp).
Unfortunately,
Gerald left while Mrs. Hall was in the kitchen. She looks around the house and
discovers he is gone. Gerald is about to move from town, and Mrs. Hall is sad she
did not get the opportunity to say goodbye.
Then
Gerald returns. He took the wrong coat and has come back for the correct one,
which, for him, is a very fortunate mistake.
Thrilled
to see Gerald, Mrs. Hall kisses him for the first time.
In
the background stands Siegfried. As he watches Mrs. Hall kiss Gerald, you can
see his heart shatter.
Tristan says goodbye
Not
long after Christmas, Siegfried takes Tristan to the train station for his
journey to report to duty. Before they leave for the station, Tristan gives
James’s wife, Helen (Rachel Shenton), the keys to his car. He also asks Mrs.
Hall to take care of Siegfried.
At
the station, Tristan and Siegfried hug for possibly the first time ever. Then
Tristan boards the train and goes off to join the war.
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| Horse on the Run Kate Dorsey |
The men
of All Creatures Great & Small
I
mentioned at the start of this series of posts that there are a lot of men to
fall in love with in this series. My two main ones are Siegfried and Helen’s
father, Richard Alderson (Tony Pitts). Both men are incredibly kind and caring,
but they are reluctant to show it.
Mrs. Hall brings out Siegfried’s caring side
Siegfried
is able to show his care with animals, but he has a harder time with people.
With Mrs. Hall, though, his ability to care for a person is evident. He often
takes her hand in comfort and sits with her companionably. When Mrs. Hall is
going through something distressing, he truly wants to be there for her.
In a previous post I also mentioned how Siegfried has been curling into himself as
the season has gone on. He did this in a way that made it seem the world had
become too heavy for him to hold. I still do not know if this was a conscious
decision by the actor or if it happened naturally, but it is a perfect
representation of how much Siegfried does feel about people and what is going
on around him. By the end of this Christmas special, Siegfried looks very old
and weary from all that has been happening.
Richard Alderson can’t hide his love for his daughters
Richard
would probably be considered a cranky, brusque man by many. He is much quieter
about his complaints than Siegfried, but he is just as cantankerous.
On
the inside, though, Richard is absolute mush. He has such love for his
daughters, Helen and her younger sister, Jenny (Imogen Clawson). No matter what
he says, the truth is, Richard would do anything for these two. It is obvious,
with every interaction he has with them, that despite his crankiness, Richard
Alderson is a really good man.
Gerald and James are good men too
Gerald
and James are both sweet men, and obviously so.
James
is a great match for Helen. This is clear.
What
is not so clear is whether Gerald is the best match for Mrs. Hall. He is a good
man and works well with Mrs. Hall, but, in my opinion, Siegfried is a much
better match for her.
Tristan still has some growing up to do
Tristan
is growing on me. He has definitely matured through the seasons, but he has
more growing to do. As both his ex-girlfriend Florence Pandhi (Sophie Khan
Levy) and James told him, Tristan still needs to figure out who he is. Once he
does, I hope he and Florence are able to find each other again. They were good
for each other.
Changes
and the future of All Creatures Great & Small
Not all new characters work out
One
character I was not fond of was Eva Feldman (Ella Bernstein). She is a young
evacuee staying at Skeldale House during the Christmas special. I found her
very disrespectful and sometimes outright rude. Plus, any scene she was in felt
stiff, awkward, and forced. This was jarring because usually everything flows
smoothly between the cast members, even when a new one is introduced. This time
that was not the case. The dynamics of the show changed in a negative way and
it was not easy to watch.
There are many questions for the future
Other
than the addition of Eva in the Christmas special, this was another wonderful
season to watch. We are learning so much about these characters. Siegfried,
especially. It makes me wonder how much more we’re going to learn in the fourth
season.
I
am also curious about how much of the war we will see. And when will Siegfried
and Mrs. Hall get together?! So many questions, and so much time until I’m able
to find out.
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