As the episode begins, Tristan (Callum Woodhouse) gets up in the morning and greets Mrs. Hall (Anna Madeley). Seconds later, he slides into a room with James (Nicholas Ralph) to avoid his brother Siegfried (Samuel West). Siegfried tells everyone he is being put through the paces at the Darrowby Racecourse. Mrs. Hall admits he has wanted the job for some time and it has made him a little emotional. James is put in charge of everything while Siegfried is away and he promises he won’t let him down. Siegfried isn’t sure about that. Then, Siegfried believes they’ve been robbed. He looks over and notices his brother still dressed in his pajamas. He blames Tristan for taking the money but Mrs. Hall admits she took the last of the petty cash for this week’s shop.

James offers to call the police but Audrey believes the money is still in the farmer’s pockets. Seconds later, Tristan is put in charge of scouring through the books and Audrey promises to keep an eye on him while Siegfried is gone. As James drives along, he runs into Hugh Hulton (Matthew Lewis) on the bridge and gets stuck. James pleads with him to back up so they can get through. Hugh doesn’t so James backs up only to find that Hugh has done the same. They go forward again and meet in the middle. After a little back and forth, they eventually figure it out and Hugh gets out of the way. Once James has crossed the bridge, Hugh asks him about working for Siegfried. Meanwhile, Siegfried makes it to the Darrowby Racecourse.

Siegfried gets ready and meets with General Ransom (Nigel Havers) seconds later. Hugh joins them too. Siegfried thought they would be with Andante but Soames is bringing him down later. Siegfried is asked about the breeders he works with before Siegfried says most of his clients have horses that need attending to. Hugh is the only client he knows who has racehorses though. When a horse goes down, Ransom says it is time for Siegfried to show them what he is made of. As for James Herriot, he meets with Lillian Calvert (Susan Jameson). She calls him a real Happy Harry before James gets a temperature reading of 106. James learns that the animal has been in the field and chasing around after the dog. He believes the animal is suffering from heat exhaustion and he wants to start with a couple of buckets of water.

Siegfried checks the horse and says there is no sign of sprain or fracture. He checks the animal’s eyes and believes there is no nystagmus. He isn’t sure if the animal hit its head on the way down. He asks the other men for their help as they try to roll the horse over but that doesn’t work. The general wants to bring a tractor to winch the horse away but Siegfried says he can’t let him do that because it would be cruel and unnecessary. Siegfried gives the horse more time and it gets up on its own. Ransom admits he is not used to being spoken to that way before Siegfried explains his actions. Audrey Hall steps outside and finds Tristan running the business. She is impressed. Tristan tries to convince their clients to pay for their services. He approaches Helen (Rachel Shenton) next but changes his mind as she argues with Jenny (Imogen Clawson).

When Tristan leaves, Audrey talks to Helen about her son and Jenny. Audrey offers to take the girl for the day while Tristan follows a client into the nearby pub. He follows Henry Dinsdale (Mark Noble) and tries to convince him to pay for his services. Dinsdale has no choice but to pay what he owes. The lady behind the bar tries to convince Tristan to have a drink. She says he wants people to part with their money and this isn’t a bad place for it. Audrey spends time with Jenny and they cook together. Seconds later, Audrey receives a call requesting someone to visit Hugh Hulton’s estate while Jenny talks to James Herriot in the kitchen. When Audrey enters, they talk about sun calf with heat exhaustion. Then, James learns about the call from Hulton Manor. Tristan drinks with the others at the bar before he begins asking for his money.

He works on Mr. Lunn (John Bulwich) first. He notices that Maggie (Mollie Winnard) is taking bets on the horse races and Henry wagers some money. After a little back and forth, Tristan agrees to buy a drink for everyone. James meets with Mr. Soames and learns that there is something wrong with one of his horses. Soames believes it can be sorted out with a shot of arecoline but James isn’t sure they’re dealing with ordinary colic. He wants to give the horse an examination first. Mr. Soames (David Fleeshman) is only worried about getting the horse to the track tomorrow. James checks the horse and believes it is torsion of the bowel. He says the circulation has been cut off for some time and the tissue has died. He believes it is best to end the horse’s life and quickly and painlessly as possible. Soames doesn’t want to do that though since the horse is very valuable.

He wants Siegfried to check the horse first. Meanwhile, Siegfried hangs out with Hugh and the General until Hugh receives a message and has to leave. Siegfried turns his attention to General Ransom and they chat about Siegfried’s passion for horses and horses being used during wars. He admits they shot a lot of them and he feels he is repaying a debt by helping the horses. Siegfried goes on to say that the animal always comes first. The General says it should before inviting Siegfried to the course tomorrow. James tells Mrs. Soames that he cannot let the horse suffer any longer. He returns to his car and grabs the horse killer. He learns that the horse’s name is Andante before returning to his side. James’s hands shake as he loads the device that he will use to kill the horse.

Hugh arrives outside and begins asking questions before James puts the house out of its misery. Hugh isn’t happy and tries to attack James who explains there was nothing else he could’ve done. Hugh orders James to get out before sitting down next to his horse. James leaves and tries to recollect himself in his vehicle. Then, he goes to the pub and meets with a drunk Tristan. James tells Tristan that he had to put the horse down. Tristan decides to buy him a drink but realizes he has used most of his money already. Siegfried returns home and talks to Audrey about Andante and the horse running away with the race. He tells her he spent the day working with magnificent horses that were bred to perfection and she is happy for him. He believes the General took him seriously because he has an employee now and he thanks Audrey for pushing him to hire James.

Audrey admits she isn’t sure she did any good with Jenny. Hugh visits and tells Siegfried about his horse. Tristan returns with James as Hugh complains. Siegfried says James is a very competent vet but Hugh wonders if his diagnosis was correct. Hugh reveals he has been advised to speak to a solicitor but Siegfried says that isn’t necessary. He promises that they’ll be able to sort it out themselves and says he’ll do a postmortem the following day. As Hugh leaves, James tries to talk to him but he is ignored. James confronts Siegfried and says he is 100% positive about his diagnosis. He admits it was a terrible thing to do to such a terrible creature and Siegfried wants to make sure he is okay. James is asked if he did a full internal examination and whether or not it might’ve been some other type of blockage. James is and isn’t confident he was right. In the morning, Audrey offers James breakfast but he turns it down.

She returns to Siegfried and learns about the upcoming postmortem. Tristan enters and shows his brother the ledger. Siegfried is surprised his brother collected so much. When he asked for the money, Tristan says it would make more sense to give it to him all at once. Then, he says he left his wallet in his room but he really doesn’t have it. He runs out of the house and Siegfried realizes something is wrong. James steps inside and Audrey gives him something to eat later. She says people will find out that he did the right thing once they’ve calmed down a bit. James leaves because Calvert has called for assistance. Tristan is found hiding in the car because he spent the money and is trying to save his skin. James drives him away from the house.

James warns him that his horse might not come in before he gets stuck on the bridge once again. This time, Helen and Jenny block his path. Once they pass the bridge, Helen tells James that Hugh told her about the horse and Jenny says he called James a bad name. James tries to explain himself but she reminds him that it was Hugh’s horse. When Helen leaves, Tristan wants to know what that was all about. James confesses he asked Helen out. Helen takes Jenny to Audrey’s place for the day. Audrey takes Jenny to the bunny cages and she wants to play with them. Audrey wants Jenny to look at the book first and the girl agrees to do so. Siegfried goes to Hugh who says he is sorry it has come to this before the examination begins. When James and Tristan arrive at the Calvert house, Lillian (Susan Jameson) called James Herriot the Horse Killer.

Tristan says his brother is engaged so James will check on the calf that has gone daft. James checks the animal and begins doubting himself. With Tristan’s help, he pulls himself together. Then, James notices that the barn is in bad shape and the paint is flaking. Since the calf has been licking and biting it, it likely has lead poisoning. He takes care of that while Siegfried continues and Hugh leaves. Tristan goes to Maggie to check on the outcome of the race and he gets good news. Maggie turns her attention to the horse killer and thanks him since he helped her avoid having to pay out to half the county. Audrey talks to Helen about Jenny and tells her that she is doing a great job. She believes Jenny needs a big sister more than a mother right now. Siegfried returns and goes inside without saying anything. He approaches James and says the postmortem was conclusive.

There was significant torsion of the bowel. James breaks down as he learns there was nothing else he could’ve done. Siegfried tells him that his diagnosis and course of action were both textbook but that doesn’t make it any easier for James. Tristan interrupts and tells Siegfried that he got the money. General Ransom arrives so he can speak to Siegfried. He admits he thought Siegfried was impressive yesterday and he wants to offer him a role but his colleagues wouldn’t like that. He says it isn’t good that Siegfried is hanging out with James who killed one of the best horses. If he wants the job, he’ll have to get rid of James. Siegfried says they do not have an understanding and says Herriot is the best assistant they ever had so he won’t betray him. Ransom leaves a short time later.

Siegfried tells Audrey he didn’t get the job but she says he is a good man. He tells her to keep it to himself because he doesn’t want people thinking he has gone soft. He learns that they’ve had a few calls but folks would rather see Siegfried than James. He thinks they’ll come around. He returns and tells Tristan to get the ledger so he can make sure every penny is accounted for. He tells James he has a list as long as his arm to prepare for tomorrow.

 

All Creatures Great And Small Review

All Creatures Great And Small is getting increasingly better with each episode. I am glad it is taking itself a little more seriously than it had in prior episodes. The jokes from Siegfried were pushed aside this episode as James was forced to make a difficult choice. Despite making the right choice, his decision will likely cause a lasting impact.

Hugh will probably never forgive him but the other locals might. Nevertheless, we can see that James and Siegfried are good vets who want to do their best for the animals. This episode was very good and emotional. I hope the quality can be sustained from here on out. The episode scores a 7.5 out of 10. Previous recaps of All Creatures Great And Small can be found on Reel Mockery.