As the episode begins, James Herriot (Nicholas Ralph) drives until he meets with someone driving a truck belonging to Mallock’s Abattoir & Company. The truck is hauling a cow. When it moves, James crosses the bridge and takes a kitten to Jenny Alderson (Imogen Clawson). He tells Helen (Rachel Shenton) and Jenny that her mother rejected her so they’re going to need someone to look after her. James gives her advice before Helen confesses that they’ll get very little for Clive but James couldn’t live with himself if the sale went ahead. Hugh Hulton (Matthew Lewis) catches up with them and apologizes for being late. Jenny decides she wants to name the kitten Poppy before Hugh gives her a bar of chocolate. As James tries to leave, Hugh follows him and apologizes for putting him in that position with Clive.

Hugh says he is glad something good came out of it since he thinks the situation brought him and Helen closer together. The delivery woman takes a package to the Farnon client and we see that Siegfried (Samuel West) is sick. Mrs. Hall (Anna Madeley) encourages him to take his medicine before getting the package from Joan. She finds out that the package is addressed to James Herriot and it came from Glasgow. Siegfried yells for Tristan (Callum Woodhouse) to make sure he finished the exam but Audrey believes Siegfried should be in bed. Siegfried is lightheaded and sick. He can barely stand without holding onto the seat. He doesn’t want to take off since they have a lot of work to take care of today. He doesn’t want to rest until he has finished everything for the day and he is still worried about Tristan’s test.

Audrey enters another room and hits Tristan in the head with James’s package to wake him up. She finds out that Tristan hasn’t even started on the paperwork so she encourages him to get it completed. Tristan is worried about what his brother is going to do to him when he fails again. She tells Tristan he is better than this before Jess pulls James’s package from the table. The dog tears the package open and they find out that it might be James’s birthday. They look at the paperwork and find out that he is having his first birthday away from home tomorrow so Audrey decides to bake him a cake. James stops by to pick something up and Tristan asks him if he stopped by to comfort Helen. James says Hugh is managing that very well by himself. Once again, Tristan tells him he doesn’t stand a chance as long as Hugh is around. James thanks him for stating the obvious.

He says James needs something to take his mind off it but James needs a pair of hoof clippers. Tristan believes it is time for James to look for new pastures and he agrees to give it a shot. Audrey interrupts before James asks about Siegfried who enters and says nothing is up with him. When they leave, Siegfried tells Audrey to open the door because they’re open for business. Seconds later, James visits Dick Rudd (Alexis Platt) and the family. He checks Dick’s cow named Strawberry and learns she has been wheezing since this morning. He asks if she has been gulping when she eats and Dick believes she has. He becomes concerned that something might be obstructing Strawberry’s throat but also believes it might be an abscess in her respiratory tract. It isn’t a major problem right now but James is worried it could grow and create a bigger issue.

He decides to give her a shot of Prontosil to try to get rid of it. Otherwise, it will continue growing. If it grows large enough, it could block the windpipe and choke Strawberry. When Audrey checks on Tristan, she finds him drawing and encourages him to use his energy for something good. Then, we see that the clinic is loaded with people and pets. They’re not happy since they haven’t heard or seen Siegfried for over an hour. Audrey checks on him and finds him sleeping in the observation soon. He admits he thinks he is dying. James gives Dick advice for taking care of Strawberry before the family gives him something to eat. They believe James will be able to take care of the problem and that there shouldn’t be anything to worry about.

Audrey gives Siegfried medicine and tells him to go to bed. Then, she puts Tristan in charge of the clinic. He is glad she is putting her trust in him but he isn’t sure he’ll be able to take care of all of the animals. Tristan checks on a rooster before stepping out of the room to supposedly grab a piece of equipment. He steps into the other room and frantically looks through Siegfried’s books until he finds he is likely dealing with bumblefoot. He returns to the woman and her rooster with a scalpel. He recommends a good bath in Epsom salt before explaining away the scalpel. That night, James tells Audrey that the Rudd family invested their life savings into Strawberry and he couldn’t have known since the abscess developed after the purchase. Tristan joins them.

James begins telling Tristan what is going on with Strawberry and Tristan admits the deal went well for him. They discuss learning and James admits he rereads something several times so he can remember it but Tristan says he falls asleep. When James goes to bed, Audrey tells Tristan he did well. They go over the test while Siegfried makes his way downstairs. He can’t believe they let him sleep so long since he told Audrey five minutes. Siegfried admits he still has a splitting headache before complaining about the money they would’ve lost today. He learns about Tristan doing everything for them but he still isn’t happy with Tristan for not completing the paper. He goes off and gets upset before telling his brother it is his life. In the morning, the group begins preparing for James’s birthday.

Siegfried sits down before Audrey and Tristan tell him everything they’ve done. Tristan also says he should have the paper finished before the afternoon. Siegfried takes more medication and heads for the sofa. Tristan is worried that he broke something in his brother since he can’t even bring himself to shout at him. Before James enters the kitchen, they rush to hide everything. James rushes through and leaves so he can go back to the Rudd’s place. Tristan gets up and leaves his test paper on the table. James meets with Edith (Roxanne Morgan) who says her father has been with Strawberry all night. Although Dick has been working with Strawberry all night, James admits she hasn’t gotten any better. In fact, he believes her breathing has got a little worse. They promise to do everything they can to help Strawberry but James isn’t sure it’ll be that easy. He says he has a Kaolin poultice to rub into the throat and he’ll give her another injection.

Dick says he isn’t ready to give up on her yet while Tristan looks through books at home. He finds something interesting and seems to thank James. Then, he returns to his homework and draws a cow. James returns and admits that the Prontosil did not work. Tristan shows James his tracings and how they show the windpipe. James shows him where the abscess is located. Tristan says it is tucked in behind all these major blood vessels or they might be able to get in there and burst it. Since it is so large, Tristan believes it gives them a bigger target to aim for. Tristan goes on to say that the advantage of knowing nothing is that anything seems possible. They try to come up with a plan to deal with the abscess before Siegfried joins them. Audrey walks in just in time to hear Siegfried ridicule their makeshift plan. Siegfried doesn’t want James to cloud his professional judgment since he told them Strawberry would be a good buy.

Siegfried tells James that he should go back up there and tell Rudd to get the cow to Mallock’s so they can put it out of its misery. James returns there in the middle of the night and sees that Dick is still working hard. James says he believes it is the end of the road since they’ve tried but nothing is working. After that, Tristan walks with James who admits it was worse because they didn’t blame him. Tristan wants to cheer him up. When they return home, Siegfried, Audrey, and the others surprise James with a birthday party. He receives the package from his family and finds a beanie and scarf. He receives a vet bible from Siegfried and confirms he told the Rudds what to do. Then, Tristan introduces him to Brenda (Harriet Slater) and Connie (Charlie May-Clark).

Helen and Hugh arrive outside and she pleads with him not to embarrass her. She says she’ll run inside and get Jenny but he says they should stop for one. Back inside, Jenny insults the woman James is hanging out with. Then, Tristan tells the girls that Jenny’s older sister, Helen, is madly in love with James. Connie tells James not to go anywhere before she steps away with Brenda. Maggie passes by and gives Tristan the cold shoulder. Helen watches as James scours through the book Siegfried gave him. He begins reading about the abscess of the Pharynx. Helen approaches and hopes he isn’t working on today of all days. She gives him a gift and wishes him happy birthday. Tristan asks Maggie if she is upset because he is with someone else. She complains that he is never serious. Meanwhile, James tells Helen that the Rudds didn’t deserve this.

She tells him that Siegfried will be Siegfried and he needs to be himself. She encourages him to follow his heart. When Helen leaves, James tells Tristan that he wants to do that operation on Strawberry and that he doesn’t want to give up. They admit Siegfried will kill them but they begin grabbing supplies anyway. Siegfried looks through his book and realizes something. James and Tristan tell Dick that they want to perform an operation and drain the abscess but they warn him that it might kill her. Dick agrees to the surgery and Tristan says they should use the headlights so they can see better. Audrey and Siegfried rush over as quickly as possible. Siegfried isn’t sure they should try and says James shouldn’t have got Dick’s hopes up. James tries to get Siegfried to trust him and let him do the operation. Dick says he should let him try since James thinks he can do it.

The operation begins seconds later. James asks Siegfried if he’d like to take over but he agrees to leave James in charge. Audrey and the others watch as James goes to work on Strawberry and Tristan helps. Audrey grabs a lantern to give James more light. James pushes through the muscle and tells everyone he can feel it. Tristan encourages him to use the forceps because they’re not as sharp and it’ll be less risky. James does it and the abscess begins draining. Dick and Edith are excited. Then, we jump over to The Drovers Arms where everyone celebrates James’s work. Siegfried admits it is a lesson learned since he should’ve listened to James. He pulls James over and says he should’ve listened to him in the first place. James reminds him that it is the people who cause most of the problems. Siegfried tells James that he is proud of him. He believes the cow would’ve died had anyone else been in control.

He decides to promote James to senior vet but he won’t get a pay raise. Next, Siegfried turns his attention to his brother and acknowledges what he did. Helen approaches James and talks to him while Hugh buys everyone drinks. James tells Helen he wants to thank her for earlier because he wouldn’t have had the confidence to go to the Rudd’s if she hadn’t said what she did. Seconds later, he finds out that Helen is engaged to Hugh and he pretends to be excited for her. James congratulates both of them moments later. Later, James steps outside by himself before Audrey, Tristan, and Siegfried join him. They agree to go home together and the episode ends.

 

All Creatures Great And Small Review

I liked every episode of All Creatures Great and Small but some were better than others. The sixth and final episode was likely the best of the season. James finally got the chance to prove himself to Siegfried and everyone else in town. He succeeded in saving Strawberry’s life and showing everyone that he is a good vet.

Nevertheless, he didn’t get the girl since Helen is now engaged to Hugh. I am sure that this romance will be expanded upon in future episodes. I am glad that this show has been renewed for another season and I still need to watch the Christmas episode. I am confident that All Creatures Great and Small can get better and better.

If the show focuses more on relationships and the dramatic nature of being a vet, it could be one of my favorite shows. This episode scores an 8 out of 10. You can find previous recaps of All Creatures Great And Small on Reel Mockery.