As the second season of All Creatures Great And Small begins, James Herriot (Nicholas Ralph) works with his old colleague Bill Weipers and Nurse Mary in Glasgow. He instructs them to keep the kitty overnight and the owner can pick it up in the morning. Once he finishes, he tells Bill (Euan Macnaughton) it was much easier thanks to the X-ray machine and every vet needs one, but Bill reminds him the machines are very expensive. Bill and Mary (Heather Horsman) agree it has been a pleasure to have James around for two weeks. Bill admits it is hard to find a good vet, so he hopes James’s boss realizes how lucky he is to have him. James is offered a job in six months when the guy he is covering for leaves. Bill tells him the future of the industry lies in pets. James doesn’t give him an answer before stepping outside and hearing the newspaper man scream about the crisis in Europe.

He grabs a paper from Craig and runs into Jim who refuses to grab a pint with him because he has to get home. When he finally makes it home, he stays quiet about Mrs. Hall’s cooking to comfort his mother Hannah (Gabriel Quigley). She urges him to come home sooner next time because they don’t want to have to wait until Easter to see him again. She likes the idea of her son getting a job at Bill’s clinic since it is so close to home. Then, he learns his father James Senior (Drew Cain) is having a difficult time getting picked out of the line due to his age, so his mother is doing needlework to cover the losses. Hannah promises they get by just before his father enters and realizes Hannah is trying to keep James at home. Hannah says James is taking the job although his father thought he had made a life for himself down there.

James seems hesitant to say otherwise. He returns via train and gets picked up by Tristan Farnon (Callum Woodhouse) who gets caught eating the Easter egg present Mrs. Hall gave to James. Tristan reveals they’re going to see Rob Benson (Philip Hill-Pearson) because his ewes are pregnant. As for Siegfried (Samuel West), he is meeting them there and hasn’t let Tristan off his leash just yet. Once they arrive, Siegfried reminds his brother to wear a tie and tells James he has been dealing with the caseload in his absence. James is working to dislodge a baby sheep that has been stuck in the birthing canal. Siegfried tries to rush James while reminding him they’re not paid by the hour. The young sheep named Herbert gets in the way and James learns the sheep’s mother hasn’t taken to him at all. He has been going from one to another trying his chance. James removes him from the pin to ensure he doesn’t get kicked.

When James returns to work, he finally pulls the baby out and it is perfectly fine. Then, they learn that the Alderson’s dog has been coming over and chasing the sheep. Back at home, Siegfried learns from Mrs. Hall (Anna Madeley) that he has purchased a vet’s bag for Tristan for his birthday. She knew he’d want to get Tristan something special in recognition of his hard work. Hall knew she could’ve asked Siegfried first since he might’ve said no. Siegfried doesn’t want to give it to him so Mrs. Hall reminds him that he hounded Tristan for five years to pass his exams. She thinks he should reward Tristan now that he has passed the exam. Siegfried makes an excuse to leave and end the conversation before Mrs. Hall greets Tristan and James as they walk through the door. In the morning, Siegfried gives them a list of errands and Tristan is once again stuck in the dispensary. Herriot believes it would be a good idea to give Tristan a list since it would allow them to take on more small animals and pets.

Siegfried admits he doesn’t understand why people keep pets since dogs should be working on farms and hunting. They bicker a bit before agreeing that Tristan can take care of Mrs. Tompkin’s budgie since it only needs its beak clipped. Seconds later, they get a call from Rob Benson who complains about a dog attacking his sheep. They rush over and learn that Rob caught the Alderson’s dog and tied him up in the shed. The sheep are out on the ground, but they do not have any dog scratched or bites. Although they’re alive, Herriot theorizes that it is a calcium deficiency since it is sometimes caused by sudden exertion or stress. The sheep are fine after they’re given calcium injections.

Tristan visits Mrs. Tompkin who is blind. She tells him that Peter has barely eaten because his beak is too long now. She goes on to say she loves listening to him flutter in his cage although he doesn’t sing. When Tristan reaches in and grabs Peter, he scares the bird to death and makes up an excuse to take it back to the clinic with him. Meanwhile, Rob is told he is lucky not to lose one of the sheep. However, that soon changes when one of the ewes goes into labor and the newborn is gone. As they leave, Tristan puts James in charge of visiting the Alderson family to tell them what happened. While James travels with the dog, Tristan tries to figure out what to do with Mrs. Tompkin’s bird. Mrs. Hall catches him with the dead budgie and learns how Tristan accidentally killed the bird. She believes Tristan will have to tell Tompkin the truth unless he can learn how to resurrect the bird.

That gives Tristan an idea, so he quickly hides Peter in the drawer nearby and rushes from the home. When James arrives with the dog, Jenny (Imogen Clawson) is thrilled to see Scruff. The dog gets all kinds of love from Jenny before James tells Richard (Tony Pitts) about the sheep incident. James makes it clear that the dog didn’t attack any of the sheep although one of the ewes miscarried. Jenny protests when her father claims they’ll have to put the dog down. She runs away with the dog before Helen (Rachel Shenton) comes out and joins the others. James stresses the point that Scruff isn’t a dangerous dog and says he is only young and overexcited. While James doesn’t think it is right to kill a perfectly healthy animal, Richard says this is the way things are done around here. Richard doesn’t expect someone like James to understand. He leaves before James tells Helen that it was a mistake, and the dog can be trained.

Helen repeats what her father said before turning down James’s offer to go after Jenny in his car. When James leaves, he spots Jenny on the road and offers to give her a lift. Jenny returns home after Helen and Richard finish eating. Richard demands to know where the dog is, but his daughter doesn’t tell him. James takes Scruff somewhere safe and feeds him. In the morning, Tristan reveals he got a budgie of a different color, but he doesn’t think Tompkin will notice. Siegfried storms in after finding the dog and learns only Jenny gave James permission to train the dog not to chase sheep. Siegfried wonders if James has already done enough damage interfering in that poor family’s business before ordering him to take the dog back to the Aldersons. Although James argues a bit, he leaves with the dog and Mrs. Hall sends Tristan with him. As they ride alone, Tristan tries to explain himself with the budgie. He says Tompkin would be devastated and alone if she knew the truth.

Now, she is going to have company. Tristan says everyone avoids the truth when it suits them and that includes James. After all, he doubts Herriot is taking Scruff back to the Alderson’s place. He warns James that this isn’t going to end well. James says Jenny loves the dog and it isn’t fair for either of them, but Tristan hopes James isn’t doing it to win his way back into Helen’s heart. He quickly denies it. They pick up Jenny. Tristan asks her about Helen who has apparently been going for lots of walks and seems to feel guilty about what happened. Hugh is in France, and he has been writing to her. He still loves her and continues complaining about how much it hurts. Jenny listened to what Helen said to Hugh. She said she loved him but not in that way. Hugh didn’t understand and thought Helen might’ve called it off because she liked someone else. Richard pulled her away before she could hear Helen’s response.

Meanwhile, Siegfried finds out about the dead budgie since Tristan left it in the drawer and never buried it as promised. He tries to force Mrs. Hall to tell him what happened so she leads him to the other budgie Tristan brought home. She reveals she had a strange call this morning from the Dean of Edinburgh Veterinary College asking if Tristan would be returning for the autumn term. She doesn’t understand that because Tristan supposedly passed his exams last Christmas. Siegfried has to come clean and admit he lied about Tristan passing, but he says it was for Tristan’s own good. Mrs. Hall admits she lied and the university didn’t call. She knew he was up to something and wouldn’t tell the truth otherwise. She tells him they’re as bad as each other. Jenny and James visit Rob so she can apologize for the lamb he lost. James learns that the ewe isn’t eating or drinking so he thinks she needs a lamb to look after.

Tristan recommends the orphan Herbert. Rob agrees to try before finding out they’ve brought the dog up there. James explains that the dog didn’t attack the flock. James wants to try to train the dog not to chase sheep with permission from Rob. He agrees to let them try while Helen begins looking for Jenny. Next, James gives Jenny instructions for training Scruff while Tristan is busy eating the dog’s treats. Scruff doesn’t do well on the first attempt, so Jenny has to pull him back and James takes him out of the pin. They continue working at it. Meanwhile, Mrs. Tompkin shows up at the Farnon clinic so she can see about her budgie. She admits she couldn’t wait until this afternoon to see her budgie because her boy doesn’t come back to see his mom as much as she’d like. She tells them how it warms her heart to hear the bird fluttering and pecking on his cage. The new budgie starts chirping so Siegfried and Mrs. Hall scramble to come up with an excuse.

Hall says it is Peter and he is ready for her to take home. When Tompkin admits he wasn’t able to chirp before, Siegfried claims he has found his voice now that his beak has been trimmed. She says it is like a different bird before thanking them and sending her thanks to Tristan too. Siegfried promises to bring Peter home later and she leaves. Back inside, Siegfried and Hall agree that Tristan can never find out about the exams. They also agree that he needs to get out and start doing proper work and he’ll get the bag on his birthday. Helen goes to Rob’s place to give him a few things to make up for the trouble they’ve caused. She learns that Jenny is up in the field with James, so she goes up there immediately. Tristan tells her James is only doing what he thinks is right and he always does that even when it isn’t easy. He thinks Helen can relate to that. As she steps inside the fence, we see that Jenny and James have had progress with Scruff.

Scruff walks among the sheep without Jenny holding the leash. Helen lashes out at James. He tells her isn’t from around there, but he knows the difference between right and wrong, and killing a perfectly good animal can never be right. She says it wasn’t his dog or reputation, but James counters saying it was a mistake and animals mess up like humans do sometimes. He encourages her to stop punishing herself and go on like nothing happened. He goes on to say the dog deserves a second chance and Helen does too. She says she needs to get Jenny back before walking away. Before she can leave, James yells that he has missed her, and she says the same. James and Tristen return to Rob and learn the ewe has taken to Herbert well. Jenny promises to make sure Scruff never goes off again. Rob is satisfied and says he believes some good came out of it after all.

Later, James and Tristan hit the pub where Tristan buys them a drink with James’s money. James tells him you forget how beautiful this place is when you’ve been away for a while. Siegfried arrives and complains about James going against him. James argues you don’t always have to live by the old rules. He reminds Siegfried he made him a senior vet because he thought he could add something to the practice, and he should start trusting him to do that. Siegfried doesn’t argue before telling Tristan that Tompkin was happily reunited with Peter. He tells Tristan he can look forward to doing more work. Siegfried tells them they must not keep Mrs. Hall waiting and she is trying to make sure James never dreams of going away again. They return home, share dinner together, and welcome James back.

 

All Creatures Great And Small Review

All Creatures Great and Small is a beautiful adaptation in every sense of the word. The scenery is gorgeous and helps set the mood for the charming, uplifting drama. James Herriot’s story and his love for animals are undeniably beautiful. The opening episode of season two quickly established several important storylines for the season including James potentially leaving the Farnon clinic to return home to his family in Glasgow.

Siegfried has dug a hole for himself by hiding the fact that Tristan failed his exam, and it is going to come out sooner or later. Helen is struggling with the guilt of leaving Hugh just before the wedding. I am confident viewers are in for another delightful series of All Creatures Great and Small since it picked up where it left off. The opening episode was excellent scoring an 8 out of 10. All recaps of All Creatures Great and Small will be available on Reel Mockery here.