As this episode begins, Tristan Farnon (Callum Woodhouse) receives his birthday gifts which include the bag Audrey (Anna Madeley) bought him and a list from his brother Siegfried (Samuel West). There is one catch since Siegfried is going to send James (Nicholas Ralph) with his brother for the day. Siegfried says it is time for Tristan to stand on his own two feet although James is going with him. Tristan soon learns he will be going to the Sebright Saunders estate because several horses need tooth filing. When Tristan goes to fill the bag with tools, Mrs. Hall asks James about his night out with Helen. He admits it went well, but he hasn’t had a chance to tell her about the Glasgow job offer yet. He insists he’ll do it today since he has to see their horse Candy anyway. Although they had planned to go to Drovers for Tristan’s birthday, he wonders if dinner would be more appropriate.

When Audrey agrees to throw something together, Tristan tells her to make it dinner for seven since he is going to find a guest. Tristan and James leave a few moments later. Along the way, Tristan explains he will introduce himself and explain he’ll be dealing with the horses although they already know who he is. While Tristan believes his brother is waiting for him to fail, James isn’t sure about that. Once they arrive, they meet John Monkham (Steven Hartley) who is frank with them right off the bat. Tristan introduces himself as a fully qualified vet before explaining he’ll be taking care of the tooth rasping. John learns James is there to observe. Although he doesn’t like it, he doesn’t have all day to argue about it either. Back at Skeldale House, Siegfried has to remove a sizeable lipoma from Bonnie’s ribcage. Once he removes the benign mass, he places the dog in front of the heater to rest.

When the dog yelps, Audrey asks if she should be doing that, but Siegfried says it happens to some animals after an anesthetic as the barbiturates leave their system. Audrey says she is going to the butchers so she can try her hand at a beef Wellington while Siegfried confirms Diana Brompton was delighted by the invitation. After Siegfried says he is going to head out and check on Tristan, Audrey reminds him he said he wanted his brother to stand on his own two feet. James encourages Tristan not to let John rattle him before he notices Margot Sebright Saunders (Jessica Clark) in the distance. Tristan tells James about her and confesses she is out of his league, but James suggests otherwise now that Tristan is a qualified vet. Tristan waves and she waves back as James says he doesn’t want to miss out due to a lack of confidence.

Once John interrupts, Tristan gets to work on one of the horses. Margot enters to tell John she’d like to ride to Sennor Woods this afternoon before learning Tristan is a qualified vet now. As Tristan continues, he sees a horse named Satan in the distance and he lives up to his name. Tristan seems a bit worried about having to work with Satan. At Skeldale House, Bonnie begins crying so Siegfried checks on her and finds nothing physically wrong with her. He tells Audrey the dog likely just wants company before finding a spare rasp so he can check on Tristan. Meanwhile, Tristan turns his attention to Satan and gets kicked in the knee. He insists it is fine and the horse barely made contact before continuing. Once he has finished, he shows James the injury and admits he thought he was going to pass out at one point. James argues he should’ve let him take over, but Tristan knew his brother would’ve wanted that. John shows up and finds out about the injury.

John laughs about it. Tristan says he seemed to be delighted in it, so James admits they like to think they’re getting their money’s worth. They’re gone by the time Siegfried arrives to check on his brother. When they return, they find out from Audrey that Siegfried went looking for him. When asked about his conversation with Monkham, Siegfried says he didn’t say much other than Tristan needing to learn to move faster. When Tristan gets up to answer the phone, Siegfried tells James he has been thinking about making improvements to the clinic. They agree to sit down and make plans together before Tristan returns to say Dobson’s heifer is in labor. Tristan is tasked with going alone since James needs to check on the Alderson’s mare later. When Tristan agrees and asks how he’ll get there, Siegfried tells him he’ll have to take the Rover.

Although the car is Siegfried’s pride and joy, Tristan eventually agrees to take it. Tristan eventually takes off and goes in the wrong direction before returning. Audrey asks James to check in on him later and James admits that is likely a good idea. Tristan stops by Margot’s riding spot in his fancy car which he pretends belongs to him. He asks Margot to come to his birthday party and says Helen will be there. She agrees to come. Tristan meets Mr. Dobson (Jon Furlong) seconds later and immediately begins a thorough examination. Meanwhile, James checks on Candy with help from Helen (Rachel Shenton). Richard (Tony Pitts) and Jenny (Imogen Clawson) watch from the sidelines. James says mother and foal are both coming along nicely. He tells Jenny she’ll have her own pony in a couple of months. Heather explains Candy belonged to their mother.

Jenny explains she needs it to reach the top field easier since Richard won’t let her drive the tractor despite her feet reaching the peddles now. When Jenny and Richard walk away, Helen thanks James for coming and learns she doesn’t need to bring anything to the dinner party. James argues it is good that Tristan is helping because they can split the night shifts now. They talk about his stay in Glasgow and only being on call once a week, but he says nothing about the job offer. He leaves and checks on Tristan who seems to be struggling with the heifer. He stops moving before saying he only needs a minute. Meanwhile, Bonnie begins crying and Audrey gets sick of it. She decides to check on Bonnie and take the dog with her while warning it not to sniff her beef Wellington.

James offers to take over while Mr. Dobson offers help as well. Dobson gives him a sip of tea as the work continues. Helen arrives at Skeldale House early so she can help Audrey. They talk about Siegfried being nice and that making everyone unnerving. Then, the conversation turns to James and Glasgow and Audrey lets it slip that James’s mom wanted him to accept the permanent position. She realizes James hadn’t told Helen yet. Tristan manages to complete the birth and pull the calf out safely. As they leave, Tristan grabs his shoulder and shows Dobson that it is hurting. When James asks if he needs to ride with him, Tristan admits he has been faking it. When James learns he was putting on in there, he says Dobson will give Siegfried a glowing report. Although James says Siegfried is proud of him, Tristan doesn’t believe it, but he may no longer think he is hopeless after today.

When they return home, they learn from Helen that Siegfried is on the phone with Mr. Dobson. Tristan tries to find out what Dobson said, but Siegfried doesn’t say anything and instead tells him to get changed. Diana (Dorothy Atkinson) joins them with a bottle for herself and Audrey. Audrey is surprised when Margot arrives with flowers. She thinks Audrey is Mrs. Farnon so she gives her the flowers. Audrey quickly corrects her but keeps the flowers anyway. When she sees Helen, she asks her how she is since she was devastated about her and Hugh. James learns from Tristan that Margot is an old pal of Hugh’s and wishes Tristan would’ve told him earlier. During dinner, Margot notices James holding Helen’s hand. She doesn’t seem to like it, but Siegfried changes the subject to her family’s mare. She says she’ll be up against the Hulton’s new horse although it is a shame Hugh is missing all the events.

She keeps telling Hugh to come back but he refuses saying he feels too ashamed to show his face in Darrowby. When she says she doesn’t know what Hugh has to be ashamed of, Helen says he has nothing to be ashamed of. She explains she had to be honest with Hugh because it would’ve been even worse later on, and Diana quickly agrees with her. James changes the subject before Siegfried stands up and gives a speech about Tristan. He confirms the reports of Tristan’s work have been uniformly excellent. When he sits down, Diana tells him he sounds like a proud father, so Siegfried says that is how he feels. Bonnie begins yelping in the distance. Tristan wonders if it is a post-operative complication although Siegfried quickly refutes that.

The comment leads to Tristan telling them about his performance, and an argument until Siegfried lets it slip that his brother does not have the qualifications. Once Audrey clears the room, Tristan finds out that he didn’t pass the exams after all. Siegfried reveals he narrowly missed the mark on one paper parasitology. Tristan accuses him of making him look like a complete idiot. Siegfried argues he had wasted so much time on those exams and he thought he’d be better off getting out there and getting his hands dirty. He believes he was right. Tristan doesn’t believe him. When he says his brother can’t admit he is wrong, Siegfried says he doesn’t see that he is wrong. Since Tristan is distraught, Diana agrees to give Margot a ride home. Before she goes, Margot apologizes to Helen and admits it must’ve been hard for her as well. She tells them she hopes they’ll be very happy together.

When James leaves with Helen, Audrey tries to cheer up Tristan. She admits she knew but not until later. She insists Siegfried’s intentions were bad although his methods might’ve been. Tristan knows she bought the bag, but Siegfried paid for it. She tells him he has no idea how much Siegfried cares for him. She says it is hard for him and Tristan doesn’t like hearing that. Meanwhile, James tells Helen the modernization of the clinic will have to wait if Tristan doesn’t step up. He tells her about the Glasgow job offer although she already knows. He admits Bill told his mom about the job and she told him he had accepted the job. He doesn’t know what to do yet but complains he is going to be letting people down regardless. He didn’t want to put pressure on Helen because he wants to be with her.

He knows that means staying here and he loves it. However, he’ll break his mother’s heart if he stays since they’ve given up so much for him. Helen says they’ll just have to work something out. James goes home to comfort Tristan and share a drink of Siegfried’s special bottle with him. James asks if it would’ve made a difference if he had found out sooner. Tristan isn’t sure. James says there are plenty of great vets with no qualifications and it doesn’t matter as long as you know you can do the work. Tristan says it is still his birthday so they should get blasted at the Drovers.

 

All Creatures Great And Small Review

The fourth episode was likely the best episode of the second season of All Creatures Great and Small. It had everything, including triumphs, revelations, and a little humor sprinkled in. Siegfried was finally forced to tell his brother the truth about his exams. Although Tristan proved himself as a skilled vet, he wasn’t happy to find out he wasn’t actually qualified. Which path will he take now? Will he attempt to pass the exams again or continue working as a vet anyway?

As for James, he finally told Helen about the job offer with help from Mrs. Hall. That will become an important factor for the remaining episodes. Is James going to be forced to accept the job offer in Glasgow or will he find a way to stay with Helen? All Creatures Great and Small is best when the characters face difficult decisions and overcome everything in front of them.

These storylines have been carefully created and now they’re unfolding slowly. I can only imagine they’ll conclude with some emotional-packed scenes. Tristan proved himself while Helen and James agree to work through the Glasgow problem. The action makes the episode worthy of an 8.5 out of 10. All Creatures Great and Small recaps can be found on Reel Mockery here.