All Creatures Great and Small season 5 is officially over, having brought us laughter, tears, and a surprising number of goats. GBH Drama already discussed the first half of the season , and now we’re back to talk about the rest. Warning: there will be spoilers.
Jackie: As always, I could just say “wow what a great season of a great show” and call it a day, but I suppose that’s not a very good article, is it? What did you think of everything?
Amanda-Rae: I loved Season 5, even the early Tristan-less episodes. We see James embracing being a father and all the responsibility that comes with that, as well as confronting how the war has affected him in a healthier way. I’m going to be sad if James Anthony-Rose doesn’t come back for a regular visit to Skeldale next season.
J: AGREE — so sad to have the character leave, even though I totally understand why that made sense. There is so much potential there for Carmody’s character to keep developing, and I feel like we just got a tiny taste of what could have been a very fun friends/antagonists situation between him and Tris before it was snatched away!
A: It was also nice to see a neurodivergent character not being forced to change who they are and also one outside of a cop drama. I just didn’t expect to be so attached to a character who was a fill in until James returns since I didn’t feel that way reading the original stories.
J: It’s so funny how sometimes a character sneaks up on you like that! Speaking of James’ time in the RAF: I really like how this season incorporated historical events without totally changing the tenor of the show. Fundamentally it’s still about caring for others and friendship and love, but they used the wartime backdrop to emphasize how precious all of those things are instead of just serving us up pain and despair.
A: Definitely. The animals and their owners kept the series from focusing too much on how the war was changing the Dales. It’s sad when the animals pass away but those are also moments where you see the love and friendship shine.
J: I also really loved that we got at least a temporary resolution to the weird brother feud Siegfried kept trying to start with Tris.
A: Episode 6’s elderflower wine adventure was amazing, no notes! Not only was it hilarious it was great to see the brothers Farnon by themselves again.
J: It was exquisite. Those two have such great chemistry and I loved watching them get progressively sillier as the episode went on. It was a great way to cap off the season. And it made the storyline for the holiday episode so much more intense by contrast.
A: The A plot being Edward’s ship is a much darker premise than we’re used to.
J: Definitely — especially for the holiday episode. Poor Audrey. It’s crazy to think about finding out something so major on the radio and then having to wait to see if your loved one’s name is printed in the paper. I know this sometimes still happens today (and is honestly a reasonably efficient way to share said news) but ugh.
A: These days it’s often social media that functions as the paper.
J: True. I’ve never been so happy watching a character cry as I was when Audrey got that phone call at the end. I don’t know if I could’ve handled it if she’d had to go through losing her son. And not to out myself even more as a huge Siegfried/Audrey fan but the way my man was holding on to the banister for dear life to stop himself from going to hug her was A LOT. Those Farnon boys, man!
Tris also had quite an episode! Turns out he’s a great teacher, which isn’t actually that surprising, but was really fun to see.
A: I was also very happy to find out that Edward was alive and well. I hope they send him home sooner rather than later as I believe Singapore was eventually a target for the Japanese army. As for Tristan, I was surprised that Tristan had it in him to teach but it makes since since he’s so outgoing.
J: He’s such a goof BUT he’s also the kind of person who I feel like would have had to figure out weird ways to take in all that material for himself, so it kind of made sense to me that he was able to do that for others? Also: the pigeon caper! A perfect secondary storyline for this episode. Between the glowing green poop, the attempted necropsy, and Tris solving the mystery in the field, I had a great time start to finish.
A: The pigeons were so chaotic but also a reminder of what they were originally bred for. Their lives as flying rats was not their original purpose.
J: Poor birds. It’s not their fault we developed better technology than what they used to do, which really is pretty incredible when you think about it. But yeah flying rats isn’t incorrect! Speaking of wild animals: I know it’s wrong to feed wildlife, and foxes are not pets. But that dang fox is so cute and charming that I TOTALLY get why Christopher wants to take care of it! I doubt this was a thing then, but today he could become a wildlife rehabilitation vet — my sister-in-law briefly worked at a place like that and has the wildest stories from that experience. So much so that it definitely did not change her mind about going into large animal vet medicine lol.
Changing the subject a little bit here: this is so silly but the time jump and the holiday episode’s corresponding baby actor swap weirdly shocked me. I got so used to those chunky lil babies that new bigger Jimmy was a real surprise!
A: I forgot for a second that Christmas was supposed to be 6 months later but Older Jimmy is indeed still cute. I also like that throughout the season and in the Christmas special that we see Helen doing things other than taking care of Jimmy. She spends time with Richard and Jenny and helps with the Victory garden. She’s much more than a housewife or James’ secretary.
The fight over Jimmy’s future was hilarious considering in the books James was prepping Jimmy to take over the vet business.
J: YES. Helen is amazing and it’s great to see her continuing to do her own thing. That fight over Jimmy’s future was very silly but it low key warmed my heart when her dad said “his mother’s a farmer.” She sure is! The only thing I wanted more of this season was her messing with Seigfried more; he deserves it. Anyway, speaking of Jimmy: so cute to see James spiraling into full-on dad mode.
A: In the books, James ends up running the PTA so this is the beginning!
J: LOL I did not know that but it totally tracks with this version of him too — my man is invested in his child(ren) and I love that!
A: I hope we get enough seasons to see PTA James in action!
J: And that’s a perfect segue: what do you hope to see next season?
A: I already mentioned the Carmody cameo earlier but I have a few more wishes. I hope Tristan doesn’t get reassigned overseas and also that Mrs. Hall can see Edward soon. I also need to see more of Tricki as a therapy dog and more of Jimmy developing his personality and even helping his Dad. It would also be nice to see Siegfried make a new friend — or indeed, a pair bond — with a new female character but of course I remain skeptical that the series would give fans what they want with him and Mrs. Hall.
J: Sign me up to watch literally all of that with the exception that, as previously stated, I would very much like to see Siegfried pair bond with Skeldale’s resident angel Audrey Hall. Other than what you already said, I’m also hoping we’ll get a lot more Tristan shenanigans, some new unusual animals, and maybe some of Jenny’s trip to the city.
A: For the record I like the idea of Siegfried and Audrey but a certain cast member keeps loudly saying it’s never going to happen.
J: LOL he just doesn’t see the VISION, clearly 😂 To be fair, I mostly just want them both to be happy. And some of the best ships never go canon!
A: I’m with you on that.
J: I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see. January is so far away!
A: Very much so, but at least there’s several new series and returning seasons on MASTERPIECE to look forward to in the meantime!
Stream All Creatures Great and Small anytime, and catch Call The Midwife , Wolf Hall , Marie Antoinette , and Sisi: Austrian Empress starting March 23 at 8pm.
