All Creatures Great and Small Season 4, “Broodiness” Spoilers Ahead
All Creatures Great and Small Season 4, Episode 1, “Broodiness,” is a testament to hope, humility, and healing in the midst of uncertain times. Even as the signs of looming war are everywhere, including through the absence of a beloved character, cheerful daffodils make frequent appearances as markers of the season of renewal. In many ways, the premiere episode plays on the familiar themes of newness and growth that have been throughlines of the series. But as the characters feel more and more like family — both to viewers and to each other — the need for them to let go of old habits and hurts and grow into better versions of themselves feels more urgent.
“Broodiness” presents each of the returning four main characters with a personal challenge. Siegfried Farnon must overcome his emotional agitation to help those around him meaningfully. James Herriot has to backtrack from a rush to judgment to save an animal’s life and rehabilitate a social castaway. Mrs. Hall needs to summon the courage to reveal intimate details of her past to gain more autonomy over her future. Helen Harriot faces the test of learning to join in the tradition of Siegfried’s appeasement in Skeldale House while maintaining her characteristic forthrightness. The All Creatures Great and Small Season 4 premiere makes clear that the residents of Skeldale House are increasingly dependent on each other to overcome these individual challenges.
The All Creatures Great and Small Season 4 Resets the Balance in Skeldale House
A big question going into Season 4 was whether All Creatures Great and Small could maintain its delicate balance of depth and levity without Tristan Farnon’s epic antics to distract from the seemingly weightier plots. If, like me, you watched the second half of Season 3 with a clenched heart, fearing a major departure, the opening credits of the Season 4 premiere, “Broodiness,” will be a first shock. The familiar music and animation immediately draw you back to the world of the Yorkshire Dales, but not seeing the name Callum Woodhouse pop up as usual is a painful reminder of Tristan’s absence.
In contrast, the opening aerial view over the gorgeous landscape suggests that, despite the war on the continent, the beauty and apparent calm of the Dales remain intact. The cut to James happily whistling as he drives roads that have now become familiar reinforces this impression. His reference to Easter marks the time since Tristan has left (just after Christmas). James’s delight at seeing the “wee-uns” hunting eggs as he arrives back in Darrowby is infectious, and we might almost believe that some traditions, normalcy, and innocence remain. (Insert screeching tire sound here…) And then there’s Wesley Binks. This menacing, egg-throwing ruffian seems to have no place in the bucolic world of All Creatures Great and Small. James’s quest in Season 4’s “Broodiness” is to overcome this initial assumption to help Wesley find his place.
Breaking glass (echoing Wesley’s egg splattering on the windshield) and a Siegfried frenzy welcome us to Skeldale House for the first time in All Creatures Great and Small Season 4. “Broodiness” instantly pulls us into the turbulence of life without Tristan as Siegfried’s favorite fall guy. In this first clash between the two forceful personalities, we see that both are struggling. Siegfried is beyond agitated, and Helen is barely biting her tongue as she takes the brunt of it. Withdrawals (both from tobacco and from Tristan) push Siegfried into almost intolerable imperiousness and self-centeredness. Though she takes orders from him, Helen does not view herself as Siegfried’s subordinate. She seems to be saying, “I am not Tristan,” as she asks under her breath, “What if I do mind?” and says, “You’re welcome” to a neglected thank you. It’s especially the case when she says, “When I say I’ll do something, Siegfried, I do it.” Since Tristan’s absence has made Helen’s help more necessary, she and Siegfried are forced to reset the boundaries of their relationship.
Mrs. Hall is too occupied with her own concerns to be an active mediator of the new dynamics of life in Skeldale House. When she utters the word “divorce” on her visit to the Ripon County Court, a bystander turns and looks with surprise that matches our own. After all these years, Audrey Hall is finally facing down the “disintegration of [her] marriage.” The All Creatures Great and Small Season 4 premiere launches this storyline and skillfully creates ambiguity about where it will lead. The blunt, officious courthouse clerk leaves little room for Mrs. Hall to explain her motives or sentiments, leaving us to wonder what’s caused her to want a divorce after so long. The sailor whose path she crosses on the way into the courthouse and her long look at Edward’s photo recall her discussion with him during 3×05. Did that frank look at her husband’s descent or Edward’s bluntness about Mr. Hall’s awful treatment liberate Audrey from her past? Or is she looking to the future?
Helen’s speculation that Mrs. Hall is out with Gerald when she’s off to get her divorce application and Audrey’s own concern with standing next to Gerald in church on the holiest day of the year are clever hints about where her thinking may be. Writer Jamie Crichton cleverly places Siegfried in or at least adjacent to this story. Sieg-Drey shippers will notice his pique when he thinks Audrey is out with Gerald, his surprise when he first sees the divorce application and his crestfallen, blinking silence when he realizes Gerald may have “intentions” toward Mrs. Hall. The awkwardness of both the idea of Mrs. Hall leaving Skeldale House and Siegfried’s quick escape from the room is painfully funny. Good Lord, you two!
“Broodiness” Emphasizes the Healing Power of Vulnerability
The impact of Mrs. Hall’s divorce on the overall balance in Skeldale House will unfold over All Creatures Great and Small Season 4. Still, her decision to apply for one and how Siegfried supports her in “Broodiness” provide an opportunity for Siegfried to show us (and himself) that he can care for people in new ways. In past seasons, his way of caring was often clumsy or tough, but in his encouragement of Mrs. Hall, we see an increasingly tender and less self-absorbed Siegfried. Offering non-judgmental advice that may go against his own interest in keeping her, tiptoeing in to bring her tea.
The fine construction of the All Creatures Great and Small Season 4 premiere also allows us to see what happens when Siegfried is so consumed with his own suffering that he can’t see past his nose. The signs of Clifford Slaven’s suffering were always there for Siegfried to see. Even though Slaven is a seasoned farmer, Helen says, “he must be struggling,” but Siegfried doesn’t stop to ask why. Slaven says the lambs’ births require “small mitts,” but Siegfried again doesn’t directly ask why the farmer’s wife or a daughter couldn’t lend her more delicate hands. Siegfried doesn’t notice Slaven reminiscing about his own daughter’s birth and abruptly declines an invitation to stay for a cuppa, after which the seemingly sturdy farmer’s head hangs low in obvious sadness. Siegfried recognizes his willful blindness only when Helen unambiguously tells him about Slaven’s loss. He is, then, able to offer Slaven a more permanent solution to the real problem.
Crichton uses this same mechanism — revelation and realization — to create a more authentic bond between Helen and Siegfried. Speaking of signs, with Siegfried searching high and low for his tobacco, it should be no surprise that he’ll eventually find the gauze hidden to cover up Helen’s mistaken order. Yet, as he rearranges his study (showing just how much space he’d created for Mrs. Hall), we get a laugh-out-loud moment when he finds the first packs. (Siegfried’s Houdini-like tug of the curtain to reveal a pyramid of boxes forces Helen to acknowledge that she made a mistake.) Her simple and candid confession also lets Siegfried off the hook. Instead of persisting in his punishing Lenten pursuit of self-control, he lights up his pipe and acknowledges that “nobody is perfect.”
But what of James Herriot, the loveable idealist? Nobody is perfect. We see an ugly side to James’s unswerving application of his principles. Classism mingles into his assumptions about Wesley Binks: “people like him, “there’s no shame in” not being able to feed your dog. Stunned by the violence of Wesley’s responses — punctuated brilliantly by the piercing sound effect, muted voice, and out-of-focus shot after the shocking punch — James does not pause to recognize his own role in triggering these outbursts. Let’s face it: James nearly runs the kid over because he took his eyes off the road to admire more innocent-looking kids. James’s indirect accusation that the dog, Duke, is not being “properly fed and looked after” triggers Wesley again. Despite Helen’s urging for caution, James persists in his narrow-minded assessment, relenting only when he has clear evidence of his error. James can finally see Wesley for who he could be rather than who others say he is, and the child — or “very young man,” depending on how you want to label him –blossoms.
When Siegfried appears to intrude on Wesley’s rehabilitation, I have to confess my assumptions matched James’s: “Leave this to me, Siegfried,” in other words, please don’t wreck things. My breathing stopped when Siegfried declared, “I’ve heard all about Wesley Binks.” This interaction is yet another reminder that in becoming our better selves, other people’s assumptions often get in the way. Tears might have flowed when Siegfried gave silent approval of Wesley’s work and certainly did at the proud look on Wesley’s face when James tells him, “I don’t think [Duke] could wish for a better owner.” James’s reward for admitting his mistake and affirming Wesley’s right to be a pet owner is that James receives affirmation in turn — “you’re alright, Mister.”
The All Creatures Great and Small Season 4 premiere, “Broodiness,” puts to rest my worries about the balance of lightness and heaviness without Tristan. While we’ve long known that Anna Madeley and Samuel West shine in moments of quiet personal agony, the humor both bring is perhaps more apparent in this season opener. Similarly, Rachel Shenton’s quips in response to Siegfried and her sneaking about, snickering, and facial expressions as Helen Herriot tries to suppress her natural candor contribute to the levity that makes this series fun. Nicolas Ralph also adds a comic physicality I had not noticed before, stumbling clumsily with a pile of boxes, chomping angrily on a carrot as he broods (though this is not the (only) “broodiness” that the episode introduces).
The final scenes are the wholesome and heartwarming endings All Creatures Great and Small viewers love. Notably, Siegfried’s decision to open his letter to Tristan with a lighthearted Easter greeting suggests he’ll be able to carry on even though the absence is palpable. Viewers will also miss Tristan, but the Season 4 premiere promises that we, too, will be alright.
Now streaming on PBS: What are your thoughts on the All Creatures Great and Small Season 4 premiere? Let us know in the comments below.
First Featured Image Credit: ©Courtesy of Playground Entertainment and MASTERPIECE.