All Creatures Great and Small Season 5, Episode 5, “Pair Bond” Spoilers Ahead
“Pair Bond” hits so many delightful notes that viewers can forgive the one time the record skips. In fact, the dissonance of Persian tones in Yorkshire adds enjoyable quirkiness to the episode. This eccentric atmosphere is a fitting one for Richard Carmody’s farewell to All Creatures Great and Small.
Digging Deep
The first frames of All Creatures Great and Small Season 5, Episode 5, “Pair Bond,” are simultaneously familiar and worrying. A military plane and its loud motor intrude on the flyover shot of the Yorkshire Dales that usually signals a return to our happy place. The scene shifts to the streets of Darrowby. The typically tranquil town is bustling, and we follow the postal carrier as she delivers a package to Skeldale House. Soon, Richard Carmody and Siegfried Farnon are putting off their breakfast (and everyone else’s) to inspect mail-in goat droppings. In contrast to his colleagues’ industry, a hungover James Herriot needs every ounce of energy to get his day started. Much like James, in “Pair Bond,” everyone is digging deep to find their personal resources.
The two “scientific brains” find their faculties tested. Their poop patrol requires a call to the Grantley Estate. While Siegfried and Carmody quickly discover why the baby goats are photo-sensitive, each man needs time to excavate his feelings. Before leaving, Richard runs into Doris, whose advances made him flee in “Holding the Baby.” Through careful self-diagnosis, he realizes he “is developing romantic feelings” for the land girl. When Carmody shares his plan to ask Tristan Farnon for advice, Siegfried cannot conceal his indignation. The elder Farnon claims he’s “an expert in affairs of the heart.” Richard cooly notes he’s never seen Siegfried with a woman, pouring salt in a wound that Bosworth opened in “Holding the Baby.”
Perhaps needing to prove there’s still life in the old dog, Siegfried “flirts” with the next single woman he meets, Catherine Grantley. As the older vet preens like a peacock, his protégé observes. Carmody is not, however, watching to learn. Instead, he diagnoses Siegfried as smitten and decides to help. It’s hard to say whether Richard’s overt sales pitch or Siegfried’s supposedly subtle seduction is more second-hand embarrassing. The only good to come from this awkward encounter in “Pair Bond” is that Miss Grantley inadvertently makes Siegfried realize how unique Carmody’s new opportunity is. With a deliberate nudge from Mrs. Hall, Siegfried helps Richard explore his options. Understanding he’ll always have a home in Darrowby, Carmody uncovers the courage to leave.
The other vets, Tristan and James, are a pair of procrastinators. Tristan has a lecture to write, and James has a playpen to fix. Instead, they turn the driveway into a cricket pitch to practice Tristan’s googly. James is also delaying an important conversation; he cannot say “no” to Tristan’s boozy evening plans. Hints of nostalgia for their pre-war relationship and survivor guilt drive James to try to keep up with the off-duty soldier. Helen Herriot sympathizes but reminds her husband that “Tristan’s had enough drunken nights to last a lifetime.” James finally works up the nerve to admit he’s no longer a carefree young man and earns a peaceful night in with Jimmy.
Mrs. Hall becomes a true action hero in All Creatures Great and Small Season 5, Episode 5, “Pair Bond.” After Mr. Bosworth’s frantic entrance announcing “an unidentified object” (Don’t say “bomb”!) in Hampson’s field, Audrey exchanges her apron for her warden’s uniform. She gracefully marches up the hill toward the potential threat as Bosworth barks at the bystanders to respect his authority! Audrey kicks open a gate that Bosworth can’t unjam. She approaches the mysterious artifacts without hesitation and conclusively determines that Darrowby is in no danger from tinned potatoes and toothpaste. She even attempts to shut down Bosworth’s careless talk as he spins out wild scenarios. With the bomb scare averted, Mrs. Hall steps into another potentially explosive situation when she takes on the ratty task of telling Bosworth what killed Bingo. He again reveals his humanity by encouraging Mrs. Hall that she’s “making a difference every day.”
“Pair Bond” Teases and Tames All Creatures Great and Small Fans
All Creatures Great and Small Season 5, Episode 5, “Pair Bond,” is a confounding episode. I loved so much of it, but I’m not convinced the tease of a pair bond for Siegfried is a useful new development. Still, the hilarious scenes of Siegfried trying to flirt (with peacocks in the background for full effect), are well worth whatever detour the series is taking here.
Making his All Creatures Great and Small writing debut, Robin French fashions an episode that fits perfectly into the series’ universe yet surprises in numerous ways. “Pair Bond” pulls off a necessary shake-up while pulling through threads from past episodes and seasons. As surely as we knew Tristan was returning, we understood Carmody would be leaving. Like “Holding the Baby,” this episode focuses on one day in Darrowby. Carmody is the center of attention only in the morning and the evening. The multiple storylines help distract from this sad eventuality. French also uses these stories to show us how much has changed in Darrowby in the eighteen months since Carmody arrived in “Right Hand Man.”
The energy of “Pair Bond” feels more frenetic than usual. Busy streets in the opening scenes, Bosworth’s reckless driving through town, a crowd of humans and a flock of sheep at the “not a bomb” site, and the menagerie at Grantley Estate. Everything works together to create a slowly building sense of agitation. After an anxious walk around Danby’s property, viewers confront the shock of gruesome animal deaths, a rarity in All Creatures Great and Small.
The introduction of Catherine Grantley is also a disruption, whether or not you’re shipping Seigfried with someone closer to home. This casually, sensual woman patting her posterior and lounging comfortably during afternoon coffee is a rare bird in Yorkshire. More importantly, we’ve gotten used to bachelor Siegfried working on improving himself and his Skeldale House relationships. Siegfried seems pleased to find an intelligence that matches his own, but Miss Grantley sees him as a “general reader.” The last woman to disrupt his life was Miss Harbottle in “Carpe Diem.” Let’s hope this interlude is similarly short-lived.
Thankfully, French also incorporates quieter scenes built around brilliant dialogue. The scenes with Carmody and Siegfried allow both actors (respectively, James Anthony-Rose and Samuel West) to demonstrate the range of their talents. Alternating humor, intellect, and tenderness, these conversations reveal the mentor and fatherly aspects of their relationship. West beautifully portrays Siegfried’s eagerness to know Carmody’s exam results and his bittersweet gratification in encouraging the young man to do great things.
The dialogue in the scene of Mrs. Hall and Mr. Bosworth on the bench initially feels odd. Why is Audrey apologizing? French, however, relies on an established character trait, Mrs. Hall’s inclination to tend to other people’s emotions. This surprising conversation beautifully reveals the constant burden she carries silently. My favorite conversation occurs in the driveway between James and Tristan. Robin French’s dialogue and the performances of Nicholas Ralph and Callum Woodhouse allow the lads to go deep without getting weepy.
Other elements of the episode are also strange and familiar. The animals in “Pair Bond” bring back flashes of Season 4. The giant farmhand ferret recalls the fun caper of treating Wilf in “Carpe Diem.” Similarly, the herd of pygmy goats reminds us of the “ladies” doing parkour in Skeldale House in the same episode. The familiar theme of local newcomer tensions shows up in poor Doris’ interactions with Danby. This narrative gives us a forgiving and hospitable Helen, as well as flashes of her temper. It also provides a powerful scene where Jeremy Swift, as Bosworth, demonstrates a beautiful shift in tone from irate to empathetic. My heart melts every time one of the adults coos at, snuggles, or bounces little Jimmy. So, so, so cute!!
A few words to the props department. From the premature spurt of Siegfried’s worming gun to the rat and fox carcasses, thanks for the grossouts — well done. The costume department also continues to shine. I loved the visual matching of Siegfried and Carmody’s structured red vests while James turns up disheveled in a sweater vest.
Watching his final performance (for now?) in All Creatures Great and Small, I realize I have not praised James Anthony-Rose enough for his work over the two seasons. Anthony-Rose has succeeded in portraying a character that has grown from off-putting and annoying to wholly endearing. It’s been such a joy to progress from laughing at Richard Carmody to laughing with him. Like Siegfried and Audrey, viewers marvel at how much the boy has learned since he first arrived. Anthony-Rose has been the perfect steward for Richard Carmody’s character journey. Bon vent.
“Pair Bond” reassures All Creatures Great and Small fans that, even though Skeldale House is its heart, our favorite found family has created bonds that walls cannot contain.
Now streaming on PBS: What are your thoughts on All Creatures Great and Small Season 5, Episode 5, “Pair Bond?” Let us know in the comments below.
First Featured Image Credit: ©Helen Williams; Playground Entertainment and MASTERPIECE.