All Creatures Great and Small Season 5, Episode 6, “Glass Half Full” Spoilers Ahead
“Glass Half Full” is an episode you’ll want to watch again and again. The short hour is so completely full of wonderful performances and breathtaking views that it’s hard to appreciate how exceptional every moment is. The sequencing carefully manages viewers’ feelings, using laughter to ease out of deeply emotional scenes. If All Creatures Great and Small is your happy place, “Glass Half Full” overflows with the heartfelt, healing storytelling that viewers crave.
Day Tripping
As Siegfried Farnon drives through the Dales in the Rover, the weekly exhale seems in order until we notice he is in his shirt sleeves and has mud on his face. Something smells off as “Glass Half Full” starts. Back in Darrowby, Mrs. Pumphrey is having trouble convincing Uncle Harriot that Tricki Woo has a health problem. James’ skeptical look as she tries to prompt the dog to cough shows he thinks the matron may be imagining things. In All Creatures Great and Small Season 5, Episode 6, “Glass Half Full,” it is the men, not this supposedly “silly woman,” who have a tenuous hold on lucidity.
The Skeldale House kitchen is bursting with strawberries. Helen Harriot’s efforts since she took over the victory gardens in “To All Our Boys” have yielded so much of a good thing that Mrs. Hall is overwhelmed with chopping and stirring. Even though she wants to lend a hand, Helen is otherwise occupied tending to James. Adding to Mrs. Hall’s workload, Mrs. Pumphrey and Tricki are underfoot. Instead of being a burden, Mrs. Pumphrey proves to be a godsend. She keeps an eye on simmering pots, answers the phone for “Mr. Farnon’s Veterinary Practice,” and entertains baby Jimmy so that Audrey can continue her jam production. Following Tricki’s lead, Mrs. Pumphrey takes a seat in the kitchen. The homey setting allows the two women to become better acquainted and to discuss the sobering realities of life after the first war.
Siegfried and Tristan Farnon are at odds. That may sound like an evergreen episode description for All Creatures Great and Small. In “Glass Half Full,” the twist is that, more than at any previous time, the brothers are equals. Tristan has war stories, vet experience, a petrol ration, and a full-time job working for someone other than Siegfried. Without Mr. Carmody to assist him in the practice or keep him company in the evening, Siegfried feels more acutely the need for his brother. He can no longer, however, command Tristan. Only Mrs. Hall still has that power. As in “Uninvited Guests,” she nudges Tristan to be unselfish. When he joins Siegfried on two veterinary visits, the brothers’ inhibitions gradually fall away when they’re forced to trek through the Dales. They find common ground as they get closer to Darrowby and the bottoms of their bottles of Dobson’s elderflower wine.
James’ affliction finally catches up with him in “Glass Half Full.” After a stand-up bit for the surgery waiting room, James begins to perform a striptease for Mrs. Pumphrey. She quickly recognizes the signs of delirium and summons Helen to corral James before he can press his uplifted palms where they should not go. This brucellosis relapse is initially comical but quickly becomes worrying when James spikes a fever above 100 degrees. His seemingly random ravings take a very dark turn before James finally confronts his guilty conscience. When James confesses aloud to feeling at fault, his fever breaks, and he’s able to alleviate both his and Tricki’s distress.
“Glass Half Full” Is Quintessential All Creatures Great and Small
Every element of “Glass Half Full” exemplifies the qualities viewers have come to love. The narrative is contained but expansive; the stand-alone plots offer an engaging hour while building on season — and series — long stories. The themes are weighty but uplifting. Main characters stumble (sometimes literally) but press forward in their growth. The Yorkshire Dales backdrop is used to its best effect. Plus, the episode has friendly farmers, fainting horses, and our favorite fluffball, Tricki Woo.
As with “To All Our Boys,” writer Debbie O’Malley again creates the remarkable novelistic feel that close watchers find rewarding. Conversations that began at the start of Season 5, or even earlier, continue and deepen. Mrs. Pumphrey and Mrs. Hall revisit the topic of Audrey’s time in the Wrens, and we learn more about Mrs. Pumphrey’s wartime activities. James’ secret, only partially disclosed in “Uninvited Guests,” finally comes out, but not before threatening his mental and physical health. Siegfried and Tristan venture into uncharted territory to discover new ways of relating “man to man.”
Many language elements also recall earlier chapters of the All Creatures Great and Small tale. When Tristan says, “We’ve never really been big talkers,” I instantly think of his skepticism about the Farnons as “huggers” and about their emotional embrace in “Homecoming.” James’ fever-induced rant against Mrs. Pumphrey is reminiscent of Carmody’s unwillingness to humor the doyenne in “Papers.” When James dubs Tricki “ridiculous,” I can hear shippers swoon thinking about a “most ridiculous creature.” My favorite repeated word is “ducks.” After Siegfried’s silly observation during Jimmy’s christening in “Homecoming,” ducks await Jimmy in his bath. Hilariously, a child-like Siegfried calls out to the real ducks as Tristan carries him across the stream.
O’Malley crafts wonderful dialogue that perfectly reveals character mindsets. Tristan’s sly playfulness comes out when he refers to Mrs. Grantley (who is mercifully out of the picture) as the “lady of the goats.” Mrs. Pumphrey’s willingness to muck in comes out when she asks the caller, “When exactly did the vomiting begin?” Siegfried’s glee in reconnecting with his brother has him feeling “like a little wind-up toy.” The terror that James is experiencing first comes out in his ominous babbling about an imaginary man on the stairs. (Shudder!!)
The animals are always wonderful, and in All Creatures Great and Small Season 5, Episode 6, “Glass Half Full,” they are simply spectacular. Horse Master Mark Atkinson elevates both the comedy and the drama by succeeding in having Barley and Algy play dead so convincingly. Barley is a fantastic straight “man” for Molly’s mocking observation, “Well, I reckon that did it,” perfectly delivered by Olivia Page Marsh. Seeing Algy suddenly resurrect from the hay, viewers are as stupefied and relieved as Tristan and Siegfried. Thanks to Animal Coordinator Catherine Kerr-Philipps, the dogs in the Skeldale House kitchen are also terrific. Tricki looks convincingly territorial when Mrs. Pumphrey shows the baby a moment’s attention. All three dogs spring up hopefully when Mrs. Hall dips her finger in the jam. When Jimmy is the lucky official taster, it’s all heart-eye emojis in my head.
The physicality of the human actors is also remarkable in the episode. Nicolas Ralph’s portrayal of the agitated onset and bedridden anguish of his delirium is compelling. Callum Woodhouse’s frozen position, with the syringe still in place, in the horse barn is hilarious. He and Samuel West are exquisite as bickering siblings and portray very believable drunks. West’s yogi-like balance during the sobriety test is impressive. Patricia Hodge’s expressions during Tricki’s examinations are perfection. I particularly love the closing scene: great actors playing regular people doing a theatrical recitation.
Andy Hay (Director) and Sara Deane (Director of Photography) offer viewers a visual treat. A shift in focus from white flowers in the foreground to the Rover carrying the brothers is stunning. The wide framing with Barley and Molly features both the action and the Dales’ greenery. The frames at Dobson’s are postcards. The beautiful horse, the stone barn, the exposed rock cliff, and the stone walls winding up hills in the background all invite the eyes to explore. (Quick aside: It’s wonderful to see Jon Furlong in the recurring role of Mr. Dobson, as he portrays the farmer with the ideal blend of humor, affection, and bluntness.) The wide-angle and time-lapse edit of the brothers crossing a field is a surprising and delightful way to show their intoxicating journey.
Costumes again brilliantly help tell the story. Siegfried’s opening shirt sleeves are the first sign that everyone’s going a little more casual in “Glass Half Full.” James winds up in his undershirt for much of the episode. Siegfried and Tristan reach town with tattered, untucked shirts. Even Mrs. Pumphrey eventually strips off her coat and hat as she settles in at Skeldale House. The sound department mixes in a convincing auditory hallucination. I was not certain at first whether the engine noise was outside Skeldal House or only in James’ head. And, of course, Alexandra Harwood’s music provides lilting, teasing levity or poignant drama at just the right moments.
The final scene is an overhead shot of our found family laughing in the driveway before the camera zooms out and pans over Darrowby and the Dales. Happy sigh. “Glass Half Full” allows fans to know that we are the lucky ones.
Now streaming on PBS: What are your thoughts on All Creatures Great and Small Season 5, Episode 6, “Glass Half Full?” Let us know in the comments below.
First Featured Image Credit: ©Helen Williams; Playground Entertainment and MASTERPIECE.