All Creatures Great and Small Season 5, Episode 7, “All God’s Creatures” Spoilers Ahead
The All Creatures Great and Small Season 5 Christmas special is a precious gift. “All God’s Creatures” does double duty as a season finale for US viewers. The episode is emotionally stormy (to put it mildly), but it superbly clears away clouds that have loomed on the horizon throughout the season. Have plenty of tissues on hand because this finale provides multiple chances to experience the restorative benefits of a good cry. With a sprinkling of Christmas magic, “All God’s Creatures” gives viewers permission to believe that everything will be all right.
Nourishing Hope
As any proper Christmas show should, “All God’s Creatures” begins at a tree lot. Siegfried Farnon has a “bloody great fir tree” loaded into the Rover. Then, we see the green car make its way through the evergreens and open fields back towards Darrowby. Back at Skeldale House, Christmas preparations are also underway. Helen Herriot tries to keep little Jimmy from shredding the wrapping paper while James gathers bundles of holly to decorate. Mrs. Hall surveys the meager provisions and concludes their holiday meal could be a “poor show” for the baby’s first Christmas. She hints at a possible main dish, leaving the Herriots to wonder whether Audrey might be able to multiply loaves and fish. In the All Creatures Season 5 finale, stubborn faith in miracles serves as food for the soul.
Christmas is an extra special day for Jimmy. His surprise arrival in “On a Wing and A Prayer” means the baby shares his birthday with the Son of God. Jimmy’s father aspires to make the day special despite the competing celebration and the wartime rationing. His grandfather, Richard Alderson, has similar hopes. After Helen’s heroic effort to make something resembling a cake, the two men almost spoil the birthday tea party. Both offer thoughtful gifts intended to nurture the baby’s career imaginings. Unfortunately, each man expects grown-up Jimmy should follow in his footsteps. Helen reminds them that Jimmy, who cannot yet walk, enjoys blessings of good health and happiness, all anyone could hope for their child.
All Creatures Great and Small Season 5, Episode 7, “All God’s Creatures,” offers us a look at Tristan in service to his country. We see Lieutenant Farnon in Doncaster, leading his final training on mule health for a group of young vets. A major interrupts to give Tristan an urgent and tricky mission: sourcing carrier pigeons from Yorkshire fanciers before Christmas. Siegfried enlightens Tristan about the role of pigeons in both their family and wartime histories and provides the address of a breeder. Through clever observation, Tristan convinces Enoch Sykes to lend him a bird that promptly dies. To have hopes of success, Tristan must convince the suspicious breeder he’s not some grim spirit of Christmas future. Sykes discovers that his own vigorous feeding technique is to blame for the deaths. He gifts twelve of his finest flyers to the war effort, rewarding Tristan’s willingness.
Siegfried also faces an unusual animal challenge in All Creatures Great and Small Season 5, Episode 7, “All God’s Creatures.” For the first time in the series, he’s asked to treat a fox. Thanks to Mrs. Hall’s exchange with a local family, the son Christopher knows how to persuade Siegfried to care for the “vermin.” Siegfried and the boy agree to banish the fox to the forest. However, as they walk the animal through the Skeldale House kitchen, his desperate look through the slats of the crate revives ghosts for Mrs. Hall. The animal’s chances of survival become intertwined with Audrey’s need to nourish hope even when it seems unrealistic.
News of the sinking of her son Edward’s ship cracks and eventually shatters Mrs. Hall’s normally “stoical” demeanor. After beginning the Christmas season with her usual cheerful resourcefulness, Audrey is forced into a twisted daily advent ritual of opening the paper prayerfully to find nothing there. She retreats from humans and finds solace in feeding the fox, who’s found his way to the Skeldale House animal shed. After an upsetting disappearance, the animal returns wounded. When Siegfried balks at trying to save the fox, Audrey lashes out, venting her despair at the unfairness of who lives and who dies. A letter from Edward, posted before the ship went down, sends Mrs. Hall on a Christmas Eve mission to Skipton. She trades rum and shortbreads for bitter confirmation of Edward’s near-nil chances of survival. A miraculous Christmas morning phone call rewards Audrey’s unsinkable belief that Edward will come home.
“All God’s Creatures” Is Achingly Beautiful
The All Creatures Great and Small Season 5 Christmas Special is a delicate balance of anguish, tenderness, and sheer joy. It provides a raw look at the precarious nature of happiness and the potential danger of hopefulness, especially in wartime. The main narrative is riveting as the writing, acting, and visual storytelling combine to torment and touch our hearts. The words of a certain fictional Royal Navy captain have rarely felt so appropriate: I am half agony, half hope.
After guiding us safely through the unfamiliar waters of a season without Tristan, Jamie Crichton is the ideal writer to keep hope afloat as Mrs. Hall crumbles. The narrative arc is elegantly crafted to weave in historical events while perfecting the fictional universe. A reference to Cher Ami combines with Farnon family lore to convey to Tristan how special his assignment truly is. For the HMS Repulse, history buffs will have foreseen this fateful moment from the instant they heard the ship’s name. Still, Crichton builds a surprising and deeply uplifting story around the well-known tragedy. He places Mrs. Hall outside the kitchen when the radio announcement comes, forcing her found family to break the news. The seemingly posthumous letter provides a heartbreaking sequence. (I’m still sobbing!)
The character development in “All God’s Creatures” is gorgeous. We’ve previously seen glimpses of James’ stubbornness, and here, he locks horns hilariously with the equally bull-headed Richard Alderson. Tristan’s flippant personality carries through in his lecturing, and it seems at first that war has not changed this man. Reality hits hard when he learns his pigeon recruits may be shot down and his human recruits have been deployed. He can no longer conceal his dark look of concern, and we see that Tristan is deeply altered. Siegfried’s tenderness has been slowly emerging. As a parallel to “Broodiness,” the Season 5 finale provides Mr. Farnon an opportunity to take care of Mrs. Hall. As we watch him administer an injection, viewers have no doubt he seeks to prolong, not end, the fox’s life. Siegfried’s face reveals so much tender concern during his Christmas Eve vigil over both his charges.
The arc that Crichton constructs for Audrey is simply exquisite. The opening scenes show a woman who cares so deeply for others that she’s willing to give the clothes off her back (or the coupons to purchase them). Mrs. Hall is so anchored in the Darrowby community that she knows all the right people to circumvent wartime rationing. The news about the Repulse leaves her unmoored. She initially reverts to her usual emotional labor to protect others. Audrey puts on a brave face, accepting optimistic words of encouragement. This veneer gradually becomes unsustainable.
Related Content: Scene Breakdown: Audrey Bares Her Pain to Siegfried in All Creature’s Great and Small’s ‘All God’s Creature’
Viewers may recall that she revealed her burden only to Bosworth in “Pair Bond.” Audrey can no longer keep up the façade with her found family. She pushes even Helen away and begins avoiding humans in the evenings. The animal shed becomes her refuge. When forced to seek Mr. Farnon’s help, her anger explodes when he refuses (and I love that she’s never made to apologize for it). Her composure erodes entirely miles from home, alone in the street. Audrey finally allows Siegfried to see her raw pain, confessing her naïve hope. The scenes of relief and gratitude show us a changed Audrey. She is more open and more confident in finding the support she needs at Skeldale House.
All Creatures Great and Small Raises the Bar in “All God’s Creatures”
This series has always excelled at creating television magic, and it’s thrilling to see the team continuously elevate their craft. In All Creatures Great and Small Season 5, Episode 7, “All God’s Creatures,” the visual storytelling elements are on par with the brilliant writing. Andy Hay’s direction provides frames that reveal how complex the dynamics in our found family are. The medium frame when they share the news with Mrs. Hall shows the differences in how they hope to support Audrey. Tighter shots show private thoughts, such as Siegfried’s reluctance to stoke hope. We also see him pause to muster some cheerfulness before entering the kitchen. The framing of the clandestine hallway meeting reveals closeness, concern, and Audrey’s exclusion. A shot of Helen clasping James’ hand, like in “Uninvited Guests,” reminds us that the news may revive his sense of loss.
Costumes and props also give wonderful visual cues. The distinction between Tristan’s well-cut “everyday” uniform and his baggy “working” uniform is a reminder he may yet be pressed back into combat. The group photo of his lads reminds me of the press photo of James with his crew for “To All Our Boys,” another reminder of danger. Siegfried’s gloves, when he first encounters the nipping fox, hint that it is a wild animal. Later, he is gloveless when he gently caresses the wounded animal’s head. The giant recruiting posters for the Wrens in Enoch Sykes’ neighborhood recall Audrey’s past, her toughness, and her conversations about sacrifice in “Glass Half Full.” The bus in Skipton leaves her with an uphill climb to reach Paddy Grainger’s.
The editing and set design in “All God’s Creatures” are also powerful. The cuts to the open sky remind us to breathe. The slow motion and first flashback to “Edward” are so poignant that holding back tears is nearly impossible. A pan of the Herriots’ bedsit shows Christmas greetings and their connections to the community. Both Sykes’ pigeon yard and the Skeldale animal shed capture the desire for isolation.
The acting is, as usual, top-notch, and space does not permit the appropriate praise for each individual flash of brilliance. It would, however, be almost criminal negligence not to discuss Anna Madeley’s absolutely stunning performance. Her beautiful cheerfulness gives way to graceful attempts at composure. Subtle but effective eye movements, jaw clinches, or shifts of her head convey Mrs. Hall’s increasing discomfiture.
Her expressions become more expansive as the situation seems increasingly hopeless, as with the shocked look when Mrs. Hall learns half the crew has been lost. I sometimes describe grief as needing to stare at the sun, and Madeley captures this stunned, dazed, lost gaze so painfully. My heart aches as a visibly crushed Mrs. Hall wanders through the bustling street alone. In Mrs. Hall’s verbal exchanges with Siegfried, Madeley brings the ire, resignation, and resolve that give life to the powerful words. From Mrs. Hall’s despair to joy to her serenity as she surveys the falling snow, Madeley’s portrayal is arrestingly beautiful.
As the fluffy white flakes accumulate in the final frame, I can’t help but think of perfect Hallmark endings. “All God’s Creatures” provides, however, something so much more meaningful. There’s no roast goose (thanks a lot, Siegfried!), and Edward lies injured in a hospital halfway around the world. Yet, all our boys are alive and accounted for, and what more could any All Creatures Great and Small fan wish for.
Now streaming on PBS: What are your thoughts on All Creatures Great and Small Season 5, Episode 7, “All God’s Creatures?” Let us know in the comments below.
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