On the show, Mrs. Hall is often called “remarkable”, “an angel”, or “a marvel”— all perfectly fitting words to describe just how extraordinary she is. Season 5’s final episode proves it once again when, despite a meat shortage, she manages to secure a goose for Skeldale’s Christmas dinner. It needs to be picked up on December 21st, and Siegfried agrees to take care of it. Everyone seems excited about the goose and is in high spirits as they prepare for Christmas and wee Jimmy’s first birthday.
But the festive, cozy atmosphere is suddenly shattered by horrible news: The HMS Repulse, the warship Mrs. Hall’s beloved son Edward was serving on, has been attacked and consequently sunk. There is no word on survivors yet. Mrs. Hall has yet to hear about it, and Siegfried takes it upon himself to inform her. He delivers the news quickly and clearly, avoiding any unnecessary sugarcoating, ensuring it isn’t made any more complicated or painful than necessary. I really appreciated that he never hesitated or considered letting someone else tell her, he took responsibility without question.
Mrs. Hall is shocked but does her best to hide just how much this news has shaken her to the core. “Well, there is no use worrying until there is more information”, she says but we all know she is already imagining the worst.
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| "All God's Creatures" - ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL, Pictured: Nicholas Ralph, Callum Woodhouse, Anna Madeley and Rachel Shenton © Playground Entertainment, Channel 5 and PBS Masterpiece. All Rights Reserved |
Tristan, in particular, tries to stay positive, reminding her that there must have been air support and local rescue boats. They shouldn’t automatically assume that all crew members were lost when the ship sank. He gently places a hand on her shoulder in a gesture of support, but Audrey pulls away, determined to carry on with her tasks as if it were any other day.
In the meantime, Siegfried tends to an unusual patient: a fox. A local boy, who had been feeding the animal, captured it after noticing it wasn’t doing well. It was Mrs. Hall who found them both outside Skeldale House and brought them in. Siegfried isn’t particularly thrilled that the boy has been handling wild animals, but, of course, he still does what he can to help. The fox appears to have a mild case of mange, which Siegfried treats. Once the animal is taken care of, they release it back into the woods.
The fox, however, returns. Once again, it is Mrs. Hall who crosses paths with it. Like the boy, she can’t help herself and begins leaving out food for the it. In a way, the fox is the only presence she truly tolerates right now. She is isolating herself, keeping everyone at arm’s length. She knows they all mean well but she does not want them fussing over her, treating her like she is a fragile vase about to shatter.
It has been days and there is still no news about Edward. Mrs. Hall keeps herself distracted with work, finding some sort of solace in routine and secretly continues feeding the fox. She may not be able to take care of her Edward, but she can take care of the animal. She can make sure it is fed and well.
While Mrs. Hall is desperately waiting to hear from her son, Tristan is entrusted with a special task: Major Robertson from the Royal Army Veterinary Corps (RAVS) asks him to find a dozen particularly fit pigeons for breeding. During the Great War, the army relied heavily on pigeons to deliver messages and intelligence, so it only makes sense to use them again in this war.
I absolutely love how Siegfried is utterly scandalized when Tristan tells him about his task and has the audacity to call pigeons a “not particularly exciting” species. It’s always a joy to witness the older vet’s irritation, especially when his voice shoots up an octave or two. He simply cannot believe that Tristan doesn’t recognize how remarkable these animals are. Pigeons can navigate their way home from thousands of miles away. They served as reliable mail carriers and saved countless lives in the Great War.
With Siegfried’s help, Tristan tracks down one of the Dales’ best pigeon breeders, Mr. Sykes. The man is quite a character and not willing to interact with the young vet at all. Tristan likely didn’t help his case by immediately asking to acquire some of his birds, an approach that earns him a handful of pigeon feed thrown in his direction.
However, luck is on Tristan’s side. He notices that the pigeons' droppings have an unusual, almost luminous green colour which is likely a sign of a gastrointestinal issue. He informs Sykes that his birds need immediate treatment. The breeder remains sceptical, unsure whether he can trust the young man. But his concern for the birds ultimately wins out. He allows Tristan to take one of his pigeons for examination, agreeing that if the vet can successfully treat it, he’ll at least consider providing some of his birds for the breeding program.
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| "All God's Creatures" - ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL, Pictured: Callum Woodhouse © Playground Entertainment, Channel 5 and PBS Masterpiece. All Rights Reserved |
Tristan is pleased with the arrangement and returns to Skeldale, bird in tow. He’s feeling rather accomplished, one step closer to completing his task. However, his satisfaction is short-lived. The moment Siegfried pulls the pigeon from its box, he delivers a swift and definitive diagnosis: “This bird is dead.” Apparently, it didn’t survive the journey to Skeldale. Now, I don’t want to start any rumours, but isn’t this the second bird to more or less mysteriously die under Tristan’s care (remember Peter the budgie?) He might want to be careful before people start calling him "The Bird Killer".
Unsurprisingly, Tristan has no desire to break the news to Mr. Sykes about the unfortunate fate of his pigeon. Instead, he avoids his calls, hoping to stall until he receives the lab results that might explain what happened. However, Mr. Sykes grows impatient. Tired of waiting, he shows up at Skeldale, demanding to collect his pigeon. Honestly, Tristan, what did you expect? You told the man you’d return his bird in a day, and now it’s been nearly a week. Of course, he was going to come looking for it!
With no way out, Tristan is forced to confess that the pigeon didn’t make it. Sykes, however, isn’t surprised. Turns out several more of his birds have died since then. Naturally, he blames Tristan. Before the young vet showed up, all of his pigeons were just fine, and now they’re dropping like flies. Furious, he calls Tristan a raven—the unluckiest bird there is—and promises to spread the word among his fellow breeders that he’s responsible for the deaths of several of his beloved animals. It looks like Tristan’s mission to secure pigeons for the breeding program just got significantly more difficult.
While the pigeon drama unfolds, Mrs. Hall receives a letter from Edward. For a short moment, she dares to hope that he is alive and well. However, when she opens the envelope, her heart sinks. It’s a Christmas card, dated before the Repulse was attacked. The agonizing uncertainty continues.
In the card, Edward wishes her Merry Christmas and asks for a favour: A pal of his has been invalided back home, and Edward hopes she can bring him some rum and a box of her famous shortbread as a Christmas gift. The soldier is recovering in Skipton, not too far away.
Before making her way to visit Edward’s friend, Mrs. Hall comes across the fox again. She finds it curled up in the shed. It is injured. Panic sets in as she brings him inside the house and calls for Mr. Farnon. He rushes over and quickly assesses the animal, concluding that it was likely attacked by a dog. He is not surprised. When wild animals lose their fear of humans and start wandering around houses and gardens, incidents like this become inevitable. The fox’s wound is already infected, and the prognosis is grim. Siegfried suggests that the kindest thing to do is to put it down.
Mrs. Hall is outraged by his suggestion. It is a rare moment in which we truly get to see her losing her composure: “And why should you get to decide? It’s one of god’s creatures! Why should you get to decide if he lives or dies!? Whose life is important enough to be saved? That’s not right. That’s not… fair.”
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| "All God's Creatures" - ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL, Pictured: Samuel West and Anna Madeley © Playground Entertainment, Channel 5 and PBS Masterpiece. All Rights Reserved |
Siegfried’s face betrays his shock, he hadn’t expected such a strong reaction. Mrs. Hall often puts him in his place, but we have never seen her truly angry or upset with him—not like this. Of course, her outburst isn’t really about him, nor is it about the fox. It’s all the worry about Edward, the frustration of not knowing if he’s alive, building up inside her. Still, Siegfried doesn’t quite seem to know how to react, doesn’t know how to comfort her in this moment. Perhaps what unsettles him most is seeing her so shaken, so unlike the steadfast woman who holds their family together.
In the next scene, Mrs. Hall arrives in Skipton to deliver Edward’s gifts to his friend, Paddy. The young man’s arm is badly injured, but otherwise, he seems okay, physically, at least. She hands him the presents and asks Paddy to be honest with her, to tell her the truth about Edward’s chances of survival. Having worked alongside him in the ship’s engine room, he must know how likely it was for someone to make it out alive from down there when the ship was attacked. As she requested, he gives her his honest opinion: Edward wouldn’t have stood a chance. He hesitates, then tells her that Edward was a good man. Was. Past tense. In his mind, there’s no doubt: Edward is gone.
In the meantime, Tristan receives the lab results, informing him that the pigeons died of lead poisoning. Mr. Sykes refuses to believe it at first, but the young vet proves him wrong: It turns out that when Mr. Sykes was struggling with a bad back, he couldn’t feed the pigeons as he normally did. Instead, he sat in a chair and flung the food into their cages from afar, unintentionally causing flakes of lead paint to chip off the walls and mix with the feed. The birds ate it. Realizing what happened, Sykes is shocked. He had unknowingly poisoned his own pigeons.
Tristan administers a dose of Calcium Disodium Versenate to the remaining birds, and, relieved to have a solution, Sykes agrees to let him take six of his finest pigeons back to Doncaster for breeding. Mission accomplished!
When Tristan delivers the pigeons, he learns that some of the recruits he trained are about to be deployed to Burma. The news catches him off guard, he hadn’t expected it to happen so quickly. Major Robertson reassures him, saying he won’t be sent anywhere anytime soon. He’s far more valuable as an instructor right now. I let out a huge sigh of relief at those words. I really can’t handle another one of Mrs. Hall’s boys being in danger.
Before Tristan leaves, Major Robertson shares that the recruits all speak very highly of him and hands him a photograph of the group. They wanted him to have it to remember them by. Tristan looks at the picture and the message they wrote. He chuckles at first, but his expression quickly turns serious. He’s probably wondering if he’ll ever see them again.
I really liked how they portray Tristan as an instructor. He approaches his job with his usual charm and wit, effortlessly connecting with the recruits. I couldn’t help but wish that Siegfried had been there to witness just how beloved and appreciated his brother is as a teacher. He would have been so very proud.
Back home in Darrowby, Mrs. Hall finds Siegfried in the shed, tending to the fox. Against his own instincts, he has done everything he can to keep the animal alive. For her.
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| "All God's Creatures" - ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL, Pictured: Anna Madeley and Samuel West © Playground Entertainment, Channel 5 and PBS Masterpiece. All Rights Reserved |
She apologizes, admitting that she never should have fed the fox. Siegfried reassures her that it’s alright. He knows she meant no harm. And then, at last, she lets the walls come down. Tears roll down her face as she finally speaks the thoughts that have been haunting her: “I keep seeing him in the water, clinging to a piece of wreckage. Or on a little island with no way of sending a message. I just keep going round and round every possible place he could be but… I cannot imagine him dead. And I know it’s ridiculous, it’s unrealistic, but so long as there’s a chance, I have to keep believing he will come home.”
The scene ends there, and we don’t see Siegfried’s reaction, making the moment feel somewhat cut off. However, that doesn’t take away from the power of Anna Madeley’s performance. Her delivery of those lines was nothing short of perfection.
The episode jumps ahead to the next morning. Mrs. Hall is asleep on the sofa in the shed. Siegfried is there too, still tending to the fox. Did they really stay out there all night? In the middle of winter?! Not that I’m complaining, especially when Siegfried gently pulls the blanket back up over her shoulders after it slipped down. The soft smile on his face as he looks at her gave me that warm, fuzzy feeling inside. Maybe that’s why he isn’t freezing his backside off out there—because he feels it too?
The fox hasn’t gotten worse over night, which is a good sign. But before they can discuss the animal further, Tris bursts into the shed: There is a long-distance telephone call for Mrs. Hall. She rushes inside, her steps slowing as she nears the phone, bracing herself for whatever news awaits. She lifts the receiver to her ear… and then there’s his voice: “Happy Christmas, Ma.” Edward.
She can barely believe it. She cries, she laughs. Her relief is so overwhelming, I can practically feel it in my own body. She sinks onto one of the steps of the staircase, still trying to process the news. Edward tells her that he was injured but is now on the mend, recovering in a hospital in Singapore. The call is short, but the weight it lifts is immeasurable.
The entire family gathers around Mrs. Hall. Helen, James, and Tristan sit beside her on the stairs, touching her arm and shoulder in quiet support. Siegfried, however, keeps his distance, gripping the banister instead of her hand. Yet the tears in his eyes say it all.
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| "All God's Creatures" - ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL, Pictured: Rachel Shenton, Nicholas Ralph, Anna Madeley, Callum Woodhouse and Samuel West © Playground Entertainment, Channel 5 and PBS Masterpiece. All Rights Reserved |
It feels as if colour has suddenly returned to Skeldale after many days of being cast in faded shades of grey. The Christmas spirit is back, and not even the fact that Siegfried forgot to pick up the goose can dampen it. Between his worry for Mrs. Hall and tending to the fox, picking up the bird had simply slipped his mind. But it hardly matters. Edward is safe, and no Christmas roast could ever be more important than that.
Before Christmas dinner, Siegfried and Tristan share a quiet moment alone. I was somewhat surprised when Tris confided in Siegfried about his recruits—that they had been deployed and that he is having a difficult time processing that. For a fraction of a second, Siegfried worries that his brother might have to leave too, but Tristan quickly reassures him that he’s not going anywhere. Siegfried is relieved. So is Tristan, though he can’t shake the guilt. He’s sending those young men off to war while he remains behind. That’s part of the reason he remained so optimistic about Edward’s fate. He needed to believe things would turn out alright. He admits that it was selfish of him to give Mrs. Hall hope, but Siegfried assures him it was exactly what she needed at the time.
The episode ends with Christmas dinner. Despite rationing and the forgotten goose, Mrs. Hall has managed to conjure up a wonderful meal. As every year, Siegfried begins to say a few words before they eat, but Mrs. Hall gently asks if she might speak instead. She admits that the past few weeks have been the hardest of her life and that she doesn’t think she would have gotten through them without all their kindness and understanding. She thanks them for being there.
Later, in the drawing room, Christmas music plays on the wireless as they enjoy a game of pantomime. Mrs. Hall doesn’t join in, but remains close by. She feels at peace, like she can finally breath again. She looks out the window and watches the snow fall, while her family’s laughter fills the room behind her. She is happy. It’s beautiful.
While Anna Madeley always shines as Mrs. Hall, she took it to yet another level in this episode, delivering a deeply emotional, captivating performance. Madeley's portrayal of a mother consumed by worry was powerfully authentic, and her ability to convey more with a single glance than some actors do with an entire monologue left me speechless multiple times throughout the episode.
There are many things I hope to see in season 6 of All Creatures Great and Small, but more than anything, I would love to see more of Anna Madeley and her remarkable Mrs. Hall.
Once again, All Creatures Great and Small delivered a beautifully crafted, moving story, brought to life by outstanding performances across the board! What did you think of the finale? Let us know in the comments!
