'All Creatures Great and Small' season 2 episode 3 recap: community care and love

Every season, GBH Drama prepares to bring you coverage of the latest and greatest in British dramas. This month, we get the triumphant return of MASTERPIECE’s remake of the classic series All Creatures Great and Small. Featuring eccentric characters, adorable animals, and the vast, rolling hills of Yorkshire, this series does not disappoint. GBH Drama contributor Amanda-Rae Prescott is here to recap the magic as it happens.

Episode 3 starts off on a very somber note yet manages to end on a very sweet note. Through the ups and downs of the episode, people caring for one another through small annoyances, grief and the good times are what is at the core of why we love this show so much! Here’s what happened:

The Struggling Widow
Bill Dalby was a dairy farmer who passed away from cancer. All of Darrowby come to his funeral in their somber finest. The episode begins with the procession to the church. Bill left behind a wife Patricia and two children to keep the family farm going. A few days after the funeral, Mrs. Dalby calls on James to evaluate their herd as a few of the cows are sick.

Tom, who is taking on farm work as the Dalby boys are far too young to lift 75-pound hay bales, says he’s offered to help Mrs. Dalby because “his grandparents and the Dalbys were really good friends.” His grandparents are the Chapmans (IMDB confirms) who we all remember from the season 1 finale. This shows how the farmers of Yorkshire have a tight-knit community that can band together. It’s also appreciated that rural England is less monoethnic than one would expect - something I wrote about last year during season 1. Some UK folks were not happy about Tom showing up and Samuel West’s clapback tweets are eloquent and awesome.

James’ initial diagnosis for the herd is parasitic bronchitis, which is a result of eating contaminated pasture grass. He recommends that Mrs. Dalby move the herd indoors and feed them hay and protein cakes. This prescription is expensive and risky at the same time: protein cakes are costly and farmers depend on reserving hay to survive the winter months. A bad winter or continued sickness could wipe the Dalbys out. Mrs. Dalby insists she will try everything she can to hold onto the herd and the farm. James on the other hand doesn’t want to give her too much false hope if he can’t turn around the infection. There is more to this storyline, but first, let’s talk about what’s going on outside the Dalbys.

ChickenGate: The Origin Story
Tristan is disappointed he’s broke and can’t go to London to watch the big cricket tournament. He has to settle for listening to the matches on the radio. Mrs. Pumphrey, on the other hand, has a ton of money and went to see the action. Her butler drops off Tricki Woo for Uncle Herriot to dogsit.

Siegfried once again hatches a ridiculous scheme to teach Tristan responsibility. He buys some hens so Tristan can learn to be a good vet by raising his own animals. Now this definitely puts a damper on the cricket fun. Tristan clearly failed woodworking in school, so James lends a hand to build the nest boxes as they listen to one of the matches on the radio. The hens for the most part are named for ex-girlfriends, except for one named Helen. Of course Helen the hen has brunette feathers.

Once again, Mrs. Hall rightfully calls out Siegfried for being far too harsh on Tristan. The hens so far are alive and uninjured, they just need to start laying some eggs for future Skeldale House breakfasts.

James Finally Said Something!
On the way back from the Dalbys, James stops by the Alderson house to talk to Helen. This is a sign that the letter Mrs. Hall posted is at least a delay on the job Mama Herriot accepted on James’ behalf. He asks Helen if she’s free the next evening to go out on a date!!! FINALLY!! James’ initial plan was to take her to the Drovers, but for once Tristan had decent advice and advised him to take her to the Renniston as it’s fancier and makes a better impression. What happened on the date? Keep reading.

We Can But Hope
Unfortunately for Mrs. Dalby, things aren’t looking too good for her herd and James is running out of ideas. Tom finds two of the stirks (older calves) dead and a few more are severely ill. The throat injections failed to stave off the illness and Mrs. Dalby is burning through her cash reserves and winter hay pile. James even pulls an all-nighter digging through the medical textbooks to find something he hasn’t tried yet. Some of the farmers already believe Mrs. Dalby should sell up and use what’s left to start fresh. James agrees with them, not only because he’s well experienced with moving to start a new path but also because he’s pessimistic about the treatments working. Mrs. Dalby drops the UK episode title “We Can But Hope” in response to James’ advice. She wants to preserve the good memories of her husband and leave little Billy with a future inheritance. James once again doesn’t want to give her false hope, but she believes in taking the risk no matter how slim the chance that things will get better. Their conversation reveals that James still has a few things to learn about the ways of the Yorkshire farmers, but thankfully he has someone to talk to about that.

ChickenGate: Tricki Woo’s Deep Throat (And Claws)
Meanwhile, back at Skeldale House, Tristan is determined to show Siegfried he can get the hens to lay eggs. He buys eggs from the grocery stand to model how to lay eggs.

Siegfried undermines Tristan’s work in a rather spectacular fashion. He checks in on the project but leaves the door to the hen house open. This allows the Costco-sized tribble Tricki Woo to wander in and cause chaos. When Tricki Woo barks at the hens and tries to attack, one of the hens pecks him in retaliation. Since the door is now open, the hens decide to leave the Farnon brothers for safer pastures.

Tristan comes back to discover the hens are gone but has no idea Siegfried’s at fault. Just as James is about to leave for his date with Helen, one of the neighbors brings by a stray hen. A few minutes later, more neighbors are outside, angry that the hens have ruined their veggie patches and gardens. Surprisingly, the hens managed to lay fresh eggs while they were invading the neighbors’ greenery!

Special shout out to Mr. Ingledew and his family for wrangling the hens!

Siegfried gives Tristan a paycheck for good work on the hens, then Tristan admits he planted the eggs from the grocers. This forces Siegfried to call off the chastisement because he admits that it was his fault the shed door was left open. He acknowledges that he’s overly harsh because he cares about Tristan’s success. We love it when Sensitive Siegfried comes out! They both agree the hens clearly prefer their neighbors to Tristan's care.

The Renniston
On the way to meet Helen, James ends up hitting a ditch in the road and a massive puddle ruins his nice shoes. Jenny, who is both a bully and a ‘shipper, convinces him to borrow Mr. Aldersons’ old dancing shoes. They don’t match his suit but at least it fits the upscale dress code at The Renniston. Speaking of which, Helen is serving some lewks! Her dress for the date would fit right in at ModCloth or Unique Vintage (honestly, UK period dramas are missing out on the costume replica market!).

James feels slightly out of place around the usual Renniston crowd but the staff recognizes Helen from her many dates with Hugh. Once they settle in, James can’t quite shake off his failure to help Mrs. Dalby and that dominates the dinner conversation. Some may wonder why he’s chosen to veer off the “getting to know you” script, but it’s clear that they’ve become close enough friends it’s not necessary. Helen tells him that it’s more than sheer stubbornness that drives Mrs. Dalby to keep trying despite the odds, it’s the farmers’ way of life and the only life she and others know. She does acknowledge how much she cares and appreciates James’ devotion to ethics and making sure his patients get the best care possible. This isn’t the most romantic night possible, but it’s clear that both enjoyed the break from work. Will there be another one?

Mrs. Pumphrey Regenerates
Mrs. Pumphrey returns to Darrowby right as the radio announces who won the big cricket match. Patricia Hodge steps into the iconic role with gusto, putting her own spin on the eccentric nature of the character.

Siegfried has to admit he didn’t take as good care of Tricki Woo as Uncle Herriot would have. Mrs. Pumprey says it’s perfectly fine because “Tricki Woo Lally” is a chronic condition where he has meltdowns around hens. She appreciates the petsitting and of course, leaves the vets with a massive gourmet gift basket.

Cats On A Hot Stone Roof
James checks in with Helen the next day after their date. She’s fixing a leak on the roof of the barn, so he climbs to join her. Helen tells him this spot was one of her mother’s favorite places to sit and share common memories. Their moment of bonding leads to a rare act of spontaneity for both of them as they finally kiss for the first time. We’ve been rooting for this since Helen first interrupted James’ swim session!!!

Neither say a word but it’s obvious from their body language that it will not be the last kiss.

Where will James take Helen on their second date? Does Siegfried finally realize he needs to stop the ridiculous internship schemes? What will happen to Mrs. Dalby’s farm? Will we see more of Tricki Woo? Find out next week on the next All Creatures Great And Small!

Episode 1 recap: spring in the Dales
Episode 2 recap: The Daffodil Ball