All Creatures Great And Small (2021) - General Discussion

[Cetacean]

48 minutes ago, dleighg said:

Don't know about the email, but wasn't River the horse that was acting out a few episodes ago?

Yes, he was the horse that was going to be killed off.

[Doublemint]

Oh, yes - I guess there's something about him in the next episode.  Thanks.

[zoey1996]

I’d put this in off-topic if there was one. PBS on Facebook published Mrs. Hall’s shortbread recipe recently. I made some this week. Pretty good!

[chitowngirl]

Well, PBS, that was deceptive. Scheduling a 90 minute time slot for one hour of show and padding the other 30 minutes!! 😡

[Doublemint]

Enjoyed the Christmas special, however, the kid is obnoxious and ruins it.  She's in nearly every scene.  WHY....

[HoodlumSheep]

Only two complaints of the episode, both involving Mrs. Hall:

1. She was a completely unnecessary third wheel in that Siegfried and Tristan heart-to-heart.  So awkward.

2. That random 2 second slow mo run to Gerald was also dumb and not needed.

Bye bye Gerald, you sweet man. I wish you the best.

My brain was telling me they were still in 1938--the ruby slippers threw me off for a hot minute.

Edited February 20, 2023 by HoodlumSheep

[Doublemint]

19 minutes ago, HoodlumSheep said:

Only two complaints of the episode, both involving Mrs. Hall:

1. She was a completely unnecessary third wheel in that Siegfried and Tristan heart-to-heart.  So awkward.

2. That random 2 second slow mo run to Gerald was also dumb and not needed.

Bye bye Gerald, you sweet man. I wish you the best.

My brain was telling me they were still in 1938--the ruby slippers threw me off for a hot minute.

Yes, I was thinking the same thing - third wheel.  But, they had to keep her elsewhere so Gerald would leave. 

[Capricasix]

18 minutes ago, HoodlumSheep said:

Only two complaints of the episode, both involving Mrs. Hall:

1. She was a completely unnecessary third wheel in that Siegfried and Tristan heart-to-heart.  So awkward.

2. That random 2 second slow mo run to Gerald was also dumb and not needed.

Bye bye Gerald, you sweet man. I wish you the best.

I know! I was almost yelling at the TV like “Why are you in there with them? You wanted Gerald to come and now you’re ignoring him? Come on!” 

So did he definitely leave, or was it unresolved? Because that snog made me think that he might have changed his mind.

I found that blue filter, or whatever it was that they used to make it seem like winter, was annoying. It was so unnatural.

[BooksRule]

20 minutes ago, HoodlumSheep said:

My brain was telling me they were still in 1938--the ruby slippers threw me off for a hot minute.

I know!  I thought that she was describing the book to Tristan, but the ruby slippers would mean the 1939 movie (since the slippers were silver in the original book).  Or, she was talking about the book and the writers goofed.  

I agree that she is a little bit annoying, but I liked her okay enough.  The rest of the episode was good (I love Christmas episodes of period dramas). If only those darn onion ninjas hadn't shown up at the train station!  

[Cetacean]

What is it about British shows and ending the Christmas episodes with me in tears?  Killing off Patrick Crawley and now sending Tristan off to war.

And an added need for KKleenex when Sigfried is talking to the horse.

Good grief.

[laredhead]

I hope the little girl goes to stay with Mrs. Pumpfrey, who seems to be lonely in that big house all by herself - as observed by the child. 

This was a big tear jerker, but the probably reflected the mood of the holiday season that year.

[zoey1996]

18 minutes ago, Cetacean said:

What is it about British shows and ending the Christmas episodes with me in tears?  Killing off Patrick Crawley and now sending Tristan off to war.

And an added need for KKleenex when Sigfried is talking to the horse.

Good grief.

Did you mean Matthew Crawley? Patrick was the fake relative who died on the Titanic and (he claimed) survivor disfigured in battle. Matthew died in the car crash after his and Mary's baby was born. That episode aired at Christmas in the UK.

[Cetacean]

1 minute ago, zoey1996 said:

Did you mean Matthew Crawley? Patrick was the fake relative who died on the Titanic and (he claimed) survivor disfigured in battle. Matthew died in the car crash after his and Mary's baby was born. That episode aired at Christmas in the UK.

Yep. I meant Matthew.  Thanks for the correction.  And a totally insane way to end a Christmas episode!

[voiceover]

I’ve adored the Herriot book series since junior high, but never was too interested in the adaptations (mostly because I had veryVERY specific ideas about how the characters should look).  But I dawdled into the Christmas special tonight, and then the last few pages here.  Since there isn’t a “book thread”,  I thought I’d share a couple of — AFAIK — non-spoilery things:

First of all: Mrs Pumphrey *does take on a second pet: a little piglet she names “Nugent”, because he reminds her of her (Great?)Uncle Nugent.  The chapter on this little guy is one of my favorites, mostly bc it involves Mrs P’s gardener.  The old Yorkshireman is commanded to keep Nugent fed, groomed, and amused.  It’s a job he detests.  He can’t even get the pig’s name right! and, whenever James comes calling, asks the vet: “Hasta come to see Nudist?” 🤣🤣🤣

Second: the storm looms large for Darrowby by the close of All Things Bright and Beautiful, but Herriot finishes that sad chapter with the following: “I wish I’d known then that it wasn’t the end of everything.  I wish I’d known it was only the beginnng.”   A line that’s come back to inspire me through every big change in my life, and I’ll always regret, never getting to tell him that.

[Dowel Jones]

4 hours ago, BooksRule said:

I know!  I thought that she was describing the book to Tristan, but the ruby slippers would mean the 1939 movie (since the slippers were silver in the original book).  Or, she was talking about the book and the writers goofed.

It's definitely 1939, war having been declared by Great Britain.  Curiously enough, The Wizard of Oz was released in the UK only in November, so it must have been a feat for Siegfried to locate a pair of slippers with the competition from other Christmas shoppers.

What was with the freeloading twit from the Drover's? "I heard there was a party so I thought I'd drop by.  As long as there's free ale."  

Tristan leaving Siefried with a bar tab.  Heh.

I can appreciate Siegfried's concern for Tristan, but, Jeez, you gotta let go sometime.  Yes, he's going to war, but I think that Siegfried would pitch a fit even if he went to London in peacetime.  Land that helicopter, even if they haven't been invented yet.  

[Pallas]

I resist the show's choice to have Siegfried put River in the line of fire in order to spare Tristan from serving at all. Beyond it's being professionally unethical, it's morally indefensible and a disservice to the character. In Siegfried's earlier story with River, he took on both his client/former CO and the risk of trying to help the horse heal by confronting his own damage and what he still owed to the men he had served with and the horses who had served them. But this story was for what, then? To show how much more Siegfried loved Tristan by making his decisions for him? Loved him by hobbling him, as Jenny joked to Mrs. Hall about her orders to keep Gerald in the house? 

I realize that Siegfried was meant to be put in the wrong here: a real wrong, not a cute flaw. It was meant to show how Siegfried's damage and defense mechanisms can't be undone with one bareback gallop across the Dales. His failure gave Tristan the chance to impress by figuring it out and acting wisely, and it set off the cathartic argument between the brothers. But Siegfried's sending out a horse unfit to race in order to buy influence to keep his brother safe is corrupt and beneath him. Find another way.

[Llywela]

36 minutes ago, Pallas said:

I resist the show's choice to have Siegfried put River in the line of fire in order to spare Tristan from serving at all. Beyond it's being professionally unethical, it's morally indefensible and a disservice to the character. In Siegfried's earlier story with River, he took on both his client/former CO and the risk of trying to help the horse heal by confronting his own damage and what he still owed to the men he had served with and the horses who had served them. But this story was for what, then? To show how much more Siegfried loved Tristan by making his decisions for him? Loved him by hobbling him, as Jenny joked to Mrs. Hall about her orders to keep Gerald in the house? 

I realize that Siegfried was meant to be put in the wrong here: a real wrong, not a cute flaw. It was meant to show how Siegfried's damage and defense mechanisms can't be undone with one bareback gallop across the Dales. His failure gave Tristan the chance to impress by figuring it out and acting wisely, and it set off the cathartic argument between the brothers. But Siegfried's sending out a horse unfit to race in order to buy influence to keep his brother safe is corrupt and beneath him. Find another way.

I think it was meant to show how very desperate Siegfried was to keep Tristan out of the firing line - so desperate that he would even betray his own principles as a vet, would even betray an animal he loved as much as he loved River. The betrayal had to be big to convey that desperation. But I agree that it was hard to watch because of everything that has ever been established about the character in the past: his own trauma, his love of horses, his sense of honour, his commitment to his profession.

[Daff]

4 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

What was with the freeloading twit from the Drover's?

Tristan said he told Maggie to send a few of the Drover’s patrons over. Just an offhand comment he made as Audrey worried about what Gerald would think if he ended up the only guest. Of course one of them would arrive on the dot. 

[Daff]

The real puzzler to me was the fact they knew the little evacuee would be the only child (aside from the stray kid who preceded her). Why on earth would they recruit Alderson to play a grinchy version? Especially knowing Father Christmas was unknown to her. Maybe they thought it was funny? Fell flat. (And I’m still stumped at this creepy, behind a curtain, visitation thing! Somebody please explain it, because it just wouldn’t ever be tolerated in the US). 
I enjoyed the little girl, but was surprised to see that she’s harboring at Skeldale House. I liked her sharing the menorah with them-but isn’t there one candle (a ninth) in the middle that’s used to light the other eight each night? I also didn’t mind her messing up the Scrabble board-she obviously took issue with ‘scrotch’!
Watching River’s owner extort Siegfried like that just turned my stomach. One of many performances by that actor-he always plays smarmy, despicable characters. 
The hug at the end, and then Tristan leaves exactly the same way as he arrived in season one-just waaah!

[pasdetrois]

The worst episode so far. It would have been sufficient to end the season with Tristan going off to war. No need for Christmas, Mrs. Hall in slow mo cliche, nor the evacuee, who didn't seem too upset at being separated from her family. Please no more bright chirpy child actors. I resented the effort to have Sigfried turn his back on his veterinary principles.

A very try-hard episode that didn't work for me.

[ML89]

2 hours ago, Pallas said:

I resist the show's choice to have Siegfried put River in the line of fire in order to spare Tristan from serving at all. Beyond it's being professionally unethical, it's morally indefensible and a disservice to the character. In Siegfried's earlier story with River, he took on both his client/former CO and the risk of trying to help the horse heal by confronting his own damage and what he still owed to the men he had served with and the horses who had served them. But this story was for what, then? To show how much more Siegfried loved Tristan by making his decisions for him? Loved him by hobbling him, as Jenny joked to Mrs. Hall about her orders to keep Gerald in the house? 

I realize that Siegfried was meant to be put in the wrong here: a real wrong, not a cute flaw. It was meant to show how Siegfried's damage and defense mechanisms can't be undone with one bareback gallop across the Dales. His failure gave Tristan the chance to impress by figuring it out and acting wisely, and it set off the cathartic argument between the brothers. But Siegfried's sending out a horse unfit to race in order to buy influence to keep his brother safe is corrupt and beneath him. Find another way.

Not just hobble - if the horse runs badly on drugs and pulls up lame  - that's best case. He could get really injured and have to be put down (cf Black Gold, Kentucky Derby winner in his later career). Terrible choice all around. Also, what the hell did the owner get out of running a lame horse unless he'd made some other bet about it showing up?

5 minutes ago, pasdetrois said:

The worst episode so far.

Yes, for me too.

[ofmd]

I have to agree this was the weakest episode so far and the first one that left me slightly disappointed, particularly after such a strong previous ep.

I still enjoyed the characters, the landscape, the animals and the beautiful acting, but "very try-hard" as mentioned above is right on point. The worst offender was the shoe-horned Hollywood rom-com storyline of Ms. Hall, and I would say that even if I wanted the two of them to be endgame. It's just so not her, or them, or this little show, really.

The story with the little girl might have worked better for me if we had known her a bit longer, but I think they just don't write children well.

Still there were some nice moments, like Tristan leaving the same way he came.

 

Edited February 20, 2023 by ofmd

[JudyObscure]

I had mixed feelings about the episode, too. I loved all the Siegfried parts.  I know it would be against everything he believes in to let River race while unfit, but I also know I would probably do any number of shady things I normally wouldn't do to keep my son out of war.  It's not helicopter parenting to want to keep your kids from a very real chance of death.

  His look at Mrs. Hall while she was kissing someone else was almost as sad as the Tristan farewell at the station.  I'm pretty much in love with the character as Sam West plays him.

The writing I didn't like this episode was all for the little girl.  I know it's fairly common today for children to have their self-esteem stoked to the  point of thinking they're smarter than anyone else in the entire world,  but in 1939 little girls were told not to be "forward'," and taught respect for adults, particularly male ones. That Scrabble scene never would have happened. 

[ofmd]

Yes, she did feel very 21st century.

[libgirl2]

Yes, this was just an okay episode. Mrs. Hall rushing to Gerald did feel out of place for this series. And the little girl didn't seem to be as moving as that boy who was on the show shadowing Siegfried. Sometimes, Christmas episodes of series can be a bit mawkish and over done. Still, I'll take this over most of the shows out there. 

[Cetacean]

I found the sudden appearance of the evacuee quite jarring.  Why would they put her up in an already jammed house when Mrs. Pumphrey has already offered to help out and appears to be alone other than a dog and cat?  And that kid is way too chipper for someone sent away from her family.  I know that ultimately a lot of families took in the children but this was the beginning of the war and I would think they would be placed in homes with fewer people at first.

[Daff]

38 minutes ago, ofmd said:

The story with the little girl might have worked better for me if we had known her a bit longer, but I think they just don't write children well.

I’d agree but, what about the boys with the sick donkey in the first special? The shy one and Tristan were charming together. Then there was the little one day intern (school boy) with Siegfried. Jenny is wonderful as well.

[ofmd]

I thought the intern worked because he was in some ways like a little grown-up. However, you are probably right about the donkey boys, although I don't remember the episode very well.

Oh yes, I forgot Jenny!

Edited February 20, 2023 by ofmd

[Driad]

If Tristan's main goal was to get out from under Siegfried's shadow, maybe he could have moved to some other place that needs a veterinarian. Someone could at least have mentioned that possibility.

Siegfried's and Tristan's parents must have been fans of Wagner operas. My knowledge of Wagner is mostly from Anna Russell's Wagner's Ring Cycle (1950s) in which she did all four operas in 20 minutes instead of 20 hours. Her description of Wagner's Siegfried: "He's very young, and he's very strong, and he's very brave, and he's very stupid. He's a regular Li'l Abner type." (Wagner's Siegfried's parents were brother and sister, so he didn't have the genetic options that Siegfried Farnon did.)

Edited February 20, 2023 by Driad

[Dowel Jones]

45 minutes ago, JudyObscure said:

...but I also know I would probably do any number of shady things I normally wouldn't do to keep my son out of war.  It's not helicopter parenting to want to keep your kids from a very real chance of death.

The way I saw it, not to argue, is that, while Siegfried may see Tristan as a son,  he is an adult brother of his, past school and working in his field.  Siegfried can't hold onto him forever.

[Daff]

I agree, it was a poor script choice to have the little girl at Skeldale. Maybe in the writer’s minds, she got off that bus last episode and didn’t have a sponsor-or the sponsor’s situation changed. I will say one more thing about her behavior, and then leave it alone. I believe she was being brave to begin, but periodically felt scared, vulnerable and alone. She was obviously “channeling” her recent exposure to Dorothy. I’d expect that façade to crumble every so often. It’s a bit worrisome that she expected the shoes to work. The “chipper” we saw was false bravado, and she’s bound to have more outbursts-naturally. I’ll be surprised if she’s still part of the story in the next season. 

[magdalene]

I didn't care for this one. A lot of the writing was very contrived and out of character.

I don't buy for a minute that Siegfried would ever endanger a horse like that. Especially a horse he loves. I call bullshit on that one.

Way too much time was spent on the refugee girl and her acting was completely anachronistic for the time.

All of a sudden Audrey has passionate  feelings for Gerald, just when he is leaving town?  Yeah, right.

Sadly this was the final episode of the season and it left me with a bad taste in my mouth.

[dargosmydaddy]

Still with the contrived writing. The little girl has been there for how long, and no one knows she's Jewish? (Wouldn't the Skeldale folks be in touch with her parents, even slightly? Not to mention that Eva seemed quite chatty... seems like something she would have brought up before.) The ruby slippers seemed a terribly impractical and era-unbelievable gift. And I'm sure Tristan would have been a willing and cheerful Santa; no need to force Mr. Alderson into it.

Also, it's been awhile since I've read the books, but wasn't the Debbie-and-kitten story much more traumatic there? Like, I'm glad they didn't go that route for the already-not-particularly-cheery Christmas special, but it you're going to change the story that dramatically, maybe just give the cat a new name? I am by no means a book purist, but giving your book-audience the expectation that the cat is going to die seemed unnecessary.

I liked Siegfried and Tristan finally using their words, but after reading/ watching all the PBS interviews for this season where Callum Woodhouse clearly loves his costars, the dogs, the Skeldale house setting, etc., I'm going to be sad for him if his entire storyline next season is war-related and far-from-home (as I'm assuming they won't write him out altogether). 

[iMonrey]

Quote

Don't know about the email, but wasn't River the horse that was acting out a few episodes ago?

Was that even the same horse? I don't remember him having a white spot on his face before.

I liked the episode. I thought the change of POV was interesting and it worked for me. I thought it was interesting they made Eva Jewish, I thought "yikes I hope she doesn't have any relatives in Nazi-occupied Europe." This could have gotten much darker.

I'll be interested to see what happens with Audrey and Gerald (if anything) now that he's taken a job elsewhere. How far away is it? Or will he change his mind? Yeah, the slo-mo thing was kind of dumb, I'll give you that.

I also agree Audrey should have butted out when Siegfried and Tristan were having it out in the kitchen. But I think she's so used to playing mother hen to these two men she thought she needed to referee. 

How many months have passed between this episode and the previous one? Is Heston Grange in the clear and open for business again?

Why did Tristan leave in what looked like a one of the cargo cars? Was he stowing away?

[libgirl2]

21 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

Why did Tristan leave in what looked like a one of the cargo cars? Was he stowing away?

So I'm not the only one who noticed that and thought the same! The guy can't get a nice seat? 

[ofmd]

55 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

Why did Tristan leave in what looked like a one of the cargo cars? Was he stowing away?

Because the writers told him that was how he first arrived in Darrowby and it would make for nice symmetry.

As for Gerald leaving... if he still moves away, that would make those scenes even weirder for me.

Edited February 20, 2023 by ofmd

[Sarah 103]

4 hours ago, Daff said:

Especially knowing Father Christmas was unknown to her. 

She's from London in the 1930s, not some remote Eastern European shtetl in the 1800s. She would be familiar with Father Christmas although she may never have sat on his lap before. She is familiar with Christmas traditions/iconography, she just hasn't celebrated them before. 

[peacheslatour]

3 minutes ago, Sarah 103 said:

She's from London in the 1930s, not some remote Eastern European shtetl in the 1800s. She would be familiar with Father Christmas although she may never have sat on his lap before. She is familiar with Christmas traditions/iconography, she just hasn't celebrated them before. 

I still think that "behind the curtain" thing is creepy.

[Driad]

23 minutes ago, ofmd said:

As for Gerald leaving... if he still moves away, that would make those scenes even weirder for me.

He was going to Hull?  If my web search result was correct, that is in Yorkshire, so he might be close enough for an occasional visit.

[Doublemint]

1 hour ago, magdalene said:

I didn't care for this one. A lot of the writing was very contrived and out of character.

I don't buy for a minute that Siegfried would ever endanger a horse like that. Especially a horse he loves. I call bullshit on that one.

Way too much time was spent on the refugee girl and her acting was completely anachronistic for the time.

All of a sudden Audrey has passionate  feelings for Gerald, just when he is leaving town?  Yeah, right.

Sadly this was the final episode of the season and it left me with a bad taste in my mouth.

THIS!!!!

[zoey1996]

According to a wiki article, in the mid-1860's, the idea of gifts in a grotto or cave began to appear, thus Father Christmas would be in such an area whilst the children told him what they wanted, etc.

The story of Eva was inspired by the mother of a Playtime Executive Producer. She was Jewish, experienced being evacuated and learning about the Christmas traditions that she was unfamiliar with.

I object to the title though; in England, Happy Christmas is much more common than Merry Christmas, at least in my experience.

 

[Tiggertoo]

I am in so much agreement with what everyone has posted.  I was really looking forward to this episode but there was so much wrong with it.  I hated that Mrs. Hall hung out with Tristan and Siegfried during their talk.  There was no reason for her to be there.  None of her business and she set up the whole party to see Gerald.  Poor Gerald, he must have been thinking what the hell? And where was his dog when he came back?  Such a cutie.  I’m glad we got to see Dash.

I did not care for that little girl at all.  Too much focus on her and not enough Helen and James.

I thought oranges were pretty exotic and desired at Christmas. She seemed so disappointed.  Then her very first stocking and she was like, meh.

And yeah, hated that Siegfried was ready to have River die or be seriously injured.   Why the owner would want an injured horse to race doesn’t make sense.

Too much plot contrivance!

So Tristan arrived lying on the mail in a train car?  I forgot that.  I was also wondering why he was lying on bags of mail.

Despite all the above, I still love and will miss this show until the next season.

Edited February 20, 2023 by Tiggertoo

[Dowel Jones]

40 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

I still think that "behind the curtain" thing is creepy.

The only reason I can see is that there was some tenuous connection to Eva's mention of 'the man behind the curtain' (Oz).  Possibly, because old man Alderson is terminally affected with grumpism, they put him back there and closed the curtain so they could enjoy the evening.

On a side note, a good friend and co-worker told me one time that, when he was growing up on his parents farm, his Dad woke up all the kids Christmas morning with orders to get to work in the orchards.  "But Dad, it's Christmas."  "Doesn't matter, we're Buddhist, remember?  Get to work."

[dargosmydaddy]

1 hour ago, Dowel Jones said:

The only reason I can see is that there was some tenuous connection to Eva's mention of 'the man behind the curtain' (Oz).  Possibly, because old man Alderson is terminally affected with grumpism, they put him back there and closed the curtain so they could enjoy the evening.

Pretty sure they've done the curtain in every Christmas special so far (usually Siegfried was Father Christmas).

[Daff]

2 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

I still think that "behind the curtain" thing is creepy.

THANK YOU!!! 

[libgirl2]

Is behind the curtain a tradition with Father Christmas? 

[statsgirl]

In a disappointing and bleak season, this episode I thought was the worst episode. Was there any happy, heartwarming story at all?  Even the kitten I thought didn't make sense other than to highlight the child because how can one kitten be overwhelming its mother?

I dislike precocious children on show and even more I dislike them when there is bad parenting. I get that the inhabitants of Skeldale House felt sorry for Eva but there was too much overindulgence. I grew up in a doctor's house and children were not allowed to answer the phone until they could answer with "Dr. E.'s residence" so Eva being allowed to run to the phone and answer it, even if she was expecting her mother to call, and being rude to the caller when it wasn't her mother without anyone correcting her annoyed me a lot. If Tristan was raised like that no wonder he was so feckless. Helen at least, who helped raise her own younger sister, should have done better.

I wasn't around in 1939 but I understand that getting a fresh orange at Christmas, especially during wartime, was a big deal. No need for Eva to look down on it because it isn't candy.

The show may still have Siegfried and Mrs. Hall end up in a relationship but Mrs. Hall leaving Gerald, who she set up the party for, alone because she needed to keep Siegfried from blowing up his relationship with Tristan is the very opposite of romantic to me.

12 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

 it must have been a feat for Siegfried to locate a pair of slippers with the competition from other Christmas shoppers.

Mrs. Hall made them for her from ordinary shoes (which must have been a feat to get given the rationing of the time).

9 hours ago, Pallas said:

 But Siegfried's sending out a horse unfit to race in order to buy influence to keep his brother safe is corrupt and beneath him. Find another way.

This is the worst that I have ever seen Siegfried and I'm pretending that it never happened.

 

5 hours ago, Driad said:

Siegfried's and Tristan's parents must have been fans of Wagner operas. My knowledge of Wagner is mostly from Anna Russell's Wagner's Ring Cycle (1950s) in which she did all four operas in 20 minutes instead of 20 hours.

I recently came across my CD of it in a pile of papers. She truly was brilliant.

[zoey1996]

4 minutes ago, statsgirl said:

Mrs. Hall made them for her from ordinary shoes (which must have been a feat to get given the rationing of the time).

Clothing rationing wasn't yet in effect. 

[tennisgurl]

I was really looking forward to this episode, but sadly it was a let down for me. A bit anyway, I still had many feels during this one, I love a Christmas episode, but still. There was a lot that I liked, especially the end, but the little evacuee girl really took me out of the episode. Its weird because the show normally does a good job writing kids to be cute but not overly precocious, but she was not working for me. I think some of her cheerfulness was her trying to deal with being sad about being away from home, but I think my issue with her was less abut her and more that she felt out of place. She shows up out of nowhere and takes over the episode when we should be focusing on these intense things happening to our main characters. Everyone is waiting on James and Tristan to be called up to go to war but we keep cutting away for these cute child hijinks. We hardly saw any of James and Helen, and I really wanted to see them talk about about how they feel about James possibly leaving soon and the fallout from the TB testing, but we never had the time to really get into it because we kept cutting to the kid. 

I also thought the scene where Tristan and Siegfried where Tristan confronted Siegfried about what he did felt weird with Audrey there, I feel like she would normally have made an excuse to leave and let them talk alone, especially as she wasn't making any real contributions to the conversation. 

Did they really do a slow motion shot when Audrey and Gerald kissed? Really? On this show? Sad that Gerald is leaving, he and Audrey were sweet and he is such a sweet man. 

I am in two minds about Siegfried putting River in danger to keep Tristan from leaving. It seems totally out of character for Siegfried to ever endanger an animals, especially one he cares about so much, but at the same time, he thought that this was the only way to potentially save Tristan's life or keep him from being damaged by war the way that Siegfried was, so this is pretty much the only scenario when I can even contemplate Siegfried doing this. He was so hurt by his experiences in the war that thinking about that happening to Tristan, or worse, he just sort of lost it. 

The last scene where Tristan said goodbye to everyone was really well acted and well done, it really hurt watching him go and the last talk between Siegfried and Tristan was so bittersweet. They finally tell each other they love each other and that Siegfried is proud of him, but now he has to go. I know that it doesn't really make any sense, but I did smile at Tristan leaving the same way he came. 

Edited February 20, 2023 by tennisgurl

[Capricasix]

5 hours ago, Driad said:

Siegfried's and Tristan's parents must have been fans of Wagner operas. My knowledge of Wagner is mostly from Anna Russell's Wagner's Ring Cycle (1950s) in which she did all four operas in 20 minutes instead of 20 hours. Her description of Wagner's Siegfried: "He's very young, and he's very strong, and he's very brave, and he's very stupid. He's a regular Li'l Abner type." (Wagner's Siegfried's parents were brother and sister, so he didn't have the genetic options that Siegfried Farnon did.)

I remember a line in the first book, when James and Siegfried met for the first time, that specifically references Siegfried and Tristan’s parents’ love for Wagner. That had to have been pure dramatic licence, considering Siegfried’s name IRL was Donald 😄