'All Creatures Great and Small' Recap: Season 6 Episode 6

All Creatures Great and Small airs Sundays at 8:00 pm on WTTW and is available to stream. Recap the previous and following episodes and seasons.
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James hasn’t been to Heston Grange for a while, since Helen is in London with Jenny. He’s startled by two changes when he arrives to examine a pregnant cow. One, Richard has hired Butch Fielding to help him out with the physical labor of the farm in the absence of his daughters, even though Butch is as old or older than Richard himself. Two, Richard has disconnected the phone he had installed to keep in touch with Jenny. It’s only one digit different from the train station phone number, and he’s tired of relaying the train schedule to callers.

James chides Richard for both actions, and hooks the phone back up. Someone immediately calls for the train schedule, and he sheepishly unplugs it again. He’ll drop in tomorrow to check on the pregnant cow, who might calve the next day.

Tristan’s military leave is almost over, but when Charlotte brings it up he prefers not to discuss it. Instead, he joins Siegfried to treat a massive Shire horse owned by Elijah Wentworth. Siegfried complains that Elijah barely speaks, so Tristan bets that he can get a conversation out of the old farmer. Almost as soon as he meets Wentworth, Tristan realizes it’s impossible and hands the money over to Siegfried.

Wentworth’s horse has an abscess on its hoof; given the horse’s size, treating it is a two-man job. But as Siegfried examines the hoof, Tristan has a flashback to his war experience, panics, and flees, getting in the car and driving off. Siegfried is left to catch a ride back into town on Wentworth’s cart. Tristan won’t say what happened when Siegfried demands an explanation.

Tom Chapman is also back from the war and struggling. When Mrs. Hall runs into him and his mom in the street, he quickly excuses himself from small talk. Mrs. Hall and Jimmy are dropping off a cake for Maggie, who has learned that her husband died in the war. Seeing Maggie and her son looking at photos of her husband, Mrs. Hall simply leaves the cake at the door.

That night, James wakes everyone for a radio address from the prime minister: Japan has surrendered. The war is over. Tristan retreats to his room as everyone else celebrates.

Siegfried follows and tells Tristan that a similar thing happened to him once because of his war experience. He asks Tristan to face his fears and try treating Wentworth’s horse again tomorrow, despite the bank holiday. Tristan replies that he’d rather not.

Siegfried worries about Tristan to Mrs. Hall, who mentions that Tom is also struggling. She starts to prepare a party for the village the next day, as fireworks go off.

Charlotte arrives the next morning to celebrate and offers to help Mrs. Hall with the party while waiting for Tristan to rouse. Siegfried goes to Tristan’s room to tell him Charlotte is there and finds it vacant, an empty bottle of liquor on the table and Tristan’s medal on the bed. 

Siegfried quietly tells Mrs. Hall as she sets up the party on the green that Tristan is missing. Maggie has just informed Mrs. Hall that the pub is out of beer; their delivery didn’t come in, so they can’t supply the party. She mentions that she just saw Tristan in church. Siegfried asks Mrs. Hall to come with him as he goes to his brother.

Tristan is still in church, and wants to be left alone. But Mrs. Hall tells him he needs to talk about things, and his brother is there to hear him. She leaves them alone, standing outside the church to prevent anyone from interrupting. Siegfried tells Tristan he won’t leave until he’s sure Tristan is stable.

Siegfried asks Tristan how he got his military medal. Tristan cries as he recounts the terror of his unit’s horses when they realized they were in a minefield, and Siegfried realizes that Wentworth’s horse’s fear is what triggered Tristan’s panic. Tristan also shares that he failed to save a close comrade who saved Tristan by warning him that he was next to a mine. Tristan knows the war is over, but he fears it will stay with him forever. 

The brothers emerge from the church. Siegfried tells Mrs. Hall to return to planning the party; they’ll be fine. They’re going to try to treat Wentworth’s horse.

Tristan suggests having someone familiar with the horse present will help, so they stop by Heston Grange to pick up Butch, who’s a farrier. Butch is needed at the farm, as Richard’s cow has given birth – but not in her stall. The gate was open in the morning, so they don’t know where the calf is, and it needs to feed or it will die. 

James has enlisted Tom Chapman to help in the search, so Richard lets Butch go with the Farnons. But it’s Jimmy who solves the problem, by suggesting that they let the mother cow find her calf. She leads everyone right to it when they let her out. Tom offers to help out at Richard’s farm, keeping him busy and occupied, and Richard accepts. James gives Jimmy a pair of boots in gratitude for his idea.

At Wentworth’s farm, Butch preps and calms the horse before handing it over to Siegfried. Tristan overcomes his panic to hold the horse’s head and calm it as Siegfried treats the abscess. In thanks, Wentworth gives the Farnons a jug of his legendary home brew. Siegfried asks how much he has, and Wentworth agrees to bring it all to the party on the green.

Charlotte has managed to set most things up, with the help of Maggie and others. Tristan, finally wearing his war medal, apologizes to her for his behavior recently; she tells him she likes him as he is now, even if the war permanently changed him. 

To everyone’s surprise, the taciturn Wentworth makes a speech about the end of the war over his home brew. Then everyone climbs the hill to the war memorial, where Siegfried hands Tristan a torch to light a bonfire. As a brass band plays, other bonfires spark alight in the distance.