We knew cow death was coming, but we didn’t know baby cow death was coming. Unless you read the books, I guess. Or thought about the odds of it from a rural veterinary perspective. Okay, HEADS UP if you somehow read the recaps before watching — this episode deals with potential miscarriage and all the fears surrounding that. You also see a dead baby cow. It’s a lot. I guess they wanted to catch us up after three weeks of happiness. Also, there goes my theory about the show turning into an animals-live-forever mystery program. Don’t tell me Richard wouldn’t be a great addition to the team as they try to solve what is happening to the animals of Darrowby.
Just to ease the tension early on — Helen does not have the disease they’re worried about, and her baby is fine for now. In real life, James and Helen had two children, and one was born in 1943, so pretty soon in the show’s timeline. True, in the show, the French just surrendered, making it 1940, but we’re not expecting a 1:1 of Herriot’s life here. Or ARE we? *peers suspiciously* Also, extremely cutely, one of Herriot’s children became a vet and took over the practice.
But back to the fictional James and Helen. James — jokingly? — suggests the name Elspeth for the baby, which Helen adamantly rejects. Maybe I have weird expectations of the ‘40s, but I was like, “Sure, Elspeth, checks out.” It’s not like he suggested Agatha (apologies to the one Agatha who reads this). Get off your high baby name horse, Helen! Your child is named Elspeth now.
Also, no one let my wife read this because I was merciless in baby name rejection. It was very Liz Lemon, unfortunately. But also, our baby’s name gets complimented all the time, so you’re welcome, wife. (Okay, I read this to her, and she said that she, in fact, picked the name, but it was only after I rejected the bad ones.)
The Herriots haven’t told the rest of Darrowby 2297 about the baby yet, but it’s early, so this makes sense. Helen, however, keeps sneaking pickled eggs (WHY, Helen?) and has been having “indigestion” in the mornings, so Mrs. Hall figures it out. I can’t fathom pickled eggs, but mainly because I can’t stand vinegar. Wish I could! But I can’t. It seems like a very practical method of preserving eggs/everything else.
The baby news is good for Mrs. Hall because she is having an emotionally complicated time. Her request for a divorce was not contested by her husband, so it’s now in process. She doesn’t look unhappy about the news, but divorce, especially in 1940, is gonna bring up some feelings. Fortunately, she has the prospective baby to think about, and she gets to help Richard act like a human being. This is especially needed because he keeps his nose in a book, like a nerd, and has no people skills. He’s like Belle but less condescending about living in the country. YEAH, I SAID IT. Imagine you spend your whole life in a village and then some girl from up the hill goes around calling it a “poor provincial” town full of “little people.” Get the fuck out, Belle.
Richard’s lack of farm-side manners is evident when he and James visit the Crabtrees and their ailing calf. He and James diagnose brucellosis, a bacterial disease that is highly infectious in cattle and can cause fetal death and infertility. The Crabtrees are new to the area and counting on the soon-to-be-born calves to get them through the first year. Richard basically says that they should have known to keep their newly purchased — now sick — cow separate from the herd and that this is embarrassing for them. RICHARD. You may be right, but still. He immediately falls on his face in manure.
Siegfried, who may be quirky but knows what not to say to farmers, tells Richard his scholarship is exemplary, but his manner is diabolical. It’s one thing to be well-informed but another to bamboozle and belittle. Yeah! Also, my different-than-Belle thing stands because he isn’t rude about the town; he’s just annoyed about people not taking proper precautions, and then he tells them so with zero tact. Siegfried decides to teach Richard how to be a person during appointments. He and Mrs. Hall charmingly make this happen through a practice exam, with Mrs. Hall as the client and Jess as the patient. Siegfried tells him to pay attention to the human in the room in addition to the animal, and he confiscates Richard’s books, leaving Richard to fly solo with their newest patient, Bernard the Tortoise.
Bernard is seventy years old and slowing down, if you will. Richard recommends cuttlefish for the calcium, and his owner, Mr. Clough, is reasonably impressed. But then Bernard is back again, still a stagnant tortoise. Upon examination of a very scratch-focused Mr. Clough, Richard immerses Bernard in a bath, where he discovers Bernard is carrying fleas, courtesy of his owner. A mystery solved! Bernard shall be rid of his fleas and become a zippy septuagenarian.
Agh, okay, let’s go back to the brucellosis plot. I thought if I talked enough about tortoises, I could avoid it, but it can’t be helped. I am nothing if not a dutiful recapper of about 80 to 90 percent of plot points. Helen says she’ll help James at the Crabtrees as one of their calves is coming early. She assists with the birth, and the calf is stillborn. It sucks. Did not want to see, but it’s a show about farm vets, so what did I expect.
When they get back to the practice, Richard wants to discuss a research paper on brucellosis and how it can jump to humans and cause the loss of pregnancy. Richard doesn’t know about Helen yet, but he feels bad about sharing this information very soon. If you’ve ever dealt with a miscarriage or threatened miscarriage, this whole part is probably going to be hard, and I hope you were able to skip it if you needed to. Most of the rest of Helen’s subplot, of course, is her worrying about the baby. Siegfried and James talk about Siegfried’s late wife and how terrible it is not to be able to do anything. Then Siegfried decides they can read to solve the problem.
So the whole gang is in the parlor reading in front of the fire. I love it. Siegfried and Mrs. Hall are on the sofa with Dash, being the parents they are. Through their reading, James realizes they can test Helen for brucellosis and end this agonizing wait. So he does! And she does not have it! What an absolutely awful few days! I mean, for us, it was like thirty minutes, but that was also awful. Siegfried grabs Mrs. Hall’s hand when they find out Helen tests negative. Just pointing that out. Also, side note, I know people are all like, “Gerald is NICE,” and I’m not saying he’s not nice. He’s fine. But is nice/fine good enough for Mrs. Hall? Mm.
The community pitches in to disinfect the Crabtree farm, and some of the new calves are saved. Mr Crabtree gets a job as a farmhand nearby; Helen is okay; Richard has fleas. Siegfried calls for a toast to knowledge, fleas, and their growing family. I LOVE YOU, DARROWBY FAM.
Alice Burton , 2024-01-29 03:00:02
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