All Creatures Great and Small season 5 finale ending explained: Is Mrs. Hall’s son Edward dead? What happened to him?
The All Creatures Great and Small season 5 finale episode is a somber affair for everyone at Skeldale House despite the looming joint celebration of Christmas Day and Jimmy's first birthday. The period drama's Christmas special teases that tragedy is on the cards, which is unsurprising since the war is underway.
However, despite the grave period, Mrs. Hall is eager to make the holidays as special as possible. But her preparations get dampened by a radio announcement relating to his son. Audiences see the heart-wrenching turmoil for one of All Creatures Great and Small's loved characters in the finale. However, in the spirit of Christmas, Mrs. Hall receives the news—her son is not dead. He is injured but well.
All Creatures Great and Small season 5 brings realistic themes of war and tragedy but still includes the heartwarming characteristics of the Skeldale household and the holiday celebration.
Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers for the All Creatures Great and Small season 5 finale. Reader's discretion is advised.
All Creatures Great and Small season 5 finale ending: Mrs. Hall receives her Christmas gift with good news about Edward
The end of the All Creatures Great and Small season 5 finale brings Mrs. Hall the best Christmas present for a mother worried about her son in the middle of the war. Her son, Edward, is injured but alive and is now on the mend. It's far better news than the alternative, which would be that he is one of the casualties of the ship that sunk.
The All Creatures Great and Small season 5 finale is full of quiet heartache for the beloved housekeeper at Skeldale House when it is announced on the radio that the HMS Repulse was sunk by Japanese enemy fire. Everyone at Skeldale knows that it is the ship where Edward, Mrs. Hall's son, is serving.
There are not many details about who survived and who died on the ship, but according to the news, 50% aboard have died. Worried about her son, Mrs. Hall is desperate for updates, so she looks at newspapers for any new updates on the survivors or casualties. She also receives a letter from Edward, but it turns out to be an old one Edward sent her before he went aboard the Repulse.
However, Edward mentions a lad he worked with on the ship before, Paddy. Mrs. Hall goes to visit Paddy in hopes of seeking information that could solidify her hope that Edward somehow survived. However, Paddy tells her that there is no way Edward could have made it out alive because he is working on the engines of the ship, which is at the bottom part of the vessel.
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When everything is stacked against her, Mrs. Hall gets a telephone call during Christmas Day in the All Creatures Great and Small season 5 finale that will turn her holiday celebration around. With everyone worried about bad news, it turns out the call is from Edward, who wishes his mother a "Merry Christmas." He happens to be one of the survivors, and there is an acceptable reason Mrs. Hall hasn't heard from him until now.
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Where is Edward now?
Edward is alive and well, for the most part. He may be injured, as Mrs. Hall says her son is alive and on the mend. The show didn't detail how Edward survived the sunken ship. However, the tragedy has brought him to a hospital in Singapore.
It explains why Mrs. Hall didn't get a prompt update about whether Edward was alive or one of the casualties of the sunken ship. Singapore being miles away from where they are, a telegram wouldn't have arrived fast enough. With the good news of Edward's survival, everyone is buzzing for the holidays. Even Tristan is open to joking and says they should have used pigeons to send news about Edward.
Meanwhile, nothing can deter Mrs. Hall's happiness in receiving news that Edward is fine. Even Siegfried forgetting about the goose didn't dampen her newfound holiday spirit.
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All Creatures Great and Small season 5 finale brings Tristan's emotions about war to the surface
In the All Creatures Great and Small season 5 finale, Tristan Farnon has an important task of procuring pigeons for breeding, which the army plans to use as messengers during the war. However, it becomes an impossible task after an ornery owner refuses to let Tristan touch his pigeons, especially after he has one of the pigeons die under his watch.
However, Tristan finds out that there is something wrong with the pigeons—they have lead poisoning from the paint in their cages that gets into their food. With this information, he gains the trust of the pigeon owner, who lends him six birds for the breeding project.
When Tristan arrives back at the camp, the soldiers he has been teaching have been sent out to war. While they left him a picture of them for remembrance, it makes Tristan wonder about their fate. Adding to the worry about what happened to Edward, Tristan tells Siegfried that while he is happy to be away from war since he was asked to continue his teaching, there is some bittersweet wonder about the soldiers he is teaching and where they are being sent off to.
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All Creatures Great and Small season 5 finale: James vs. Richard on Jimmy's birthday
In the All Creatures Great and Small season 5 finale, the Skeldale household is celebrating Christmas and also baby Jimmy's first birthday. But with Mrs. Hall still worried about Edward, Helen and James decide to have a simple tea party.
It is a simple affair with cake, which Helen's father, Richard, and her sister, Jenny, attend. James Herriot is also there, and he and Edward give their gifts to baby Jimmy. Both are excited, too. The first gift they open is from Richard, which is a pair of boots from when Helen was younger. However, his real gift for baby Jimmy is a miniature farm with little animals. He thinks Jimmy will grow and become a farmer like his mother and grandfather.
Meanwhile, James' birthday gift for Jimmy is a medical bag because he thinks Jimmy will become a veterinarian like him. James and Richard bicker about Jimmy's future profession, which Helen stops because nothing is important except that Jimmy grows happy and well.
Catch all seven episodes of All Creatures Great and Small season 5 streaming on PBS Passport.
