All Creatures Great and Small season 5 episode 1 ending explained: Why did James Herriot return to Darrowby?

James Herriot returns in All Creatures Great and Small season 5 episode 1, which dropped on MASTERPIECE on PBS on Sunday, January 12, 2025. With World War II looming large, James is faced with the challenges of the impending danger of war, but also the feeling of inadequacy after he was passed as a pilot and put on ground duty because of a newly discovered illness.

After a demotion from being a pilot and a medical emergency where he showed his veterinary prowess later, James left RAF Abington. When he decided to return to Darrowby, it was because James believed that he was no longer of use at RAF, but he could be useful somewhere else, as a vet, which Wing Commander Whitely agreed with. Helen was only all too happy to see his husband back home, safe and sound, in All Creatures Great and Small season 5 episode 1.

Nicholas Ralph, Rachel Shelton, Anna Madeley, and Samuel West, among others, return to star in the first episode of season 5 of the series, which is now directed by Brian Percival.

Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers for All Creatures Great and Small season 5 episode 1. Reader's discretion is advised.

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All Creatures Great and Small season 5 episode 1 sees James Herriot leave RAF Abingdon to return to Darrowby

As the British show returns to PBS, the show's hero and young vet, James Herriot, also returned to Darrowby from his post at RAF Abingdon. His reasons for returning home were inspired by a series of events, including the fact that he was demoted from being a pilot after contracting brucellosis and remembering his calling as a veterinarian.

James was diagnosed with brucellosis (Image via PBS)

All Creatures Great and Small season 5 episode 1 kicked off with James Herriot at RAF Abingdon as everyone prepared for the war. It was still training, but their missions were getting more real as the danger of the impending war loomed large.

Wing Commander Whitely gave them an update about needing to expedite their flight training schedules because of escalating hostilities. The first order of mission is a long-distance run to Scotland, where James was supposed to be the pilot.

As the crew prepared to fly out, James insisted that he was fine when asked, but he suddenly collapsed on the ground moments later. When he woke up, Medical Officer Reid spoke to him, giving him the diagnosis that he had brucellosis. James wasn't as shocked to hear it because he treated a herd with brucellosis the previous year, and reckoned that he contracted it from there.

James, however, was surprised when the Wing Commander decided that he was no longer fit to fly. According to Reid, Whitely reasoned out that James was no longer classified as 100% fit, and for him to become an aircraft pilot, he had to be classed in grade one.

James on ground duty (Image via PBS)

As Reid explained, James' fever will be recurring, and there are also possibilities of delirium, but it would become milder and further apart over time. There is also no risk of him passing the illness to other people, which James said was the only good thing about it. However, despite brucellosis not being a permanent illness, Whitely already made up his mind about not allowing James to fly.

After recuperating, James was put on ground duty digging ditches. It wasn't something he liked doing. One day, while on ground duty, he helped a cow in distress, that was about to give birth. He helped get a calf out safely, and once done, it was the first time in All Creatures Great and Small season 5 episode 1 that James looked remotely happy since the news that he was no longer going to fly planes.

In the end, he spoke to the Wing Commander about serving in the military. He said that as he was no longer of use there as a pilot, he might be of more use somewhere.

Unknown to him, the Wing Commander already had his discharge papers ready and was only waiting for James to make a decision. Whitely agreed that James would be more useful as a vet right now because, as he said, there aren't too many vets at the moment.

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James' former crew died, with one badly injured, in All Creatures Great and Small season 5 episode 1

James with Banerjee and Hibbert (Image via PBS)

One of the turning points of James Herriot's return to Darrowby in All Creatures Great and Small season 5 episode 1 was the death of his former crew members. When he was taken away as their pilot, someone named Atkinson, who crashed twice during training, replaced him.

However, James later received the news that the training mission in Scotland came under fire. Three German planes intercepted their own and shot down their plane, ending in a plane crash over the North Sea. The pilot, Atkinson, didn't stand a chance from the attack and died.

When James inquired about his former crew, he was told that Banerjee was pulled out of the wreckage but was badly injured, and that there was no guarantee that he would make it. Hibbert, however, died on impact. The news shook James, and he burst angrily into Whitely's office. He accused the Wing Officer of sending a pilot who didn't know what he was doing, causing his former crew's death.

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Frisk is alive but high from morphine in All Creatures Great and Small season 5 episode 1

Frisk is alive (Image via PBS)

In Darrowby in All Creatures Great and Small season 5 episode 1, Siegfried started leaning on Richard Carmody for more help at Skeldale House. Carmody's new surgery triage system has been helpful in their practice until it caused a little confusion one time.

Dot Fawcett brought her cat Frisk, which she thought was dead, to Carmody, so he could bury it. Carmody, who was busy at the time, wrote Frisk's case in the triage while he put the box where Frisk was in the storage room.

However, when Siegfried read the triage system, with the diagnosis being terminal, he almost sent an unattended cat to the morgue. Thankfully, Mrs. Hall helped clear up the confusion.

However, when they looked for Frisk's supposed dead body, the cat was nowhere to be found. It turned out that the cat was alive after all. The second time when Dot thought Frisk was dead, Helen was there, and they brought the cat to Siegfried and Carmody.

Carmody was able to find out what was wrong with Frisk— he was high after licking the teaspoon Dot used to stir her tea with morphine, which the doctor prescribed after her operation.

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Mrs. Hall becomes the first and new female warden in All Creatures Great and Small season 5 episode 1

Mrs. Hall in All Creatures Great and Small season 5 episode 1 (Image via PBS)

All Creatures Great and Small season 5 episode 1 also saw a new dynamic develop as Mrs. Hall insisted on signing up as a new blackout warden in Darrowby. She had to convince Mr. Bosworth about it, as the latter didn't want her to accept as a volunteer because, he said, she was a woman.

Mr. Boswoth reasoned out that he couldn't possibly send her outside to roam at night unaccompanied. However, Mrs. Hall insisted and listed out all her credentials, including being a Wren, to convince the man. In the end, Mr. Bosworth agreed, and Mrs. Hall became the new and first female warden.

Before All Creatures Great and Small season 5 episode 1 ended, she donned her uniform for her first shift, which surprised Siegfried. He said that he was happy with her decision as he looked at Mrs. Hall, whom he said looked "smart" in her uniform.

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Catch All Creatures Great and Small season 5 episode 1, now streaming on MASTERPIECE on CBS. The previous four seasons of the series can also be watched online or via the free PBS app with PBS Passport.