[7.0/10] This show drives me nuts sometimes. It will setup fascinating, engrossing conflicts, ike Siegfried taking a big game about making James partner, but then being controlling and presumptive when push comes to shove. That is in character for Siegfried, who’s used to being the ruler of the roost. And James bristling at that is in line with his concerns about having his ideas ignored during his dilemma in season 2. You could do quite a bit with the idea of them being at loggerheads with how the shared partnership will work in practice and not just in theory.
In fact, it’s pretty damn compelling for most of the episode! Siegfried might be cooking the books, or at least underpaying James relative to expenses. James might be balking at the legitimate financial ebbs and flows of being an owner who gets a cut of the profits and not a salaried employee. James might want to make up for that cut with a new line of business like T.B. testing that could help in the short term but alienate their clientele in the longerm. Helen’s role in the suddenly more crowded Skelsdae house and vet business might be a legitimate wedge and source of friction. The two going behind one another’s back, to Ag authorities or local patients, because of an air of mistrust is really rich stuff.
It could honestly fuel the whole season. I often find myself comparing this show to House M.D. with its cases of the week mixed with the personal dramas of the local ecosystem. And it makes me yearn for a storyline when James finally has enough and either defects to Pandy or starts his own practice, with the makeshift family having to resolve the bad blood in the aftermath.
But this isn’t that kind of a show. It wouldn’t do something that bold. Instead, we get a case-of-the-week parable of an old woman who nearly lost her beloved calf because she was too proud to reach out to her estranged sister for help. Suddenly, after some cajoling from Mrs. Hall and Helen to their respective partners (de jure or de facto), the two men take the case together and learn their lesson and everything’s suddenly hunky dory. After having an earned shouting match over their future as business partners, they’re all smiles and accommodation.
The number one problem with this show is an unwillingness to actually embrace problems the characters are facing, instead just resolving them, almost by fiat, by the end of the hour. It makes the show dramatically inert.
The other storylines are largely fine. Why everyone on this show needs a love interest is beyond me. But Tristan finding a biting but empathetic connection with Pandy’s daughter works on a basic storytelling level. The two have solid enough chemistry, and they can both relate to being the assistant to prickly senior vets. Tristan rising to the occasion and saving Pandy’s daughter’s dog is a nice little triumph for him.
There’s also a nice tribute to the rapport between Tristan and James, as Siegfried chides James for his relaxed attitude toward Tristan despite being his boss now, oy for James’ gentler approach and gentle encouragement getting better results. As random as it is, there’s something sweet about Tristan asking Gerald to reassure him, not in so many words, that he won’t hurt Mrs. Hall.
Helen and James continue to be cute together. The show hasn’t quite settled on a role for Helen now that she’s part of the Skeldale house crew, but it’s gesturing toward that considering her lack of facility with the mini-stove and her clear aptitude for managing the books.
Otherwise, the old woman with the cows is mostly a prop to help James and Siegfried’s story along, and add a touch of medical mystery to what is otherwise a characte-rfocused episode. Mrs. Hall continues to be the thing that keeps the place running.
Overall, a frustrating episode not because it’s bad, but because it had great potential that gets squandered for an easy fix.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2023-06-07T00:23:23Z
[7.0/10] This show drives me nuts sometimes. It will setup fascinating, engrossing conflicts, ike Siegfried taking a big game about making James partner, but then being controlling and presumptive when push comes to shove. That is in character for Siegfried, who’s used to being the ruler of the roost. And James bristling at that is in line with his concerns about having his ideas ignored during his dilemma in season 2. You could do quite a bit with the idea of them being at loggerheads with how the shared partnership will work in practice and not just in theory.
In fact, it’s pretty damn compelling for most of the episode! Siegfried might be cooking the books, or at least underpaying James relative to expenses. James might be balking at the legitimate financial ebbs and flows of being an owner who gets a cut of the profits and not a salaried employee. James might want to make up for that cut with a new line of business like T.B. testing that could help in the short term but alienate their clientele in the longerm. Helen’s role in the suddenly more crowded Skelsdae house and vet business might be a legitimate wedge and source of friction. The two going behind one another’s back, to Ag authorities or local patients, because of an air of mistrust is really rich stuff.
It could honestly fuel the whole season. I often find myself comparing this show to House M.D. with its cases of the week mixed with the personal dramas of the local ecosystem. And it makes me yearn for a storyline when James finally has enough and either defects to Pandy or starts his own practice, with the makeshift family having to resolve the bad blood in the aftermath.
But this isn’t that kind of a show. It wouldn’t do something that bold. Instead, we get a case-of-the-week parable of an old woman who nearly lost her beloved calf because she was too proud to reach out to her estranged sister for help. Suddenly, after some cajoling from Mrs. Hall and Helen to their respective partners (de jure or de facto), the two men take the case together and learn their lesson and everything’s suddenly hunky dory. After having an earned shouting match over their future as business partners, they’re all smiles and accommodation.
The number one problem with this show is an unwillingness to actually embrace problems the characters are facing, instead just resolving them, almost by fiat, by the end of the hour. It makes the show dramatically inert.
The other storylines are largely fine. Why everyone on this show needs a love interest is beyond me. But Tristan finding a biting but empathetic connection with Pandy’s daughter works on a basic storytelling level. The two have solid enough chemistry, and they can both relate to being the assistant to prickly senior vets. Tristan rising to the occasion and saving Pandy’s daughter’s dog is a nice little triumph for him.
There’s also a nice tribute to the rapport between Tristan and James, as Siegfried chides James for his relaxed attitude toward Tristan despite being his boss now, oy for James’ gentler approach and gentle encouragement getting better results. As random as it is, there’s something sweet about Tristan asking Gerald to reassure him, not in so many words, that he won’t hurt Mrs. Hall.
Helen and James continue to be cute together. The show hasn’t quite settled on a role for Helen now that she’s part of the Skeldale house crew, but it’s gesturing toward that considering her lack of facility with the mini-stove and her clear aptitude for managing the books.
Otherwise, the old woman with the cows is mostly a prop to help James and Siegfried’s story along, and add a touch of medical mystery to what is otherwise a characte-rfocused episode. Mrs. Hall continues to be the thing that keeps the place running.
Overall, a frustrating episode not because it’s bad, but because it had great potential that gets squandered for an easy fix.