Farthing Wood Deaths Revisited: Series 1 - Mrs. Pheasant

As noted, the series went fairly easy upon us with the first death.  When Mrs. Pheasant died in the following episode, however, it marked the moment when shit really got real.  And, as a kid, when this episode first aired, I could hardly believe what I was seeing.  Having not read the book in advance (and not fully taken on board the implications of the Newts’ fate at the time), it had never occurred to me that some of the characters might not make it to White Deer Park on account of being bumped off along the way.

With hindsight, it’s not so surprising that the Pheasants would be next to go after the Newts, given that they were only mildly higher up on the hardiness scale.  They couldn’t fly half as well as the other birds, and Mr. Pheasant in particular had a morbid (albeit justified) paranoia that the world outside of Farthing Wood was just one perpetual game shoot.  Mr. Pheasant was also one of the more ridiculous members of the Farthing Wood troupe, both self-pitying and highly conceited, while his long-suffering wife doted upon him and took his unappreciative remarks with little objection.

The animals are crossing farmland when they get caught in a heavy storm, an outcome hindering to everyone but Toad and Adder.  They decide to shelter in a barn, with the birds taking turns in keeping a look-out for signs of trouble.  Mr. Pheasant is supposed to be on look-out duty next, but he’s too intent on getting his beauty sleep, so Mrs. Pheasant graciously goes in his place.  She winds up drifting off herself, but wakes up in time to realise that the storm has eased and that there’s an extremely pissed-off farmer with a shotgun standing nearby, angry because his mastiff, Bruno, has failed to prevent his chicken coop from being raided by an uninvited predator.  Mrs. Pheasant wastes no time in heading to the barn to warn the others, but while the farmer is too caught up in ranting at Bruno to spot her, Bruno himself isn’t quite so oblivious, and barks to alert his master.  The farmer fires his shotgun, and Mrs. Pheasant never makes it as far as the barn.

HORROR FACTOR: 8. The moment of death itself technically occurs off-screen, but is nevertheless quite shocking (particularly to those who didn’t know in advance that it was coming) and totally unambiguous. We do also later get a full-on glimpse of the farmer carrying her lifeless body away.

NOBILITY FACTOR: 8. Mrs Pheasant died whilst trying to warn the other animals about the farmer and the dog.  I do have to take into consideration the fact that she fell asleep while she was supposed to be keeping watch - perhaps if she hadn’t, then she might have been able to react faster and the whole disaster could have been averted.  I also have to take into consideration that, by taking a bullet herself, it meant that the farmer was subsequently out of ammunition when he spotted Fox in the barn.

TEAR-JERKER FACTOR: 5. The image of Mrs Pheasant’s lifeless body in the hands of the farmer is a fairly affecting one.  The only character who treats her death with any form of sentiment, however, is Mr. Pheasant – the other animals quickly become preoccupied with the far more pressing matter of their own fate.

OVERALL RATING: 21