Lady Mary is Back to What She Does Best
A Downton house party! For a few minutes of this episode, it feels like we’re back to season one. Polite manners, idle aristocracy, tons of bustling below stairs. And Lady Mary flirting–although she doesn’t seem to seem to notice that she ‘s doing so until she’s in the middle of being asked on a date.
Did anyone else immediately assume that Lord Gillingham made up a potential fiancee just to put Mary more at ease? Because it’s beyond obvious he’s going to be a love interest this season. I appreciated the awkward conversation, and then a much sweeter one, between Mary and Anthony about Matthew. I’m sure they were there partially so that the audience feels a little better about the introduction of a new love interest this early in the season. (And while it might feel too early for some you watching, keep in mind that you can only watch so many episodes of mopey characters before you get bored!)
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Did anyone else swoon a little when Mary talked about them being flung at each other’s heads, but how happy they were, and how he’d changed her? Or want to cry when she ran out of the room when they brought out the gramophone? I miss Matthew!
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Anthony Gillingham proves he has some worth simply by treating Mary like she has a brain and advising her on how to get around the tax problem without selling off parts of the estate. He’s no Matthew, but so far, I don’t hate him as a potential love interest for Mary. What do you think?
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Oh, Tom!
Edna starts her campaign to get in Tom’s bed by asking why they’ve never spoken. And Tom, stupidly, gives her just enough hope by sharing his sorrows with her.
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But you have to feel badly for him. He is, as he says, “a fish out of water.” But when he has a moment where he comforts Isobel, and another immediately after where he earns Lady Violet’s approbation for doing so, I wish I could shake him and show him how important he is to the Crawley family. (Yes, I know he’s not real. I get very involved in TV shows.)
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The best line of the night was from Lady Violet, trying to coach Branson through some of the social situations in which he is always so uncomfortable: “If I were to search for logic, I should not look for it among the English upper class.”
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And just as I was thinking Tom was going to make it through, albeit bolstered by the glass of whiskey Edna hands him, the hussy sneaks into his bedroom! Anyone want to take bets on her plans? And do you think Tom was drunk enough to fall prey to them? This is a serious scandal waiting to happen.
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Minor Shocks at Downton
A card sharp, Sampson, tries to empty everyone’s pockets and it’s Gregson to the rescue! (This was the first time Fellows has gotten me interested in Gregson, because now I’ve started to wonder about his past…) Gregson finally seems to be bringing Lord Grantham around, who would undoubtedly feel differently if he knew Gregson was married. And I keep wondering when, exactly, that shoe is going to drop this season.
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Mrs. Patmore tries to kill herself preparing all the food, but at least she does it in style: “I’ll have no swear words in here, thank you very much…unless I’m doing the swearing!” And Albert steps in to save dinner, excited that he gets to live his dream of being a chef for a night.
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When Jimmy tries to impress Ivy, he ends up flat on his back and–the horror!–they’re a footman short for dinner. Poor Mosley steps in as a footman (and proves by his attitude how there is a hierarchy below stairs as well as above).
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Nowhere is it clearer in this episode that the world is changing, though, than when Lady Cora is horrified by Mr. Carson sending the opera singer a tray in her room instead of seating her at the table. (To Robert: “Am I the only member of this family that lives in the 20th Century? You will have her next to you at dinner and you will like it!”) Carson is horrified by the idea of a singer sitting down with the Duchess! But, as it turns out, Robert and the opera singer have the same taste in wine, so she can’t be all bad.
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What You All Want to Talk About and Wish Hadn’t Happened
Anna and Mr. Green/Gillingham (Anthony’s manservant, who must confusingly be called by the same surname as his employer), hit it off immediately. And while it’s obvious that Anna is being her usual, friendly self, I was uncomfortable for her within the first few minutes of the episode. I don’t know if it was because the actor (Nigel Harmon) did a fantastic job of seeming just a bit too smooth in his flirting or if it was due to Joanne Froggat’s performance of seeming oblivious to his advances. Whichever it was, I thought it was done brilliantly, because I was uncomfortable long before we got to the scene that made me want to throw something at the TV.
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And Mr. Bates was too! I didn’t blame him for interrupting the game of racing demon. (is this a British game? I’ve never heard of it.) Although the way he chastised Anna seemed harsh, I understood his jealousy and protectiveness.
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When Anna and Green were down in the kitchen alone, my stomach started to revolt. Seeing Green insult Bates, hit Anna, and then hearing her scream as he rapes her (with interludes of Puccini in between), was sickening. Even knowing that it was two actors playing their parts wasn’t enough to keep me from crying and wanting to vomit. Mainly because–while Anna is not a real person–there were (and are) so many like her who have endured such horror.
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It only made the whole situation worse to see that her first thought was to hide it from everyone so that Bates wouldn’t act in a way that might land him back in prison. Did anyone else want to throw up (again) when Anna felt she had to say “good night” to her rapist? I understood her desire not to get vengeance at her husband’s expense, but I wanted to see Bates–or better yet Anna herself–slit Green’s throat with a kitchen knife.
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Anna walked off into the night alone, and I had the sinking feeling while the credits rolled that my second favorite romance in this series might be in nearly as much trouble as my first.
