Lord Grantham is Going to America, But Who is Going to Go with Him?
The Crawleys get a telegram and all the bells are ringing for the servants. Lord Grantham’s presences is demanded in America, because the fact that he is an English earl will somehow convince Congress that Cora’s brother Harold has some respectability (even if Robert knows many members of the English aristocracy that belong behind bars).
Bates doesn’t want to leave Anna to accompany Lord Grantham, but Anna doesn’t wants Bates to refuse to go and possibly lose his job. As soon as she walks out of the room, however, Anna breaks down in tears at the thought of the weeks without her husband. Mrs. Hughes interferes and applies to Lady Mary to convince her father to keep Bates here. Mary, thinking that the Crawley’s deserve their employees to do their jobs, demands to know what the facts are if she’s going to ask her father to let him off.
The next time we see Mary, she makes the case to Robert to take Thomas, not Bates with him on the trip, promising him that while she cannot tell him why, he would agree with her reasoning if she could tell him. Robert protests that the Americans have a correct uniform for practically every activity known to man, but you can see that he is going to cave. Mary, seeing this, insinuates that Thomas will enjoy seeing all the handsome stewards. Shocked, Lord Grantham tells her not to be vulgar.
“How do you know about such things?” He demands.
“I’ve been married, I know everything.” Mary answers archly.
As their verbal repartee comes to a close, Bates enters the room, and Robert informs him that although he doesn’t know why, Thomas has been selected to replace him on the trip. Bates waits for him to leave the room, then asks what Mary knows. She tells him that she knows everything–including that it was not Bates’ fault that he wasn’t there.
When she learns of the outcome, Anna feels she’s robbed Bates of such a chance. He tells her she “hasn’t robbed him of anything he didn’t gladly give.”
Later, Anna thanks Mary for her intervention. Mary wants to know who it was that attacked her, and Anna is glad that there is honesty between them, but she doesn’t want to discuss it with her, no matter Mary’s desire to help. And I had to wonder–would Mr. Green be in more danger from Bates or Lady Mary if the truth about the circumstances were known to them?
Jimmy is jealous that Thomas is going to America. Mrs. Patmore doesn’t envy him the trip. “It’s all steak and ketchup and ‘Hale fellow well met’.” She’s been to the movies, so she knows about as much about America as we do about England…but still, it’s enough for her!
Robert and Cora have a sentimental good bye (is he remembering he’s a Brit?), and he’s off to the States, leaving a relieved Anna and Bates together.
Alfred Returns, But I’m Not Sure Why
Carson gets a letter from Alfred. Some French chap with a name Caron can’t pronounce has taken a shine to him. Alfred’s wants to look in at Downton when he comes back to visit his sick father. Mrs Hughes and Mrs. Patmore want to put Alfred off, because they don’t want to have any more trouble with Daisy and Ivy. They decide to tell Alfred there’ flu at the house, and he mustn’t miss out on his course.
The girls bicker over him, even when he isn’t coming. But then, of course, he shows, up anyway, and with the slightest bit of encouragement from Ivy, Alfred doesn’t know if he wants to leave to go back to the Ritz. He does depart, and Mrs. Patmore isn’t looking forward to the tears and heartbreak that will be flavoring her puddings for weeks to come!
And personally, I had to wonder, why did they have Alfred return? I thought they gave him an excellent write-off, and having him come back felt like they left all the characters with less closure. (And yes, I realize this happens in real life. I like my televised fiction to be tidier.)
Tom Branson Gets a Love Interest
Isobel wants Tom to have a life outside of the estate, and she convinces him to go with her to a political rally in Rippon. When her nursing duties prevent her from attending with him, and Mary would rather go to the stake than join Branson for the rally, he decides to go alone.
At the meeting, he meets a pretty girl who happens to have an open seat next to her. They chat comfortably, and it’s clear they connect in a way Branson hasn’t connected with anyone since Sybil.
Is anyone else very relieved that they’ve written in new characters for both Mary and Branson this season? I don’t know if I could have kept watching the show if they’d gotten the two of them together instead.
Isobel Comes to the Rescue…And Lady Violet Doesn’t Know How to Feel About It
Lady Violet coughs her way through the goodbyes to her son, and goes home feeling sick. Although Violet tells Isobel that she doesn’t want to be babied, Isobel checks on her anyway, finding her very ill with bronchitis.
Isobel calls the doctor and then offers to nurse her, without let up, so that pneumonia doesn’t take hold. Cora and Mary offer their help, but Isobel nicely asks them to get out of her way, as Violet truly needs someone with skill to do the job. In her delirium, Violet demands a different nurse that night, saying Isobel talks too much, like a “drunken vicker.”
It takes a few sleepless nights, but Isobel get Violet back on the mend, who eventually wakes up and asks for toast. Violet rolls her eyes when Isobel leaves to fetch it instead of ringing for a servant, and asks Dr. Clarkson, who is there to check on her, to take this madwoman with him when he goes. Dr. Clarkson tells Violet how Isobel has refused to leave her side, not sleeping or eating for 48 hours, and Lady Violet reluctantly accepts Isobel’s offer to come back later.
Dr. Clarkson smiles at Lady Violet and tells her that she’ll be rewarded in heaven!
Rose Just Wants to Have Fun
As he is saying his good-byes, Robert leaves Rose in charge of fun, and she is more than willing to take him up on his challenge.
When Edith announces her plans to go to London, Rose wants to tag along. Because she hasn’t been presented, Cora doesn’t think it’s a good idea, but Rose argues her way into the trip, reminding Cora that she was left in charge of fun.
Once in London, Rose is able to shake off Edith and Rosamund, who are consumed with Edith’s problems, and goes off on mysterious errands. These “errands” turn out to be a boat ride (On the Thames? Or since I doubt such a big river is so calm, maybe one of it’s tributaries? Anyone English want to enlighten me?) with Jack Ross. He asks Rose what she can possibly expect to come of their relationship, and in response, Rose demands that he kiss her. Because who cares about other people when you’re in love?
And still, I am curious, where is this relationship going? This show is set in the 1920’s and Rose is a British aristocrat. I can’t imagine it’s going to end well.
Edith Makes a Decision
The PI Michael Gregson’s firm hired isn’t finding much, but they’ve pieced together that he signed into a hotel before leaving for the night, never to be seen or heard from again. Cora encourages Edith not to give up hope. Edith wants to know if Cora thinks she’s bad, and because Cora doesn’t know exactly what’s going on, she rather makes Edith feel worse than better by telling her that everyone has bad feelings, it’s only acting upon them that makes you bad.
Once in London, Edith confesses to Aunt Rosamund that she’s pregnant, and tells her that she’s planning to get an abortion. When Rosamund tells her that the family will support Edith no matter what, Edith calls her on it:
“Would I be welcome in your drawing room? This is my neice and her charming bastard?”
“I refuse to be shocked!” Rosamund tells her.
Rosamund goes on to ask what she will say to Michael if he returns. Is Edith really going abort his baby, marry him, and carry around this lie with her for the rest of her life?
“I’m killing the wanted child of the man I’m in love with and you ask me if I’ve thought about it?” Edith asks.
Rosamund cautions her both of the illegality and the dangers involved in an abortion, but when she cannot dissuade her, she says she will go with her. (And while I doubt anyone on TN wants to get into a heated political discussion [I, for one, come here to have fun!], I wish more people were like Rosmaund: when she cannot convince Edith to take her point of view, she supports her niece instead of abandoning her.)
But in the end, Edith cannot go through with it. She sees a woman crying at the abortionist’s flat, decides that she has made a mistake, and leaves. Rosamund is certain that there’s a way forward, but Edith can’t see what it is, even if she has made the decision.
Pigs Arrive at Downton, Mr. Blake and Mary Become Friends, and It Looks Like a Love Triangle is Imminent
As Lord Grantham leaves Downton, the pigs arrive. When Lady Violet asks Charles Blake about them, he tells her that while it’s intelligent for the Crawley’s to diversify, he’s not convinced they know what they’re taking on. He and Mary quickly get into another argument, Mary telling Charles that he needs to understand what the aristocracy is used to. He counters that if they are not willing to change their way of life, and do the hard work it takes to keep an estate running, they don’t deserve to have one. He then rolls his eyes at the notion that God would be upset if they old order were overturned. Mary bristles and leaves.
“Mr. Blake is not under Mary’s spell,” Edith tells her grandmother with obvious glee.
Despite their arguing, Charles asks Mary to go down and see the pigs after dinner. They find the animals nearly dead from dehydration. The water trough was kicked over, and their new pig man doesn’t arrive until tomorrow. So in their dinner clothes, they start trucking water in buckets to the pigs–through the mud and slop–in order to rehydrate them gradually. Charles is shocked to find that Mary gets dirty right along with him, working as hard as he is.
As the two of them struggle to keep the pigs alive, the servants decide to go to bed. Carson leaves the front door open for them–because this is England, so of course no one will break in.
As Charles and Mary watch the pigs for a final hour, their tense stand-off breaks. With a mud fight. And it looks like there is another potential love interest for Mary this season, because any man who can get her involved in a mud fight is someone who might stick around. Then she brings him back up to the house and makes him eggs! (Which they eat with wine? Eeew.) They are caught eating and talking by Ivy, who’s the first up in the morning, and is more than a bit shocked at what she found.
Just as things look like they might be heading somewhere between Charles and Mary, Tony Gillingham arrives at Downton for dinner, and it looks like there might be a love triangle on Downton. Because Tony–who knows Charles from their days serving together in the war–isn’t thrilled with the camaraderie between them. He’s pleased to discover that Charles believes Downton is most likely safe from finacial collapse, as the Crawleys are giving it “everything they’ve got.” Tony assures him if Mary is giving it everything she’s got, that’s a considerable force to be reckoned with.
Unfortunately for poor Evelyn Napier, it doesn’t look as though he’s in the running to be one of Mary’s new suitors. When he talks to Mary about Charles as they walk together, she’s all for the conversation. But as soon as he pays her a compliment, she suggests going back to the house. Personally, I agree with Mary’s assessment. Evelyn is too dull for her. She’d walk all over him and get her way too much. She needs someone who could fight with her. And it looks like Charles and Tony might end up fighting over her as well as with her.
Mr. Green is Pure Evil…and He Just Might Have a Death Wish
When Tony Gillingham arrives for dinner at Downton, he brings his valet with him. Anna skips a beat upon seeing him, but manages not to give herself away.
Mrs. Hughes, however, cannot completely control her anger and confronts Mr. Green, telling him that if he values his life, he should keeps to the shadows. Green tries to push some of the blame on Anna, and when that doesn’t work, asks Mrs. Hughes if Bates knows that he was her rapist.When he learns Bates doesn’t doesn’t, Green smiles. Then when Dame Melba is mentioned during the servant’s dinner, he lets it be known that he was downstairs during the concert. Which indicates that he doesn’t value his life much at all.
And from the way Bates was staring at him just before the credits rolled, maybe he shouldn’t expect to be living it much longer.
What did you think of this week’s Downton Abbey episode?
