Hopefully by now you've all had a chance to watch last Sunday's shocking 2-hour episode. But if you haven't...SPOILER ALERT
My whole Downton world turned upside down this week. Lord Grantham! How could you? And while your wife was teetering on the precipice of death!
I really liked Mrs. Hughes as Ethel's protector and was so happy that she didn't allow the Davis' to take the baby away (although it's hard to think of her as destitute when she has the fattest baby I've ever seen...how does she carry that thing?)
The Spanish Flu was swift and awful, but Lavinia seemed just fine...maybe she did a die of a broken heart. And, as one of you tweeted, that apparently turned Matthew into a zombie.
It seems that the war and the time spent caring for the wounded grew our girls up. Lady Edith (who seems to have been forgiven for exposing Mary's secret to anyone she could get to listen...which has specifically led to the disgusting fiancee Mary is now stuck with) was acknowledged by the Dowager Countess (I think for the first time in her life) and Lady Sybill stood her ground and became a commoner just like you and me! Mary is now even more bitter and sarcastic, but somehow it works for her and makes her more interesting and likeable when last year it made her annoying and off-putting.
I continue to be flummoxed by Daisy. I think we're supposed to admire her honesty and discomfort as a war widow of a man she didn't love, but she just comes across as whiny and stupid.
And finally Mr. Bates and Anna...I still love 'em, still want 'em together, thought he was hot in handcuffs...but the bedroom scene grossed me out. I am still trying to get his naked upper torso out of my mind. It's the fully dressed repression that turns us on to this couple, not their untouched by sun expanse of skin.
I cannot wait to hear what you all thought! Hopes for the finale on Sunday?
- Jen
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Thank gawd you said something about Daisy...she has been driving me crazy. I am glad I am not the only one. And agreed, Mary is a complicated woman, and her feisty attitude draws you in, even when it is rude and obnoxious. I can't put my finger on it, but she really is growing on me.
I would love to see a rekindling of fire between Lord & Lady Grantham, that would be a nice way to end...or perhaps a secret rendevous with the single mother? That would definitely be more interesting ;-) Although I adore his noble character, so that could tarnish it forever...
Does Ms. Hughes know about the kiss? When she said "I agree, it could be better for everyone...", I thought, did I miss something?
So much to talk about...and so sad to think of it coming to an end!! Can we keep talking about it, please??
Lord Grantham: Feeling bored and useless by his inability to take part in the war kisses a lowly maid for the thrill of it. But then he comes to his senses.
Lowly Maid: Is lying about the son Freddie. Every time she mentions him she gets a weird look on her face. Daisy: Is being used to show that the lowest servant in the house has valor, to give contrast to the the shenanigans of her upper-class counterparts. Mr. Bates: There's no way Mr. Bates is going to be a murderer. Though we're going to be strung along for a while, it will turn out someone else did it (Richard?). She looked like she had been bashed in the head (?) so I doubt it was suicide. Matthew: From next week's teaser we can see that he's after Mary again, so he will do something dashing to get her away from Richard and they'll be together in the end. Edith: Will turn out to have been right about Patrick, and he will return and they will fall in love and get married and she'll be the lady of the house. Mary and Matthew will live in that other house after Richard is disposed of. Sybil: will train to be a nurse and have babies and be blissfully happy with the chauffeur for ever more. That's all I got.
The viewers in our house almost thought this was the finale for the sheer number of gasp moments in last week's episode. I agree about the Bates/Anna bedroom scene. Come on, Julian. You're supposed to be English and repressed. I so wasn't expecting that. My quandary is what became of "P. Gordon"? I don't recall them even mentioning him in this latest episode. Could he come back with more evidence and cause a three-way fight for Mary?
I've seen the Christmas episode (which is the season finale for us Yanks across the pond.) It. Is. Magnificent.
My new favorite drinking game: Have plenty of wine on hand. Every time someone is described as "wretched" finish your glass. (Note: make sure the DVR is recording, because you will black out after the first hour.)
Jen,
I could not agree with you more, in particular the Bates/Anna love scene. I was so embarrassed for them. If there is next time, I hope they can find some fake tan products to use a few days before they tape the show.
I'm feeling fairly weary of the Mr.B/A storyline this year. Anna has always been the most levelheaded of anyone in the story, and to watch her glide past red flag after glowing red flag to be with Her Man has been disappointing. Her devotion may be romantic, but it's not necessarily to her credit as a thinking person. The other issue is that Mr. Bates got a lot of airtime in Season 1 being noble and forbearing and just the right kind of hothead (throwing Thomas against the wall--yes!), and this season we've just seen him being a victim and then making foolish choices and excuses. His situation is indeed pitiable (what a delicious villain Vera Bates is!) but he's navigating it, largely, like a jackass. So it's getting hard to remember why Anna fell in love with him in the first place, and why, aside from loyalty and, well, deferred sexual tension, why she'd keep putting up with all of his endless bojazz: "it'll all work out soon, I swear!" My other lament about this season is what a drag they've let Isobelle become. She was such a badass in Season 1, deftly standing up to the Dowager Countess and saving people's lives, all with just enough diplomacy to make it fly, and now everyone's constantly just rolling her eyes at her and trying to shoo her away. Even Matthew. But in other news, oh my proverbial goodness do Matthew and Mary have amazing chemistry! More, please!
Lord Grantham had to kiss the maid. Without this plot point he can never see Sybill's point of view. I hated the mistake because maid what's-her-name is surely lying, but it helped him come back to his family in the end. (Maid what's-her-name is in the same situation as Ethel,I bet.)
