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Downton Abbey: Upheaval In The Upstairs

misslinda — Mon, 19 Jan 2015 03:01:29 +0000

Lady Mary has a lover, Lady Edith has a bastard baby, and Lady Cora has an admirer. It’s a romantic liaison of a season for the upstairs of the Abbey.

But Lord Grantham is none to pleased with his wife’s sudden interest in art and her tag-along admirer of pretty things. And Lady Mary, heh. She was all about Tony until she, well, got to know Tony a little bit better if you know what I mean. Ooh! Granny Grantham is not pleased that Mary gave away the goods without first selling the cow. Then there’s Miss Bunting and Mister Tom. There’s not much to say about that milquetoast couple exempt I can’t be the only person counting the days until Tom sets sail for America. And let’s not forget Lady Rose who is absolutely besides herself that there’s not enough lemon for her Russian comrades.

Speaking of Russian comrades, Granny Grantham has an admirer of her own. More specifically, she had an admirer. Back in Saint Petersburg decades and decades ago. And he’s a prince! And now he’s here, in Downton Abbey! That’s not totally and completely awkward at all. Or as Lady Mary puts it, “Granny has a paaaahhhst!”

Next week, more juicy plot lines including Bates, Lady Mary, and even sad sack Lady Edith.

Liar Liar The Abbey’s On Fire

misslinda — Tue, 06 Jan 2015 03:50:03 +0000

Downton Abbey is back, and hoo-boy! Or, rather, hoo-lady! It is back with a vengeance! Well, at least with a sideways glance combined with a snide one-upper during afternoon tea.

This season has the makings of being all about Edith. Edith, Edith, Edith. Edith and her bastard baby. And is it hot in here, or did someone just set the Abbey on fire? Prompting the best line of the evening from Lady Mary:

Lady Edith chose to set fire to her room, but we’re fine.

Ah, Mary. You just run upstairs to take off your hat and leave the drama to the less…lovely. By the way, how’s that indecent proposal coming along? Mistress Mary has quite a nice ring to it, don’t you think?

Anyway, Downton Abbey. Sigh. You just never know who Bates will kill this season. (My money’s on Miss Sarah Bunting, but I’d take a Jonathan, too.)

Downton Abbey Season 4, Christmas Special Finale

misslinda — Mon, 24 Feb 2014 17:57:50 +0000

It’s Christmas in February as Downton Abbey celebrates the holidays, and Rose’s big coming out party which means a ball! A ball!

Lady Edith has returned from Geneva without a baby. She’s headed to London to look in on her near-German’s affairs and get some clothes now that she’s “back to normal shape,” and Mrs. Hughes and Daisy are going as well to help with Rose’s ball. Before the big night, Rose goes with her flapper friends to a nightclub where she meets the Prince of Wales. The Prince knows her father, “good old Shrimpy.”

Back at Downton, Tom is still pretending like he’s not wooing that lovely political lady he keeps running into, Ms. Bunting. He brings her back to the house for a tour. Naturally, Mr. Barrow catches them skulking about and it doesn’t look good.

There’s a letter that has Rose and her friends giggling. It’s a love letter from the Prince to a young Ms. Ward. And there’s Mr. Sampson, the guy who tried to swindle money at that poker match, stealing out of the ladies’ purses. Oh wait, what? He’s stealing the letter? Well that’s not going to end well for Ms. Ward. Or the Prince.

Edith’s near-German gave her power of attorney before he went and disappeared, so she might take over as editor of his newspaper. Another person moving up in the world is Alfred. He’s finished his course and has been hired as an Under-Chef at the Ritz-Carlton. Speaking of Daisy (because there’s no Alfred without a Daisy), she has caught the eye of one of the American Valets. He’s adorable, but so unskilled in the ways of the English.

I guess this whole debutante thing is a big deal because the Granthams and Rose are riding in a procession to Buckingham Palace to meet the Queen, with throngs of onlookers waving and cheering. The king decides to speak to her about Shrimpy’s hospitality, and I think that’s probably a really big deal.

Mrs. Hughes finds a ticket stub in Mr. Bates’s pocket that places him at the place of Mr. Greene’s death-slash-murder. She puts it on Lady Mary to decide whether Anna should know about it or not, and Lady Mary is torn. So we will have to wait and see.

Uh oh, the near-German got into a fight with “a gang of tuffs,” which are men who say horrible things and wear brown shirts. Edith is worried about what happens if he’s dead and she inherits his estate. Will she have to give half to the baby? How…awkward.

Rose tells everyone about the letter from the Prince that fell into Sampson’s hands. Robert calls it a “ghastly debacle” and insists on righting the wrong since they are the ones who introduced Mr. Sampson to Ms. Ward, and Rose all but handed him the letter.

There’s an elaborate picnic where one of Rose’s young friends, Ms. Madeline Olsam, is being wooed by Mrs. Levinson’s son, Uncle Howard. And Mrs. Levinson is being wooed by the young lady’s father, so that’s convenient. Uncle Howard is the perfect American combination of repugnant and intriguing. But everyone knows the matches are all about money, so that’s convenient.

Mr. Levinson wants Daisy to cook for him in America! New York! It was not the big news she was expecting from the Valet, but it is big news indeed.

While Mr. Sampson plays cards with the men, Lady Mary, and Rose rummage through his things in search of the letter. They don’t find it, but Lady Mary does find herself a man. Mr. Blake. He thinks they’d make a good team, which is about as romantic as these things ever get. And oh! Mr. Bates has the smarts to check Mr. Sampson’s coat pocket, where he finds the letter. Good old Bates. A crisis for the Monarchy has been avoided. And with that, Lady Mary burns the ticket stub.

It’s time for the ball! The Prince of Wales asks for the first dance with Rose which solidifies her place in society. It’s sort of repayment for that whole letter thing, and it is graciously accepted. The gowns are simultaneously understated and opulent, with the style wholly in drop waist territory, and so many tiaras! I’m unclear on the hierarchy around the tiara, but I fully support wearing one as often as possible.

Mr. Gillingham and Mr. Blake are vying for Lady Mary’s attention. For some reason, Mr. Gillingham lets Mary know that Mr. Blake is set to inherit some sort of massively huge estate. Mary finds this bit of information enticing because it means that they are both on the same side of wealth. How romantic!

Edith decides to move her bastard baby to a nearby family in Downton. Is it that farmer she helped earlier in the season? I think it is. They come up with a thin story about it being the baby of his dead friend and blah blah blah, happiness.

The staff gets a day at the beach, which is kind of funny because the Brits are so prone to sunburn. Daisy says no to the American Valet, and no to the job in New York. But she tosses old Ivy his way as a consolation prize. Carson puts his feet in the ocean and he looks so out of place, like a penguin on a marshmallow. He holds Mrs. Hughes’s hand, just to steady himself in the water, but is it the beginnings of a romance? Oh I hope so.

And that’s the end of Season Four. Sigh.

Reprinted from HauteTalk.com

Downton Abbey Season 4, Episode 7: How Bazaar

misslinda — Mon, 17 Feb 2014 17:31:02 +0000

On this week’s Downton Abbey, Ivy gets a letter, gasps with glee, and runs out of the kitchen. Alfred wants to marry her! I guess it was just that easy back in the day. But she doesn’t want to marry him. Aww. Poor Alfred.

Lord Gillingham is stopping by the Abbey, again. Anna tells Mary about his Valet, Mr. Greene. She promises not to tell anyone because Bates will kill him if he figures it all out, which is likely.

Mrs. Crawley encourages Tom to keep up with politics. He does sort of seem directionless, so maybe that’d help? But when he visits a bookstore in a nearby town, he sees Rose dining with her Jazz singer, Jack. He tells Mary what he saw and leaves her to deal with it however she pleases.

Edith tells her Aunt Rosamund that she found a tenant farmer who can be trusted to…raise the baby? Her aunt says that is reckless and instead suggests they go on a trip to elsewhere and leave the baby with a childless couple. She tells Mary that she would like to take Edith to Switzerland for a few months, to learn French without the annoyance of having the French around.

Rose has made a date with her jazz singer, Jack. But Mary has some words for her, and they are not exactly “I’m so happy for you.” But Rose loves him, and won’t listen to “imperialist nonsense.” She’s going to marry Jack and won’t keep it a secret any longer. Rose is engaged! Maybe!?

Speaking of engagements, Mr. Gillingham is calling off his engagement. He wants to marry Mary instead. But Mary isn’t “on the market.” Oh stop being such a walking stick of misery, Mary!

The Dowager Countess calls for Rosamund and Edith. She smells a rat. “Retreating to the continent for several months” is highly suspect. She pretty much knows what’s up, but wants to hear it from the horse’s mouth. Once the truth comes out, the Countess cheerfully offers to pay for everything.

Mary is off to London with Anna. Speaking of road trips, Tom rescues a lovely young lady whose car broke down. They met earlier at a political rally, so they are a perfect match. Ah, turns out Mary’s trip to London is Rose-related. She visits Jack at the Lotus Club. She’s not opposed to the marriage, but wants Jack to understand what this involves. But the visit is for naught because Jack will not be marrying Rose…to spare her the trouble? Oh, that’s weak.

Back at Aunt Rosamund’s house, Mary tells Anna that she is going to visit Lord Gillingham and tell him that he needs to dismiss his Valet. Over lunch, she tells Mr. Gillingham that his Valet has done something that he would find abhorrent and he agrees to sack him immediately. Oh, and Mr. Gillingham did in fact call off his engagement and will not give up on Mary, ever. She finds it “both irritating and beguiling, in equal measure.” How romantic.

There’s a bazaar happening at Downton, and it sounds like an awful amount of work for the staff. “More sandwiches, and more beer!” His Lordship is back from America unexpectedly, right in the middle of the bazaar. As if the staff wasn’t stretched thin enough.

Alfred read Ivy’s “thanks but no thanks” letter before he got there, so they part as friends. He then asks to see Daisy so that they can part as friends, too. She’s wearing the saddest looking hat. But hat or no hat, with Ivy out of the way, Alfred gets starry-eyed for Daisy. It’s just a little too late, so she sends him on his way, “friends forevah.”

Um, Greene is dead. Slipped, stumbled, fell into the road…and guess who was in York that day? Mr. Bates. How curious. It was crowded, so lots of people saw it, which means at least Bates was smart enough to hire someone to do the dirty work.

With the bazaar over, the staff cleans up and Mr. Gillingham takes a stroll with Mary. “I’m flattered, Charles, and even moved, but….” Take the hint, Charles. Also, she’s so not worth the hassle. Everyone applauds Cora for putting on such a wonderful bazaar. Cheers to you, Lady Grantham!

Reprinted from HauteTalk.com

Downton Abbey, Season 4, Episode 6

misslinda — Tue, 11 Feb 2014 04:06:59 +0000

On this week’s Downton Abbey, Lord Robert has been summoned to America by Lady Cora’s brother. It seems that they’ve gotten into some hot water with the oil rig business and need the appearance of dignity provided by their relative, the Earl of Something-Or-Other. And where Lord Robert goes, so goes his Valet, Mr. Bates. But it’s a very delicate time for Bates and Anna, and at the urging of Mrs. Hughes via Lady Mary, Robert decides to leave Bates behind and take Jonathan as his replacement. Whew! And, oh boy. This should get interesting.

The Dowager Countess is feeling quite ill, almost unable to see her son, Robert, off on his journey to America. But don’t count her out just yet, as she summons enough energy for one final quip: Goodbye my dear. Try not to let those Yankees drive you mad. When Mrs. Crawley checks on her later that night, the Countess’s condition has deteriorated. The doctor diagnoses her with bronchitis, and Mrs. Crawley volunteers to stay by her side until she is better. Oh, poor Countess. Might as well sentence her to death.

Lady Edith’s near-German signed in at his hotel in Munich, then went out for dinner and never came back. This requires Edith to take a trip to London to…I don’t know, find out more about what might have happened somewhere totally not in London? Rose wants to go with her, but Cora is not pleased since Rose has not yet been presented. But who can say no to Rose?

Now that Lady Mary knows about Anna, she’s all sorts of nosy about finding the man who attacked her. “M’Lady, I don’t mind your knowing…but I can’t talk about it.” These Brits, so…stoic!

In her delirious state, the Dowager Countess tells the doctor that she wants a new nurse because this one (Mrs. Crawley) talks too much, “like a drunken vicar.” The next day, the Countess is hungry for toast, which is a good sign. She begs the doctor to get Mrs. Crawley the heck out of there, but he reminds her that Mrs. Crawley stayed by her side all night so the Countess should at least resemble something close to nice, if not grateful.

When Rose and Edith get to London, Rose takes off to row boats with her jazz singer (that is not a euphemism, they actually loll about in a rowboat). Edith confides in her aunt about the pregnancy and tells her that she wants to get rid of the baby. But her aunt says that they will take care of her “charming bastard” baby. But Edith knows what’s best for her life, so her aunt agrees to go with her. At the last minute, Edith flees the doctor’s office.

There are new guests at the Abbey—pigs! Lots and lots of pigs! And they’re dehydrated because they have kicked over the water troth. “Shall I fetch the pig man?” No, Lady Mary. You should not fetch the pig man, you should fetch the pigs their water. She spends the evening with Mr. Blake, slopping around in mud, hydrating a herd of pigs. And that is how all true romances begin.

Mr. Gillingham visits the Abbey, to try and woo Lady Mary just one more time before he gets married. And that means his rapey Valet is in the kitchen. Mrs. Hughes gives him more than a piece of her mind. He claims that he and Anna were drunk that night, but she will hear none of it. You go girl! And at dinner that night, Mr. Bates looks like he’s already put the pieces together, and is in search of just the right utensil to chop them all to bits.

Reprinted from HauteTalk.com

Downton Abbey Season 4, Episode 5

misslinda — Tue, 04 Feb 2014 04:09:28 +0000

Things are still a bit tense between Anna and Bates. He’s a brooder, and brooders brood. And finances are still a bit dodgy with the great estates, so Downton decides to raise pigs. Ooh, how glamorous!

Rose wants to surprise Lord Grantham for his birthday with a live band straight from a London club. Uh, that doesn’t sound like something his Lordship would like at all.

The Dowager Countess suspects her new gardener is stealing bits and pieces from her house. But the gardener was recommended by Mrs. Crawley, who is outraged. Outraged, I tells ya! Oh but how embarrassing, the missing bauble turns up in the maid’s pocket. But she won’t unfire him because a very important letter opener also went missing under his watch. That is, until Mrs. Crawley discovers it buried in a chaise cushion. When Mrs. Crawley gets all up on her high horse about it, the Dowager Countess has quite the surprise. She has already apologized to the gardener and offered him his job back. Take that, Mrs. Crawley.

Lady Edith is in tears because nobody has heard from the almost-German in ages. But you know who does hear from someone? Alfred. From the Ritz-Carlton. Someone dropped out of the course and he was next in line, so it’s off to London for an exciting new career as a fancy schmancy chef. How exciting! Well, unless you’re Daisy, in which case how awful.

When Mr. Mosely learns of Alfred’s good fortune, he lowers himself to reiterate his interest in the Footman position. Mr. Carson turns him away because the position requires a certain amount of enthusiasm that Mr. Mosely does not seem to possess. But Mrs. Hughes and Mrs. Padmore guilts Mr. Carson into hiring Mr. Mosely, so Mr. Carson tosses in the towel and gives Mr. Mosely the Footman’s position.

Anna and Bates go to dine at a fancy hotel, but the maitre’d can’t seem to find their reservation because Anna looks like an absolute schlub in her dowdy hate and out-of-syle peasant’s dress. Luckily Lady Grantham is there to sort things out and they are immediately seated at the finest table not at all near the kitchen. But Anna can’t enjoy herself just yet.

Mr. Carson delivers a letter to Lady Edith, but it’s not the good news she was hoping for—rather, it’s a whole other kind of good news:

I am writing to confirm my findings of our recent consultation, in that your signs and symptoms are consistent with those of the first trimester of pregnancy. I look forward to being of further assistance to you.

OH MAH GAWD, EDITH IS KNOCKED UP! And just when her fashion sense has taken a turn for the better.

Lady Mary’s latest suitor, Mr. Handsome, arrives with his business partner, Mr. Blake. They are large estates like Downton and analyze whether such estates are good for modern society.

Rose arrives in the kitchen to announce the secretive arrival of the London nightclub band. And, surprise! The lead singer is black! Which makes Downton Abbey about as diverse as an episode of Girls. After a dinner during which Mary snips and snipes at Mr. Blake and Tom confirms his desire to move to America, the band starts playing in the next room. Surprise! There’s a black man singing a jazz tune in your living room! The only one who seems truly horrified is Edith, which makes me think she might fit in with the Germans quite nicely.

*Gasp!* Scandal! Mary catches Rose making out with the singer! Mary looks about ready to vomit. Jeez, can’t she even let Edith have vomiting?

———-

Linda Sue Strong is the founder of entertainment blog TerribleTelevision.com and an occasional attorney. She is such a Lady Edith, with a splash of Carson. Follow her at @themisslinda.

Downton Abbey Season 4, Episode 4

misslinda — Mon, 27 Jan 2014 18:41:19 +0000

Anna continues to be cold and irrationally awful towards Bates on this week’s Downton Abbey. While she’s not pregnant (total TMI), she still can’t tell him what happened because she knows what he will do, which is get stabby, punchy, and smashy.

Alfred is practicing for a cooking test at the Ritz Carlton, and the kitchen staff is going to help him prepare. There’s also a new bit of technology in the servants’ quarters—an electric sewing machine. Its keeper is the new Lady’s Maid, Baxter. She is a relative of Jonathan, so there is the potential for her to turn evil and/or crazy.

One of the Grantham tenants is eight months behind on rent for his farm, so it’s time to foreclose on the property. The dead tenant’s son, Mr. Drew, wants to pay the arrears and take over possession of the land. Robert lends Mr. Drew the fifty pounds needed to pay the arrears in full because Mr. Drew’s family has been farming that land forever, and I guess Robert has a soft spot beneath the gruff exterior.

Alfred is making tarts with egg and cheese filling with Daisy’s assistance. She feels weird about it because she’s essentially helping him leave the house. Oh my, his test is the day after tomorrow! In London! There’s no way he can be ready in time, but how nice, Lady Edith will be accompanying him on the journey because she has to do something involving her near-German’s paperwork. Edith hasn’t heard from her almost-German in a long time. Hmm. Dead? Or ran off with a fräulein?

Oh look! The babies! And Mary is holding one of them! “Where’s Nanny?” Well, that was quick.

With Alfred off in London and possibly never to return, Mr. Carson suggests hiring Mr. Mosely as a replacement Footman. But not so fast, Alfred first has to pass the big test. The Ritz Carlton’s Sous Chef instructs the hopeful cooks in making four dishes. First is potato and leek soup, or vichyssoise (which I pronounce in my head as “fishysois” before giggling like an imbecile). The Sous Chef seems pleasantly curious about Alfred’s background and he didn’t spit out his food, so that’s good, right?

Mr. Bates finally confronts Mrs. Hughes about Anna. He knows that she knows, and that Mrs. Hughes thinks that Mr. Bates has a right to know, so…he says that he will leave Downton. To make him stay, Mrs. Hughes tells Bates the truth. Or, rather, sort of the truth. She bends it a little by saying it was an outsider who raped Anna, and most definitely not Lord Gillingham’s Valet. He takes it reasonably well in the sense that he didn’t immediately kill anyone, but he appears determined to exact revenge. “Nothing is over, nothing is done with.” Bates then tells Anna that he knows. “My shame has nowhere to hide…I’m spoiled for you, and I can never be unspoiled.” Naturally, Bates will hear none of that because he loves her very much. Yay! Happiness!

Tom wants to go to America so that little Sybil can grow up with a clean slate rather than as the daughter of “an uppity chauffer.” Excellent. Just what we need is another nouveau riche prep school kid.

When Mr. Carson speaks with Mr. Mosely about the Footman position, he is fairly horrified at the offer because it is just so beneath him, I mean a Footman? Ha! Jeez, man. A job is a job. But none of that matters once Alfred gets his test results in the mail. He did well and was nearly in the top four…but not quite good enough. Aw. That’s a shame. And awkward, because Mr. Mosely finally decided to lower his standing in the world by accepting the Footman’s position. Mr. Carson seems particularly pleased to tell him that his services will not be needed after all. “As it is, you’ve missed your chance.”

Next week, the near-German has “vanished into thin air,” and Mary has a new suitor.

Photo via The Guardian / Reprinted from HauteTalk.com

Downton Abbey Season 4, Episode 3: Gillingham Pursues Mary

misslinda — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 19:29:14 +0000

Anna shocks the Downton staff with her bruised and battered face, and is anyone else wondering why no one even entertains the idea that Bates might be smacking her around, having been accused of murdering his ex-wife and all? Oh, how soon they forget. Anyway, Mary’s handsome and unavailable suitor, Mr. Gillingham, whose valet happens to be Anna’s rapist, is back. Mary turns down his offer to meet again, but Mr. Gillingham is not one to take no for an answer so I’m guessing this is not the last we will see of him at Downton.

The tax people want to meet with the Downton Estate in London, and Mary is taking the meeting herself. She chooses to pay the estate tax in installments instead of selling off a hunk of property to pay it off all at once. And oh good, Lady Rose is going to London with them, so shenanigans!

Edna is still hitting on Tom, and he wants nothing to do with her because he is doing a fairly good job of becoming a fahncy man in his fahncy pahnts. She bursts into his room and claims that she’s pregnant and, duh, it’s his, and she wants to be sure that he’ll marry her if it’s his child…but when did they have sexytime? I guess they do things pretty quick over in merry old England. The soaring string orchestra plays in the background as Tom tells her that he is filled with regret.

Anne tells Mrs. Hughes that when she gets back from London, she wants to move back into the servants’ quarters because she can’t let Bates touch her. She feels like she’s not good enough for him now that she’s all soiled and damaged. Mrs. Hughes suggests that she go to the police, but Anna reminds Mrs. Hughes that if Mr. Bates found out about it, he would kill the man who did it and then he would hang for his crime.

Mary, Edith, Tom, and Rose are in London on business (well, Mary and Tom are in London on business, the others tagged along because whee!!!). Mr. Gillingham surprises Mary with a visit and brings a man for Rose. They make plans to go hear music at a club that night, and Tom gets roped into the group as Aunt Rosalind’s partner. There is much dancing, and Mary and Mr. Gillingham look quite cozy together. He asks to see her again, but she reminds him that he is almost engaged. Also, she is not ready “and won’t be for some years.” You know what we haven’t seen in a while? Mary’s baby. Mother Of The Year she ain’t.

Meanwhile, Rose’s date is hammered and bolts out of the club to vomit. The band’s singer runs to Rose’s rescue on the dance floor because it is deeply humiliating to be alone on a dance floor, or so says every 15-year-old girl at a junior prom, but shocking! He’s black! Tom then rescues Rose from her rescuer, who goes back to his post at the microphone and serenade’s Rose with “A rose by any other name….”

When Anna returns from London, she learns that Mr. Gillingham is at Downton. This freaks her out because that means the rapist is back. Mr. Gillingham is very taken with Mary. “You fill my brain, I see you when I close my eyes, I can’t stop thinking about you….” Ooh, he’s good. He tells her to take as long as she needs, but I suspect he means a week or two and not the years and years of dramatic mourning Mary scheduled.

Oh! Tom confides in Mrs. Hughes about Edna. She sends for Edna and says that there is no child. Because Mrs. Hughes is clever and smart, she knows that Edna would not have gotten pregnant until she knew that Tom was locked down as a sure thing. Also, she found a book in Edna’s room that teaches married women how not to get knocked up. And with that, Edna quits and flees Downton on foot.

Edith visits her near-German lovah. He’s leaving for Munich in a week, and he has her sign some sort of power of attorney paperwork so that she will have authority over some of his affairs. Ooh! How romantic! Kisses, my darlings, more kisses, and Edith sneaks back into Aunt Rosalind’s home early the next morning.

Mary and Mr. Gillingham stroll on the sprawling lawn. Mary needs more time, but there isn’t much time left because Mr. Gillingham is honor bound to either break up with his fiancée or go through with the marriage. “I caaahnt, I’m not free of him….” He asks for a kiss to remember her by, and it’s a full embrace tearful goodbye with the music swelling and the sun shining in Downton for the first time ever. Sigh.

Reprinted from HauteTalk.com

Downton Abbey Season 4, Episode 2: Attack Downstairs

misslinda — Tue, 14 Jan 2014 03:50:22 +0000

Oh a pahty? How very delightful. But what is the occasion? Wait, let me guess. It’s a party to pimp out The Widow Mary to every eligible bachelor who didn’t get kablammoed in the war. In any event, it’s a fancy party with lots of important people who are keeping the maids and butlers on their toes. And there is a new handsome man in the servant’s quarters, a one Mr. Gillingham. He is there to tend to a Very Famous Singer who will be entertaining guests at Downton that evening.

Yeesh. Edna tries to make nice with Tom. They agree to be friends, which is, as we know, unpossible. Is it spring? Because even Mrs. Crawley has a gentleman caller. It’s that doctor again. Can’t blame a man for trying, I suppose. Rose is soaking up her fair share of gentlemen, too. And, of course, Edith has her married soon-to-be German.

Mary’s suitor already has a catch on the side, a very prominent Lady. That opens the door to Mary dumping all over arranged marriages, where two people are flung together for status convenience (even though that was exactly what brought her together with her dearly departed Matthew). *cough* Hypocrite!

The ladies are going on a tour of the gardens before the Very Famous Singer performs for them over crumpets and tea. Lady Cora was kind enough to invite the servants to listen to the songbird, including the lowly kitchen staff. Times, they are a-changing.

Jimmy hurt his wrist showing off for the ladies, so Thomas gets demoted from Under Butler to Footman for the evening. Lucky for Molesly, this opens the door to a temporary Footman position. “I have come down in the world, Mr. Carson, we both know that. I am a beggar, and as the proverb tells us, I cannot be a chooser.” Is that a yes?

Things really have changed at Downton—there’s dancing at a dinner party! Rose dances with a gentlemen caller, Tom dances with a dutchess, and Mary dances with her spoken-for suitor. She pretends like she doesn’t love it, but she does…until she sees the gramophone. It belonged to Matthew, so tears and a dramatic ascension of a stairway. No matter how many decades go by, people are still pissed at other people borrowing their records.

The next day, the Countess sees Mrs. Crawley on the street and asks her to come up to Downton. But Mrs. Crawley refuses to have fun because it means she forgot about her son and that would be wrong. Oh, the misery. It’s like a requirement in this house.

I’m getting the impression Robert lost more in his evening poker game than he wants to let on. It also looks like the near-German lost his shirt, and is looking to win it back in another round.

The Very Important Singer sings her tunes, and it’s dreamy and lovely and the servants are sitting separately but are equally enthralled, and the near-German sneaks away to gamble away the remainder of his non-existent fortune. Applause, applause. Oh what? Mr. Gillingham forces himself on Anna while everyone else is listening to the chanteuse! Rape! Stranger danger! Bad storyline!When Mrs. Hughes gets back to her room, she finds a very distressed and disheveled Anna, desperate to keep it all under wraps.

The near-German wins big in the secret poker game because he figured out that the guy was cheating. He then gives Robert back the I.O.U. he lost at the poker game and earns major brownie points with Robert. “Did you enjoy your evening?” “Yes I did raaahhhther.” Robert even calls the near-German a “decent fellow” and a “gentleman.” Yeah, well, give it a few years.

Reprinted from HauteTalk.com

Downton Abbey Season 4, Episode 1: Life After Matthew

misslinda — Mon, 06 Jan 2014 19:39:00 +0000

Last season left off with (MASSIVE SPOILER ALERT) a car crash that left Matthew bloodied and presumably dead, which means Mary is a widower and the nameless baby heir, a bastard. No, wait. Not a bastard. Just possibly a bit of a jerk, though that has yet to be determined. Anyway, Mary appears to have named the baby Poor Little Orphan, despite him having a mother and being the exact opposite of poor.It’s six months later, and O’Brien has scuttled off in the middle of the night without telling anyone, leaving M’Lady without a Lady’s Maid. Oh! She went to go work for Susan Fincher, wife of Shrimpy, a relative with less-than-stylish hair. Hah. Stealing nannies. It’s not just for Park Slope anymore.

Ooh, the good stuff. Matthew’s really dead and it’s time to pick at the carcass. Mary has a life interest in one-third of Matthew’s share of Downton and one-third of his other possessions, but everything else belongs to George, the jerk baby, because Matthew died intestate. Wasn’t Matthew a lawyer? It’s like the shoemaker’s children without any shoes. As Lady Edith says, “He thought that death was many years away, and so it should’ve been.” That leaves Robert managing Downton, because he has done such a bang-up job thus far.

Mosely was fired six months ago because a dead man doesn’t need a valet. He has been loitering at Downton ever since, unable to find another job and quickly wearing out his welcome. Carson finally gives him his walking papers, so it’s off to live with his father. Then the new kid, what’s her name? Rose. She goes into town to put a card in a shop window looking for job applicants for a Lady’s Maid to replace O’Brien. Edna, the maid who was let go for trying to schtup Tom, answers the ad and is hired to tend to Lady Cora. Huh. I was kind of hoping Mosely would get the job, just to mix things up a bit.

Robert wants to settle the question of who will manage the baby’s fortune. Robert thinks it should be him, but Mother thinks it’s Mary’s responsibility. I think they should let the baby make his own decisions, but what do I know.

Mary looks appropriately dour in her long black gown, and with Sybil gone, that sort of makes Edith the pretty one. Finally. As Edith packs to leave for London, Mary tells her to “have a happy time,” but boy, her tone of voice says “I’ve never disliked you more, Edith.” Or, “Get eaten by rabid dogs outside of a middle-class row house.”

Edith meets her married lovah in London. He has an idea. He wants to move to a country where lunacy is grounds for divorce. Like Germany, for instance. Because Germany is going to get super fun real soon. He throws a literary party to introduce Edith to his bookish friends and it is very grand, with tuxedos and long cigarette holders. Edith is dressed in deep red with a satin sash around her head, hair like rolling hills, and she has really never looked lovelier.

Oh, how awkward. Mosely asks Mrs. Crawley for his job back in front of the Countess. But Mrs. Crawley has no need for a valet, so Mosely toddles off to his father’s house an even more broken man. Later that day, the Countess pops in on Mosely’s father to let him know that Mosely is requested to help serve at a luncheon where she will be entertaining a Lady in need of a valet. When did she become the nice one?

Mrs. Hughes plucked a letter out of Carson’s wastebasket, and it was a letter from his former song-and-dance partner, who is in a workhouse, which I think is debtor’s prison. When Carson expresses his complete disinterest in helping, Mrs. Hughes asks for Mrs. Crawley’s assistance. For who-knows-what reason, Mrs. Crawley is happy to take on Carson’s old dancey friend as her project du jour. I guess those orphans and wounded soldiers and are all taken care of?

Tom asks for Carson’s help in snapping Lady Mary back into shape. He feels that she needs to find an interest in running the estate, but Lord Grantham thinks that Mary shouldn’t be troubled by such things. So Tom wants Carson to give her some advice, because Mary knows that Carson has her best interests in mind. Unfortunately, Mary does not want to hear it from a butler and dresses Carson down with a cold “I’m sorry you feel entitled to overstep the mark.” She eventually apologizes and they hug it out, but still, that’s harsh. I mean, that’s the man who used to supervise the changing of your nappies.

Later that evening, Mary goes storming out of the dining room when the Countess suggests that Mary take on the huge, monstrous responsibility of entertaining at a dinner party. The Countess tracks Mary down in her bedroom and croaks out an almost-genuine “I love you.” Mary explains that she won’t be a good mother because without Matthew, she is just a cold, hard, bitch. Well, yeah. But it’s not like she’ll be raising the kid herself, so what kind of real damage can she do in just an hour each day? Mary eventually takes a seat at the men’s table to conduct the business of Downton, so that should be interesting.

Ivy is still the hottest thing in the kitchen, with the Blond Boys vying for her attention. But when the hot blond takes her out to the pub, Ivy gets hammered and it’s up to the less-hot blond to clean her up (with some help from Anne). Meanwhile, Thomas is clashing with Nanny West over who takes orders from whom, and something about eggs in Little Sybil’s tea? Big mistake, Nanny West. Thomas goes straight to Lady Cora and lets her know that Nanny West has been leaving the helpless babies alone, completely unsupervised.

Holy cow, Edith steps it up a notch-and-a-half with a seafoam and gold brocade dress for a quiet dinner with her lovah in London. The conversation kills me. “I do love you so.” “Do you? I’m glad.” I can feel the heat from here. He is going to become a German citizen in order to divorce his bonkers bride. They have their first public kiss, and the world does not collapse under its weight.

Oh my God! Thomas was right! Lady Cora catches Nanny West saying “Go back to sleep, you wicked little crossbreed!” to Baby Sybil. Guess who’s fired? Maybe that leaves an opening for the maid who used to sell her wares on the street corner to be the new nanny…or Mosley?

A box arrives in the Downton kitchen addressed to Lady Mary. It’s from Matthew’s office, so Carson decides to deliver it to His Lordship instead, just in case there is something uncomfortable inside. The box contains a letter, which Robert then brings to the Countess. The letter says that Mary is to be his sole heiress, but Robert is concerned that it might not be legal so he’s going to send it to Murray. The Countess suspects that Robert is concerned that with Mary in the mix, he will no longer be the one in charge.

Carson’s singy-dancy party is still loitering at Mrs. Crawley’s house. He says something cryptic about Carson thinking it was all his fault. Hmm.

Anne pops in on Mr. Mosely at his new job, which looks like road-paving, or ditch-digging. He’s in a bad way, owing money all over the village. Anne offers him money, from her and Mr. Bates. He won’t accept it, so perhaps he just needs to sink a little lower first.

Robert tells Mary about the letter (but conveniently fails to mention it was sealed up in a box addressed to her).

“My darling Mary, we are off to Dumbledore in the morning, and blah blah blah I’m a bad lawyer for not making a will. I wish you to be my sole heiress. I cannot know if our baby is a boy or a girl…so you must take charge. Blah blah blah. Matthew.”

Robert insists that “whatever Matthew’s intentions, it is not a will.” Oh my God, my law school is kicking in…is it a will? It sounds like a will, and it is his last word as to his intentions. But was there a limitation in there? As in, if Mary had a boy, Matthew intended the child to be the sole heir? And then there are “death duties,” which would have to be paid if the money went to a wife instead of a male heir (which is total crap, by the way). Downton would have to sell off land to pay it, so there’s that to consider.

Mrs. Crawley wrote to an opera house to help find Carson’s singy-dancy friend a job. She finds him a stage hand position and goes to see Carson about possibly seeing his old friend before he departs for London. Carson wants nothing to do with him, which means there’s a huge, and massive secret ready to be told.

Oh hi, Rose! She’s wearing pants! Pajama pants, but still. Progress! She asks Anne to chaperone her at a dance that Anne deems unacceptable for a Lady. Later that day, Anne accidentally spilled Lady Mary’s perfume, and the nearest shop is in York. Which is conveniently in the same town as the dance. So…perfect! Anne will go with Rose, and wacky hijinks will ensue.

They go to a dance hall—an actual dance hall! How tawdry! They are spotted by Jimmy who keeps Anne company on the dance floor while Rose is off with a gentleman. Rose passes herself off as a worker at Downton. As often happens in dance halls, there’s a fistfight and the police show up and Jimmy hustles the ladies out the back door just in time.

Edna, the new Lady’s Maid, ruined a thing that might be a piece of clothing, and won’t tell Cora how she did it. Probably got burned with one of those newfangled electric fabric flattening machines. Thomas finds a way to “suggest” to Cora that the new Lady’s Maid was just covering up for Mrs. Bates, who is very, very jealous. Cora tells Robert, Robert tells Bates, and now it’s an awkward thing.

Bates interrupts the Countess to explain Mr. Molesley’s dire situation. Mr. Molesley is too proud to accept money as a gift, so Mr. Bates would like to find some other way to give him the Countess’s money. Putting the plan into action, Mr. Molesley stops by Downton for a spot of tea. Bates claims that Molesley lent him money when he first arrived and now he is ready to pay him back. Thirty pounds! And he did it in front of everyone, so that Molesley couldn’t refuse.

Edith is visiting with her lovah about his transformation into a much-hated German citizen. Ooh, a hand on her knee! “It’s getting harder and harder to say no.”

Uh-oh. Sam, the man who danced with Rose, pays a visit to Downton, to see the housemaid, Rose. Anne intercepts and has him wait in the yard while she fetches Rose, who she dresses up in a maid’s uniform. She’s…very taken with him, and he asks to call on her again. Rose makes up a story about giving her word to a local farmer and there’s a goodbye kiss…and I don’t think that’s the last we’ll see of Sam.

The Countess has an idea. She wants Mary to have a say in the running of Downton because either herself or her baby have a half share in the estate. And she wants Tom to teach her about the crops and the livestock and the problems facing the estate. And all without telling “Papa.” Later on, Robert received a letter from Murray who says that Matthew’s letter demonstrates testamentary intention, which means the writer intended the document to serve as a will. So the letter is a will, the will stands, and Mary owns half of the estate.

Carson goes to see his old friend off at the train station afterall. It turns out this whole rift was over a woman, Alice. She chose the dancy party over Carson, and now she’s dead, but she always loved Carson. Aw. How sweet.

Next week, well-dressed men show up to court Mary.

Reprinted from HauteTalk.com