Dishing on Downton, Week 6

As usual a spoiler alert: If you haven't seen this week's episode, don't read this! 

There was some real good emotion last night, wasn't there?  I mean the whole episode with Thomas, revealing him as a vulnerable person. But I thought it was all sewn up rather nicely with his lordship smoothing things over, and Carson making him under butler. In fact I felt it was a whole night of easy solutions--the writer is tiring of his subject, methinks.

The tiresomely noble Bates comes home, thank God. I couldn't have stood one more week of him in prison looking noble and woebegone. But Rats--now I'll have to discard my FREE BATES T shirt! And is given a cottage, which is really a stupid idea because a valet has to be on hand to dress and undress his master at all hours and so does Anna. Now they'll have to walk across the estate in the dark and rain at midnight after a dinner party! I grew up in England. I know how often it rains..

And Tom is made land agent, and starts to prove his worth, which we all guessed. And it seemed there was a little something wrong with Mary--a mere tweak needed--so that she can get pregnant. And Ethel is conveniently re-situated where she can see her child.

They had to introduce the really naughty Rose to bring some life into what is now, on the whole, a dreary plot. She was fun but oh so predictable. And poor Edith, now falling for a man who has a wife in an asylum. What's the betting the wife will conveniently die before too long so they can marry after all?

But nothing else matters really because there was a bloody good game of cricket and that's what counts!

So do you also feel it's losing it's sparkle, it's emotional appeal?  Of course I can't stop watching, but....

Dishing on Downton, Week 5

Warning, as usual, if you haven't seen this week's episode, don't read on.
I had to see the first half of this episode this morning on DVD as the superbowl was still on when Downton started last night and it was too exciting to leave. (sorry the Niners just lost).

I thought this was a very real episode, when all that veneer of stiff upper lips crumbles all around. Robert desperately trying to hold on to his position of undisputed head of household, Cora hurting so much that she just wants to punish, even the dowager showing some cracks in her composure and Mary finally being so nice and kind all around. Nice scene with Matthew and Mary.

And have we finally got the Bates drama sewn up? I'd like to know how a prison warder and a convict could influence a woman far away in London. If Bates could threaten the other con and make him do what he wants, why did he not do it sooner??

Finally the thing that bugs me most. It takes two to tango. Ethel is the fallen woman who had no choice but to resort to prostitution to feed her child and yet nobody mentions that it was a young upper class officer, a man who should know better, according to their rules, who got her pregnant in the first place. Nobody blames him or seems to think that he did anything wrong.

This is particularly interesting to me as it's the theme of my new Molly Murphy book that comes out in four weeks from today. It's called The Family Way and it examines the moral issues and treatment of women who find themselves pregnant.

So what do you reckon? Branson will take over one of the farms and live nearby with the baby at Downton?  Matthew and Mary can't have children and adopt baby Sibyl? And when will O'Brien and Thomas stop being so naively trusting of each other. They both know the other is a bad lot and yet they go on believing each other!  Only two episodes to go, aren't there? How will we survive?

Dishing on Downton, Week 3

Spoiler alert. If you haven't yet seen Week 3 do not read on and if you do, don't blame me.

I liked this week--it had some nicely subtle emotion to it--Daisy ready to tell Albert how she feels about him only to have him eyeing the new kitchen maid. And then the tear jerker--Ethel giving up her little boy to the horrible man. Why didn't an outspoken woman like Mrs Crawley point out that Ethel only sank so low because HIS SON got her in trouble to begin with? We guessed that Mrs. Crawley will give her a chance as a maid and the teaser for next week hinted that would happen. And Bates and Anna finally getting their letters. But Bates now has a deadly enemy and Anna isn't pursuing what she found out in London. How many more seasons before this is resolved?

And then there's Sibyl and Branson. Do you think that marriage is doomed? I rather suspect he may return to Ireland and get shot in an uprising, dying a martyr's death. What do you think? I don't see much future in the marriage.

And what do you think about the new footman? The maids adore him and we think he's clearly gay, so there might be attraction between him and Thomas. And someone at table mentioned that he looked like a stage footman, making me wonder if he really is not quite what he seems--on the run? And out of work actor?

Hooray for Edith now writing a column in a newspaper. Maybe she'll outshine them all. And the big question--is Mary pregnant?

So come on--let's hear what you thought of this week's episode.

Dishing on Downton,Week 2

Sorry I've been silent during the week. We were moving back from California to Arizona after the Christmas break and we'll be here for three months, meaning a lot of organization required, then two days of driving, sore back muscles afterward etc.

However great weekend--49rs won, we celebrated Three Kings a week late with our Arizona family and we watched Downton, episode 2 together.

Please do not read on if you didn't watch last night's episode and plan to.

Things I liked about it: new clues on Mrs. Bates being poisoned. We now know two things, I believe--that she planned to poison Bates when he came to tea that night. The mystery writer in me has figured it out. She put arsenic in a pie, AND she had already been poisoned herself. The neighbor talks of seeing an aura around her, glowing in the drizzle--classic symptom of arsenic poisoning! So this is what I suspect--she planned to poison Bates by putting arsenic in a pie. She planned to make herself immune to poisoning by gradually building up her tolerance to arsenic by having a little at a time. (This has been done many times). She took too much. Finally killed her.

We'll see if I'm right. And will Bates be released before he does something bad to his cell mate or the cell mate does something bad to him?  What else did I like? Great lines from Maggie Smith, as usual. Mr. Carson's revealing how much he cares about Mrs. Hughes. That whole storyline handled nicely. I like the way Daisy is developing into a more confident young woman and the hint of future romance with Alfred.
.
Several things I didn't like: Sir Anthony walking out at the wedding. He struck me as an honorable man. He'd have come to see Edith before to tell her he couldn't go through with it, not left her like that.
The letter from Lavinia giving her blessing to the money so that Downton can be saved. A little too pat, don't you think?
Ethel having turned into something out of Les Miserables. I'm sure she could have found some honest laundry, ironing, mending work.
Thomas becoming too outrageously evil.

So what did you think? As good as previous seasons or not?