Downton Abbey: Season 5, Episode 5
February 1, 2015 10:34 PM - Season 5, Episode 5 - Subscribe
Well, now things are getting interesting. We had a floor brawl, a couple of dumpings, and a potential kidnapping being planned!
Number of breakups in this episode: 3
* Tom FINALLY breaks up with Miss Bunting, and she gets a job elsewhere. The Downton staff (especially Daisy) is rather snitty about this, and Miss Bunting tries a last ditch "I love you," but it doesn't work.
* After bringing Aunt Rosamund down to visit the baby, Edith is kicked out of the Drewe home once and for all, and the wife is threatening to have the family move.
* Mr. Bricker finally makes a move on Cora in her bedroom. As Cora is trying to persuade him to leave, of course her husband walks in, gets in a snit and they end up BRAWLING ON THE FLOOR. While Cora has to cover it up to Edith.
Number of people still waiting in suspense for Isobel to decide regarding Lord Merton: 3. Four if we count Isobel herself, who is stalling a la Lady Mary.
Number of potential friendships gone asunder: 1, as Charles tries to force Miss Lane Fox and Lady Mary to dine together--specifically to get Miss Lane Fox to take Tony back. She also has a snit and leaves.
I can't even keep track of the number of snits in this episode.
In other news: Yes, Thomas is shooting up as a method of taking away the gay. He won't listen to Baxter about it. Baxter ends up telling Moseley about her little crime spree. The cops continue to interview the ladies of the house about Mr. Green. Rose meets a cute English fellow who is descended from Russian Jews, making it a bit awkward for him to get introduced around the basement of Russians.
Oh yeah, and Rosamund and Granny are now plotting to somehow take little Marigold away from the Drewes altogether. I'm sure that won't be problematic At All and Mrs. Drewe will just lie down like a lamb about it.
Number of breakups in this episode: 3
* Tom FINALLY breaks up with Miss Bunting, and she gets a job elsewhere. The Downton staff (especially Daisy) is rather snitty about this, and Miss Bunting tries a last ditch "I love you," but it doesn't work.
* After bringing Aunt Rosamund down to visit the baby, Edith is kicked out of the Drewe home once and for all, and the wife is threatening to have the family move.
* Mr. Bricker finally makes a move on Cora in her bedroom. As Cora is trying to persuade him to leave, of course her husband walks in, gets in a snit and they end up BRAWLING ON THE FLOOR. While Cora has to cover it up to Edith.
Number of people still waiting in suspense for Isobel to decide regarding Lord Merton: 3. Four if we count Isobel herself, who is stalling a la Lady Mary.
Number of potential friendships gone asunder: 1, as Charles tries to force Miss Lane Fox and Lady Mary to dine together--specifically to get Miss Lane Fox to take Tony back. She also has a snit and leaves.
I can't even keep track of the number of snits in this episode.
In other news: Yes, Thomas is shooting up as a method of taking away the gay. He won't listen to Baxter about it. Baxter ends up telling Moseley about her little crime spree. The cops continue to interview the ladies of the house about Mr. Green. Rose meets a cute English fellow who is descended from Russian Jews, making it a bit awkward for him to get introduced around the basement of Russians.
Oh yeah, and Rosamund and Granny are now plotting to somehow take little Marigold away from the Drewes altogether. I'm sure that won't be problematic At All and Mrs. Drewe will just lie down like a lamb about it.
There is no way the cops would still be investigating the death of Mr. Greene. No. Way. Is there NO OTHER WAY to make Mr. and Mrs. Bates relevant? Can't we just consign them to being background figures? Because I just can't.
Buh-bye Miss Bunting, don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.
I actually LOVED Rose's young man's appearance. Every time people get all misty about how terrible it was that all that Russian aristocracy was robbed of their birthright, I just think of pogroms. So Rose, how do you square that? Still feeling sad for those assholes?
Hand-wringing Edith and that fucking kid. You know, you should have just made up a lie about having found a little orphan. What's with all this bullshit fake lies and tap dancing. Also, between Granny and Rosamund knowing about it, why keep the secret anymore? I mean, if we're honest, this show is 1922 going on 1989 in social attitudes.
I'm rather enjoying Thomas's discomfort on the drug therapy. While we all know it's bullshit, at least we get to see him suffering.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 6:05 AM on February 2, 2015 [6 favorites]
Buh-bye Miss Bunting, don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.
I actually LOVED Rose's young man's appearance. Every time people get all misty about how terrible it was that all that Russian aristocracy was robbed of their birthright, I just think of pogroms. So Rose, how do you square that? Still feeling sad for those assholes?
Hand-wringing Edith and that fucking kid. You know, you should have just made up a lie about having found a little orphan. What's with all this bullshit fake lies and tap dancing. Also, between Granny and Rosamund knowing about it, why keep the secret anymore? I mean, if we're honest, this show is 1922 going on 1989 in social attitudes.
I'm rather enjoying Thomas's discomfort on the drug therapy. While we all know it's bullshit, at least we get to see him suffering.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 6:05 AM on February 2, 2015 [6 favorites]
So many plotlines to be dissected... I do have to say I'm enjoying this new trend of Robert losing his shit over stuff. It's a new era, man! Get in touch with your feelings!
Miss Bunting: Gone, gone, gone! Hooray! They so terrified me when Tom meets Mary on the stairs after the I love you and Daisy's full court press, and he says something about having come to a decision and he just hopes it's the right one. And then he goes to see her as she's leaving, and I was convinced he was going to fold, say something like I love you, let's get married and live in a garret and found the British Workers Party 25 years early. It will be wonderful - we'll make love all night, then harass Lord Grantham all day! I was screaming NO! FOR GOD'S SAKE LET HER GO! Man, close call...
The Green Investigation: I'm beginning to wonder if Anna did do it. God knows she had enough reason, but she was so terrified that Bates was going to find out and kill him and get hanged for it. I find myself wondering if she thought he was beginning to suspect and took out Green herself on a day when she was pretty sure her husband had a solid alibi. (Or it could well turn out to have been some totally third party with a grudge against him. I'd bet Anna wasn't his first victim.)
And a question: When Bricker's leaving the morning after, he slips something to Carson. Was that a note for Cora? If so why didn't we see it delivered and paid off? Or was it what I thought on first glance, that he was tipping Carson? Was that a thing? Would houseguests tip the staff?
posted by Naberius at 6:56 AM on February 2, 2015
Miss Bunting: Gone, gone, gone! Hooray! They so terrified me when Tom meets Mary on the stairs after the I love you and Daisy's full court press, and he says something about having come to a decision and he just hopes it's the right one. And then he goes to see her as she's leaving, and I was convinced he was going to fold, say something like I love you, let's get married and live in a garret and found the British Workers Party 25 years early. It will be wonderful - we'll make love all night, then harass Lord Grantham all day! I was screaming NO! FOR GOD'S SAKE LET HER GO! Man, close call...
The Green Investigation: I'm beginning to wonder if Anna did do it. God knows she had enough reason, but she was so terrified that Bates was going to find out and kill him and get hanged for it. I find myself wondering if she thought he was beginning to suspect and took out Green herself on a day when she was pretty sure her husband had a solid alibi. (Or it could well turn out to have been some totally third party with a grudge against him. I'd bet Anna wasn't his first victim.)
And a question: When Bricker's leaving the morning after, he slips something to Carson. Was that a note for Cora? If so why didn't we see it delivered and paid off? Or was it what I thought on first glance, that he was tipping Carson? Was that a thing? Would houseguests tip the staff?
posted by Naberius at 6:56 AM on February 2, 2015
Seriously, what has Bates even done this season? Nothing that I can recall. He might as well not even be there. The closest thing he has to a storyline is all Anna and Mary getting grilled about him multiple times. The whole "is he or isn't he a killer/criminal" has become SO BORING. They've been doing it since the show started.
posted by dnash at 7:31 AM on February 2, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by dnash at 7:31 AM on February 2, 2015 [4 favorites]
When Bricker's leaving the morning after, he slips something to Carson. Was that a note for Cora?
I couldn't make it out, either. I can't imagine handing something like that to one of the help, even Carson. It's not like he was all that secretive about it, too. I mean...no one touches hands with the help like that. I wondered if it wasn't something as gauche as a tip?
posted by Thorzdad at 7:52 AM on February 2, 2015
I couldn't make it out, either. I can't imagine handing something like that to one of the help, even Carson. It's not like he was all that secretive about it, too. I mean...no one touches hands with the help like that. I wondered if it wasn't something as gauche as a tip?
posted by Thorzdad at 7:52 AM on February 2, 2015
Guests tip the staff when they leave. Not gauche, expected.
posted by Ideefixe at 7:59 AM on February 2, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by Ideefixe at 7:59 AM on February 2, 2015 [3 favorites]
Really? I think that's the first time they've so clearly show it, then. At least as far as I can recall.
posted by Thorzdad at 8:13 AM on February 2, 2015
posted by Thorzdad at 8:13 AM on February 2, 2015
Yeah, I don't recall seeing anyone else tip anybody. But obviously I was raised in a barn and would never have made it in upper crust Edwardian Britain. So does Carson keep that money, or is he supposed to parcel it out to the rest of the staff?
Also, while we're nowhere near the subject, I gained considerable appreciation for Mabel Lane Fox last night and would pick her over Mary in a heartbeat. Not the least for her "are you fucking kidding me?" response to Blake's bizarre request that she show up like a grocery story janitor to deal with a clean up in aisle Gillingham.
I think we can only cling to Blake's hint after she left that he was expecting that reaction and that it's all part of some larger scheme to fix things. Though I can't imagine what.
posted by Naberius at 8:26 AM on February 2, 2015 [4 favorites]
Also, while we're nowhere near the subject, I gained considerable appreciation for Mabel Lane Fox last night and would pick her over Mary in a heartbeat. Not the least for her "are you fucking kidding me?" response to Blake's bizarre request that she show up like a grocery story janitor to deal with a clean up in aisle Gillingham.
I think we can only cling to Blake's hint after she left that he was expecting that reaction and that it's all part of some larger scheme to fix things. Though I can't imagine what.
posted by Naberius at 8:26 AM on February 2, 2015 [4 favorites]
I thought it was probably a tip to Carson as well. I wasn't sure about the protocols and was trying to decide if Carson looked miffed (which never takes much prompting).
WRT to Anna and the police, I've been thinking she might have killed Green. There was a witness to his death a couple episodes back. Didn't the police say Green was overheard saying something like "What are you doing here?" I maybe remembering incorrectly. But that sounds like they are setting it up to be Anna. Mr Bates is the obvious choice which makes me think that it wasn't him.
As far as Violet and Rosamund taking Marigold, would it really be kidnapping? Do we know for sure the circumstances under which Marigold was placed with the Drewes? Mr Drewe obviously knows she's Edith's daughter so it seems it was some sort of unofficial arrangement. And he'd be in a position to take care of explaining it (or not) to his wife.
I was reading the Wikipedia episode guide to see if it said anything about Marigold's placement and saw the bit about Robert kissing the maid in Series Two. I'd totally forgotten he'd had that little indiscretion. And then he turns around and treats Cora so badly. Bah. (I mean I know she's flirting with Bricker and being not very appropriate but still, Robert was being pretty dismissive.)
posted by Beti at 8:31 AM on February 2, 2015
WRT to Anna and the police, I've been thinking she might have killed Green. There was a witness to his death a couple episodes back. Didn't the police say Green was overheard saying something like "What are you doing here?" I maybe remembering incorrectly. But that sounds like they are setting it up to be Anna. Mr Bates is the obvious choice which makes me think that it wasn't him.
As far as Violet and Rosamund taking Marigold, would it really be kidnapping? Do we know for sure the circumstances under which Marigold was placed with the Drewes? Mr Drewe obviously knows she's Edith's daughter so it seems it was some sort of unofficial arrangement. And he'd be in a position to take care of explaining it (or not) to his wife.
I was reading the Wikipedia episode guide to see if it said anything about Marigold's placement and saw the bit about Robert kissing the maid in Series Two. I'd totally forgotten he'd had that little indiscretion. And then he turns around and treats Cora so badly. Bah. (I mean I know she's flirting with Bricker and being not very appropriate but still, Robert was being pretty dismissive.)
posted by Beti at 8:31 AM on February 2, 2015
Or was it what I thought on first glance, that he was tipping Carson? Was that a thing? Would houseguests tip the staff?
Oh yes! Tips, although in a grand house they were called Vails.
Here's a blurb from a website:
Being a servant was not a high paying job, but all servants materially helpful to visitors expected tips or 'vails' as they were called when a guest left. This was one of the only times that a servant could make decent money. A servant's pay just from vails could amount to ten shillings a day, while on regular pay, they would only earn a few pounds a year.
Here's what the oft recommended What Jane Austen Ate and What Charles Dickens Knew says:
Perquisites were accorded some servants. A lady's maid was generally entitled to her mistress's cast-off clothes and could also keep a rag bag of linen that she was free to sell, presumably to a rag and bottle shop. the cook was permitted to sell the household's 'drippings,' if she wished, once the household was done with them.
All servants who were materially helpful to visitors at a great house expected tips, or 'vails,' when a guest left; the Sedley's groom refuses to hand down Becky Sharp's trunks from the carriage when she departs "as she had given nothing to the servants on coming away." As a rule of thumb, it was suggested by one aid to the perplexed that lady lady visitors tip heir housemaid five shillings for a stay of three or four days, ten shillings for a week or more. Gentlemen were t tip the valet if they didn't bring one of their own, and also give the coachman a half-crown if that servant drove him to the railway station. He was also to give five to ten shillings to the groom if he went riding, and the gamekeeper was to get at least ten shillings for every day's good shooting. "I never bring a man with me," announces the experienced Mr. Rather to the eponymous hero of Phineas Finn as they are traveling to visit Mr. Kennedy. "the servants of the house like it much better, because they get fee'd."
By century's end, it appears, the tips expected were often so high that some people were deterred from visiting friends in the country not by the costs of the railroad ticket but by the anticipated cost of tipping all the staff.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 8:44 AM on February 2, 2015 [7 favorites]
Oh yes! Tips, although in a grand house they were called Vails.
Here's a blurb from a website:
Being a servant was not a high paying job, but all servants materially helpful to visitors expected tips or 'vails' as they were called when a guest left. This was one of the only times that a servant could make decent money. A servant's pay just from vails could amount to ten shillings a day, while on regular pay, they would only earn a few pounds a year.
Here's what the oft recommended What Jane Austen Ate and What Charles Dickens Knew says:
Perquisites were accorded some servants. A lady's maid was generally entitled to her mistress's cast-off clothes and could also keep a rag bag of linen that she was free to sell, presumably to a rag and bottle shop. the cook was permitted to sell the household's 'drippings,' if she wished, once the household was done with them.
All servants who were materially helpful to visitors at a great house expected tips, or 'vails,' when a guest left; the Sedley's groom refuses to hand down Becky Sharp's trunks from the carriage when she departs "as she had given nothing to the servants on coming away." As a rule of thumb, it was suggested by one aid to the perplexed that lady lady visitors tip heir housemaid five shillings for a stay of three or four days, ten shillings for a week or more. Gentlemen were t tip the valet if they didn't bring one of their own, and also give the coachman a half-crown if that servant drove him to the railway station. He was also to give five to ten shillings to the groom if he went riding, and the gamekeeper was to get at least ten shillings for every day's good shooting. "I never bring a man with me," announces the experienced Mr. Rather to the eponymous hero of Phineas Finn as they are traveling to visit Mr. Kennedy. "the servants of the house like it much better, because they get fee'd."
By century's end, it appears, the tips expected were often so high that some people were deterred from visiting friends in the country not by the costs of the railroad ticket but by the anticipated cost of tipping all the staff.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 8:44 AM on February 2, 2015 [7 favorites]
Yeah, what the hell is Blake up to with this scheming? Why is he throwing himself in the middle of these girls? Also, Mabel Lane Fox is awesome.
Well, I don't know the legal arrangements of adoption in England in 1924, but I'm sure Mrs. Drewe is gonna throw a fit and call the cops if they somehow make off with the kid, even if her husband is aware of it or not.
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:55 AM on February 2, 2015
Well, I don't know the legal arrangements of adoption in England in 1924, but I'm sure Mrs. Drewe is gonna throw a fit and call the cops if they somehow make off with the kid, even if her husband is aware of it or not.
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:55 AM on February 2, 2015
As far as Violet and Rosamund taking Marigold, would it really be kidnapping? Do we know for sure the circumstances under which Marigold was placed with the Drewes?
Well, the cover story is that Marigold is the child of a dead relative or something along that line, right? While Mr. Drewe knows the true story, I don't believe Mrs. Drewe knows Marigold is Edith's baby.*
So, if Marigold is suddenly missing, I'm pretty sure Mrs. Drewe would most certainly summon the authorities. And, Mr. Drewe would have to either go along with her on it, or reveal Edith's secret to the world. So, yeah, it would absolutely be treated as a kidnapping by the authorities, if they don't know the truth about Edith. Edith would probably be their first suspect, too.
* At least that's how I remember it. I mean, if Mrs. Drewe knew Marigold was Edith's, it would seem to me that she would mention it when arguing with Mr. Drewe and/or Edith.
posted by Thorzdad at 9:09 AM on February 2, 2015 [1 favorite]
Well, the cover story is that Marigold is the child of a dead relative or something along that line, right? While Mr. Drewe knows the true story, I don't believe Mrs. Drewe knows Marigold is Edith's baby.*
So, if Marigold is suddenly missing, I'm pretty sure Mrs. Drewe would most certainly summon the authorities. And, Mr. Drewe would have to either go along with her on it, or reveal Edith's secret to the world. So, yeah, it would absolutely be treated as a kidnapping by the authorities, if they don't know the truth about Edith. Edith would probably be their first suspect, too.
* At least that's how I remember it. I mean, if Mrs. Drewe knew Marigold was Edith's, it would seem to me that she would mention it when arguing with Mr. Drewe and/or Edith.
posted by Thorzdad at 9:09 AM on February 2, 2015 [1 favorite]
Well, the cover story is that Marigold is the child of a dead relative or something along that line, right?
Thanks. I knew that Mrs Drewe didn't know that Edith was the mother but I couldn't remember what the story was. And yeah, I'm sure Mrs Drewe is going to freak out no matter what happens - a sudden disappearance or a "We're taking the kid" from Rosamund and Violet.
posted by Beti at 9:18 AM on February 2, 2015
Thanks. I knew that Mrs Drewe didn't know that Edith was the mother but I couldn't remember what the story was. And yeah, I'm sure Mrs Drewe is going to freak out no matter what happens - a sudden disappearance or a "We're taking the kid" from Rosamund and Violet.
posted by Beti at 9:18 AM on February 2, 2015
Maybe Isobel and Lord Merton get married and Isobel confides in Violet about Edith's situation so Violet and Lord Merton adopt Marigold and Edith goes to live with them because they're old and "need help."
I mean, if we're gonna go soap opera we might as well go all the way.
posted by cooker girl at 9:52 AM on February 2, 2015
I mean, if we're gonna go soap opera we might as well go all the way.
posted by cooker girl at 9:52 AM on February 2, 2015
would never have made it in upper crust Edwardian Britain
This series is set in 1924 which is at least a decade (there are different ways to count) after the Edwardian era.
posted by biffa at 10:12 AM on February 2, 2015
This series is set in 1924 which is at least a decade (there are different ways to count) after the Edwardian era.
posted by biffa at 10:12 AM on February 2, 2015
They could have saved the Branson and Miss Bunting story line with just one scene: a nice lunch in the pub one day so you could see that when they are away from the Abbey they are a good match.
Nothing can save the Green's been murdered story line.
I think there's somethin to save Edith's story line but I'm not sure what? Maybe making Mrs Drewe not so dense - surely she would have figures this out.
posted by double bubble at 10:18 AM on February 2, 2015 [2 favorites]
Nothing can save the Green's been murdered story line.
I think there's somethin to save Edith's story line but I'm not sure what? Maybe making Mrs Drewe not so dense - surely she would have figures this out.
posted by double bubble at 10:18 AM on February 2, 2015 [2 favorites]
The more I think about it, the more I LOVE the idea that Anna killed Green. I think that would be fantastic.
Agreed that Mrs. Drewe surely would have connected the dots by now. And the Ms. Bunting storyline just felt ... weirdly unfinished from the start. Glad it's (apparently) over.
posted by jbickers at 11:18 AM on February 2, 2015 [4 favorites]
Agreed that Mrs. Drewe surely would have connected the dots by now. And the Ms. Bunting storyline just felt ... weirdly unfinished from the start. Glad it's (apparently) over.
posted by jbickers at 11:18 AM on February 2, 2015 [4 favorites]
Cora and her would be lover. I was really hoping it would be a scene that would empower Cora. She would slap him, tell him to leave and...he would leave. The fact that she was denied this by the writers kind of, ironically, mirrors Bricker's own words to Robert. Cora could be a great character if...they would recognize it and let her be such. It was hilarious that Robert backhanded Bricker, is that how they teach upper class how to start a fight? (Seriously, if you're infuriated that a man has slipped into your wife's room and just told you off about not appreciating her, you don't just let loose a punch to the face?)
Baby Marigold. I was hoping bringing in the Dowager would make it a bit better. No, it continues down this weird path, which, if told from the perspective of the farmer's wife, probably begins to look like some kind of horror movie. You're just living your life with a child you've made your own, and the rich lady nearby starts insisting on treating her like a doll, and then brings her old aunt over, and the next thing you know, two old women are plotting to steal her away. It's Badadook all over again. No, it's not.
Blake. I love that guy. He's very nuts and bolts, even when he's completely insane. "I have an idea that will make everyone happy...." Nice. It's like he's devised a new way for crop rotation that lets the beat farmer live with the potato farmer in harmony. Mary will end up with him, as he's about as blindly wrong on women as her father can be.
I liked Rose's new friend, Mr. Alddrige (sp?). Though, did he really have to hammer down on the exact years of the pogrom for when his family immigrated to England? Really? " My family came over not long after the Crimean War, and more then near the end of the reign of Czar Alexander II..." As a slip, did he say 1951 instead of 1851 at one point? Crazy time traveler trying to play off being someone else. Though, I wonder if Rose will eventually leave him for another prejudiced gentleman of another race, ethnicity or religion? She's the new Sybil, but without the unflattering Socialist views.
Mr. Green. The more we go on about Mr. Green in a manor house, the more I start wondering if this whole storyline was inspired by a game of Clue. Thomas' new game of messing with the investigation seems primed to add nothing more but thin the dimensions of his character. For a while, it seemed as if he was being fleshed out quite a bit as a character you both loathed and felt sympathy for, but now he's kind of regressed to the season one character without as much going on. The only way I could see it ending well would be for him to actually pull off a gesture that clears the Bates.
Tom and Bunting. I give the writers props for not having Tom demand she stay, confess his love of her, and go on from there. Instead, she's apparently Downton Abbey's manic pixie dream girl sent to Tom to help move him along in life.
Lord Merton. I don't, what? I really find it the oddest of all the storylines. It's just out of left field and I still don't understand the Dowager's role in all of it, be it encouraging Isobel to meet with Merton or complaining to the Doc when it seems quite possible that Isobel will say yes. Why encourage it all if it's not a match she doesn't want? Was it supposed to focus Isobel on the Doc?
Random field complaint: Does it bother anyone that we have all these other obvious staff members who have no names, voices or real presence in the show? Why can't one of those guys with their sleeves covered, rolling up the carpet, be elevated to help out Molesly?
Finally. The irony of Mr. Carson trusting the business advice of the Earl who has in no manner shown any true ability or success at investment? (I have a railroad in Canada I'd like to sell you....)
posted by Atreides at 11:24 AM on February 2, 2015 [4 favorites]
Baby Marigold. I was hoping bringing in the Dowager would make it a bit better. No, it continues down this weird path, which, if told from the perspective of the farmer's wife, probably begins to look like some kind of horror movie. You're just living your life with a child you've made your own, and the rich lady nearby starts insisting on treating her like a doll, and then brings her old aunt over, and the next thing you know, two old women are plotting to steal her away. It's Badadook all over again. No, it's not.
Blake. I love that guy. He's very nuts and bolts, even when he's completely insane. "I have an idea that will make everyone happy...." Nice. It's like he's devised a new way for crop rotation that lets the beat farmer live with the potato farmer in harmony. Mary will end up with him, as he's about as blindly wrong on women as her father can be.
I liked Rose's new friend, Mr. Alddrige (sp?). Though, did he really have to hammer down on the exact years of the pogrom for when his family immigrated to England? Really? " My family came over not long after the Crimean War, and more then near the end of the reign of Czar Alexander II..." As a slip, did he say 1951 instead of 1851 at one point? Crazy time traveler trying to play off being someone else. Though, I wonder if Rose will eventually leave him for another prejudiced gentleman of another race, ethnicity or religion? She's the new Sybil, but without the unflattering Socialist views.
Mr. Green. The more we go on about Mr. Green in a manor house, the more I start wondering if this whole storyline was inspired by a game of Clue. Thomas' new game of messing with the investigation seems primed to add nothing more but thin the dimensions of his character. For a while, it seemed as if he was being fleshed out quite a bit as a character you both loathed and felt sympathy for, but now he's kind of regressed to the season one character without as much going on. The only way I could see it ending well would be for him to actually pull off a gesture that clears the Bates.
Tom and Bunting. I give the writers props for not having Tom demand she stay, confess his love of her, and go on from there. Instead, she's apparently Downton Abbey's manic pixie dream girl sent to Tom to help move him along in life.
Lord Merton. I don't, what? I really find it the oddest of all the storylines. It's just out of left field and I still don't understand the Dowager's role in all of it, be it encouraging Isobel to meet with Merton or complaining to the Doc when it seems quite possible that Isobel will say yes. Why encourage it all if it's not a match she doesn't want? Was it supposed to focus Isobel on the Doc?
Random field complaint: Does it bother anyone that we have all these other obvious staff members who have no names, voices or real presence in the show? Why can't one of those guys with their sleeves covered, rolling up the carpet, be elevated to help out Molesly?
Finally. The irony of Mr. Carson trusting the business advice of the Earl who has in no manner shown any true ability or success at investment? (I have a railroad in Canada I'd like to sell you....)
posted by Atreides at 11:24 AM on February 2, 2015 [4 favorites]
It's Badadook all over again. No, it's not.
The direct to video sequels will be standalone movies set in the present day. In each film, the ghost of the Dowager Countess invades the happy life of some single mother or oblivious nuclear family when they move into the old Abbey or buy something she once owned at an antique show or (in arguably the series' weakest entry) are about to remarry above their station.
Her terribly confused ghost runs around mistaking people for the servants and spouting her trademark witty bon mots before ultimately stealing the children to be raised in some otherworldly boarding school to avoid a scandal she never clearly explains.
Although the fan favorite of the series was Downton Abbey VII: Violet Goes to Hell, which broke with the pattern by making Violet the hero and having her face down Satan to rescue Edith, who was damned for having a child out of wedlock.
posted by Naberius at 12:09 PM on February 2, 2015 [4 favorites]
The direct to video sequels will be standalone movies set in the present day. In each film, the ghost of the Dowager Countess invades the happy life of some single mother or oblivious nuclear family when they move into the old Abbey or buy something she once owned at an antique show or (in arguably the series' weakest entry) are about to remarry above their station.
Her terribly confused ghost runs around mistaking people for the servants and spouting her trademark witty bon mots before ultimately stealing the children to be raised in some otherworldly boarding school to avoid a scandal she never clearly explains.
Although the fan favorite of the series was Downton Abbey VII: Violet Goes to Hell, which broke with the pattern by making Violet the hero and having her face down Satan to rescue Edith, who was damned for having a child out of wedlock.
posted by Naberius at 12:09 PM on February 2, 2015 [4 favorites]
The only way I could see it ending well would be for him to actually pull off a gesture that clears the Bates.
Okay, fine. Here's full-on soap opera: Thomas has secretly been in love with Mr Bates all along. He believes that Mr Bates killed Green, right? So he sacrifices himself (and also puts himself out of his misery) and confesses to killing Green (hence the "what are you doing here?" from Green just before his death).
posted by Beti at 1:13 PM on February 2, 2015 [4 favorites]
Okay, fine. Here's full-on soap opera: Thomas has secretly been in love with Mr Bates all along. He believes that Mr Bates killed Green, right? So he sacrifices himself (and also puts himself out of his misery) and confesses to killing Green (hence the "what are you doing here?" from Green just before his death).
posted by Beti at 1:13 PM on February 2, 2015 [4 favorites]
Yeah, what the hell is Blake up to with this scheming? Why is he throwing himself in the middle of these girls? Also, Mabel Lane Fox is awesome.
I feel like all the stakes have been removed from Mary's storyline. Last season, even though there was still Gillingham v. Blake, there was also grief and learning to run the estate. Now Mary's life is about which rich, handsome man she's best suited to marry. I can't believe that's all there is to this character.
Random field complaint: Does it bother anyone that we have all these other obvious staff members who have no names, voices or real presence in the show? Why can't one of those guys with their sleeves covered, rolling up the carpet, be elevated to help out Molesly?
We don't know any housemaids any more either, nor do we know Edith's maid, if she has one. Maybe that's the problem with popularity and age? You have these beloved characters played by actors who are paid well, so they need big, dramatic stories.
posted by gladly at 1:47 PM on February 2, 2015 [1 favorite]
I feel like all the stakes have been removed from Mary's storyline. Last season, even though there was still Gillingham v. Blake, there was also grief and learning to run the estate. Now Mary's life is about which rich, handsome man she's best suited to marry. I can't believe that's all there is to this character.
Random field complaint: Does it bother anyone that we have all these other obvious staff members who have no names, voices or real presence in the show? Why can't one of those guys with their sleeves covered, rolling up the carpet, be elevated to help out Molesly?
We don't know any housemaids any more either, nor do we know Edith's maid, if she has one. Maybe that's the problem with popularity and age? You have these beloved characters played by actors who are paid well, so they need big, dramatic stories.
posted by gladly at 1:47 PM on February 2, 2015 [1 favorite]
You have these beloved characters played by actors who are paid well, so they need big, dramatic stories.
Agreed - they appear to be making story decisions based on casting choices instead of casting choices based on story decisions. It's watering down the plot.
posted by double bubble at 3:54 PM on February 2, 2015
Agreed - they appear to be making story decisions based on casting choices instead of casting choices based on story decisions. It's watering down the plot.
posted by double bubble at 3:54 PM on February 2, 2015
Random field complaint: Does it bother anyone that we have all these other obvious staff members who have no names, voices or real presence in the show? Why can't one of those guys with their sleeves covered, rolling up the carpet, be elevated to help out Molesly?
Those extra folks are probably hired on from the village for large events. It was not unusual for field hands or barmaids or even the gardeners to be pressed into service for big parties. In Jane Eyre Mrs. Fairfax calls for people to be hired from the Inn at Milcote for the cleaning and house party Mr. Rochester is throwing. All large houses have extra uniforms laying around for just such occasions.
You know, I keep trying to feel bad about that BA in English Literature, but it's always been so freaking useful to me!
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 4:03 PM on February 2, 2015 [10 favorites]
Those extra folks are probably hired on from the village for large events. It was not unusual for field hands or barmaids or even the gardeners to be pressed into service for big parties. In Jane Eyre Mrs. Fairfax calls for people to be hired from the Inn at Milcote for the cleaning and house party Mr. Rochester is throwing. All large houses have extra uniforms laying around for just such occasions.
You know, I keep trying to feel bad about that BA in English Literature, but it's always been so freaking useful to me!
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 4:03 PM on February 2, 2015 [10 favorites]
Yeah, what the hell is Blake up to with this scheming? Why is he throwing himself in the middle of these girls?
Something he said last week or so had me thinking that he seems to know something about Gillingham's history - like maybe he has a habit of pulling this "we really should have sex before marriage" thing he did to Mary. Maybe he's done it before and used it as blackmail because the woman would want to avoid scandal?
Anyway, the sense I got was that he thinks Mary needs to be warned off of, and maybe protected from, Gillingham. So whatever he did with setting up this meeting was somehow part of that, I think maybe we need to wait until next week for him to drop his other shoe.
posted by dnash at 4:44 PM on February 2, 2015
Something he said last week or so had me thinking that he seems to know something about Gillingham's history - like maybe he has a habit of pulling this "we really should have sex before marriage" thing he did to Mary. Maybe he's done it before and used it as blackmail because the woman would want to avoid scandal?
Anyway, the sense I got was that he thinks Mary needs to be warned off of, and maybe protected from, Gillingham. So whatever he did with setting up this meeting was somehow part of that, I think maybe we need to wait until next week for him to drop his other shoe.
posted by dnash at 4:44 PM on February 2, 2015
I've just never understood what Mabel Lane Fox or Mary saw in Tony Gillingham to begin with. He is the very definition of wet.
It's also a mystery that the script never credits Mrs Drewe with any maternal feelings for Marigold, that the Downton crew never give a thought to the idea that she and Farmer Drewe might have formed a bond with the child. It's all about Edith's salvation. Ugh.
Next season will mercifully be the last.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 5:13 PM on February 2, 2015
It's also a mystery that the script never credits Mrs Drewe with any maternal feelings for Marigold, that the Downton crew never give a thought to the idea that she and Farmer Drewe might have formed a bond with the child. It's all about Edith's salvation. Ugh.
Next season will mercifully be the last.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 5:13 PM on February 2, 2015
the script never credits Mrs Drewe with any maternal feelings for Marigold
I don't feel like this is true. Mrs Drewe seems pretty protective of Marigold. Doesn't she talk about Edith being around too much and Marigold getting confused (I assume WRT who is her mother) and thinking that Edith will treat Marigold like a doll and discard her when she gets bored?
I may not be remembering this correctly. I know people in the big house expressed similar concerns but I thought Mrs Drewe said the same type of things.
posted by Beti at 7:43 PM on February 2, 2015 [3 favorites]
I don't feel like this is true. Mrs Drewe seems pretty protective of Marigold. Doesn't she talk about Edith being around too much and Marigold getting confused (I assume WRT who is her mother) and thinking that Edith will treat Marigold like a doll and discard her when she gets bored?
I may not be remembering this correctly. I know people in the big house expressed similar concerns but I thought Mrs Drewe said the same type of things.
posted by Beti at 7:43 PM on February 2, 2015 [3 favorites]
Right, Mrs Drewe is protective of Marigold but I don't remember any of the Downton characters (who are in the know "now" or later) flat out telling Edith that she is considering taking Marigold away from the only mother she's ever known and that it might be traumatic for the child as well as for Mrs. Drewe.
I know Fellowes has a tin ear for anachronistic dialog and an over-developed regard for the ruling class but swooping in to take back a child and not even a throwaway line as a sop to the woman who in all innocence took her in?
It's been a while though since I've seen the episode and I'm basically hate-watching it at this point (aside from Maggie Smith).
posted by TWinbrook8 at 8:15 PM on February 2, 2015 [1 favorite]
I know Fellowes has a tin ear for anachronistic dialog and an over-developed regard for the ruling class but swooping in to take back a child and not even a throwaway line as a sop to the woman who in all innocence took her in?
It's been a while though since I've seen the episode and I'm basically hate-watching it at this point (aside from Maggie Smith).
posted by TWinbrook8 at 8:15 PM on February 2, 2015 [1 favorite]
I've just never understood what Mabel Lane Fox or Mary saw in Tony Gillingham to begin with. He is the very definition of wet.
Its difficult to understand why any woman in a system largely dependent on the status of one's male partner would be interested in a wealthy viscount with his own chin and hair.
posted by biffa at 4:34 AM on February 3, 2015 [5 favorites]
Its difficult to understand why any woman in a system largely dependent on the status of one's male partner would be interested in a wealthy viscount with his own chin and hair.
posted by biffa at 4:34 AM on February 3, 2015 [5 favorites]
~I know Fellowes has a tin ear for anachronistic dialog and an over-developed regard for the ruling class but swooping in to take back a child and not even a throwaway line as a sop to the woman who in all innocence took her in?
Quite honestly, I kind of think Fellowes gets it right in this regard. These are people with no real regard for others outside their own station. They are pampered and entitled to a fare-thee-well. The idea that anyone, let alone a farmer's wife, would object to their actions simply doesn't register. Those lowly people are there to serve, after all.
~I've just never understood what Mabel Lane Fox or Mary saw in Tony Gillingham to begin with.
Apparently he has an absolutely enormous...bank account.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:13 AM on February 3, 2015 [3 favorites]
Quite honestly, I kind of think Fellowes gets it right in this regard. These are people with no real regard for others outside their own station. They are pampered and entitled to a fare-thee-well. The idea that anyone, let alone a farmer's wife, would object to their actions simply doesn't register. Those lowly people are there to serve, after all.
~I've just never understood what Mabel Lane Fox or Mary saw in Tony Gillingham to begin with.
Apparently he has an absolutely enormous...bank account.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:13 AM on February 3, 2015 [3 favorites]
He's broke, isn't he? He needs a good marriage.
posted by double bubble at 5:50 AM on February 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by double bubble at 5:50 AM on February 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
He's broke, isn't he? He needs a good marriage.
Ah! Ah! HE killed Green to escape the humiliation of having to let him go because he could no longer afford a valet! I note he doesn't seem to have replaced him! It all falls into place!
By the way, if you have somehow missed the bit the cast did for ITV's "Text Santa" campaign this last Christmas, you really must see it.
posted by Naberius at 7:53 AM on February 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
Ah! Ah! HE killed Green to escape the humiliation of having to let him go because he could no longer afford a valet! I note he doesn't seem to have replaced him! It all falls into place!
By the way, if you have somehow missed the bit the cast did for ITV's "Text Santa" campaign this last Christmas, you really must see it.
posted by Naberius at 7:53 AM on February 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
Naberius, is there a second part to that Text Santa thing? It said to be continued...
posted by cooker girl at 11:20 AM on February 3, 2015
posted by cooker girl at 11:20 AM on February 3, 2015
That was pretty hilarious. Cora's "Not again." at Robert's announcement. And the bit with Carson and the telegram. I didn't catch it on the first watch.
"It's cutlery!"
posted by Thorzdad at 1:06 PM on February 3, 2015
"It's cutlery!"
posted by Thorzdad at 1:06 PM on February 3, 2015
Just keep watching. Part two picks up after the brief intermission urging you to support charities by texting Santa.
For me the best part of that was spotting the opportunity for the joke as to why Robert's daughters are there if he never existed... But they left that one alone. Perhaps that was just a bit too far for Fellowes.
posted by Naberius at 1:45 PM on February 3, 2015
For me the best part of that was spotting the opportunity for the joke as to why Robert's daughters are there if he never existed... But they left that one alone. Perhaps that was just a bit too far for Fellowes.
posted by Naberius at 1:45 PM on February 3, 2015
Yes, I thought Gillingham lost the family estate after the war because he wasn't innovative like Matthew/Tom/Mary. Well, in fairness, Matthew had a convenient inheritance but they were shown to be Forward Thinking. I assumed he latched onto newly-widowed-still-wealthy Mary as the solution to his living situation.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 6:17 PM on February 3, 2015
posted by TWinbrook8 at 6:17 PM on February 3, 2015
What a little popcorn bag of an episode.
So, Edith and Tom are definitely taking their children and running off to America together. Heavyhanded foreshadowing from her: "If only there were somewhere....somewhere I could go..." Yep, they'll run off to America where he'll become, like, a Kennedy family advisor, and they'll all live happily ever after.
I never really thought Tom and Bunting were dating. It seemed like they were flirting and Rose kept throwing them together, and everyone humored them both. Tom's actually a much better humanist than Bunting, and I don't think he really ever liked her us-and-them mentality - something he has already worked to overcome - even if he agreed with her politics from a structural standpoint.
kidnapping? Really?
It's ridiculous but not so much of a stretch for the 'aristos.' They'd deal with it by buying the Drewes off, of course.
I feel gratified that my "long arc" Bates theory seems justified and that there is a Baxter/Bates link about to be revealed, based on the promo trailer. I don't think this plot is going away because I think it ties right back to the first season, that it's probably the show's big story. My money is that it involves Robert's past.
Cora could be a great character if...they would recognize it
Though, did he really have to hammer down on the exact years of the pogrom for when his family immigrated to England? Really? " My family came over not long after the Crimean War, and more then near the end of the reign of Czar Alexander II..."
His family history seemed very consonant to me with the family from The Hare With Amber Eyes. They were grain merchants in Odessa, super rich, left because of persecution, moved to Paris and then Vienna, and eventually England, where they "did well." I think they want to show their homework, lend seriousness to the show.
What I don't quite understand is what and where is this gloomy basement where the Russian exiles spend all day drinking tea and eating cake while Rose walks aimlessly around shuffling dishes? Where are they confined? IS it a church? A home? A hospital? A jail? I don't get it. I must have missed a line of exposition somewhere.
posted by Miko at 9:14 PM on February 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
So, Edith and Tom are definitely taking their children and running off to America together. Heavyhanded foreshadowing from her: "If only there were somewhere....somewhere I could go..." Yep, they'll run off to America where he'll become, like, a Kennedy family advisor, and they'll all live happily ever after.
I never really thought Tom and Bunting were dating. It seemed like they were flirting and Rose kept throwing them together, and everyone humored them both. Tom's actually a much better humanist than Bunting, and I don't think he really ever liked her us-and-them mentality - something he has already worked to overcome - even if he agreed with her politics from a structural standpoint.
kidnapping? Really?
It's ridiculous but not so much of a stretch for the 'aristos.' They'd deal with it by buying the Drewes off, of course.
I feel gratified that my "long arc" Bates theory seems justified and that there is a Baxter/Bates link about to be revealed, based on the promo trailer. I don't think this plot is going away because I think it ties right back to the first season, that it's probably the show's big story. My money is that it involves Robert's past.
Cora could be a great character if...they would recognize it
Though, did he really have to hammer down on the exact years of the pogrom for when his family immigrated to England? Really? " My family came over not long after the Crimean War, and more then near the end of the reign of Czar Alexander II..."
His family history seemed very consonant to me with the family from The Hare With Amber Eyes. They were grain merchants in Odessa, super rich, left because of persecution, moved to Paris and then Vienna, and eventually England, where they "did well." I think they want to show their homework, lend seriousness to the show.
What I don't quite understand is what and where is this gloomy basement where the Russian exiles spend all day drinking tea and eating cake while Rose walks aimlessly around shuffling dishes? Where are they confined? IS it a church? A home? A hospital? A jail? I don't get it. I must have missed a line of exposition somewhere.
posted by Miko at 9:14 PM on February 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
It's ridiculous but not so much of a stretch for the 'aristos.'
Consider Consuelo Vanderbilt, whose parents literally imprisoned her in the family mansion, and threatened to murder the man to whom she had secretly gotten engaged, in order to force her to marry the Duke of Marlborough (who didn't want to marry her either because he too was in love with someone else).
posted by Naberius at 7:10 AM on February 4, 2015
Consider Consuelo Vanderbilt, whose parents literally imprisoned her in the family mansion, and threatened to murder the man to whom she had secretly gotten engaged, in order to force her to marry the Duke of Marlborough (who didn't want to marry her either because he too was in love with someone else).
posted by Naberius at 7:10 AM on February 4, 2015
Also, note that we are not the only fans of the show...
posted by Naberius at 7:36 AM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Naberius at 7:36 AM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
Huh. Rising Republican star wants to feel like he lives in a manor house. Surprise!
What I don't quite understand is what and where is this gloomy basement where the Russian exiles spend all day drinking tea and eating cake while Rose walks aimlessly around shuffling dishes? Where are they confined? IS it a church? A home? A hospital? A jail? I don't get it. I must have missed a line of exposition somewhere.
I want to say it's a church, and by wanting to say it's a church, I think it was said as an off hand remark by Rose at dinner or something to that regard. In the most recent episode, it appeared they were going into a church with her pastries.
I feel gratified that my "long arc" Bates theory seems justified and that there is a Baxter/Bates link about to be revealed, based on the promo trailer. I don't think this plot is going away because I think it ties right back to the first season, that it's probably the show's big story. My money is that it involves Robert's past.
Okay, since we didn't have Fanfare for season 1, what is your theory? You must tell.
posted by Atreides at 8:24 AM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
What I don't quite understand is what and where is this gloomy basement where the Russian exiles spend all day drinking tea and eating cake while Rose walks aimlessly around shuffling dishes? Where are they confined? IS it a church? A home? A hospital? A jail? I don't get it. I must have missed a line of exposition somewhere.
I want to say it's a church, and by wanting to say it's a church, I think it was said as an off hand remark by Rose at dinner or something to that regard. In the most recent episode, it appeared they were going into a church with her pastries.
I feel gratified that my "long arc" Bates theory seems justified and that there is a Baxter/Bates link about to be revealed, based on the promo trailer. I don't think this plot is going away because I think it ties right back to the first season, that it's probably the show's big story. My money is that it involves Robert's past.
Okay, since we didn't have Fanfare for season 1, what is your theory? You must tell.
posted by Atreides at 8:24 AM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
Here's my "long arc" theory - it was actually in the S5, Ep1 thread but I've been nursing it for a long time:
Here's my prediction. I think the Baxter and Bates plots are going to end up being linked. The show is not done with Bates - his is a long, long arc. I think we're going to find something out about Bates that ends up linking Grantham's beholdenness [to Bates], Greene's death, Baxter's theft and his own ex-wife's murder. From the time he was introduced the show has dropped leaden hints that there was more to his story, and we still don't know it. My money is on him being a hinge amongst many characters and having more coercive power over some of them than we presently guess.
posted by Miko at 8:51 AM on February 4, 2015
Here's my prediction. I think the Baxter and Bates plots are going to end up being linked. The show is not done with Bates - his is a long, long arc. I think we're going to find something out about Bates that ends up linking Grantham's beholdenness [to Bates], Greene's death, Baxter's theft and his own ex-wife's murder. From the time he was introduced the show has dropped leaden hints that there was more to his story, and we still don't know it. My money is on him being a hinge amongst many characters and having more coercive power over some of them than we presently guess.
posted by Miko at 8:51 AM on February 4, 2015
..or maybe I only wish the show could be that interesting.
posted by Miko at 8:52 AM on February 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Miko at 8:52 AM on February 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
The relationship between Bates and Grantham, their interactions in the dressing room, etc, have really been toned down in this and last season. I would actually argue that Bates' character development pretty much came to a stop the second he went or got out of jail over the alleged murder of his ex-wife. Going back to the Earl, though, wasn't it stated that Bates had saved his life in the Boer War or something? (According to this wiki, Bates served Grantham as his "batman" during the war.) I could see there dual service together, pointedly, Bates' service to the Earl during the war, as forging the bonds that tie the two together.
There really hasn't been a lot to connect the two, Baxter and Bates, and I'm not sure if there's even been much of a sentence or two passed between them.
We do know that Baxter apparently knows or acts as if she knows Thomas' family. We also know that Baxter knows that Thomas is gay. Could Thomas' father be the fellow who left her hanging with the jewels? Hence Thomas' own inside knowledge?
But going back to Bates, he carries that sense of mystery about him, like a man who has seen or done terrible things, and is so firmly resolute to have the life he's always dreamed of, that he will do anything or refuse to allow anything to stand his way.
..or maybe I only wish the show could be that interesting.
I would like to live in this world.
posted by Atreides at 11:17 AM on February 4, 2015
There really hasn't been a lot to connect the two, Baxter and Bates, and I'm not sure if there's even been much of a sentence or two passed between them.
We do know that Baxter apparently knows or acts as if she knows Thomas' family. We also know that Baxter knows that Thomas is gay. Could Thomas' father be the fellow who left her hanging with the jewels? Hence Thomas' own inside knowledge?
But going back to Bates, he carries that sense of mystery about him, like a man who has seen or done terrible things, and is so firmly resolute to have the life he's always dreamed of, that he will do anything or refuse to allow anything to stand his way.
..or maybe I only wish the show could be that interesting.
I would like to live in this world.
posted by Atreides at 11:17 AM on February 4, 2015
could see there dual service together, pointedly, Bates' service to the Earl during the war, as forging the bonds that tie the two together.
I'm hoping it's something more sinister, like Bates 'saved his life' by killing someone on his behalf. Like a noncombatant or something shameful.
There really hasn't been a lot to connect the two, Baxter and Bates
Not yet, but the next week's promo has a scene where Baxter is telling the cops something about Bates and how they are connected. I do think her jewelry story is weird and unsatisfying (as was the account of Vera's death) and though I think we're supposed to be assuming Thomas or someone Thomas knows was her evil controller, maybe it will turn out to be Bates. Remember, Bates ostensibly went to prison for Vera's theft of silver. Maybe he made Vera steal, and maybe he also made Baxter steal; maybe he was like some sort of manor-house jewel-thief puppetmaster. I could see how this plot would work. Of course, that doesn't meanthat's what's in store. Just fun to spin out the ideas.
posted by Miko at 3:39 PM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
I'm hoping it's something more sinister, like Bates 'saved his life' by killing someone on his behalf. Like a noncombatant or something shameful.
There really hasn't been a lot to connect the two, Baxter and Bates
Not yet, but the next week's promo has a scene where Baxter is telling the cops something about Bates and how they are connected. I do think her jewelry story is weird and unsatisfying (as was the account of Vera's death) and though I think we're supposed to be assuming Thomas or someone Thomas knows was her evil controller, maybe it will turn out to be Bates. Remember, Bates ostensibly went to prison for Vera's theft of silver. Maybe he made Vera steal, and maybe he also made Baxter steal; maybe he was like some sort of manor-house jewel-thief puppetmaster. I could see how this plot would work. Of course, that doesn't meanthat's what's in store. Just fun to spin out the ideas.
posted by Miko at 3:39 PM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
I don't imagine anyone will still be checking this thread, but for the sake of closure, I note that Rep. Aaron Schock, who was noted above as having decorated his office in the Congressional Office Building in the style of Downton Abbey, has come to no good end.
It was a world doomed to fade, to ultimately become just an elegant memory of times lost...
posted by Naberius at 6:41 AM on March 18, 2015 [1 favorite]
It was a world doomed to fade, to ultimately become just an elegant memory of times lost...
posted by Naberius at 6:41 AM on March 18, 2015 [1 favorite]
You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments
I just about threw a brick at the screen when this little plot development came up. This is soap-opera-level stupid. I mean...kidnapping? Really? And not one of the three of them even considers that taking the baby might be looked upon as a crime? Are we to believe they are that blinded by their sense of entitlement? Bah!
I can't make up my mind whether Miss Bunting leaving for a new job is writing a difficult character out, or setting her up for something else down the road. Since the writers are apparently cribbing from soap-operas, I'm going to go with Robert going on a trip to get away from Cora and cool off. He lands in the same town in which Miss Bunting is now working. They encounter each other. Opposites attract, and the two hook up. Just for fun, add-in Tom showing-up to surprise Bunting, only to spy Bunting and Lord Grantham in flagrante.
I also want the investigation into Mr. Greene's death to just stop. Dead-end it. Unless the cops are going to arrest someone from left field, like, say, Daisy or Mr. Carson, let's just end this arc, please.
posted by Thorzdad at 3:11 AM on February 2, 2015 [1 favorite]