Three Up
1. Lady Violet. The dowager manages to stick her oar in for pretty much every story line, between needling Isobel about Lord Merton's proposal, commiserating with Edith about her troubles, trying to keep Robert from getting too worked up over Sarah Bunting, and helping to find the Princess Kuragin (she's apparently in Hong Kong).
2. Daisy Mason. She's moved from math on to history, and while that causes a slight hiccup in the kitchen it does seem that Daisy is quite inspired by her studies, and is effusive with praise for Miss Bunting when called upstairs to answer if her studies are causing problems (for the most part they aren't). Her increased confidence leads her to write a letter on behalf of Mrs. Patmore to get her nephew included in a war memorial, and as much as Daisy says she may be a cook for the rest of her life that's looking increasingly unlikely.
3. Isobel Crawley. Lord Merton finally makes his intentions known and pops the question to Isobel, stating that his motivation is romantic rather than pragmatic. He asks Isobel to think about it rather than answer immediately, and she accepts (and is clearly moved by his admission of love). Otherwise, Isobel hasn't changed much, vocally supporting Daisy's new-found confidence through education (and, by extension, supporting Miss Bunting and Tom). The liberal streak still lives in the future Lady Merton.
Honorable Mention: Simon Bricker. The art critic returns to Downton to further study the painting he came to see the first time, and is even more effusive in his praise for Lady Cora. He is a shameless flirt with her, and when he almost gets caught manages to save things by directing his comments towards the painting. He's walking an even thinner line than previously, but is getting to further both this career and his personal interest in Lady Cora, which he's clearly enjoying.
Three Down
1. Lady Edith. On the good side, we learn that we're closer than ever in learning what happened to Michael Gregson. On the bad side, it's clearer now than before that he got mixed up with some brownshirts, to a possibly permanent end. Edith doesn't really want to know what happened, as she feels that not knowing allows her to keep him alive by thinking he is only missing. On the daughter front, Mrs. Drewe strongly rebuffs a visit, with Mr. Drewe following up to tell Edith that his wife thinks Edith is unsettling Marigold. So Edith is even further separated from those she loves, and the advice from her grandmother to learn how to put things behind her doesn't help.
2. Tom Barrow. Tom returns to Downton saying his father has rebounded, but it becomes clear that Tom's time away wasn't related to his father at all. Baxter, hearing distress, finds Tom with a syringe, and based on what Baxter later sees in a magazine Tom dropped in a hallway, he's taking some sort of treatment (guessing that he's trying to "curse" his attraction to men). Tom's clearly in a difficult place, and is refusing to take help from the one person who seems sympathetic to his plight.
3. Sarah Bunting. For all of the success she's having downstairs she's flaming out upstairs, as her every utterance rubs Sir Robert the wrong way And in this episode she does seem to be taking pointed shots at Lord Grantham, questioning his feelings towards the servants and even if he knows Daisy's name. This eventually causes Robert to explode, saying he wishes that she never returns to Downton just before he storms out of dinner. For whatever good she may be for Daisy (and for Tom), you have to think Miss Bunting will be keeping to the village for a while.
Honorable Mention: Joseph Molesley. There are plenty of contenders here (from Tony Gillingham for his refusal to believe Mary is rejecting him to his former fiancee, Mable Lane-Fox, encountering Mary at a fashion show), but the honors here goes to Molesley, who finds that being first footman isn't everything it's cracked up to be when he gets tasked with every bit of extra work that seems to crop up. He eventually asks to not hold the title, to which Carsten agrees. And he seems to take some added pleasure at that, which kind of annoys me. Molesley brings a lot of this on himself, but it does seem like Carsten takes a little too much joy out of knocking him down.
Sunday, January 25, 2015
Monday, January 19, 2015
Three Up, Three Down: Downton Abbey, Season 5 Episode 3
Three Up
1. Lady Violet. The dowager gets wind of Lady Mary's salacious vacation - Spratt saw Mary and Gillingham while in Liverpool for a relative's wedding - and she gets to read her the riot act about stepping out and how in her day that didn't happen until orders came from on high (one's mother). We learn later, however, that Lady Violet had an admirer in a Russian prince who is now a refugee. The pair are reunited at a tea Lady Rose put together for the refugees, which gives the dowager a little more context for Mary's assignation (not that Violet engaged in any hanky panky, just that she understands the impulse a little more than she let on). She even gets to slip in another dig at Lord Merton and Isobel, so a good outing all around.
2. Baxter. Baxter finally comes clean with Lady Cora as to why she stole from her former employer - she was under the influence of a man who left her holding the bag after he split with the booty. She never put the police on him as she wanted to put the entire thing behind her. Lady Cora winds up letting her stay. We also learn that Baxter knows Thomas's family pretty well, enough to express concern over the ill health of his father (which he doesn't take well, saying his dad treated her better than him, and it may be untrue to boot). We also get another moment of Baxter getting advice from Molesley, further the possibility of their relationship developing into something more intimate.
3. Daisy Mason. Her studies with Miss Bunting are apparently going well, as we see Daisy at the start of the episode flitting around the kitchen, chirping about where she might have wound up had she been able to go to school until she was 14 rather than only going until she was 11. There's some talk about her taking an examination, which sees like it will happen in short order. Interestingly, her success has seemed to put a spark in Thomas, as he makes a phone call about a self-improvement course (not that she knows about this). Daisy still has to work hard in the kitchen, but you can tell she's thinking more and more about life outside of it.
Honorable Mention: Prince Kuragin. While he's been holding himself apart from the other refugees in York, Lady Rose does get him to come out of his shell a bit, especially after she mentions she's currently living at Downton. As noted above, he seems to have taken a shine to Lady Violet back in the 1870s, when she and her husband went to St. Petersburg for a wedding (turns out the Earl of Grantham was part of the household of the groom, the young Prince Albert). He is genuinely pleased to see her again, even finishing the story of how Lady Violet came in possession of a fan during one of the balls. There is a tinge of sadness, though, when he mentions he does not know if his wife is alive (the assumption being that she didn't get out).
Three Down
1. Lord Robert. The season-long campaign of being an ass continues. To start, Robert rejects out of hand a plan to build 50 houses on or near the estate, complaining of not wanting to see modern houses (by which I think he means anything built after 1800). He then goes to London to surprise Lady Cora (who's gone down to see that art historian again to talk about paintings), only to have to cancel plans when she dines with the historian. He suspects the historian wants more than her opinion on paintings, and while Robert's not wrong he comes across as saying Cora has no opinions that the historian would want to hear. It's needlessly cruel, and his attempts to apologize the next day are rebuffed. He's also immediately cross when he sees Sarah Bunting at the tea, and while her outspokenness almost leads to the abrupt end of the tea he's still kind of an ass about her. He's becoming less able to deal with the present by the minute.
2. Lady Edith. Her attention to Marigold comes to a head, with Mrs. Drewe finally putting the kibosh on further visits (at one point she literally thought Edith had ran off with the child). This causes obvious distress, as Mrs. Hughes notes it's a blow to someone who has little enough love in her life as it is. Edith also casually asks Mary to show the sketches from her trip around, clearly not believing any were made. Mary is seen leafing through some later in the episode, so Edith doesn't get the pleasure of blowing Mary's cover, either.
3. Lady Cora. In some ways this is a good episode for her, as we get to see her demonstrating knowledge about something she cares about and gets to talk about herself and how she wound up in England looking for a husband (short version: a new money partly-Jewish family in New York City climbs up the social ladder more quickly if they marry into European aristocracy). What turns this into a negative isn't just Robert's dismissal of her intellect, but the way Cora notes that a night out in London is past her now, and as much as her art historian would like to keep the night alive and meet again in the future, neither are really in the cards. Cora has accepted her role as an older, country-dwelling countess, and we can see some of the regret in not having a more exciting or fulfilled life.
Honorable Mention: Anna Bates. In some ways she had a worse episode than Lady Cora, as she has to hide Lady Mary's birth control (and the book that inspired the purchase) in some corner of her cottage (ripe for Mr. Bates to discover in the next episode or two, I'm sure) and continue to keep the secret about Lady Mary's trip. Now throw in the police investigation into the death of Green, as there's now talk among Gillingham's household staff that Green spoke of not getting along with Mr. Bates. Bates is able to put together enough of an alibi to satisfy the local cop, but Anna (and Mrs. Hughes) fear that a more skilled officer may be able to determine that, even with the alibi, Bates could have had time to get into London, off Green, and get back to Downton. I fear Anna is going to worry her way into getting Bates caught.
1. Lady Violet. The dowager gets wind of Lady Mary's salacious vacation - Spratt saw Mary and Gillingham while in Liverpool for a relative's wedding - and she gets to read her the riot act about stepping out and how in her day that didn't happen until orders came from on high (one's mother). We learn later, however, that Lady Violet had an admirer in a Russian prince who is now a refugee. The pair are reunited at a tea Lady Rose put together for the refugees, which gives the dowager a little more context for Mary's assignation (not that Violet engaged in any hanky panky, just that she understands the impulse a little more than she let on). She even gets to slip in another dig at Lord Merton and Isobel, so a good outing all around.
2. Baxter. Baxter finally comes clean with Lady Cora as to why she stole from her former employer - she was under the influence of a man who left her holding the bag after he split with the booty. She never put the police on him as she wanted to put the entire thing behind her. Lady Cora winds up letting her stay. We also learn that Baxter knows Thomas's family pretty well, enough to express concern over the ill health of his father (which he doesn't take well, saying his dad treated her better than him, and it may be untrue to boot). We also get another moment of Baxter getting advice from Molesley, further the possibility of their relationship developing into something more intimate.
3. Daisy Mason. Her studies with Miss Bunting are apparently going well, as we see Daisy at the start of the episode flitting around the kitchen, chirping about where she might have wound up had she been able to go to school until she was 14 rather than only going until she was 11. There's some talk about her taking an examination, which sees like it will happen in short order. Interestingly, her success has seemed to put a spark in Thomas, as he makes a phone call about a self-improvement course (not that she knows about this). Daisy still has to work hard in the kitchen, but you can tell she's thinking more and more about life outside of it.
Honorable Mention: Prince Kuragin. While he's been holding himself apart from the other refugees in York, Lady Rose does get him to come out of his shell a bit, especially after she mentions she's currently living at Downton. As noted above, he seems to have taken a shine to Lady Violet back in the 1870s, when she and her husband went to St. Petersburg for a wedding (turns out the Earl of Grantham was part of the household of the groom, the young Prince Albert). He is genuinely pleased to see her again, even finishing the story of how Lady Violet came in possession of a fan during one of the balls. There is a tinge of sadness, though, when he mentions he does not know if his wife is alive (the assumption being that she didn't get out).
Three Down
1. Lord Robert. The season-long campaign of being an ass continues. To start, Robert rejects out of hand a plan to build 50 houses on or near the estate, complaining of not wanting to see modern houses (by which I think he means anything built after 1800). He then goes to London to surprise Lady Cora (who's gone down to see that art historian again to talk about paintings), only to have to cancel plans when she dines with the historian. He suspects the historian wants more than her opinion on paintings, and while Robert's not wrong he comes across as saying Cora has no opinions that the historian would want to hear. It's needlessly cruel, and his attempts to apologize the next day are rebuffed. He's also immediately cross when he sees Sarah Bunting at the tea, and while her outspokenness almost leads to the abrupt end of the tea he's still kind of an ass about her. He's becoming less able to deal with the present by the minute.
2. Lady Edith. Her attention to Marigold comes to a head, with Mrs. Drewe finally putting the kibosh on further visits (at one point she literally thought Edith had ran off with the child). This causes obvious distress, as Mrs. Hughes notes it's a blow to someone who has little enough love in her life as it is. Edith also casually asks Mary to show the sketches from her trip around, clearly not believing any were made. Mary is seen leafing through some later in the episode, so Edith doesn't get the pleasure of blowing Mary's cover, either.
3. Lady Cora. In some ways this is a good episode for her, as we get to see her demonstrating knowledge about something she cares about and gets to talk about herself and how she wound up in England looking for a husband (short version: a new money partly-Jewish family in New York City climbs up the social ladder more quickly if they marry into European aristocracy). What turns this into a negative isn't just Robert's dismissal of her intellect, but the way Cora notes that a night out in London is past her now, and as much as her art historian would like to keep the night alive and meet again in the future, neither are really in the cards. Cora has accepted her role as an older, country-dwelling countess, and we can see some of the regret in not having a more exciting or fulfilled life.
Honorable Mention: Anna Bates. In some ways she had a worse episode than Lady Cora, as she has to hide Lady Mary's birth control (and the book that inspired the purchase) in some corner of her cottage (ripe for Mr. Bates to discover in the next episode or two, I'm sure) and continue to keep the secret about Lady Mary's trip. Now throw in the police investigation into the death of Green, as there's now talk among Gillingham's household staff that Green spoke of not getting along with Mr. Bates. Bates is able to put together enough of an alibi to satisfy the local cop, but Anna (and Mrs. Hughes) fear that a more skilled officer may be able to determine that, even with the alibi, Bates could have had time to get into London, off Green, and get back to Downton. I fear Anna is going to worry her way into getting Bates caught.
Sunday, January 11, 2015
Three Up, Three Down: Downton Abbey, Season 5 Episode 2
Three Up
1. Mary Crawley. No title for her this week, as she's off on her assignation with Tony Gillingham, disguised as a week of sketching with a friend. And she's gotten to this point with minimal work, between getting her friend to cover for her and sending poor Anna Bates to get protection for her. To her credit, Mary does give a fairly well-reasoned speech about how she needs to be sure that she's completely compatible with Tony, as she wants to marry again but absolutely does not want to divorce.
2. Lady Edith. She's continuing to spend time with her daughter, and has finally found a way to normalize that relationship to the extent one can - she's going to back up her personal support with finances, etc. as some sort of godmother. This does not necessarily sit well with Marigold's adoptive mother - she's still on the fence about Edith's presence, and shares Lord Grantham's concern that Edith will lose interest - but it seems to suit Edith's need to be close to her daughter. And with others thinking it's a way for her to distract herself from Gregson, they're thrown even farther off the scent as to the real connection between Edith and Marigold.
3. Isobel Crawley. The work of the Dowager Countess to get Lord Merton interested in someone of the appropriate station seems to not have worked, as he's still interested in Mrs. Crawley. Lady Violet continues to try to run interference between the two, but a visit to Lord Merton's estate to visit the gardens keeps things alive. The dowager is going to have to break out her finest cutting remarks, as her regular ones aren't quite working.
Honorable Mention: Mrs. Hughes. Her relationship with Carsten looks like it's going to take a hit when they disagree on the location of the village's war memorial, but when the location winds up being where Mrs. Hughes favored Carsten notes that one of the benefits of the location (which he didn't favor) is the the two of them are back on the same page. She's clearly pleased by that.
Three Down
1. Tom Barrow. While his position is secure, the loss of James makes him realize that he's lost the closest thing to a friend he has at the house. And now that he doesn't have the power of Baxter that he used to have, he doesn't even have a source for information that he can use against others. Even Molesley gets the upper hand on him at one point when discussing Baxter. Anna does reach out to him at one point, but he's seemingly comping to grips with being alone in the house.
2. Lord Robert. Mostly small issues - he's against the original location for the war memorial (though he wins that one), and is resistant to having a wireless set (though he relents after renting a set to listen to a speech by the king) - but he comes off as a dick in a couple places. He's flippant about Edith's interest in Marigold (he also thinks she'll tire of her), and is openly rude about Branson, Sarah Bunting and the return of Branson's leftist leanings (he as much as says he's parroting Sarah, which ignores pretty much all of Branson's political past). He also grouses about a visiting art historian flirting with his dog - missing that he was actually flirting with Cora.
3. Mrs. Drewe. As much as she appreciates Edith's interest in Marigold, her increased presence (and financial backing) isn't sitting as well as it could. She's concerned about Edith losing interest, but also that Edith is trying to muscle in on areas that are already covered (noting, for example, that Marigold already has a godmother when Edith suggests that sort of role for herself). I fear this conflict is going to continue to build over the course of the season.
Honorable Mention: John Bates. He's not in the episode much, but when a policeman comes to visit Carsten at the end of the episode, asking about the death of Green and revealing that there's a witness, we all know who is going to be in the middle of the investigation.
1. Mary Crawley. No title for her this week, as she's off on her assignation with Tony Gillingham, disguised as a week of sketching with a friend. And she's gotten to this point with minimal work, between getting her friend to cover for her and sending poor Anna Bates to get protection for her. To her credit, Mary does give a fairly well-reasoned speech about how she needs to be sure that she's completely compatible with Tony, as she wants to marry again but absolutely does not want to divorce.
2. Lady Edith. She's continuing to spend time with her daughter, and has finally found a way to normalize that relationship to the extent one can - she's going to back up her personal support with finances, etc. as some sort of godmother. This does not necessarily sit well with Marigold's adoptive mother - she's still on the fence about Edith's presence, and shares Lord Grantham's concern that Edith will lose interest - but it seems to suit Edith's need to be close to her daughter. And with others thinking it's a way for her to distract herself from Gregson, they're thrown even farther off the scent as to the real connection between Edith and Marigold.
3. Isobel Crawley. The work of the Dowager Countess to get Lord Merton interested in someone of the appropriate station seems to not have worked, as he's still interested in Mrs. Crawley. Lady Violet continues to try to run interference between the two, but a visit to Lord Merton's estate to visit the gardens keeps things alive. The dowager is going to have to break out her finest cutting remarks, as her regular ones aren't quite working.
Honorable Mention: Mrs. Hughes. Her relationship with Carsten looks like it's going to take a hit when they disagree on the location of the village's war memorial, but when the location winds up being where Mrs. Hughes favored Carsten notes that one of the benefits of the location (which he didn't favor) is the the two of them are back on the same page. She's clearly pleased by that.
Three Down
1. Tom Barrow. While his position is secure, the loss of James makes him realize that he's lost the closest thing to a friend he has at the house. And now that he doesn't have the power of Baxter that he used to have, he doesn't even have a source for information that he can use against others. Even Molesley gets the upper hand on him at one point when discussing Baxter. Anna does reach out to him at one point, but he's seemingly comping to grips with being alone in the house.
2. Lord Robert. Mostly small issues - he's against the original location for the war memorial (though he wins that one), and is resistant to having a wireless set (though he relents after renting a set to listen to a speech by the king) - but he comes off as a dick in a couple places. He's flippant about Edith's interest in Marigold (he also thinks she'll tire of her), and is openly rude about Branson, Sarah Bunting and the return of Branson's leftist leanings (he as much as says he's parroting Sarah, which ignores pretty much all of Branson's political past). He also grouses about a visiting art historian flirting with his dog - missing that he was actually flirting with Cora.
3. Mrs. Drewe. As much as she appreciates Edith's interest in Marigold, her increased presence (and financial backing) isn't sitting as well as it could. She's concerned about Edith losing interest, but also that Edith is trying to muscle in on areas that are already covered (noting, for example, that Marigold already has a godmother when Edith suggests that sort of role for herself). I fear this conflict is going to continue to build over the course of the season.
Honorable Mention: John Bates. He's not in the episode much, but when a policeman comes to visit Carsten at the end of the episode, asking about the death of Green and revealing that there's a witness, we all know who is going to be in the middle of the investigation.
Sunday, January 04, 2015
Three Up, Three Down: Downton Abbey, Season 5 Episode 1
It's 1924. Who's having a good year one episode in?
Three Up
1. Lady Mary. The semi-surprise visit by Tony Gillingham leads Mary to admit that she loves him, but wants to be as happy with he second husband as she was with her first, so she wants to play it slow. In response to that, Gillingham invites her on a week away where they'll get to know each other - in every sense of the word. This appeals to Mary, who suggested such a course of action to Anna (in a theoretical sense). She agrees to their assignation, saying no one must ever know. Which means it will be common knowledge by episode 4. Still, Mary's getting what she wants here.
2. Tom Barrow. He's on thin ice with Lady Cora after Baxter spills her big secret - she's a convicted felon due to stealing jewelry from a former employer, for reasons as yet unexplained - but his role in discovering the fire and saving Lady Edith puts him back in Cora's good graces. Another one of Tom's nine lives spent, but he's going to get some mileage out of this.
3. Lady Violet. As much as she's friends with Mrs. Crawley, and as much as Mrs. Crawley denies she has any interest in Lord Merton (who is still sniffing around), the Dowager Countess arranges a luncheon where she manages to steer another dowager aristo toward Lord Merton and isolate Mrs. Crawley with Dr. Clarkson. And while two parties in one day tuckers her out, she does manage to get off a couple of witticisms during the charged conversation at Lord and Lady Grantham's anniversary dinner, which Sarah Bunting does her best to ruin with her strident opinions.
Honorable Mention: Baxter. Her secret is finally out, but she takes Molesley's advice and tells Lady Grantham before Tom can (Tom is pressuring her for dirt on Mr. Bates, related to his day out where we believe he committed murder). Lady Cora is shocked, and is frustrated that Baxter isn't sharing more background as to why she stole from her former employer, and why she was unable to return what she stole. But Lady Cora has had no beef with Baxter, and isn't prone to sacking her straight off. She may still fire Baxter - and with Tom's good fortune with the fire he may have an opening to influence things - but Baxter is safe for now, and is a freer woman to boot.
Three Down
1. Lady Edith. Michael Gregson is still missing, and their love child continues to live with a family in the village. Edith apparently spends some time with the family, doting on their youngest, leading the wife to think that Edith fancies her husband. He has figured out why Edith is so interested, and they begin to work out an arrangement whereby Edith can continue to see her daughter. Still, she's despondent over the situation, and flings a book that belonged to Gregson across her bedroom. It manages to catch on fire, which causes the blaze that is confined to her room. Whatever light may be at the end of the tunnel for Edith is still a long way off.
2. Jimmy Kent. A former employer of Jimmy's continues to write letters to him, and she gins up a reason to stop at the abbey (and even fakes car trouble so she can spend the night). She passes a note to Jimmy at dinner inviting him to her room (which Carsten sees, but Jimmy is able to dodge giving the note to Carsten with an assist from Tom). He does go to her room, and is caught there by Lord Robert as he's going door to door raising the alarm. After the fire, Lord Grantham asks Carsten to let Jimmy go, but give him a good reference to cover for how he got the sack for getting in the sack.
3. Lord Robert. The generational (and ideological) shift is giving Lord Robert trouble, from the new Labor government to Sarah Bunting nearly ruining his anniversary dinner to a group from the village choosing Carsten over him to chair a war memorial committee. Throw in the fire and discovering the help rogering a guest and it was a tough episode for Lord Grantham. The only reason he doesn't finish higher is that the committee (or Carsten) asks Lord Robert to serve as the project's patron, helping to save face. He also has a bit of a talk with Tom about Sarah and his political past which I think helps to frame their relationship a bit, even if its ending was a bit sharp.
Honorable Mention: Spratt. Lady Violet's butler doesn't like serving the common folk. He continually snubs Dr. Gregson when serving other aristocrats, and has to be put in his place by Lady Violet on more than one occasion. You would think that one talking to from her would be enough, but his prejudice is apparently a little too entrenched.
Three Up
1. Lady Mary. The semi-surprise visit by Tony Gillingham leads Mary to admit that she loves him, but wants to be as happy with he second husband as she was with her first, so she wants to play it slow. In response to that, Gillingham invites her on a week away where they'll get to know each other - in every sense of the word. This appeals to Mary, who suggested such a course of action to Anna (in a theoretical sense). She agrees to their assignation, saying no one must ever know. Which means it will be common knowledge by episode 4. Still, Mary's getting what she wants here.
2. Tom Barrow. He's on thin ice with Lady Cora after Baxter spills her big secret - she's a convicted felon due to stealing jewelry from a former employer, for reasons as yet unexplained - but his role in discovering the fire and saving Lady Edith puts him back in Cora's good graces. Another one of Tom's nine lives spent, but he's going to get some mileage out of this.
3. Lady Violet. As much as she's friends with Mrs. Crawley, and as much as Mrs. Crawley denies she has any interest in Lord Merton (who is still sniffing around), the Dowager Countess arranges a luncheon where she manages to steer another dowager aristo toward Lord Merton and isolate Mrs. Crawley with Dr. Clarkson. And while two parties in one day tuckers her out, she does manage to get off a couple of witticisms during the charged conversation at Lord and Lady Grantham's anniversary dinner, which Sarah Bunting does her best to ruin with her strident opinions.
Honorable Mention: Baxter. Her secret is finally out, but she takes Molesley's advice and tells Lady Grantham before Tom can (Tom is pressuring her for dirt on Mr. Bates, related to his day out where we believe he committed murder). Lady Cora is shocked, and is frustrated that Baxter isn't sharing more background as to why she stole from her former employer, and why she was unable to return what she stole. But Lady Cora has had no beef with Baxter, and isn't prone to sacking her straight off. She may still fire Baxter - and with Tom's good fortune with the fire he may have an opening to influence things - but Baxter is safe for now, and is a freer woman to boot.
Three Down
1. Lady Edith. Michael Gregson is still missing, and their love child continues to live with a family in the village. Edith apparently spends some time with the family, doting on their youngest, leading the wife to think that Edith fancies her husband. He has figured out why Edith is so interested, and they begin to work out an arrangement whereby Edith can continue to see her daughter. Still, she's despondent over the situation, and flings a book that belonged to Gregson across her bedroom. It manages to catch on fire, which causes the blaze that is confined to her room. Whatever light may be at the end of the tunnel for Edith is still a long way off.
2. Jimmy Kent. A former employer of Jimmy's continues to write letters to him, and she gins up a reason to stop at the abbey (and even fakes car trouble so she can spend the night). She passes a note to Jimmy at dinner inviting him to her room (which Carsten sees, but Jimmy is able to dodge giving the note to Carsten with an assist from Tom). He does go to her room, and is caught there by Lord Robert as he's going door to door raising the alarm. After the fire, Lord Grantham asks Carsten to let Jimmy go, but give him a good reference to cover for how he got the sack for getting in the sack.
3. Lord Robert. The generational (and ideological) shift is giving Lord Robert trouble, from the new Labor government to Sarah Bunting nearly ruining his anniversary dinner to a group from the village choosing Carsten over him to chair a war memorial committee. Throw in the fire and discovering the help rogering a guest and it was a tough episode for Lord Grantham. The only reason he doesn't finish higher is that the committee (or Carsten) asks Lord Robert to serve as the project's patron, helping to save face. He also has a bit of a talk with Tom about Sarah and his political past which I think helps to frame their relationship a bit, even if its ending was a bit sharp.
Honorable Mention: Spratt. Lady Violet's butler doesn't like serving the common folk. He continually snubs Dr. Gregson when serving other aristocrats, and has to be put in his place by Lady Violet on more than one occasion. You would think that one talking to from her would be enough, but his prejudice is apparently a little too entrenched.
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