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GOING UPSTAIRS
Edith: Oh, what a difference a few episodes can make. A few weeks ago, Edith was insisting dinner with Bertie was “not a date!”, but now the two of them are fully in love-bird mode, exchanging smooches when they see each other and taking the rather big step of meeting the parents. Though Mary initially dismisses Bertie as boring, he proves to be a little more interesting when he holds his own at dinner and organizes the logistics of Downton Abbey’s first-ever open house, marshaling the ladies to act as (pretty unknowledgeable) tour guides. Plus, Mama and Papa approve, though Robert wouldn’t mind if Edith just found success with her magazine, confirming what we suspected all along: Edith’s time to shine has come … as long as Mary doesn’t rain on her parade. —E.D.
Cora: Another emerging face of the modern woman is, unexpectedly, Cora. The hospital board wants her to usurp Violet as hospital president, though this time of the merged village and county hospitals, and though she’s wary of the fallout, she goes for it. Robert doesn’t want her taking on what amounts to a (gasp) job, but Cora unexpectedly replies, “I’ve had one career already, bringing up my daughters. They don’t need me now, so I’m ready for the next.” Go Cora! But most importantly, she seems to want the position because she believes she can do some good, not as a cheap shot at Violet. —E.D.
Mary: In many ways, Mary has grown a lot. When it suits her, she can look beyond wealth and social status (most of the time … sort of), and she’s allowing herself to be more open and vulnerable with Henry. (Finally, finally, she confides in him why she’s not thrilled about his car-racing career—remember, Matthew died in a car crash.) And who would have guessed that one day, the sainted Lady Mary would be giving tours of Downton Abbey to the lowly commoners? Yet one aspect of her life that remains stunted is her relationship with Edith. Apart from the continuous catty swipes she takes at her only living sister, it’s obvious she knows the truth about Marigold and is just waiting for someone to slip and confirm her suspicions. Mary remains on the good track as long as she does nothing bad with this information. C’mon, Mary, it’s time to be the better person and let this secret, no matter how big, slide —E.D.
Branson: To see just how far Tom has come, look no further than the banter he and Mary engage in throughout this episode. An example: “Who is this flexible and reasonable person?” he quips after Mary says she’ll give Henry and his car racing a chance. “I don’t recognize my own dear sister Mary. Could this be love?” Imagine the set-down this cheeky reply would have gotten five seasons ago, but now all Mary can come up with is an almost-flustered, “Oh, shut up!” Plus, he’s completely at ease among Mary’s friends at a dinner they attend in London and continues engineering ways for Mary and Henry to spend time alone together while being completely blatant and obvious about it, something this show needs more often. —E.D.
Molesley: Mr. Molesley has long been in the background, unlucky and bumbling yet clever and kind, but he’s always been quietly ambitious, and it looks like he’s finally going to get his big break. The local schoolmaster, impressed with Molesley’s respect for education and his enthusiasm in helping Daisy with her exams, asks if he would like to help him out. Of course, Molesley will have to take a test first, but his chances look good. Between this and his always-strengthening relationship with Baxter, he’s in pretty great shape. —M.H.
GOING DOWNSTAIRS
Thomas: If our upstairs/downstairs/landing system included “The cellar,” that’s where Thomas would be this week. Oooh boy. Looks like he might get the sack before he finds a new job; Robert wants to start simplifying the household, so Carson gives Thomas a talking-to about how he’ll be the first to go (“You are the underbutler. A post that is fragrant with memories of a lost world.”). He’s looking so glum around the castle that even Mary (and her young son George) have noticed. And his well-meaning attempt to teach footman Andy how to read is causing nothing but trouble: Carson and Mrs. Patmore catch the two interacting and assume that Thomas is up to no good, and Carson won’t trust his word to the contrary. When the episode ends, Thomas is sobbing by the fireplace. Where will he go from here? We don’t know, but we’re worried. —M.H.
Violet: Violet starts this episode feeling happy and smug, sure that Robert’s health crisis will tilt the Great Hospital Debate in her favor. But when she finds out that 1) Cora has been chosen to replace her as a more-powerful president at an integrated hospital and 2) Cora knew before she did and didn’t say anything, she loses it, sweeping into the house and causing a very un-Violet-like scene in front of their house-tour guests. She tells Robert that she doesn’t want to see Cora’s face until she’s “used to having a traitor in the family” and refuses to talk to Cora on her way out. Can the two reconcile in the three episodes we have left? Here’s hoping. —M.H.
Carson/Hughes: Oh, these two. Carson’s inflexibly high standards and weird principles continue to cause friction between them, from his decision that they should stop drinking because “His Lordship” has given it up to his making so many references to Mrs.Patmore and her superior cooking that you’ve got to wonder why he didn’t just marry her. He’s even talking about asking a maid to stop by to make their bed because Mrs. Hughes isn’t getting the corners quite sharp enough. Carson remains oblivious to Mrs. Hughes’ mounting frustration with it all, despite her many sarcastic comebacks, so there’s clearly a storm coming. —M.H.
STUCK ON THE LANDING
Daisy: Let’s call it the Daisy waltz: One step forward, two steps back. Her father-in-law’s out of trouble and she’s in good shape for her exams, but she’s always going to find some spot of drama. Now that he’s securely settled at Yew Tree Farm, Mr. Mason’s got an eye on a relationship with Mrs. Patmore, and Daisy is having none of it. She reads and throws away a note she’s supposed to deliver to Mrs. Patmore for him, is extremely rude when he comes to give the cook some of his homegrown vegetables and just generally acts like a jealous monster. We kind of get where she’s come from—she has no real family of her own, and she doesn’t want to lose the attention of her two parent figures—but really, Daisy, you’re better than this. —M.H.
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