It’s another week of highs and lows on “Downton Abbey.” The whole Crawley gang gets more than they bargained for when a trip to the racetrack ends with a fatal crash that unleashes all kinds of feelings. On the home front, Daisy and Molesley finally sit for their exams, and Thomas’ situation gets bleaker and bleaker. How are all of these twists and turns going to get wrapped up with just one episode and a Christmas special left? We’re excited to find out, but we’re not ready for it to be over, either.
Throughout the final season of “Downton Abbey” and in the spirit of the upstairs/downstairs dichotomy of the household, we’ll be keeping track of which characters are trending up(stairs), who is trending down(stairs) and who is stuck on the landing. Follow along with us, but be careful if you want to Google old Lord What’s-His-Face’s name—this season has already aired in Europe, so spoilers are everywhere.
GOING UPSTAIRS
Molesley: “There are Oxford and Cambridge graduates who know far less than you do. You should be proud.” What a wonderful conclusion to the long-suffering footman’s quest for a new life through education. He passes the schoolmaster’s test with flying colors and secures an invitation to join the school’s teaching staff, his ticket out of service. And the real prize is that he finally gets proof of his own value; when Daisy tells him he deserves his new-found success, he says, “I never think I deserve anything. Perhaps I’ve been wrong all along.” It’ll be exciting to see where he goes next—and here’s hoping he takes Miss Baxter with him. —M.H.
Mrs. Patmore: This season’s hands-down MVP continues to shine. We’re not sure where she found the time to open a bed-and-breakfast, but she’s done it, and she’s had her first customers, too! The odds that the business will succeed are looking pretty good. Mrs. Patmore also comes up with a clever way to solve Mrs. Hughes’ cooking problem—more on that later—and gently talks Daisy through her Mr. Mason-related jealousy, telling her, “You’ve found the love of a father there, and you can count on it. Just as you can count on me.” She’s just the best. —M.H.
Mrs. Hughes: After trying and failing to meet her husband’s unreasonably high standards for home-cooked meals, Mrs. Hughes turns the tables on him. Taking Mrs. Patmore’s idea and running with it, Mrs. Hughes pretends to hurt her wrist, therefore curtailing her cooking abilities. BUT she graciously offers to walk Carson through the entire meal preparation, resulting in a bewildered and flustered Carson (the most fun kind of Carson to watch) who’s so exhausted by meal time that he falls asleep at the table. It’s a shame it took a bit of subterfuge, but it looks like Carson will finally be giving his wife the R-E-S-P-E-C-T she deserves. —E.D.
Tom: Tom didn’t really have any big moments this episode, but there were a bunch of little ones that just emphasized that he truly is a part of the Crawley family, and an important part, too. Like when Violet says she wrote to Tom with information on how to contact her during her travels, because “he’s the most sensible.” And when he tries to talk Mary out of breaking up with Henry, telling her, “Being hurt is part of being alive.” Remember how he almost left us to live in America? We’re eternally glad that didn’t work out. —M.H.
GOING DOWNSTAIRS
Mary: Coming through on her word to give Henry’s car-racing a chance, Mary and the whole crew (sneaky, determined Henry also sends a formal invitation to the rest of the family to come watch) go to see him race at Brooklands. But the perpetually cool Lady Mary is anything but during the entire event. She’s on edge and can’t join in on everyone else’s excitement, and her worst fears seem to come to pass when an accident occurs. Henry’s fine, but his best friend, Charlie Rogers, dies in the crash. Mary talks Henry out of blaming himself for his friend’s death, and in this first true test of their relationship, it seems it may hold strong even in the face of tragedy. However, when he phones later that night, she says she can’t be with him. While it’s perfectly characteristic for Mary to run away from things she can’t control and from people who make her feel vulnerable, she seems to be repeating the same mistake that kept her and Matthew apart for so many years. —E.D.
Thomas: The downward trend continues for poor Mr. Barrow. Carson is not even bothering to hide how eager he is to have Thomas gone, even making pointed comments about his job search in front of the entire staff. When Mrs. Hughes catches Thomas looking glum in a courtyard and kindly tries to comfort him, saying a new home and job might give him a chance to meet “the right person,” he emotionally counters that Downton is the first place he’s put down roots. And one of those roots is snapped when Andy’s illiteracy is revealed and the schoolmaster offers to take over the task of teaching him, pushing Thomas out. Later, he sits alone in the servants’ hall as the others celebrate Mr. Molesley’s new job, watching from a distance. We remain worried about where he’ll go from here. —M.H.
ON THE LANDING
Edith: Bertie Pelham popped the question! Cheers! Sure, it’s the most oddly timed proposal we’ve seen, coming just hours after Charlie Rogers’ death, and the engagement isn’t quite a done deal yet because Edith asked for time to think it over, but Edith and Bertie feel happy and safe together, and they’re in love, and life is short, so we’re happy for them. As always, though, there’s a hitch: the Marigold secret. Edith quickly asks Bertie if the girl can come live with them, and he of course agrees, but it’s all still under the charade of Marigold being the Crawleys’ ward, not Edith’s daughter. Mary’s still sitting on that tidbit, and a happy Edith plus a heartbroken Mary is just a certain recipe for trouble. —M.H.
