At breakfast they talk of Shrimpie (Peter Egan) coming down and he wants to stay with them. Robert (Hugh Bonneville) wonders where he'll be sent to next after Bombay, but Mary (Michelle Dockery) signals not to pursue it any further, as Rose (Lily James) doesn't know of her parent's divorce yet. Isabel (Penelope Wilton) asks how Rose's Russians are doing and they're still despairing. Cora (Elizabeth McGovern) announces that Bricker (Richard E Grant) will be coming down to view the painting again and to get her opinions, which makes Robert more defensive and jealous. Also there's talk yet again of Bunting (Daisy Lewis) and how she's affecting Branson, (Allen Leech) leading him back to his old ways. Walking to the village, they see the war memorial underway and Mrs Patmore (Lesley Nichol) watches the building in tears. Robert wishes he knew what was wrong with her and later Carson (Jim Carter) tells him.
Robert speaks with her and lets her know that he understands, but the War Office won't let them do anything. She's grateful he sympathizes more than Carson. Since shell shock affected his mind and so he wasn't aware what he was doing. It's now more well known what the affect this can have on men. Yet they're still treated as cowards for their actions. Her nephew volunteered and fought for his country, he didn't wait around until he was called up. Mary, Branson and Robert also visits Pip's Corner, the proposed site of the new development of houses and he hates the way in which everything will be altered by cheap housing.
Edith (Laura Carmichael) finds out from Michael's office that there's a trial going on in Germany concerning the notorious Brown Shirts and they may find out what happened to Michael. She's upset, but Robert thinks it's best she knows once and for all. Which she agrees with as she doesn't want anymore of Mary's pity. Robert pities her too. To make matters worse, she can't even see Marigold anymore cos of Mrs Drewe and Robert thinks she should wait a few months before she she should impose on them again. He knew this would happen. Well he seems to know plenty except for the fact his wife's opinions mean nothing to him.
The Dowager (Maggie Smith) and Isabel travel to London and visit Prince Kuragin (Rade Serbedzija) as they reminisce again. He doesn't know where the Princess is and the Dowager asks Shrimpy to look for her. Also confiding in Isabel how she was attracted to him back then, but her husband gave her a Faberge frame with photos of her two children. Of course Isabel already knew how she felt about him.
Mary heads out to London as Rosamund (Samantha Bond) is taking her to a dress show, which Robert belittles as not being that important, but it is for Mary. She also wants to dump Gillingham (Tom Cullen) as she realizes how she feels about him. At the show, she sees Charles (Julian Ovenden) with another woman and he introduces her as Miss Lane Fox and he presumes they already know each other. However, they only know of each other. It seems she can see why she was jilted in favour of Mary, but now the shoe's on the other foot and it's Mary who'll be doing the jilting, she hopes. Charles invites her to dinner, where she tells him about dumping Gillingham and he thinks there may be a way for her to soften the blow. She's agreed to meet him at Kensington, near the Peter Pan statue, with Charles remarking that may make him more clucky! ha. She wants Gillingham be be godfather to her children, but not their father.
She meets with him, but he doesn't take the news at all. In typical male fashion he assumes that she's dumping him after their fling and now has decided she doesn't want him, after they've slept together. Assuming once again that a woman can only sleep with her intended future husband, as she's decided he must be that first. But a man can sleep around to his heart's content and has no such labels or presumptions applied to him. What's the guess he'll blackmail her reputation to reveal all, with Charles dashing to her rescue!
Anna (Joanne Froggatt) meanwhile is sent to deliver the note to Gillingham's house in person and here she's followed by a plain clothes policeman. She even heads all the way to Piccadilly, where Green was killed. Nothing is made of this until the sergeant turns up at Downton again asking more questions. This time specifically about Anna's whereabouts on the day Green was killed and whether she liked him or not. Mrs Hughes (Phyliss Logan) says she did and it's a bit silly but it's been in all the papers and they did 'know' each other, so what's suspicious going to see where it happened, Of course we all know where this storyline is headed, with Bates (Brendan Coyle) still not telling Anna where he was that day and she doesn't confide in him either, that there's something about Green and she suspects Bates. Or does she?
Thomas (Rob James-Collier) returns apparently after his father is now better, but looks rather pale. Baxter (Raquel Cassidy) catches him with some syringes and medical supplies and assumes it's him who is ill, not his father. He also takes back a magazine that Mrs Hughes found on the floor and looks through it. Of course he's not going to tell her what's wrong with him. Molesley (Kevin Doyle) is suffering under the label of 'first footman' as Carson ensures he gets all the wok to do, including being valet, polishing the silver and cleaning the boots, until he finally gets to the point where he asks Carson to reduce his duties, since he's doing everything a second and third footman would be doing. Exactly what Carson wanted him to do,
Shrimpie tells Rose he and Susan are divorcing and she wants to live with him. Also asking him to be behind her when she finds the right man to marry for love. He tells the Dowager that many of the Russians ended up in Hong Kong, as taxi drivers, some were even prostitutes and she dreads to think the Princess could be doing the same. Lord Merton (Douglas Reith) proposes to Isabel cos he loves her and she promises to think about it. The Dowager wanting her to reject him outright. But she's not going to do that.
Bricker examines the painting again and will be staying on a few days further, but still can't resist flirting with Cora, much to Robert's chagrin, who interferes in their little one-sided triste, still being tense with Cora. The Dowager asking if he doesn't value Cora's opinions. His reply is he does, most of the time, but not always, therein lies the problem. Rose thinks Branson should ask Bunting to dinner and Cora tells him he should, knowing this will infuriate Robert and sure enough is fuel to the fire, when at dinner, she remarks on Daisy (Sophie McShera) and how he doesn't even know her name. Which he says he does. Then asks for Daisy to be sent for and Mrs Patmore too, since she's been complaining Daisy's studies are getting in the way of work. She may have said that as she was preoccupied with things happening with her nephew, but Daisy has nothing but praise for Bunting. Who still can't keep her mouth shut and has never heard of a tactical retreat. Robert has an outburst and leaves the table enraged. Mary defending him and Branson doesn't do much of anything.
Branson tells Bunting that he loves them all and that she forgets that his daughter is one of them too. Bunting doesn't want him to be changed by them. Robert later decides they will develop the land, but only according to their terms and the sort of housing they want, nothing cheap or ugly. Edith doesn't get to see Marigold and Mary lets slip to Rosamund about her doting over Marigold, whom she calls, "it." Not even realizing that hasn't let slip to Rosamund that Marigold is a 'she'.
Looks like someone should use their influence and get Bunting removed from the school ASAP, well they do have the connections to see do this. Surprised no one's thought of it, yes Robert, why haven't you? That way she will never mess up another dinner at Downton! Let's see, is she three for three! What the deuce does Branson see in her, cos she's no Sybil with her wild ideas. This Bunting just wants to shove her foot into everything first chance she gets and that's not really 'guiding' Branson back to what he used to believe in and stand for. Mary telling him that was the best dinner the Dowager has had.
Oh and you may recall from my reviews last series, I already put forward Anna as a suspect in the killing of Green! So it's no big deal, or surprises that she's possibly being suspected of it now and put under the police radar! So perceptive of me, it was that obvious even back then! Ha.
Oh and can we not keep harking back to Pemuk since it appears Mary is a serial man magnet or something or another when it comes to not being able to keep her hands off men, even if they turn out to drag the family name through the mud. Which is rather hypocritical of the Dowager, not only when she tells Mary that nothing happened between her and the Prince last ep, but this ep she tells Edith that she's looking out for the family and Edith too, which to her are the same thing. Yet Mary is the one who is causing the most scandal once again, with her inability tot make the right judgement calls as far as her beaus are concerned!
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