The episode opens with Mary (Michelle Dockery) still mourning the loss of Matthew and is dejected from the world and her family, as well as her son George. Though she does manage to kiss him and have motherly instincts. It falls upon Nanny West to look after little Sibby and Master George. It's apparent from the outset Nanny is not all she seems, especially when she tells Thomas (Rob James-Collier) to keep away from Sibby when he tells her that her mother was his friend. Then she orders him around to pass on messages to Mrs Patmore (Lesley Nichols) about Sibby's lunch and how she's not to have eggs. She'd go herself but the children are alone. Yes she was high and mighty was Nanny but Thomas soon put her in her place. Knew he was going to get her fired. She also tells him he's just a servant whereas she is part of 'upstairs.' Some funny banter between them though like him asking what she is if he's a servant. Of course the others agree downstairs too, that he is a servant.
The other opening event is the leaving of O'Brien as she leaves a note behind and "gone off like a thief in the night" as his Robert (Hugh Bonneville) puts it. Cora (Elizabeth McGovern) is upset she would leave like that and Mrs Hughes (Phyllis Logan) must dress her until a replacement can be found. O'Brien's done a runner with Rose's mother to India and Rose (Lily James) didn't know a thing about it. Edith (Laura Carmichael) puts an ad in The Lady so it will be some time before she can be replaced but Rose puts an ad in the village shop, just to hurry along the process. Who answers the ad but Edna Braithwaite. The maid who Mrs Hughes wrote a reference for. She was a maid but wants to be a lady's maid now and has studied for it. Cora accompanies Rose to meet her since she claims not to be able to come down as her aunt isn't well. But Cora hires her after she's given Mrs Hughes' reference. Another troublemaker arrives at Downton it seems, as if Rose wasn't enough.
Carson (Jim Carter) receives a letter from one of his performing pals who's down on his luck and in the workhouse but he throws it away, so Mrs Hughes reads it and speaks with him at the workhouse. Carson refuses to help him, more so out of snobbery I thought since he doesn't want to be associated with his past theatrical life, or anyone else to know anymore about it. Mrs Hughes thinks Isobel Crawley (Penelope Wilton) could help him out and he could stay with her since she needs the distraction and it's been six months since Matthew's passing. She doesn't feel she's a mother anymore or needed but she is a grandmother as the dowager, Violet (Maggie Smith) tells her. George needs her but she doesn't want to impose on Mary. However when she does visit Nanny tells her she can't see him. Which was ridiculous, why didn't she put her foot down anyway, she's not the lady of the manor!
Carson telling Mrs Hughes he thought workhouses had been closed as she describes it as something from Charles Dickens' book. Thought Carson may have used the phrase from A Christmas Carol when Scrooge, asks, 'are there no workhouses?' ha. That's the impression he gave when he chooses to distance himself from his friend.
Branson (Allen Leech) also wants Mary to take over from Matthew and get back into running the estate as guardian of George, she has right to do this, but Robert doesn't want her to. Instead he wants to wrap her up and protect her from the world as he tells Violet. See no one expressed their concerns about Robert running the estate again and running it into the ground, especially as the death duties will be large. Also Matthew didn't leave a will cos he didn't think he needed to yet.
Edith is still running off to London to see Michael (Charles Edwards) and he thinks he could get a divorce on the grounds of lunacy if he became a German citizen and lived there. She's impressed he'd do this for her especially since the Germans are hated people and kisses him in public at the Criterion. Robert still has doubts about Edith seeing him cos she can do better.
Thomas expresses his doubts to Cora about the Nanny and she overhears her telling Sibby to stay in her cot and away from George as she's the "cross breed." Which angers Cora and she dismisses her. Then thanks Thomas the next day in front of Bates (Brendan Coyle). Ensuring he's more smug than usual.
It's Valentine's day and the servants downstairs get cards. It appears Bates and Anna (Joanne Froggatt) have sent each other a card and won't admit to it. Daisy (Sophie McShera) gets one too and Ivy (Cara Theobald) thinks Jimmy (Edward Speleers) sent her one. Of course he tells the others he didn't send it but he sent one to a Lady who is returning to England. Albert (Matt Milne) knows he didn't send it to Ivy and just teases him in front of her. Jimmy takes Ivy out for a drink on a work night and she comes back drunk, with Anna having to help her. He doesn't put her straight about the card but Daisy finds out Mrs Patmore sent her one so she wouldn't feel left out. She thanks her cos she "may not have a follower but I have a friend." Also causing trouble downstairs is a new electric mixer which Edith has given them in the kitchen. Mrs Patmore doesn't like change but Daisy uses it and is complimented on the mousse by the Dowager. Though this doesn't reach her.
Branson gets Carson to talk to Mary about managing the affairs of the state and she loses her cool at dinner when she says everyone is nagging her to get back to the world of the living. She storms off and the Dowager tells her she's her grandmother and loves her. Mary apologizes to Carson and has a good cry and finally gets to take on Matthew's affairs as it's a good way to continue what he started.
Mrs Hughes is unhappy at Cora hiring Edna but there's nothing they can do about it now and even Carson won't talk Cora into firing her. They'll have to keep a watchful eye on her. The Dowager tries to get Molesley (Kevin Doyle) hired by Mrs Shackleton as a butler, but her own butler sabotages his chances by making him look useless and inept at the luncheon, thinking he's after his job. Isabelle doesn't need Molesley and he has to move in with his father.
A bit slow to get started and not much happening at the moment. Though hopefully it will get better. Seemed to be dragging its feet at the moment and I got fed up with everyone going on about six months being enough to mourn and snap out of it. Grief is personal and anyone can take as long as they want to "get over it!" Then there's the usual story of the Dowager and Robert not wanting change but it will happen regardless, which she appears to have accepted. Yet Mary is still not a woman of means and is still reliant on her husband's or late husband's wealth, which is solely in the hands of baby George now. Such being the inequalities women faced.
Edna returns, yes Edna the downstairs servant who chased after Branson and had to go in the 2012 Christmas special! SO they couldn't find anyone else to replace O'Brien, than someone who had stations above her grandeur. Mary had the fitting line of, "He's not bad looking and he's still alive, which puts him two points ahead of most men of our generation. When she mentions Edith's beau. Then she also said what most of us were thinking, at least I said it first, ha, that Matthew survived the war, fathered a child and got killed off in a car crash! Much like this episode, seemed like it was heading for a crashing bore!
No comments:
Post a Comment