A parcel is delivered for Mary (Michelle Dockery) and Mrs Hughes (Phyllis Logan) thinks it would be better if they let Robert (Hugh Bonneville) have a look at it beforehand incase there's something in it to upset her. On the contrary it was upsetting but not for Mary. Robert looks through the box, Matthew's belongings from his office and a letter falls out. A letter to Mary with Matthew's intention to have her as his sole heir. Robert shows it to Dowager Violet (Maggie Smith) who thinks eh should show it to Mary. Naturally he's upset as it will mean he can't run the estate anymore, though he seems to be more worried about paying death duties twice over, as they have nowhere to do this from. He thinks perhaps by selling off some land and paying it off in one go is a good idea.
Robert tells Mary about the letter and that she should read it but she insists he read it to everyone. He wants to send it to Murray to ensure its legality and whether it can be used as a will. Matthew wrote it when they went to Scotland and knows he needs to make a will at least for the baby, which the Dowager agrees with. Isobel (Penelope Wilton) is happy to hear of it cos it means Matthew can now have his say.
Anna (Joanne Froggatt) tells Edna (Myanna Buring) to be weary of Thomas (Rob James-Collier). He didn't speak to her before but he will now cos she's a lady's maid and she messes up a dress of Cora's (Elizabeth McGovern) and Thomas says she shouldn't come clean about it. Though she shows it to Cora, she doesn't want to turn the culprit in, as Thomas also tells Cora. Of course they blame Anna. Don't know why Cora was fooled by that cos she's known Anna longer and I didn't know she'd do something like that and hide it. Robert has words to Bates (Brendan Coyle) about it later and that Anna should be less angry about it and more understanding in future. Bates doesn't know what he's talking about.
Rose (Lily James) wants to go to a tea dance in York but it's for servants and 'commoners'. She thinks Anna can chaperon her and Mary might let her go, but Anna has to ask Mary's permission who tells her to take her. Jimmy (Ed Speleers) is also there cos he talks Mrs Patmore (Lesley Nichol) into getting permission from Carson (Jim Carter) to pick up some fish for her and follows them in. Rose wants to dance the one step as she's been practising and talks Anna round as Bates isn't really into dancing. Jimmy dances with Anna and Rose pretends to be a lady's maid and tells Sam she's from Downtown. There's a scuffle and a fight breaks out when Rose refuses to dance with someone else and they must leave before the police arrive. In the trailer for this week's ep it looked as if there was going to be more trouble than that, which seemed to fizzle out. Guess they had to make people tune in on that basis, ha.
Edith (Laura Carmichael) wants Michael (Charles Edwards) to come to Downton and meet the family but he's reluctant to do so and at any rate, a divorce will take a long time yet. She tells him she's surprised he can boil a kettle cos Robert can't and he'd probably be sprawled dead on his way to looking for the kitchen if he had to fend for himself. Cora's throwing a party soon so she tells him to come and he can just blend in without questions being asked. Cora likes him but Robert doesn't, which isn't surprising since he doesn't really like any of his daughter's beaus or suitors. Edith telling him it's getting harder for her to keep her hands off him! Though she does arrive back late to dinner.
Anna finds Molesley (Kevin Doyle) working the roads and he owes money. She can lend him some but he won't be able to pay it back yet and he won't take it outright either. Anna tells Bates about this and she's upset by it. Bates comes up with a plan cos he doesn't want to see her upset and forges Molesley's signature on a promissory note he owes him. Then invites him for tea. Molesley can't recall lending Bates £30 when he first arrived and Bates tells Anna, she's done so much for him that it's about time he did something to make her happy. Prison was an education he tells Anna when she asks him how he managed that.
Bates tells Anna about Edna and she's surprised since she wasn't harsh to her. They then see Thomas and Edna together and having a laugh. Well it wouldn't be hard to tell they're in collusion together now that O'Brien is gone, Thomas needs someone else to make mischief with, another partner in crime. Jimmy gets permission to take Ivy (Cara Theobold) to the theatre and Alfred (Matt Milne) mopes around cos he thinks he's just doing that to get back at him. Daisy (Sophie McShera) doesn't understand men.
Isobel finds a job for Grieg at the theatre in Belfast and Carson is convinced to see him off before he leaves as he tells Mrs Hughes about his lost love Alice. Alice chose him and not Carson and regretted it, before she died she wanted things to be put right and wanted Carson to know she should have chosen him. They shake hands and part as friends and Carson wants to repay Isobel for what she spent on him.
The Dowager also suggests Branson (Allen Leech) whom she must call Tom, show Mary the workings of the estate and take her on his rounds. The letter is attested to as Matthew's last will and so Mary owns half of Downton, much to Robert's chagrin. He shows this by bombarding Mary with questions at dinner about how she'd handle the problems, trying to put her off. He says it's to show he the hardships of running an estate. So she's convinced she won't be able to do the same. More like Robert seems to get a perverse sense of pleasure or relishes in putting his daughters down, as well as Cora on occasions! But Granny, I mean the Dowager is having none of it.
Pretty convenient a letter turning up from Matthew just when everyone was despondent he hadn't left a last word or something from beyond which would give everyone encouragement. So lo and behold a letter is found, by none other than Robert which gives him more cause for concern. A recycled plot point in that Lavinia Swire, Matthew's fiance also sent a letter to Matthew after she passed telling him to move on and be happy with Mary. Seems everyone leaves these behind. Which is funny, cos only last ep it was said Matthew didn't believe in writing a will so soon and now here's a letter which is just as good as. Of course he wouldn't be around to go through with the formalities. Though he did add in the letter, "I shall sign this and get off home for dinner with you. What a lovely, lovely thought." Dinner was more important it seemed. Yes he was right, for a lawyer he didn't come across as very bright as far as making his family's future secure was concerned.
Sam arrives looking for Rose whom Anna dresses in maid's outfit and she tells him she's promised to a farmer. As if she didn't know that was going to happen.
Funny scene when the Dowager threatened to send for nanny and have Robert sent to his room without any supper, cos he was behaving that childish! Oh you know women's rights are non-existant so he'll hold onto his position as lord and master for as long as possible! So if we're talking recyclable plots let's also mention the fracas caused when Sybil attended that political meeting with Branson where there was, let's see, a fight and he had to take her away. Just as at the The Dansant. That'd be tea dance to us.
Since I'm mentioning funny scenes, another was Carson turning up at ye olde steam train station to make amends with Grigg, emerging from the steam, like a reenactment of The Railway Children, or some romantic black and white flick! Ha. That and Mary's line of her room smelling like that of a tart after she drops the perfume bottle. is she reminiscing about her one night with the Turkish gent in series 1 one might ask! ha.
Judging from next week's trailer, they're in danger of turning Bates into a possible Norman Bates when he gets jealous over Anna and another man. It's that "prison education" he's gleaned, you know. Well at least it'd make the show a little more exciting.
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