Downton Abbey Season 2: Episode Three

Lady Cora- New dress, new hairstyle!

Well, we certainly had some fireworks between Lady Cora and Isobel this week over their shared management of Downton. I sort of felt sorry for poor Isobel, didn't you? She looked like she expected Cora to back down, but instead her bluff was called. Mind you, she'll probably do much more good in France than she would at Downton, where Lady Cora and the girls seem quite capable of keeping it all under control. But surely Downton will be a little too quiet without Isobel. Bring her back Mr. Fellowes...please?

Lady Violet, The Dowager Countess, looking very smart indeed!

And didn't Lady Violet have some of the best lines again this week. I'm having fun trying to keep up with her!

Lady Violet:  I'm a woman, Mary, I can be as contrary as I choose!

Lady Violet:  It's like living in a second-rate hotel where the guests keep arriving and no one seems to leave.  

Lady Violet: God knows who the next heir will be. Probably a chimney sweep from Solihull!


I just about snorted my tea through my nose on that last one. Dame Maggie Smith looks like she is having the time of her life. She went right from Professor McGonagall to this role without skipping a beat. What more can an actress ask for?

O'Brien and Mrs. Hughs vying for sour look of the night. Mrs. Hughs wins!

I did rather enjoy seeing Mrs. Hughs catch Ethel in flagrante with moustachio man!

Mrs. Hughs: I may not be a woman of the world but I don't live in a sack.

Apparently Ethel lives in a sack if she didn't think this one through. This was not the best way to get out of service Ethel! You just have to learn how to type, you little twit!

O'Brien and Thomas aka "Poacher turned Gamekeeper"

And how about the look on O'Brien's face when she and her ladyship discovered Mrs. Bird's little secret? Classic! But other than this wonderful bit of meddling, O'Brien really seems to be going soft. Has the arrival and departure of "The Looney" as Thomas calls poor shell-shocked Mr. Lang made her reevaluate her evil ways? I hope not!

I do have to admit that I was tearing up at the end. "If you were the only girl in the world and I were the only boy …" By god, I love this show.