Downton Abbey Season 4 Episode 2

SPOILER ALERT! This post is intended for those who have already seen Season 4 Episode 2

Oh. My. Stars. Has Anna not suffered enough? If we were ever in any doubt about whether Joanne Froggatt can act, tonight should dispel that. I don't know about you but I found the end of this otherwise light episode really hard to watch. I kept hoping Anna's screams would be heard above Nellie Melba's arias but alas, this was the only time in the history of the house that there was no one in the servant's area of Downton Abbey to hear her!

Well, it is a subject that is just as relevant today so I suppose we should thank Lord Fellowes for a plot line which might help someone, although it made a lot of us really uncomfortable. Very possibly the point.

On a lighter note, Edith's chappie (who looks so much like Michael Palin he actually played him once!) is now not only learning German but cheating at poker to get in good with Lord Grantham. Good work!

Rose is getting everyone dancing to jazz (very awkwardly I might add) and Molesley has his third menial job in 2 episodes. Oh, the indignity of having to wear gloves!

Alfred is cooking again and Lady Mary actually laughed! Poor Tom is being set upon (yet again) by Edna, the I'm-too-good-to-be-a-housemaid. Oh, dear.

I wish we had been able to hear more of Dame Kiri Te Kanawa as Nellie Melba. What I heard was lovely despite half of the cast sneaking out or whispering through it. Or worse.

Ah well, off to best lines:

Lord Grantham: What does one say to a singer?

Mrs. Patmore: How are the squabs doing? What about the syllabubs? Oh my god, the vegetables!

Dowager Countess Violet: If I were to search for logic, I would not look for it in the English upper class.

Molesley: You want me to be a footman? I'm having my career backwards!

Lady Mary: It's been so long since I've been in the saddle. I'll be stiff as a board the next morning. (tee hee!)

Countess Violet: I am afraid Tom's small talk is very small indeed.
Lord Grantham: Not everyone can be Oscar Wilde.
Countess Violet: Well, that's a relief!

TTFN! See you next week!

Downton Abbey Season 4 Episode 1

SPOILER ALERT! This post is intended for those who have already seen Season 4 Episode 1

So O'Brien has now scarpered off to India with Lady Susan, and left her nephew Alfred and Lady Susan's daughter Rose to deal with all of the questions. I suppose that is a promising start to the new season. But who will conspire with Thomas now that Susan (?!) O'Brien is gone and by the way, where has Thomas's creepy black glove gone?

Mary is still depressed over Matthew's death which is fair enough, but we want the flinty bitch back don't we? Well, I do anyway. Although her lugubrious float down the gorgeous stairway was something to behold, it will be great to see her messing with other women's men again. I hope she leaves poor Edith alone however. It was hopeful to see Mary moving from full black to purple (only half-mourning!) at the tenant's lunch and asking about sheep farming. Look out Robert!

Speaking of Edith, she seems to have become a 1920s fashion plate does she not? The half-mourning purples and greys at the beginning of the episode were gorgeous and then she got pretty risque with the full frontal flapper gear by the end. Go Edith! But please spare us the face sucking with your Mr. Rochester/Michael Palin look alike. Not in public anyway. What would the Dowager Duchess say?

I am not sure what the plans are for the Rose character, but I did enjoy seeing her try to impersonate a Yorkshire housemaid, accent and all. Although the brawl at the thé dansant was a bit much, I would have loved to see Rose and Anna in the paddy wagon!

The love triangle (quadrangle?) below stairs is getting a bit tedious. Daisy is the Edith of the kitchen, just wanting someone to love her. Molesley is as pathetic as usual, and how did he get himself that much into debt if he was living at Downton the entire time? And the unconnected Mr. Grigg storyline was a bit odd, but the resolution in 30 seconds on the railway platform was wonderful. Great to see Mrs. Hughes sticking her nose into everyone else's business. But must we have Edna Braithwaite back again? Ugh!

The two best reappearances were the yellow labrador Isis and the stuffed doggy/rabitty thing which made it's way back to Mary. Hurrah! I hope we see lots of both of these important characters in the future.

Best lines:

Dowager Countess Violet: I sometimes wonder if (Mr. Lloyd George) isn't really German, just pretending to be Welsh?

Dowager Countess Violet: It's the job of grandmothers to interfere!

Mrs. Patmore: Nothing's as changeable as a young man's heart. Take hope and a warning from that.

Nanny West: You wicked little cross-breed!

Dowager Countess Violet: Just because you're an old widow, I see no necessity to eat off a tray.


Ta-ta for now. See you all next week!

Downton Abbey Season 3 Episode 3

SPOILER ALERT! This post is intended for those who have already seen Season 3 Episode 3!

A bit of a quiet episode today, but hang in there- next week is a big one! This one was sort of setting up future action.

Poor Ethel the prostitute. Mrs. Hughs and Ethel keep trying to avoid that word and Cousin Isobel keeps saying it. She definitely is a...you know, what Cousin Isobel said...but Ethel is a much nicer person now than when she thought she was the bees knees in Season 2.

Isobel: She's been working as a prostitute.

Mrs. Hughs:  My my, that's not a work you hear in this house every day.

Hopefully Ethel can rebuild her life together with Mrs. Crawley. Poor little Charlie. Will his lovely grandmother be strong enough to protect him from his evil mustachioed grandfather? I rather enjoyed this story line and I hope we get to see lots of Ethel and Charlie in the future.

Violet: Edith, dear, you're a woman with a brain and reasonable ability. Stop whining and find something to do.

Yes, Violet, thank goodness you are encouraging Lady Edith to set out in a new direction. Journalism! Matthew is quite impressed I think. But Violet and Cora are not.

Violet: What do you mean you wrote to a newspaper? No lady writes to a newspaper.

Edith: What about Lady Sarah Wilson? She's the daughter of a duke and she worked as a war journalist.

Violet: Well, she's a Churchill. The Churchills are different.

Mary: Have we no Churchill blood?

Cora: I think Granny's right.

Violet: Can somebody write that down?





Wasn't Tom supposed to be the journalist in the family? Now he is just burning down the houses of Sybil's former childhood playmates. And she finally looks a little concerned about what kind of a whack-job she has actually married. Took her long enough! Although he was looking kinda sexy when he was wet and disheveled and running from the coppers...

But it looks like Tom the firebrand has to stay in England indefinitely now, so the baby will have to be born at Downton. Yay!!! Can we now find Branson something to do that doesn't involve burning down the houses of the aristocracy? Write radical newspaper articles to annoy his father-in-law?

And was anyone else slightly disappointed with Jimmy...I mean James the new footman?  I mean, he is OK looking but he's not THAT much better looking than Alfred. Oh well, if Mary and Matthew can't figure out how to conceive an heir to Downton, perhaps the new footman can be of assistance!

Mary: Well done, Carson. That must have cheered up the maids.

Violet: He looks like a footman in a musical review.

And poor Daisy has been overshadowed by the new scullery maid just when she was getting her nerve up to be "forward" with Alfred. Pooh! But good to get some new blood below stairs I suppose.

The stars of this episode were undoubtedly Mrs. Hughs' new electric toaster and the bouillon spoon.

Mr. Carson: I was worried that Mr. Branson might take it into his head to burn the house down, but I didn't think that you would.

Mrs. Hughs: No? I should never take anything for granted, Mr. Carson.

Alfred: Tea spoon, egg spoon, melon spoon, grapefruit spoon, jam spoon...

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Archbishop of York: I don't want to sound anti-Catholic

Robert: Why not? I am

Archbishop of York: Not in any real way, I'm sure

Robert: I don't want to thumbscrews or the rack, but there always seems to be something of Johnny Foreigner about the Catholics.

Gasp! I know this was almost 100 years ago, but really Mr. Fellowes! Would Lord Grantham really have said that? I guess this is foreshadowing future difficulties with his Johnny Foreigner Irish son-in-law, but really!

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Violet:  A guinea? For a bottle of scent? Did he have a mask and a gun?

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Mr. Carson: Hard work and diligence weigh more than beauty in the real world.

Violet: If only that were true.

Awwwwww...Bates and Anna are still in love and Bates is in favour with the gaol staff again. Whew!

Downton Abbey Season 2: Christmas Season Finale

Downton Christmas Episode 2011- Electric mini lights on the tree???

I adore Downton Abbey. Yes, at times this season the storyline was corny, cheesy and covered in cloying syrup, but I have loved every minute. With the Christmas episode however, Julian Fellowes has exceeded every one of my expectations. What a wonderful Christmas gift, even if it was lost in the post for a few months for those of us on this side of the pond!

Matthew and Mary were a large part of the holiday action thankfully, with Matthew's adorable face popping up whenever things between Mary and Sir Richard got heated. The fight scene between the two men was brilliant, reminiscent of Mark Darcy and Daniel Cleaver duking it out over Bridget Jones! (It was made even funnier at our house by The Squire shouting out "Be careful Matthew...your injured back!")

Matthew: “Sorry about the vase”
Countess Violet: “Oh don’t be, don't be. It was a wedding present from a frightful aunt. I have hated it for half a century”.

The Christmas Day shoot-where is Isis?

Julian Fellowes got in his requisite hunt scene this season. Neither Matthew nor Sir Richard looked as comfortable as Mary at the pheasant shoot. But there was sure a lot of drama and humour as well as action on Christmas day.

Anthony Strallan: “Does (Branson) shoot?”
Edith: “I’m sure he does”
Countess Violet: “But I don’t think pheasants.”

Bates on trial for the murder of his wife Vera

Things don't look good for poor Bates. How is Lord Grantham going to get him out of jail? It is a life sentence after all! Perhaps Anna will come up with something. She's pretty good at sniffing things out as Lady Rosamund and Lord Hepworth will testify.

Lady Mary: “We are all under the shadow of Bate’s trial”

Countess Violet: “Lawyers are always confident before the verdict. It’s only afterwards they share their doubts.”

Anna with her "bucking up brigade" from Downton

Anna Bates (Joanne Froggatt) gets best actress award for this episode. My eyes welled up every time she broke down. And she broke down a lot!

Mr. Bates: “No man can regret loving as I have loved you.”

Carson and Cora open the Servant's Ball

The Servant's Ball gave us some of the best scenes (and facial expressions of the episode).

Lord Grantham: Perhaps it would be nice if you would partner with O'Brien.
Matthew: Crikey!

Isis the bouncy Labrador puppy is now a star

Thomas was plotting/puffing cigarettes/being evil for much of the episode culminating in the Isis crisis! Glad Thomas is back at Downton as he is one of the better actors and his evil plotting is just soooo fun!

O’Brien: “Make him grateful. Do him a good turn. Hide something he loves and find it and give it back”

Lady Mary looking at her future...

Lord Grantham: “I look at Mary and all I can see is a tired woman with a tiresome husband. Not a bride on the brink of heaven. I wish I could understand why she goes on with it. Do you think there might be some element I’ve overlooked?”

Lord Grantham:“I don’t want my daughter to be married to a man who threatens her with ruin. I want a good man for you. A brave man. Find a cowboy in the middle west and bring him back to shake us up a bit.”

Mary walking out with Matthew at the shoot

Lady Mary: “I never know which is worse. The sorrow when you hit the bird. Or the shame when you miss it."

Lady Edith giving Anthony Strallen another go!

Ohhhh, Edith! What are we going to do with you? You have thrown yourself at everything in trousers (including a married farmer and Matthew if I remember correctly) and now it's Anthony Strallen again? Well, he does seem nice even if he is old enough to be your father. And his house is truly gorgeous. OK, you go for it girl!
 
Lady Edith: “If you think I’m going to give up on someone who calls me lovely…”

My new favourite character- The Ouija Board

The Ouija board is now my new favourite character at Downton. It does seem to have a life of it's own doesn't it? First the hilarious scene where Mrs. Patmore sits down at the board and gives it a little "help".

"Go...to...farm...make...Dad...happy."  Good one Mrs. Patmore!

Then Lavinia's spirit talks through the board. "May they be happy. With my love."- frightening poor Anna and Daisy, who were using the Ouija board at the time. 

Daisy crying her eyes out at work!

I think the best part of the Christmas episode (other than the ending with M&M) was the part with Daisy. From taking bad advice from Rosamund's maid, to discussing things with the Dowager Countess to finally connecting with William's father (is he great or what?). Two lost souls, bound together by the memory of the sweetest footman in Yorkshire. Awwwwww......

Countess Violet: “But you can’t have been false to him. You were his wife for only half an hour.”

Daisy: “I’ve never been special to anyone. I were only ever special to William.”

Wuv...Twoo Wuv

Matthew and Mary gave us the best ending ever! I won't give it away if you haven't yet seen it (see it! see it!).

Lady Mary: “You know yourself we carry more luggage than the porters at Kings Cross.”

Lady Mary: “I’m Tess of the D’Urbervilles to your Angel Clare. I have fallen. I am impure.”


Matthew: “I never could despise you.”

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And Mary showed she was a classy lady by how she said goodbye to Sir Richard.

Sir Richard: “I loved you you know, more than you knew. And much much more than you loved me.”
Mary: “Then I hope the next woman deserves you more than I did”

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Best quotes from Dowager Countess Violet:

Countess Violet: “Sir Richard, life is a game in which the player must appear ridiculous”
Sir Richard: “Not my life”
Countess Violet: “How soon your maxim will be tested

Countess Violet: “Hepworth is lonely? I find that hard to believe. Hepworth men don’t go in for loneliness much. I knew his father in the late 60s. Mais ou sont les neiges d’antan?” (Where are the snows of yesteryear?)

Countess Violet: “Perhaps he’s had enough banging for one life”

Countess Violet: “1920. Is it to be believed? I feel as old as Methuselah. When I think what the last ten years has brought. God knows what we’re in for now.”

Countess Violet: “No fortune?! He’s lucky not to be playing the violin in Leicester Square.”

Sir Richard: “I’m leaving in the morning Lady Grantham. I doubt we’ll meet again.”
Countess Violet: “Do you promise?”
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Are you ready for Season Three with Shirley MacLaine as Cora's American mother? I sure am! And one more time for my sister...