Season Five, Episode 2 "Mary, Did you Know?"

Another good episode! I feel like we are solidly back in the territory of what Downton can and should be. The characters are acting like themselves, the plot lines are weaving in and out of one another at just the right rate to keep us interested/in suspense (the picture in Edith's bed!), and the dialogue is stepping back up to par. Thank goodness! We've got her back! Our dear Abbey has found herself again!

I have a lot to say about this episode, so before I forget I want to comment on three costumes: Mary's back necklace worn at dinner with Charles and the art historian, Rose's gold beaded evening gown, and Edith's peach colored blouse.

Mary's necklace perfectly suited her slender ivory neck in the front and her bony back. Her dress was dark and understated, so the placement of a bauble between her shoulder blades was unexpected and in keeping with her up-to-the-moment fashion sense. We can always expect Mary to be dressed impeccably. If she ever made a misstep and wore an ugly dress, she would probably still look beautiful.

Rose's gold dress was so pretty on her. She's growing up in more ways than one, and the slightly more covered styling of her evening wear is good evidence of that. It will be a long time before the word "settled" can be applied to Rose, but she is, I think, maturing from a girl who rebels just because she can into a young woman deciding how she views the world and her own definitions of right and wrong.

Edith's peachy tent of a blouse was a disaster. The color was flattering to her warmer, creamier skin tone, but it had no shape and did nothing for her. I believe she looked quite smart when she wore trousers in Season 2 to drive the tractor on the Drake farm. Why not pull those out again? It's got to be easier to bike down the lane to see Marigold wearing those instead of a skirt, anyway. Edith's form is womanly but her manner is not overtly feminine. Even if she isn't ready to shock the public by dressing in menswear, I believe she should tailor the lines of her dresses and skirts in ways that would perhaps evoke a bit of naval or military styling. She looks well in structured pieces. Edith's wardrobe has had some high points. Perhaps as she settles into her role as Marigold's godmother we will see it reflected in the way she attires herself.

About Marigold, or rather her mothers. Yes, all three of them. First, Edith, second, the adoptive mother in Switzerland, and finally, Mrs. Drew. All of these women love Marigold, and yet none of them are able to have her fully as their own. I am not sure which one to feel most sorry for. And Marigold is only being set up to be confused. She is obviously attached to Mrs. Drew, but when a wealthy benefactress with true feelings for her steps into her life, will she not struggle to maintain her loyalties to her (second) adoptive family? I really don't know. It seems that by trying to help Edith, Mr. Drew only made the situation murkier and more convoluted than it already was. He certainly isn't doing himself any favors with his wife. Bravo to her for not exploding all over him yet as he quite obviously steam rolls her in favor of Lady Edith. It's too early in the season for surrogate god-mothering to be the end of it all. I think the truth will come out. Leave it to Granny to figure it out first and confront Edith. She already knows the child exists. It will be nothing for her to put two and two together.

I can hardly believe I am about to type this, but the star of this episode for me was...Thomas. Of all people. His sorrow over James' departure was genuine, touching, and yes, slightly uncomfortable to watch. But for a moment we didn't see Thomas as the sinister sneaking, thieving, scheming bully that he usually is. We saw him as a lonely man losing his friend, the one person he has been able to connect with. I hardly think we can call his relationship with O'Brien friendship. However unlikely it was that Thomas and James could be friends, they were. And now Thomas is truly alone. Even though he's done nothing to prevent that, I still feel sorry for him, and absolutely relish the stellar job he did of portraying this rarely-glimpsed side of his character. This is a Thomas I could watch for many more seasons.

Hooray! James is gone! I've been tired of his pretty face and whiny attitude for quite a while. Can't we get someone with real character to take his place? Someone like William? Alas, William was probably one in a million. Sad for Daisy. Sad for Downton. Sad for us.

Baxter and Molesley are becoming quite an adorable couple to watch. To see him stand straighter and truer as he defends her against Thomas is very sweet, and her grateful, steady friendship is so kind to a man that everyone is nice to but doesn't necessarily like. However, I do wish she would stop looking worried ALL the time. Yes, you're a convicted thief. Yes, you had to confess to your current employer. Yes, your job is on the line. But you've a good friend like Molesly backing you up. Smile every once in a while! I believe if Baxter were happy, her countenance would be absolutely beatific.

Even though I disapprove of Mr. Drew's solution to the problem regarding Edith's evident interest in and affection for Marigold, I still felt it was unjust for Robert to speak about it the way he did, both to Edith herself and privately to Cora. Edith is not the daughter who is likely to get bored with charitable, selfless work. After all, she was the daughter that the officers applauded during their convalescence at Downton. They certainly didn't have enough interaction with Mary to know whether or not she was kind. Mary made sure of that. And Sybil was a nurse doing her duty. Edith volunteered her own time to help the men, found pleasure in it, and it showed. Edith is a woman who needs an occupation. When she has one, she thrives! Her father underestimates her rather unfairly, I think. I hope he will see just how wrong he is. (Good grief! Am I actually defending Edith??)

On to Robert. I suppose I will have to give up Robert of Season 1, the self-assured Lord of the Manor, who knew his place in the world and filled that place well. War, loss, and disappointment have all taken their toll on him, and he is the unwitting court jester at times, I'm afraid. But still lovable. To me, always lovable. (Except when he's kissing that irritating maid Jane. Ugh.) 

The relationship between Robert and Rose is sweet. It doesn't fill the void left by Sybil, both when she married Tom and then when she died, but I believe that it has a similar feeling for him. They share an affectionate exasperation with each other that I find endearing. 

If only Robert could shake himself up a bit and see the people and situations around him for what they really are! For instance, either he completely missed the object of the creepy art historian's attentions, or he actually confused his wife and his dog. His inability to see the wireless as the wonderful innovation that it is was myopic, and his agreement to rent one in order to stand with the King in his hour of need was rather silly. Especially since he wanted to grandstand AFTER the King's address, as if the idea for the wireless, the speech, and the entire monarchy were his own. His conversation with Carson concerning the wireless was about anything but the topic at hand. It was about the war memorial, and whether or not Robert would have his way. In this instance, I'm glad he was right. Not only because his beloved cricket pitch was saved from becoming a little-used garden of remembrance, but because Robert's been drawing the short straw for a long time now. I felt it was time for him to have a victory, no matter how small. (How interesting is it to see the evolution of the relationship between Lord Grantham and Carson? Employer and employee now working side by side on behalf of the village, each with equal say so in the matter. Quite intriguing.)

Bravo Granny for standing as the King began to speak! What a perfect gesture. And I loved her line, "I prefer to think of him (the king) on his throne." She is an aristocrat to the bone. 

I dislike Lord Merton for having a pretty house. It should have looked like the House of Usher. And what on earth is Granny up to?

On to Mary and Lord Gillingham. I'm disgusted and disappointed. I was hoping something would happen to prevent the tryst in Liverpoo, but no. Mary, child that she is, will have what she wants, when she wants it, even if it means not only embarrassing her trusted lady's maid (who also happens to be her truest friend), but also breaking all moral and social laws of correct behavior. I don't know if Anna made the purchase for Mary out of duty or friendship.  Perhaps Anna doesn't even know. Either way, Mary's taken the plunge and is once again on shaky ground. She has defied the accepted norms of her society and placed herself at the mercy of a man whom she might not even marry. In fact after this episode, I am almost positive that they WON'T marry, thanks to the piercing genius of Charles Blake. Under the guise of wishing her well, and with ill-concealed disappointment over losing her to Tony (or else a severe case of constipation), Charles said the one thing about Tony that Mary will not be able to overlook. Because it is true. Tony is not as smart as Mary is, and she will not be partner to a fool. As much as she loves to be the epitome of beauty, wealth, prestige, and intellect, Mary will not be willing to link herself with a man who will never be able to keep up with her. Part of her love for Matthew was because he challenged her. The one thing I thought Tony possessed that she did not, a kind and caring heart, was possibly just a ruse to get her into his bed. Shame on both of them for being stupid and selfish. And three cheers for Blake and his wicked, ungenerous counsel to Mary. He saved her a worthless marriage. I'm sure he went out to the pigpen after to have a cigarette and gloat.

I applaud the writers of this episode for getting me to do the unthinkable: cheer for everyone I have previously intensely disliked.

I wonder where all of these almost-sweet and heavy-with-meaning exchanges between Carson and Mrs. Hughes will lead. I do believe she blushed, or almost. Could the show withstand an upheaval of that magnitude, if they decided to wed? I just can't see that happening. It would be Matthew's death all over again, or worse.

I'm proud of Mrs. Patmore. She's being so kind to Daisy, paying for her tutelage by Ms. Bunting, even if she thought better of it after the fact. I wonder what will happen now that there will be a liberal both above and below stairs. All of Daisy's starry-eyed hero worship is certainly not as genuine as Tom's core beliefs, but both can and probably will cause quite a lot of trouble. 

I'm ready to watch the episode again, just for the sheer joy of it! 

I hope you are enjoying Season Five as much as I am. Please share your comments below!

Ashley