Spoiler alert. I want nothing spoiled. I actually had to rewind our DVR'd episode to make sure that I caught a glimpse of the dog ambling along the grass on his way to Downton. I'm apparently as vigorously attached to convention as the downstairs staff.
The second episode manages to regain a bit of the charm that seemed to be waning. Although, I'm willing to credit the absence of any American characters as a step in the right direction. Until Fellowes can be convinced that all Americans weren't barbarians of indulgence and vulgarity it's best to keep them off screen.
The machinations of the staff downstairs continue with Thomas sending Mosely upstairs to inquire after Miss O'Brien's job. And, though we're all aware that this is only going to lead to a backstabbing war, it's actually in keeping with the character of Thomas to go right ahead and start digging his own grave. In fact, he's one of the characters that I like most because he feels firmly established. The life of a servant appears pretty damn boring on Downton Abbey, more so if you're married to Mr. Bates and have to confirm that you love and trust him three days a week and keep Lady Mary looking good. So it seems believable that a character like Thomas, who we've seen is intelligent and manipulative, would constantly be up to something. Juxtaposing him with the clueless, and strangely lovable because he never questions his station in life Mosely hit the right note.
Maggie Smith is her usually stellar self, dropping lines like, "there is a difference between vulgarity and wit" or telling Robert that she's talking about Edith's impending doom even though it's too late merely to say, "I told you so." A woman after my own heart. In fact, I was rather pleased with the start of the show, the crew rolling out the carpet, and indeed, the show and family being centered around Edith's impending nuptials. It seemed appropriate, even if the wedding felt rushed. More later.
The subplot of the old house maid turned prostitute continued to simmer with the once admirable and downright shrewish by season 2 Mrs. Crawley stirring the pot. My real issue with the sub plot, despite the fact that we know that she obviously has the boy, what else could it be? I mean, I suppose the secret could be that she's a millionaire who just loves hooking but it feels less likely. Anyhow, the real problem is that this show is airing a few weeks after the opening of Les Miserables, and the tired looking ladies of the night cackling at Mrs. Crawley are clearly just women who couldn't make it as extras. It's distracting to watch Mrs. Crawley try and sort things out when you keep waiting for everyone to burst into song. I was eventually distracted by the fact that Fantine or whatever the old maid's name was hadn't sold her hair and teeth. It seems like she could try harder.
The other plot line that is resolved is that of Mrs. Hughes and her possible cancer. Granted, they had a very similar plot line with Mrs. Pattmore in Season 1 and her failing eyesight, a fact which I'm guessing the writers forgot, or they wouldn't keep putting her in these scenes. However, we still have a legitimately touching scene between the Mrs. of the house and Mrs. Hughes. The moment manages to be believable and touching, doubly so because Lady Grantham is expecting to be evicted from Downton shortly. This also gives us a wonderful moment of Carson celebrating the health of Mrs. Hughes in his own peculiar way, reestablishing that strange love relationship that is the beating heart of he lower half of Downton.
Of course, all this praise, which was richly deserved for at least 38 minutes of the show was roughed up Downton style by two "startling" events. Anthony Straud leaving Edith at the wedding is not a surprise, it is a rather cruel joke. I'm not sure why the writers always feel the need to unravel entire plot lines in the course of fifty minutes. There was no need for a wedding to take place. In fact, the previous episode almost set up a nice tension between father and daughter and lover, only to lose its mind and speed from no you can't have him to wedding in roughly fifteen minutes. Perhaps that's how things happened in those days, but it felt unnecessarily rushed for the last two episodes, and I'm disappointed that Edith didn't crumple to the floor in church and start bawling, just because I think that it's always artsy looking to have a wedding dress coiled around a woman. It seems clear to me that if there is hope for Edith it clearly lies with the burn victim from Season 2. Other than the incredibly irritating voice, the lying, and the general craziness, I think he felt like a good option.
And, mercifully, the plot as to whether Downton would be saved came to an end. The whole plot line felt like a story that friends told us about live trapping a mouse, realizing that they wanted it dead, putting it in a shoe box, attempting to poison it with something, failing, and then apparently they just ended up using a hammer on the box. A job well done.
We knew within minutes as viewers that the "problem" of saving Downton had already been solved when we discovered about the inheritance, though I'm not entirely sure with all the death certificates etc. that I really understood what drama was supposed to be involved, we all knew he was getting the money. The only real drama was seeing how insufferable Matthew Crawley could be about his honor and how exactly he'd get over it. Of course, the writers did it the only way possible, by hammering that mouse in a shoe box. Wait a minute, so Livinia cleared him, Reggie wrote a letter absolving him of guilt and willing him all the money, no hard feelings, and perhaps also telling him that he learned the secret of spinning yarn into gold.
Of course, wouldn't it have been more interesting to watch Matthew struggle with the decision? Would it have been a more complex show, though far less Dickensian, if his inner struggle and perverse honor had truly turned him into someone slightly more shaded than we've come to expect? The truest line is when Mary threatens to punch him if he doesn't get them the money. Interestingly, after battling with his wife for weeks over the money and needing a letter from Reggie, Livinia, and the Pope to absolve him of guilt, Matthew immediately agrees to share Downton with his father-in-law, because hey, that's a man talking.
The second episode is an improvement upon the first, and, now that we're rid of Americans and Dickensian plot twists, perhaps we can be free to watch what we all want, a show about how hard it is to get a coat properly cleaned.
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Love your wrapup. Now I don't have to watch it.
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