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“Well, that life of changing clothes and killing things and eating them, do you really want that again?”
Downton Abbey: never afraid to spell it out. The idea of the death of this world is, after all, an exceptionally difficult theme to pick up on, so every now and then, one of the characters will helpfully explain it in an extremely subtle manner. And that, quite frankly, is part of the joy of the whole thing.
Unfortunately, much of the usual Downton Abbey joy was sucked out of this episode by the rather dull central plot. I think Edith's been developed marvellously over the course of the last few episodes, but the “Is he or isn't he Patrick?” storyline dragged her right back to the wet, useless Edith of series one. Patrick was just too sinister for me to be able to care about the plot, so I found myself tuning out whenever he and Edith were on screen together. Instead of feeling terrifically sorry for Edith, I just wanted to tell her to pull herself together.
It was a pity that this was the main story of the episode, because it really dragged down an otherwise pretty interesting episode. It was good to see that Daisy's guilt over her deathbed marriage to William wasn't forgotten, and Sophie McShera is quietly being rather brilliant, making Daisy's development from clueless to surprisingly insightful and a little bit noble all the more believable.
The other thing that Downton does with so much brashness that you have to admire it is signalling future plot developments. Whenever Bates told Lord Grantham that he wished his wife was “the late Mrs Bates” and was then told not to lose his temper, they may as well have had a flashing sign on the screen saying “MRS BATES IS GOING TO DIE”. I hope this plot is resolved soon, as I don't think I can take much more of Anna and Bates giving each other sad eyes. Though I very much doubt that Saint Bates did her in, I'm kind of hoping he did. At least it did result in a wonderful O'Brien moment (“I'm just going to get my button box...”) Evil O'Brien forever.
Mrs Hughes was also rather brilliant this week, as she amazingly shot down Ethel's pretences at pride while continuing to be very kind-hearted. She also had a lovely moment with Carson as she admitted she would miss him when he left. Oh, just kiss already, you two. Thanks to the brilliance of Jim Carter, Carson is absolutely central to my love of Downton Abbey, and his relationship with Lady Mary has often been a highlight, so seeing him torn between his love for Mary and his love for the family was a real treat.
Of course, there was also another Sybil and Branson moment, as she seems much closer to finally admitting that she has the hots for him and his lovely Irish accent,while he promises once again to wait forever for her. Oh, you're getting as bad as Bates and Anna – just get on with it. And, in only a few scenes, Maggie Smith and Penelope Wilton managed to bring some much needed levity to the episode, as Violet manipulated Isabel into leaving Downton alone, while continually dragging poor Moseley in to her schemes. Amazing.
So the war is over, with Downton remaining remarkably unscathed. And, in a totally unexpected twist of plot, just as peace was declared, Matthew felt something below the belt. Good timing. Ginger Lavinia and her matching ginger hat and coat will be most pleased.
Next week, things don't look so good for Bates, but things are looking very good for Matthew's little problem.
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