Downton Abbey Review: Admirable Mary

There was a lot of forward movement on Downton Abbey Season 4 Episode 7 - and yet nothing felt particularly urgent, which is odd given the gravity of the situations with which some Downtown residents are dealing.

It's as if in these new times, everyone is realizing that the drama they used to approach some of life's disasters in the past is no longer necessary. They've been through a great war and lost so many and so much that a pregnancy here, and a scandalous engagement there, are hardly worth worrying over.

The new attitude is rather refreshing and it's enjoyable seeing characters through this new light.

Molesley and Baxter
Mary continues to impress. When once her reactions did tend toward the sensational, now she's pragmatic and it suits her well. For once, I'm not even shocked that suitors are piling up at he door, as she's far more of a catch now than she was when she met Matthew. He would be so proud of the woman she has become, and she wouldn't be who she is now without having loved him.

Gillingham has called off his engagement with the hope of landing Mary, and he's not giving up until she's walking down the aisle with another man -- even then he's pledged he'll likely not let go easily. Still, in the contest so far, Blake is winning in this viewer's eyes. His wit and easy banter with Mary hold up more than Gillingham's persistence.

Mary's interference was interesting in Rose's love life and came from a different angle than initially expected. She did it as much with Rose's future in mind as she did for that of Jack Ross. When Rose defiantly announced her engagement to Mary with the teenage excitement of how it would make her mother's toes curl, Mary realized Rose was probably doing it more to hurt her mum than out of love for Jack, something that would be good for neither Rose nor Jack.

Discovering that Jack truly loved Rose and had no intention of marrying her as long as their union wouldn't be accepted by social circles was as touching as was Mary's wish that times were different so that she could champion his love for her cousin.

Mary was also heavily involved in trying to keep Anna free from the likes of Mr. Green once she learned he was the man who raped her. While she respected Anna's wishes to keep the truth from Gillingham, she didn't allow that to stop her from telling him that he must do away with Green.

Before Gillingham had the chance to let Green go, however, he was killed in a lorry accident in London, which conveniently took place on a day when Bates requested the entire day to visit York. And so our minds wonder, did Bates kill Green making it look accidental or did fate have its way with the vile man? Will we ever know?

The older crowd was nothing short of amazing in many ways. Violet and Isobel were up to their old tricks and together entertained Mary's godfather, Mr. Merton. He appeared to take a fancy to Isobel and unless I have lost any ability to read television emotions, she fancies him back. He even made a horrible social faux pas by mentioning Matthew to her after forgetting she was his mother, but I don't think it mattered.

Violet's investigative skills pulled out of the workings of Edith and Rosamund that something bizarre was going on, and she practically sussed out Edith was pregnant. In the end, she agreed with Rosamund's idea to go to Switzerland to have the baby and give it up for adoption to start life fresh over Edith's choice to trust Downton tenant family the Drewe's to raise it so she could be involved with the baby. Shall we take bets the baby eventually ends up at Downton?

The Daisy/Alfred/Ivy saga has finally come to an end. With the support of Mr. Mason and Mrs. Patmore, Daisy was able to turn a shoulder to Alfred after he realized the horrible mistake he made by being blinded by Ivy and missing all that Daisy offered. She told him she loved him once, but what she had was gone and they'd be friends forever.

Neither she nor we believed that one bit, but she deserves to be a man's number one pick, not ever second best and she's finally come to that realization. If Julian Fellowes fails to deliver to us a beautiful Daisy romance before Downton closes its doors, he's going to have to answer to me.

Finally we had the beautiful friendship that seems to be blossoming between Molesley and Baxter. The two have felt out of sorts all their lives, and offer to each other and understanding and kindness they haven't received from others. With Baxter nearby, Molesley has no problem telling off Thomas Barrow and Baxter felt confident telling him to get his information elsewhere.

All of this happened during one of the more beautifully shot episodes of Downton this season. From the gorgeous walk Isobel took with Mr. Merton through town with the church and graveyard in the background, the glorious hillside where Daisy picnicked with Mr. Mason and the spectacular garden full of brilliant color where Edith and Violet talked about her future -- the green, purple and red simply came alive on the screen.

Source: Tvfanatic
This blog is sponsored by: http://8070132083.acnshop.eu

Downton Abbey Review: Scandals are Brewing

Without qualms, I can easily say Downton Abbey Season 4 Episode 6 was down the best hour of the season.

It's taken far too long to get here, but the stories are all across the board right now. We have happiness, and darkness, good decisions and bad - and, with so many different tales being told, the hour flew by.

There were four big stories that I think warrant attention and that's what I'm going to focus on.

I daresay I finally found the Lady Mary I'd want to be friends with. Far more than she was even with Matthew, the Mary we saw with Mr. Blake was carefree and just shy of being self-sufficient. It turns out that she can do more than put herself to bed when Anna is away, she can make herself breakfast so she won't starve to death after she saves her pigs from dying of dehydration!

I've never been so proud of Mary as I was during those scenes. There wasn't a hint of shock or mild agitation at slopping through mud to take care of her livestock, only the reality that she had made a commitment to her farm and her animals and she needed to see it through.

That she didn't let on to anyone how much she really enjoyed her adventure with Blake was proof of just how much fun she had in his presence. The mud fight followed by eggs and wine was the best I'd ever seen Mary look and she was in the highest spirits. She had accomplished something she never imagined. She's a fully realized woman now. A woman who doesn't need someone like engaged Lord Gillingham pining after her like a puppy.

Edith took her trip to London to terminate her pregnancy, but not before she confided in her Aunt Rosamund. Rosamund came through with incredible resolve, concerned not for social standing and what others may think, but genuinely worried that Edith would make a decision she could live with. Edith's heart was breaking, again.

Rosamund accompanied Edith to the appointment and offered to stand by her side when the time came to tell Cora she had chosen to have a baby. She's always had the best interests of her nieces at heart, even when her worst fears have come to fruition.

While they were going through an extremely difficult situation in London, Rose was busily building her own castle of trouble. She and Jack Ross are getting far too close, and have even taken to kissing in public. Mary has kept what she saw to herself, but when it goes into wide release (theaters everywhere!), she'll have no choice but to let Rose know what her future might look like should she choose that path.

Mary was let in on another secret when Robert was called to America on family business and Mrs. Hughes thought it best Bates remind behind. She had to confide in Mary about what happened in order for Mary to convince Robert to take Thomas.

The secret is always bubbling just under the surface of everything that goes on at Downton, and when Gillingham had to show up to see Mary, he brought along Green. Baxter noticed Anna's reaction straight away, but Bates was tipped off when Green flippantly talking about walking away from the concert.

Now does anybody think Green wasn't provoking Bates on purpose? Mrs. Hughes already told him Bates knew, but didn't know who did it. By saying he was downstairs at the time of the incident, he was egging him on. The guy is an idiot as well as a rapist. I do hope he comes by a horrible ending by the end of next week.

This blog is sponsored by: http://visitwebpages.info/paypalchecks

Downton Abbey Recap: Lady Mary Gets Down & Dirty

Plus, Edith arrives at a heartbreaking solution to her growing problem.
Lady Mary… covered in mud… cooking and dining in the servants’ quarters?! I know this sounds like something out of Lord Grantham’s nightmares, but it actually happened on the Feb. 9 episode of Downton Abbey and she wasn't alone! Mary (Michelle Dockery) spent an evening rescuing pigs with Charles Blake (Julian Ovenden), who appears to have changed his mind about her.

But because Mary’s life is more complicated than my emotions during a game of Flappy Bird, her muddy evening with Charles was followed by a visit from her would-be-fiancé Tony Gillingham (Tom Cullens).

Edith’s Choice
Over in London, Edith (Laura Carmichael) finally broke down and confessed her pregnancy to Lady Rosamund, adding that she’s decided to have an abortion. Though Rosamund initially reacted with shock and indignation as is the default response to most things on this show she ultimately decided to go with Edith to the abortion clinic. It was actually surprisingly sweet. In fact, I don’t think I hate Rosamund anymore.

Of course, she wasn't the only person in this situation to have a change of heart. Upon overhearing the weeping of a fellow patient, Edith decided she couldn't go through with it, and made a hasty exit.

Isobel Crawley, Medicine Woman
Following Robert’s journey to America to help keep Cora’s idiot brother out of jail, the Dowager Countess (Maggie Smith) was stricken with a serious illness. And despite their rocky relationship, Isobel (Penelope Wilton) volunteered to be her full-time nurse, eventually nursing her back to good health.

The sight of those two women enjoying a game of gin and, arguably, enjoying each other’s company was probably the strangest of the night, even more so than Mary covered in mud and pig slop. While I’m always amused to see them at odds with one another, I can’t help but wonder what a force they’d be together. Could this be the start of a beautiful friendship?

Odds & Ends
Green also arrived at Downton, and in the episode’s final moments, he dropped a major hint that revealed his guilt to Bates (Brendan Coyle)!

Mrs. Hughes (Phyllis Logan) telling off Green was arguably my favorite scene all season. That woman is a bad ass.

Alfred had a break from his program, but Carson and the others derailed his visit, avoiding an all-out war between Ivy and Daisy. Unfortunately, Alfred just couldn't stay away.

Rose (Lily James) and Jack spent the afternoon on a romantic boat date, though I really feel that people named Jack and Rose should stay away from boats altogether. Seriously, we've all seen Titanic.

Tom (Allen Leech) met a lady friend at a political speech. I had no idea what anyone was talking about, but some bro with a mustache shushed them while they were getting all flirty, so that’s fun.

This blog is powered by: http://8070132083.acnshop.eu