# Downton Abbey, Christmas Special (U.S. premiere Feb. 19, 2012) - Spoilers embargoed **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 18, 2012, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-christmas-special-u-s-premiere-feb-19-2012-spoilers-embargoed/613265 "2012-02-18T20:06:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-christmas-special-u-s-premiere-feb-19-2012-spoilers-embargoed/613265/121 "2012-02-23T21:31:26Z")
World’s greatest Tea Cozy: [http://brutal-knitting.tumblr.com/](http://brutal-knitting.tumblr.com/) scroll down to about the ninth or tenth picture. . . I can’t find it now, but somebody said above that they had set up Shore and Anna for future animosity. I can’t imagine anyone supposing that Shore would still have a job after that? She must certainly have been dismissed with prejudice. ---
**Author:** ![Toucanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@Toucanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toucanna)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-christmas-special-u-s-premiere-feb-19-2012-spoilers-embargoed/613265/122 "2012-02-23T22:34:21Z")
[QUOTE=TruCelt] {snip} I can’t find it now, but somebody said above that they had set up Shore and Anna for future animosity. I can’t imagine anyone supposing that Shore would still have a job after that? She must certainly have been dismissed with prejudice. [/QUOTE] **raindrop** , in post #105. I agree that it is unlikely Anna and Shore’s paths will cross again. And Shore would have been dismissed “without a character [reference]”. @ **Oslo Ostragoth** : I noticed “Gwen” too! ---
**Author:** ![raindrop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/74df32/32.png) [@raindrop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raindrop)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-christmas-special-u-s-premiere-feb-19-2012-spoilers-embargoed/613265/123 "2012-02-24T00:50:25Z")
> [@Toucanna](#): > > **raindrop** , in post #105. I agree that it is unlikely Anna and Shore’s paths will cross again. And Shore would have been dismissed “without a character [reference]”. Since it’s a “soap opera” I expect a lot of unlikely things can happen. For instance, someone can die and come back to life. Someone can have a permanent injury that cripples for life, and then recover. Someone could get caught stealing and then get a job as Lord G’s valet. And someone like Shore could end up working for someone like Richard, since he’s bound to make up his own rules anyway. I just noticed Anna’s glaring at Shore and it sparked my imagination is all. If they ever do cross paths again it will be intense, and icy. I also wondered if Anna could end up working for Rosamund? After all, Rosamund needs a new Lady’s maid and Anna has just proved her loyalty and helped her tremendously. So yeah, that crossed my mind too. I know it’s all just make believe and whatever happens depends on what type of fantasy Fellowes decides to write. ---
**Author:** ![Toucanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@Toucanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toucanna)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-christmas-special-u-s-premiere-feb-19-2012-spoilers-embargoed/613265/124 "2012-02-24T04:21:51Z")
[QUOTE=raindrop] Since it’s a “soap opera” I expect a lot of unlikely things can happen. For instance,… [/QUOTE] 😃 I know, I know. If I let myself roll my eyes at every preposterous situation in Series 3, I’d make some ophthalmologist a very rich wo/man! [QUOTE=raindrop] I know it’s all just make believe and whatever happens depends on what type of fantasy Fellowes decides to write. [/QUOTE] I hear you. Gotta keep telling myself, “This ain’t no documentary.” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-christmas-special-u-s-premiere-feb-19-2012-spoilers-embargoed/613265/125 "2012-02-24T15:10:11Z")
> [@raindrop](#): > > Since it’s a “soap opera” I expect a lot of unlikely things can happen. For instance, someone can die and come back to life. Someone can have a permanent injury that cripples for life, and then recover. Someone could get caught stealing and then get a job as Lord G’s valet. And someone like Shore could end up working for someone like Richard, since he’s bound to make up his own rules anyway. I just noticed Anna’s glaring at Shore and it sparked my imagination is all. If they ever do cross paths again it will be intense, and icy. > > . . . You’re absolutely right there. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Andiethewestie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ba9def/32.png) [@Andiethewestie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andiethewestie)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-christmas-special-u-s-premiere-feb-19-2012-spoilers-embargoed/613265/126 "2012-02-24T20:17:48Z")
> [@Toucanna](#): > > I don’t think they’ll show the wedding. Maybe there will be oohing and ahing over the wedding pix. I hope they show a wedding. It would be lovely to swoon over 1920’s lace and delicacies, introduce some distance relative characters, and it could be a grand affair for Ms Maclean 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-christmas-special-u-s-premiere-feb-19-2012-spoilers-embargoed/613265/127 "2012-02-25T01:13:26Z")
> [@Toucanna](#): > > **raindrop** , in post #105. I agree that it is unlikely Anna and Shore’s paths will cross again. And Shore would have been dismissed “without a character [reference]”. > > @ **Oslo Ostragoth** : I noticed “Gwen” too! I’ve been through the [screencaps](http://killcolor.livejournal.com/127346.html), and I’m pretty sure it’s a [different](http://disparue.org/caps/television/downtonabbey/2/christmas/images/downton2christmas_0531.jpg) actress. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-christmas-special-u-s-premiere-feb-19-2012-spoilers-embargoed/613265/128 "2012-02-25T20:09:54Z")
My wife and I enjoyed the Christmas special very much - even more than we had S2. Matthew’s proposal to Mary in the snow was terrific; a nice touch to have Mary insist he “do it properly.” > [@AK84](#): > > Apparently the [Court of Criminal Appeal](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Court_of_Criminal_Appeal#England_and_Wales) in 1920 did not have jurisdiction over Yorkshire Courts, which incidentally could try cases which had occured in London and also they could permit hearsay evidence. Here’s the actual Home Secretary of the day; a Liberal, as His Lordship observed. And as you see, he handled another prominent reprieve case, too: [Edward Shortt - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Shortt) > [@Chefguy](#): > > Sir Richard: It’s unlikely you will see me again! > > Granny: Do you promise? > > 😃 We loved that line, too. My second-favorite was when Lord Grantham said something about Thomas proving that he’s not such a bad fellow after all, and Carson, with a wonderful mix of doubt and astonishment, asking, “Is he?” > [@Sampiro](#): > > …Perhaps that’s why Violet refused to dance it with him. “It is not proper to perform a dance until it is in existence and popularized.” LOL. > [@alphaboi867](#): > > …I assume that if Edith is still unmarried when her father dies she’ll just follow Cora to wherever she lives. I think Edith will get a husband in or by the 3rd series though… Edith will end up in a boring, socially accepted marriage with children… With children or not, I still kinda hope she’s able to win back Strallan. They seemed well-suited for each other, despite the age difference. > [@Eve](#): > > It might not have been \*quite \*so damning, if Bates had not also bought a gun. a noose, a hatchet, a catapult, and an Acme Explodo-Time Bomb as well. That’s another way in which defense counsel fell down on the job. “Obviously, gentlemen of the jury, no one buys Acme products if they actually want to _succeed_ at a task!” > [@raindrop](#): > > Ahh, this is fun, a video tribute to Maggie Smith… > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYw66lOvVzw](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYw66lOvVzw) That was great. My dad, many years ago, said, “I swear Maggie Smith has been 80 for about 20 years!” > [@Andiethewestie](#): > > I hope they show a wedding. It would be lovely to swoon over > 1920’s lace and delicacies, introduce some distance relative characters, and it could be a grand affair for Ms Maclean 🙂 Well, I wouldn’t swoon, but yes, I’d definitely like to see the wedding. That could be two or three episodes right there. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2012, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-christmas-special-u-s-premiere-feb-19-2012-spoilers-embargoed/613265/129 "2012-02-26T01:10:09Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > With children or not, I still kinda hope she’s able to win back Strallan. They seemed well-suited for each other, despite the age difference. I hope so as well. With Mary about to be married off (I doubt they will pull the rug out this time) and Sybil already married off, there has to be another romance - though it might take a while. The interesting thing becomes, if there are three daughters married off, Bates and Anna married, and the only grandchildren still 20 years away from romance, what do you do for a Soap Opera plot. Daisy will obviously get another chance for a romance. So you have to drag out Edith…or kill off Branson (which doesn’t seem unlikely). Because you aren’t going to manage getting rid of Matthew. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2012, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-christmas-special-u-s-premiere-feb-19-2012-spoilers-embargoed/613265/130 "2012-02-26T19:59:47Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > …With children or not, I still kinda hope she’s able to win back Strallan. They seemed well-suited for each other, despite the age difference… Agreed. And Sir Antony is hardly an invalid. So one arm doesn’t work; he’s an industrialist it doesn’t affect his ability to earn a living at all. Nor does he require nursing and any special care beyond slightly more assistance getting dressed from his valet. Of course there’s always the possibily that he suffered another injury that rendered him unsuitable as a husband that he can’t mention in mixed company. ---
**Author:** ![PeskiPiksi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e495f1/32.png) [@PeskiPiksi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PeskiPiksi)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2012, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-christmas-special-u-s-premiere-feb-19-2012-spoilers-embargoed/613265/131 "2012-02-26T20:06:15Z")
I can’t remember if it was this thread or the other where we discussed the timeline and the girls’ ages, but I just re-watched the last episode of the first series and Sibyl was definitely 18 when she had her first Season. When Lady G tells Lord G that she’s pregnant, he says something like, “but you haven’t been pregnant in 18 years!” (This conversation takes place the day they get back from London, so no oddities about time passing.) Just for the record. ---
**Author:** ![abmabardy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@abmabardy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abmabardy)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-christmas-special-u-s-premiere-feb-19-2012-spoilers-embargoed/613265/132 "2012-03-02T20:36:21Z")
Have Matthew and Mary ever said the words “I love you” to each other? ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-christmas-special-u-s-premiere-feb-19-2012-spoilers-embargoed/613265/133 "2012-03-02T21:03:03Z")
> [@abmabardy](#): > > Have Matthew and Mary ever said the words “I love you” to each other? I should hope not–only the middle classes would be so emotionally demonstrative. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-christmas-special-u-s-premiere-feb-19-2012-spoilers-embargoed/613265/134 "2012-03-02T21:06:13Z")
Granny did it for them. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-christmas-special-u-s-premiere-feb-19-2012-spoilers-embargoed/613265/135 "2012-03-02T21:28:36Z")
They exchanged embossed, creamy vellum notes. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-christmas-special-u-s-premiere-feb-19-2012-spoilers-embargoed/613265/136 "2012-03-02T22:29:27Z")
The show isn’t pornography, after all! ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-christmas-special-u-s-premiere-feb-19-2012-spoilers-embargoed/613265/137 "2012-03-03T00:55:10Z")
Never in writing, dear. One never knows into whose hands a note may fall. . . ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-christmas-special-u-s-premiere-feb-19-2012-spoilers-embargoed/613265/138 "2012-03-03T01:00:27Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > I should hope not–only the middle classes would be so emotionally demonstrative. No, the middle class would be even more concerned about appearances. Displays of affection are definitely working class. Look at how Bates and Anna are always mooning about. ---
**Author:** ![abmabardy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@abmabardy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abmabardy)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-christmas-special-u-s-premiere-feb-19-2012-spoilers-embargoed/613265/139 "2012-03-03T01:22:16Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > I should hope not–only the middle classes would be so emotionally demonstrative. I think I remember Matthew telling Lavinia he loved her. ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-christmas-special-u-s-premiere-feb-19-2012-spoilers-embargoed/613265/140 "2012-03-03T01:58:48Z")
i recall Lavinia saying it but not the other way around. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-christmas-special-u-s-premiere-feb-19-2012-spoilers-embargoed/613265.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-christmas-special-u-s-premiere-feb-19-2012-spoilers-embargoed/613265.md?page=8)