The SL is very perplexing. Poor Mr. Carson nearly keeled over listening to the details of what happened between Thomas and James, while OTOH, Robert in talking to Bates acts like “what’s the big deal”.
Don’t know why Jimmy is letting Obrien force him into pressing charges - he should just be glad that Thomas will be gone. I’m still waiting for the Grantham’s to learn of O’Brien’s part in the miscarriage of their son – want to see her dealt with swiftly.
He was until O’Brien convinced him that if he didn’t try to press charges, everyone would think that he was in on it.
Could that have to do with them having fought in the war and that made them more worldly?
Mrs Bird is gone but I’m glad we still have moral guardians among us!
Thanks – I love this. I have been convinced for most of this season that Mary was secretly using birth control, but couldn’t figure out how that fit into the “minor operation” scene. Your explanation fits both my theory and the storyline.
I think the difference between the outrage with Edith and the lack thereof with Thomas is that Edith’s “shame” was public. People knew she’d had a bastard and prostituted herself. For members of the household to consort with her would have them tarnished by her shame. Thomas’s peccadillo, OTOH, was private, and as long as Jimmy didn’t make it public it wouldn’t harm the reputation of anyone at the big house.
Robert may not have cared so much as long as it remained below stairs. As was mentioned, being a public school boy and a military man might have made him feel like what those in power do to their subordinates is legitimized.
StG
Ethel.
If Edith became a prostitute and had a bastard, now *that *would be a scandal. 
Carson is always about the reputation of Downton. He told Anna it was better if she left when Bates was convicted because it might reflect badly on the house if she stayed. He was equally aghast at both Ethel and Thomas.
I predict that we will eventually find out that Alfred is really O’Brien’s son.
She tearfully reveals: “When I learnt I was pregnant, I tried gettin’ rid of it… I left the soap out on the bathroom fllor I don’t know how many times but never could bring me self to trip on it!”
Which is why Cousin Shrimpie can both have “a job” and be higher up on the social scale than Robert. And as it’s been pointed out; it would’ve have been a big deal if Matthew was a barrister as opposed to a solicitor since the Bar led to the judiciary & politics. Back in season one Edith even mentioned that their cousin was studing for the Bar.
Wait…what? 
Edith’s behavior struck me as hypocritical. You seemed unsure of the definition of the word – and thought I was somehow criticizing her reluctance to get involved with a married man for a second time – so I clarified. How does that make me a “moral guardian”?
About Mary’s minor surgery. My sister had scar tissue on her cervix and she had a very small procedure to make it possible for her to conceive. Basically they have to stretch the cervix in order to make the scar tissue more flexible. I assumed that Mary caught some STD from the Turkish Gentleman and this caused some internal scarring, which would have been easy to fix in the 1920s.
Oh, and by the way, I like seeing the hallboys and some of the minor underservants. There must have been a lot more servants than we normally see.
And where did they get cricket uniforms that just happened to fit everyone perfectly? All the male servants from Mr. Carson to tall Alfred had perfect cream colored uniforms. How?
Barrow’s Rent-a-Uniform.
I believe Mr. Pamuk told Mary in no uncertain terms that she would still be a virgin when they were through. I assumed some kind of non-penetrative shenanigans went on, so all this talk of STDs is leaving me slightly baffled. Plus, didn’t he die before much could have occurred?
(Yes, I know you can acquire an STI through other forms of sexual contact, but still…)
The internal scarring could have been fixed but no STD could have been cured in the days before antibiotics.
Lord Fellowes just needed a dramatic device to keep Mary & Matthew apart. And to cause suspense, although it really was early for them to worry about sterility and/or barrenness.
Lazy writing. Nothing new with this show! Just enjoy the good bits & hope he rewards his loyal cast with better writing this time…
Exactly. It’s just some mystery condition and the writers didn’t have anything specific in mind.
I think he said something like “You can still tell your husband you are a virgin.” which led to Mary’s flustered joke about “him proposing.”
I took it that Mr. Pamuk was telling her she could lie about the encounter, not that he wasn’t going in.
Given how seriously Grantham takes the annual cricket game I can see him ensuring that his team had proper fitted uniforms, unlike the village boys.
That scene was originally written with a line about how Mary could hide a phial of blood under her pillow so she could still seem a virgin for her husband, but it was cut before filming. Fellowes hadn’t realized at the time how the scene, as it plays now, would be misconstrued by a large percentage of the audience who thought Pamuk’s line about remaining a virgin meant they would do something other than PIV sex.