And Mary should devote her energies next season to finding her baby a rich stepfather.
Sampiro Matthew did not inherit the title, he was never Earl Grantham. His titles from birth to death were
Master Matthew Crawley
Mr Matthew Crawley
2nd Lt Matthew Crawley
Lt Matthew Crawley
Capt Matthew Crawley
Matthew Crawley Esq
Persuasion and Brideshead Revisited are the two credits that stand out to me.
No, but he was next in line is the point; it’s possible Robert’s not the son of Earl who was the son of the Earl who was the son of the Earl, etc., but had an ancestor who, like Matthew, came to be the heir apparent indirectly rather than being the son of the predecessor. Otherwise it would be difficult for him to be both the great-great-great-grandson of an Earl and Robert’s third cousin, which was the point of the post.
All conjecture anyway, of course, unless Fellowes releases the Crawley genealogy.
What was the convention among servants for addressing servants of guests? It seemed like Shrimpie’s servants called all of the Crawley servants Mr. and Miss Grantham. And were the Crawley servants referring to their hosts’ servants as Mr. and Miss Flintshire?
Persuasion! That’s it. 1995 movie version with Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds. She was the snobby older sister Elizabeth Elliot. Her face has filled out a bit in 17 years. Thanks Auntie Pam.
The loss of Matthew really hurts the show, IMO, for a couple of reasons. That character was SO essential to the entire dynamic- without which the individual characters are far less interesting. Also, he was by far the most significant male “upstairs” character of generation. Without him there is a huge hole in male characters between the lord and the baby. Just makes things quite “unbalanced” IMO.
I’d been finding myself less interested this year- suspect I will become moreso next. Heck, I’ll still probably waste an hour or so with it on convenient Sunday nights, but I sure don’'t see making a point of watching it.
What the difference between the heir apparent and the presumptive heir? Is there one?
Regards,
Shodan
Visiting servants were addressed by their employer’s name and took precedence from them. If the Flintshires visited Downton then yes, Shrimpie’s vale and Susan’s maid would be addresed like that. The “host servants” keep their own names. I wonder how they would’ve address Violet’s lady’s maid? 
“Miss Dowager Grantham”? One of the woman at the table had to have been her since there’s no way Violet would travel without a maid.
An heir presumptive can be displaced by the birth of someone with a stronger claim to the title; an heir apparent cannot. Prince Charles is his mother’s heir apparent because he’s her eldest son and even she were somehow able to have another child it could not displace him. By contrast she was only her father’s heiress presumptive since if her parents had a son he’d displace her.
I rewatched Gosford Park this past weekend so I learned all about calling servant by their master’s surname.
There was also a Lavinia in that show. Wonder who Fellowes knew by that name.
I can’t believe we have another “E” name to keep track of. Edith, Ethel and now Enid!
I was thinking this at first, too. Why all the “E” names? But since she’s been shown the door, I guess we don’t have to worry about her.
The A.V. Club has a good synopsis of why Matthew’s sudden death was such a cheap shot - not because the actor wanted to leave, but because of the shitty way it was written.
I’m pretty much done with this show. Fellowes has been selling us the “Matthew + Mary = soulmates” stuff for three seasons. I can’t see myself caring about whatever new love interest they introduce for her.
I thought the new maid was Edna. No?
Oh my GOD! She was the baby sister, Cordelia Flyte, in Brideshead Revisited. I can’t believe it’s her. Little Cordelia!
If Robert had fathered a legitimate son at any time before his own death, then the son would displace Matthew as heir. That makes Matthew an heir presumptive, not an heir apparent. An heir apparent can’t be displaced by the birth of a new heir.
But, yes, Matthew’s son is Robert’s heir because he is Matthew’s son, not because he is Robert’s grandson.
I think next season it will be revealed that Grandma Levinson is a precursor to the Bene Gesserits who has plotted Cora’s breeding with Anglo aristocracy (producing only daughters in spite of her husband’s pleas), who then oversaw the sinking of the Titanic to remove the inferior breeding stock and arranged for the mating to Matthew, only to have him had killed in a moment of fury when Mary arrogantly and selfishly defied orders and produced a boy. The only real mystery is whether Violet is an ally or an enemy in the plot.
At least Matthew didn’t shaken his abdomen and fall to the earth dead after mating like other drones have done. That must have spared Mary a little bit of trauma (especially after her first mate died) and the servants some grody cleanup.
And now poor Molesly again has no one to dress.
StG
Unless he goes Norman Bates.
Hmm. If Anna and Bates have a son…
Eh, he can always go back to being Mrs Crawley’s butler. Although she has downsized her staff since season 1 when she made a big deal about how they needed a butler while Mathew was fining with getting by with Mrs Bird & maid they already had. Then Mosley left, the maid vanished, and Mrs Bird quit. I doubt he cooks so she’ll need a new cook-housekeeper.
Isobel presumably has some of the “invisible” servants like the ones mentioned at Downton (more of whom were visible than usual last night, incidentally).
Apropos to nothing under discussion, but Jim Carter and Imelda Staunton look so darned cute together. (With their daughter, who apparently is taking more after dad heightwise.)
