I miss O’Brien. Her character was fabulous. I would have much rather that she found Anna than the eternally sweet Mrs. Hughes. SHE’d have known how to take care of the evil Gillingham.
What will happen when Edith’s paramour gets caught up in Nazi politics? I assume that is where that storyline is heading.
The interaction between the two grandmothers is the best part of the show.
You are so right! That would have been fabulous!
This was a plot element in the recent short-lived revival of Upstairs Downstairs. One of the young ladies of The Family defiantly got involved with a German guy and then she had to be rescued from a sticky Nazi mess. Don’t remember the details.
Wow–no comments on the US airing of episode 4?
I guess everyone was watching the 49ers and Seahawks…
I thought Anna’s reaction, namely feeling dirty and unworthy to be touched by Bates, was entirely realistic. Not based on reality, but exactly what I would expect from her and not entirely unexpected even from a modern woman.
Good riddance to Edna. Loved the scenes ever she handed her her head. Mrs. Hughes is certainly turning out to be everyone’s go-to person.
Edith is headed for doom. I was surprised to hear Rosamund refer to the band leader as “black.” Wouldn’t she have called him a Negro? Or maybe they started saying black in Britain decades before we did here.
As a widow, I think Mary’s statement to Lord Gillingham that her head was still full of Matthew and she wasn’t ready to give that up yet was spot-on. She realizes that of necessity he will move to the background, but she isn’t ready to actively move him there-- yet. And she sees what she is doing and is even sad about it. Very realistic.
Back then, I think, “Negro” was the polite term. “Black” was derogatory.
Call me crazy, but I’m seeing a budding romance between Mary and Tom.
The best word I can think of to describe this season is “thin”. Just not much there.
Interesting. I didn’t know that.
That jazz at the club didn’t seem very jazz-y to me. I actually loved Mrs. Hughes being able to deal quietly and competently with Edna. Poor Tom. My estimation of the Duchess went up quite a bit when she had her little talk with him.
StG
Poor Mary. The romance with Lord Gillingham was contrived I thought. She should be allowed some more time to mourn. Same with Tom. The Edna story was boring.
Aunt Rosamund was mean to Edith. She was deserted at the altar. How can she care what anyone thinks anymore? I would have told her to find love where she can and all else be damned.
I liked the Escoffier story downstairs. It’s about time some of those servants moved on. They’re getting great training from Mrs. Patmore. There’s no reason Daisy or Alfred can’t use it elsewhere to better effect.
I also thought Anna’s reaction was understandable. She’s probably shell shocked right now after the assault. I can imagine her not wanting to be touched, barely capable of being near any man right now.
I was kind of disappointed that Tom banged Edna. Also, I wish they would show more scenes with him and his daughter, sort as a reminder what in the world he is doing hanging around people that make him so uncomfortable.
Also, Anna’s injuries coupled with her drastic change in character seems like it would lead someone to put two and two together. It’s not like rape/sex was unheard of, just not talked about.
I had the same thought, but IIRC one of the guys (the one who was interested in Rose?) assured Aunt Rosamund before they went to the club that it wasn’t a jazz band, just a good dance band.
People have noticed that something is up with Anna, but I don’t think they’d assume she’d been raped. (I’m not sure what you mean by “rape/sex” – what happened to Anna was very clearly rape.) First, even today it’s all too common for people to assume that if a woman has been raped she must have been careless or irresponsible in some way, and this would have been even more true nearly a century ago. But Anna isn’t careless or irresponsible, so she wouldn’t seem like a likely rape victim. Second, even if someone did suspect that Anna might have been raped, it wouldn’t be clear who could have done it or even when they’d have had the opportunity. She’s rarely out of earshot of other household members.
Since Anna has provided a mundane explanation for her injuries, I think others would assume that she’s upset about something totally unrelated.
Why did they bring Edna back if they were just going to write her off again so soon? I mean, her story arc over these last few episodes is basically exactly the same as it was the first time. I was hoping they’d keep her around as an adversary to the other servants.
Mrs. Hughes really is shouldering a lot of other people’s “baggage” now. I wonder what she’s going to tell Cora about Edna leaving.
I was disappointed that there was no Molesley this episode.
agreed. Anna could have had an affair with someone else and her behavior of rejection and emotional stress a function of that affair. She made every attempt to conceal the rape which lessened the obviousness of it. her husband would have suspected something was wrong and pursued it.
What year are we in now?
Does anyone else see a potential romance between Mrs. Hughes and Carson?
StG
you missed the episode where he grabbed her and threw her on the prep table. “Mrs. Hughes, I hope you don’t think this too forward but I feel there’s been something I must get straight between us”.
Another Facebook recap for the second episode. Hereis the one for the third episode.
An image from another thread: the costumers for the show deserve multiple awards for keeping these things hidden. How many rolls of duct tape do you suppose that bit of artistry requires?
Well Daisy just has to wait around until Mrs Patmore has a heart attack for real. Ditto for Thomas.
Thank you for sharing that! Almost as good as the ones for Game of Thrones.
So do Robert and Cora know that Edith’s beau is married or not?
I was surprised at the way Mrs. Hughes outed Edna. I thought the proof that Edna wasn’t pregnant would be from the laundry, something to pinpoint Edna’s menstrual cycle. Or did people not know about ovulation cycles and timing in the 1920’s?
Women can get pregnant on their period, but it might have scared her into revealing the truth, as Ms. Hughes managed anyway.
Frankly I’m a little curious as to what that book said.
