That was just bad writing. Fellowes knew that in 2 episodes he was going to have a baptism for Sybbie and a point of conflict between Tom and Robert, despite there being zero mention of religion in the prior 3 seasons. So we need to foreshadow that in some way … hmmm… let’s have Robert stand on a chair and say “hey, did I mention I don’t like Catholics?”
She’s clearly willing to tolerate their antics as long as they don’t get too far out of hand. After all the is an elderly widow living alone in the country what else is she going to do for fun, buy a wireless. 
Right, and obviously none of the Crawleys are going to say anything anti-Semitic, and their friends would keep their mouths thought in front of them.
Gosh, they have so many flaws that if they were diamonds they’d be rejected. Perfect? Hardly.
Anti-Black bigotry wasnt that common in England, not like the USA.
It’s not like they just got married. They have been married for 34 years. I wouldn’t be at all surprised to hear that Violet was upset about it back then (though Cora brought money to the family, so Violet may have been more for it than Robert!) or that their peers had anti-Semitic thoughts, but it’s been 34 years!
Yeah, I assumed all the anti-Semitic jabber had been said and forgotten decades before. And once the daughters started coming along, the less said about it, the better.
I’m trying to think of any flaw in any of Fellowes’ aristocrats that is actually considered in pop-culture contexts to be genuinely shameful or deeply unattractive–such as being a boor, being a cheater at cards, being a drug addict, being a practicing masochist, being a pedophile, etc.
All I can think of are ‘attractive’ flaws such as Being Unconventional (and its converse Being Overly Pre-Occupied With Tradition and Unwilling to Innovate), Being Outspoken, Being Jealousy-Prone, and that sort of thing.
???
Well, Robert did lose his entire fortune due to massively idiotic investment decisions. Before that the family had fallen on hard times (for unspecified reasons?) which is why Robert had to marry Cora in the first place.
I was thinking of Robert with the “Being Overly Pre-Occupied with Tradition and Unwilling to Innovate” flaw. Such a viewpoint makes one a poor investor.
(Of course it could simply be down to his being thick.)
OK, I admit to getting all choked up at the final scene, with Isis in the bedroom.
Two dinner guests thrown out this year! Robert’s having quite the season. I don’t remember a thing about a prior dust-up with Larry Merton, but apparently every one else did.
Speaking of long memories – it’s nice that everyone, upstairs and down, remembers what happened to a piece of trash (an unused train ticket) from six months ago.
Does it seem like all of Mary’s dialog this season looks like:
Mary: [seething with contempt] blahblahblah
Mary: [s*narkily]* blahblahblah
One more thing: it looks like we were all right about how they would handle the question of Rose & Atticus. The Crawleys are open-minded, Atticus’s father is the problem. I could see Robert and m’lord saying “at least you’re not Catholic, amirite?” (fist bump)
Last time he was at dinner, Larry drugged Tom’s drink, causing Tom’s to spout a lot of pro-Irish rants.
Somehow, Larry got busted for it.
I think this was about two or three seasons ago. Other than that, I got nothin’.
Mary and Mrs Hughes talked at length about the train ticket because they thought it meant Bates had killed Green. I think Mary burned it to protect him. I’m not surprised they all remember it.
I liked this episode a lot. For once I thought Fellowes was being a little realistic with his characters.
Rose’s soon to be in-laws were reacting as I might expect them to react. It makes sense that at least one is against the idea of their son marrying a goy. The proposal in the corner was sweet. Her Atticus is easily the most handsome man on the show.
I love how Isboel is torn between wanting to be married to someone kind while being horrified by her new son in laws. At the same time, I’m not sure why no one anticipated that the sons might react the way they did. Most people would feel a little uncomfortable if their father or mother remarried after a loved parent died. Of course most of them wouldn’t be so impolite as to make a fuss at a dinner party . . .
I also love how Violet reacted. She won’t admit to friendship with her in any other context. Mary may have been the only one who who could have gotten that admission out of her. And Violet may be the only one who can tell Mary she lacks empathy.
Edith’s story needs to be drawn out more. She’s head of a publishing company. Why can’t she embrace that role more? I admit I understood her reasons why she didn’t want others to know she’d had the child. Mary would be cruel and so would most of the staffers and locals. She’s been left at the altar and now she’s the going to be the one with the bastard child? One can hardly blame her for wanting to avoid that.
I wanted to smack Anna at the end for making any comments about Edith’s child. She was not appealing there. Especially after she hates others to pay attention to her business and make insinuations afterwards.
The scene with Tom and little Sybbie was cute and sweet but I wish he’d just leave already.
Why doesn’t he go back to Ireland? Why Boston?
The Boston of that time practically is Ireland, isn’t it? Of course with a LOT more snow!
Tom said he’s got a cousin there who’s done well. He might also be wanted - or at least, still have some issues with the constabulary - in Ireland.
Nice episode, all in all. Both my wife and I were shouting “No! NO!” when it was proposed that Edith’s little girl go back to the farmer and his wife for a little while to set up the adoption scenario. Could be murder/suicide potential there: “If I can’t have her, milady, then neither can you…!”
Obviously Lord Merton, Isobel and the boys should’ve gotten together for a quiet talk well before any big dinner at DA. Ugh.
Atticus and Rose are very cute together. I thought for a second they were going to elope right then and there.
You could see Edith was biting her tongue at the end to keep from saying “You all care more about that damned dog than you did about my true love being killed by Nazi street thugs!” I wonder if the delay in calling the veterinarian made a difference for Isis; it seemed to take awhile.
I wonder how Tom’s relatives feel. Have we been told about anyone else other than his brother? Where is Tom’s mom? Has she seen her little granddaughter? Has his father? Maybe they’re made at him for turning to the Crawleys and allying with them. Maybe that’s why Boston rather than Ireland?
I’m thinking of proximity to her grandparents. If Tom goes to Boston, Robert and Cora will probably never see Sybbie again. As a new grandfather myself, that sounds heartbreaking.
Never? That sounds a little extreme… they certainly have the means to travel across the ocean from time to time, and a fast transatlantic cruise took less than a week.
I’m also very skeptical that getting Isis to the vet earlier could have helped. How good were vets in the 1920s at treating canine cancer, even if they caught it a week or a month before terminal instead of a few days? Heck, I bet that wouldn’t have helped even today.
Robert especially hates the idea because Sybbie is all he has left of his daughter.