She doesn’t seem to mind him picking up the card. She doesn’t get that expression on her face (accompanied by some “pay attention” type music) until Robert playfully mentions that if Isobel becomes Lady Merton, she could become “a great lady of the county and put us all in our place.” In other words, serious social competition for the Dowager. Which is why she invites Lady Shackleton to cock block Lord Merton.
What I thought was weirder was that the Dowager was talking about how tired she was from attending two parties in one day and then she slipped out of Downton with almost no one noticing. I hope that’s not foreshadowing something bad for her. They’ve already done the “the Dowager is sick” story, so I don’t want next weeks episode to start with her funeral.
I think it was just the opposite. Earlier in the episode she mentions something about Lord Whatsisface wanting to spend more time with Isobel, (or was it the other way around?) and the other person (Robert?) saying something like “it will be good to have another “grande dame” around” – to which the Dowager Countess gets a funny look on her face, realizing it would be a threat to her position as Queen Bee at Downton. Add to that the tension between Isobel and the Dowager Countess, and I think she was trying to torpedo any union of Isobel and Lord Whatsisface. Inviting several other people, including the very eligible Lady Shackleton, seemed like a way to steer Lord Whatsisface away from Isobel.
These references to “Edwardian” have been driving me nuts. King Edward died in 1910; “Downton Abbey” opened with the sinking of the Titanic, which was in 1912. Alastair Bruce (“Manners” presenter) is billed as the series’ “historical advisor”; he should be more historical.
Yeah, I know, “Edwardian” is a sort of shorthand for “from Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee to the outbreak of World War One”. Nonetheless, from 1910 to 1936, King George is Da Man.
The guy isn’t saying that this takes place in Edwardian England, just that they are Edwardian manners, which I would suspect carried over for some time after the man died.
I wouldn’t think that getting to live in someone else’s grand country house would be that big a draw for a man born into the aristocracy. If Mary had inherited the whole estate outright then that would be one thing, but it’s not just the money but the house, land, and title that will go to baby George in time. As I understand it, her second husband and any children they have together would have no claim on any of this, and if George felt like it he could kick them to the curb once he inherited.
A man who wants to live in comfort would be better off doing like the current Lord Grantham and marrying a woman with lots of money, and a man who just wants a pretty bride from a suitable family would presumably be more interested in the much younger Rose.
So, how old is Mary likely to be now? She was of age to be married when the Titanic sank, so18 at least in 1912. (Though she looked and acted older than that to me) And “now” it’s 1924 so 30+.
Which isn’t ancient, of course, but since it appears one of the major driving forces between aristocratic marriages is producing heirs… And in that case, the odds are better if you marry a just-out girl rather than the 30-something widow.
I took it as cunt-blocking (can’t quite imagine the ladies doing any cock-blocking), and definitely thought Dowager did not like the idea of Isobel becoming a grand lady.
Very early on (maybe in the pilot) the Dowager made a comment about Mary already having gone though four (social seasons) without getting an engagement; which would mean she was born in 1890 or ‘91. Of course whatever inconsistencies there are with characters’ ages on Downton pales in comparison with Upstairs, Downstairs’s issues.
