# Downton Abbey S6 - spoiler-free until broadcast in the U.S. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 16, 2015, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-s6-spoiler-free-until-broadcast-in-the-u-s/727966 "2015-08-16T02:06:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 18
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2016, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-s6-spoiler-free-until-broadcast-in-the-u-s/727966/341 "2016-02-16T20:51:05Z")
> [@leahcim](#): > > I doubt that Bertie can not put two and two together. It’s only the aristocrats who are slow on the uptake. > > Edith has papers documenting that she is the mother which she whipped out when she was taking Marigold from Mrs. Drew. She doesn’t need to adopt – she just needs to openly acknowledge the truth that even the most perfunctory investigation would turn up. Yes, but it’s much less scandalous to adopt a poor motherless child than to admit publicly you’ve had a child out of wedlock. See film stars such as Loretta Young. StG ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2016, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-s6-spoiler-free-until-broadcast-in-the-u-s/727966/342 "2016-02-16T21:24:04Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > …Was it a yellow Lab, like Isis? Looked more like a retriever of some kind. > [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Yes, that’s what I meant. Had kind of a narrow head, though - not as handsome as Isis. Musing… back when this series started, “[Isis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isis)” was just an Egyptian goddess. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2016, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-s6-spoiler-free-until-broadcast-in-the-u-s/727966/343 "2016-02-16T22:19:48Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > No, no…the thread is so long. Unless you read every day, you’re sure to miss something. > > But why the word “oogy/oogie”? As opposed to creepy, gross, skeevy, etc. I thought that was an interesting coincidence. (But then, I am known for being easily amused.) Well, in my mind “oogy/oogie” connotes disturbing with just a soupçon of revulsion. “Creepy” has a connotation of fear, “gross” is synonymous with “disgusting,” and “skeevy” has more of a flavor of squalid or low-class. I therefore declare oogie\* to be the perfect word describe a relationship between Tom and Mary. - FWIW, Urban Dictionary uses this spelling for the word, although their definition is “extremely gross.” UD considers “oogy” a completely different word, describing a feeling of illness. I stand corrected on my spelling! ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2016, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-s6-spoiler-free-until-broadcast-in-the-u-s/727966/344 "2016-02-16T22:42:02Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > It’s not okay to lie by ommission just because you assume that the other party probably has figured out what you are omitting. I don’t deny that there is an onus on Edith to come clean before any potential marriage. I just think it will be like Liberace coming out of the closet and expecting everyone to be surprised. **Edith:** I have something to tell you – Marigold isn’t my family’s ward – she’s actually my daughter! **Bertie:** Your family’s ward, in whom you seem to have such extravagant interest, and who appeared on your family’s estate shortly after your nine-month vacation to the continent? No duh! [QUOTE=StGermain] Yes, but it’s much less scandalous to adopt a poor motherless child than to admit publicly you’ve had a child out of wedlock. See film stars such as Loretta Young. [/QUOTE] But if she does formally adopt Marigold, the fact that Marigold’s birth certificate is names Edith as the mother is going to come out. Might as well just say “I adopted her” without going through any legal process and replace one fiction with another. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-s6-spoiler-free-until-broadcast-in-the-u-s/727966/345 "2016-02-17T00:34:45Z")
> [@StGermain](#): > > Yes, but it’s much less scandalous to adopt a poor motherless child than to admit publicly you’ve had a child out of wedlock. See film stars such as Loretta Young. > > StG Would Edith really need to _publically_ admit she’s Marigold’s mother for her new husband to adopt her? Obviously Bertie & the solicitors would know, but wouldn’t all of the paperwork be sealed by the court? ---
**Author:** ![Quercus\_alba](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quercus_alba/32/4061_2.png) [@Quercus\_alba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus_alba)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-s6-spoiler-free-until-broadcast-in-the-u-s/727966/346 "2016-02-17T02:18:37Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > … > And was the real reason for Violet to take a long boat trip that Maggie Smith needed to be written out of the show? Another unwed pregnancy, probably. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus\_alba](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quercus_alba/32/4061_2.png) [@Quercus\_alba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus_alba)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-s6-spoiler-free-until-broadcast-in-the-u-s/727966/347 "2016-02-17T02:20:41Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > I was picturing the puppy peeing down the front of his suit. And of course, there’d be someone to clean that up immediately, too. But that would be Bates’ job. Shit on the carpet would be a housemaid’s problem. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-s6-spoiler-free-until-broadcast-in-the-u-s/727966/348 "2016-02-17T03:41:10Z")
Surprised we didn’t eventually see Lord Grantham apologize to his sister for telling her to shut up at her own dinner table in her own house. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-s6-spoiler-free-until-broadcast-in-the-u-s/727966/349 "2016-02-17T07:09:06Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > Would Edith really need to _publically_ admit she’s Marigold’s mother for her new husband to adopt her? Obviously Bertie & the solicitors would know, but wouldn’t all of the paperwork be sealed by the court? I don’t know about “sealed” per se, but the legal mumbo jumbo can stay behind the scenes. The cover story can be simply “my daughter was a ward of the family, but we adopted her when she was very young.” That’s a polite fiction that can easily be maintained even if somebody does know the true backstory - and actually is closer to the truth than the current story. This is all speculation, of course. ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-s6-spoiler-free-until-broadcast-in-the-u-s/727966/350 "2016-02-17T11:53:38Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > The cover story can be simply “my daughter was a ward of the family, but we adopted her when she was very young.” Reminds me of “my nine-pound baby was actually born three months premature, probably caused by the residual stress from that very quick wedding (we were soooo in love that we had to get married right away, you see) after which he was immediately conceived”. ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-s6-spoiler-free-until-broadcast-in-the-u-s/727966/351 "2016-02-17T15:30:06Z")
> [@leahcim](#): > > Edith has papers documenting that she is the mother which she whipped out when she was taking Marigold from Mrs. Drew. She doesn’t need to adopt – she just needs to openly acknowledge the truth that even the most perfunctory investigation would turn up. Well, they would at least have to _tell_ people they were adopting Marigold, though there’d probably be no point in actually going through any legal procedures. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-s6-spoiler-free-until-broadcast-in-the-u-s/727966/352 "2016-02-17T21:53:16Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > I was wondering if Barrow will be able to cling to a position at Downton Abbey as a valet now that Moseley is leaving to be a teacher. It would be a step down for him from the glorious position of underbutler, but since his job hunt has thus far been fruitless he might prefer that to leaving. Moseley isn’t a valet, he’s a footman. He was a valet before with Matthew, and he considered a huge insult to become a footman. I would think going from Underbutler to footman would be even worse. EDIT: Speaking of which, Bates has the cushiest job doesn’t he? It seems like he was very little work to do, and none of the responsibilities of having to run the show like Carson. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-s6-spoiler-free-until-broadcast-in-the-u-s/727966/353 "2016-02-17T22:16:22Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > … Speaking of which, Bates has the cushiest job doesn’t he? It seems like he was very little work to do, and none of the responsibilities of having to run the show like Carson. They _all_ are shown to have an amount of free time which is wildly ahistorical. (It’s all part of the \*‘life in a low-mobility class system is the most fun EVAH’ \*message.) In real life, Bates would have been hovering around Grantham for all of the Earl’s waking hours, when not cleaning and preparing the Earl’s clothing, boots, etc. He’d have had little time for lounging about the servant hall (as he is so often shown doing). ---
**Author:** ![tim-n-va](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim-n-va/32/3001_2.png) [@tim-n-va](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim-n-va)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-s6-spoiler-free-until-broadcast-in-the-u-s/727966/354 "2016-02-17T23:03:48Z")
> [@leahcim](#): > > Reminds me of “my nine-pound baby was actually born three months premature, probably caused by the residual stress from that very quick wedding (we were soooo in love that we had to get married right away, you see) after which he was immediately conceived”. If a woman remains a virgin until her wedding, God will sometimes reward her with a compressed pregnancy. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-s6-spoiler-free-until-broadcast-in-the-u-s/727966/355 "2016-02-17T23:09:58Z")
> [@tim-n-va](#): > > If a woman remains a virgin until her wedding, God will sometimes reward her with a compressed pregnancy. Yeah…I think the nuns told us that one. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2016, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-s6-spoiler-free-until-broadcast-in-the-u-s/727966/356 "2016-02-18T00:02:09Z")
But the Crawleys are most emphatically _not_ Catholic. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2016, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-s6-spoiler-free-until-broadcast-in-the-u-s/727966/357 "2016-02-18T00:38:45Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > In real life, Bates would have been hovering around Grantham for all of the Earl’s waking hours, when not cleaning and preparing the Earl’s clothing, boots, etc. He’d have had little time for lounging about the servant hall (as he is so often shown doing). It seems to me that aside from meals, almost every time we see Bates in the servant’s hall he is polishing the Earl’s boots. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2016, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-s6-spoiler-free-until-broadcast-in-the-u-s/727966/358 "2016-02-18T01:32:45Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > Moseley isn’t a valet, he’s a footman. He was a valet before with Matthew, and he considered a huge insult to become a footman. I would think going from Underbutler to footman would be even worse… It’s an even bigger drop that you think; Mosley used to be a full fledged _butler_. His introduction was as Matthew & Isobel’s butler (he also valeted for Matthew). He followed Matthew to the great house after he married Mary; when Matthew died he ended up going into debt and working jobs like delivery boy and road construction worker before Carson hired as 2nd footmen (the lowest ranking male servant other than the nameless hall boys). When Carson had the flue Mosely even filled in as butler at Downton once (& made total mess of things when he got drunk tasting he dinner wine). ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2016, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-s6-spoiler-free-until-broadcast-in-the-u-s/727966/359 "2016-02-18T01:57:17Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > Moseley isn’t a valet, he’s a footman. Whoops, that’s what I meant. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-s6-spoiler-free-until-broadcast-in-the-u-s/727966/360 "2016-02-19T03:06:00Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I thought Violet was unduly harsh on the young bride-to-be. Judging by the younger woman’s reaction, it looks like the Dowager probably guessed right as to her motives, but it was still a guess, and an insulting one, at that. I rather liked it; Violet is so often seen being mean for sport, but I honestly think her motivation this time was that she was affronted that Isobel was being invited under … not exactly false pretenses, but with an underlying motive that wasn’t very nice. And it was a good reminder that for all of Violet’s scheming, she really knows what’s up. Of course she still enjoyed it. The puppy was indeed the best part! For this whole storyline, even before Charlie’s rash/fire, I’ve felt sorry for Mary because everyone else seems to expect her to completely disregard her issues with cars due to Matthew’s death. Although I suppose that is historically accurate – I don’t think people then were understanding of the power those associations could have, and besides, they’re English and as a culture they’ve just been through WWI and seemed to have reached a national agreement not to harp on all that suffering, so why should Mary’s suffering be given any special accommodation? Still, I wish she would have told any of them to shove it, she wasn’t going to a car race. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-s6-spoiler-free-until-broadcast-in-the-u-s/727966.md?page=17) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-s6-spoiler-free-until-broadcast-in-the-u-s/727966.md?page=19)