# Downton Abbey, Series 2 (PBS) \[Please, no unaired spoilers\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 13, 2012, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-series-2-pbs-please-no-unaired-spoilers/609368 "2012-01-13T04:06:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-series-2-pbs-please-no-unaired-spoilers/609368/121 "2012-01-30T12:18:25Z")
I don’t see anything wrong with Daisy. She knew what she felt for William & didn’t shilly-shally–like Mary blowing hot & cold with her “great love” for Matthew. Without the war pressing, Daisy would have probably explained that she loved William like a brother–not romantically. And now we know why Isobel’s character changed so much after the first series–from well-mannered do-gooder to bossy harridan. Her behavior gave passive-aggressive Cora an excuse to drive her away. Thus leaving the injured Matthew in Mary’s hands. If he’d arrived with his mother still in place, Isobel would have taken charge… And why the hell didn’t Bates go ahead & push for a divorce when he first found out wifie had been untrue? Adultery was the only grounds for divorce in those days. Yeah, yeah. All the delays in the various romances are needed to keep the plot chugging along. ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-series-2-pbs-please-no-unaired-spoilers/609368/122 "2012-01-30T12:54:16Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > I wonder how much the WW1 widow’s pensions were. On the one hand William wanted to marry Daisy so she would receive his, therefore it must not have been totally negligible, but otoh the new housemaid, Jane, had to take a job as a housemaid (about [£32 per year](http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/watch/downtonabbey2_ep4.html) per this chart and that for all day labor) even with her widow’s pension. I’m guessing Jane isn’t really a widow, and is therefore not receiving a pension. The other housemaid (Ethel?) will move on and use the same ruse to get work in another house. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-series-2-pbs-please-no-unaired-spoilers/609368/123 "2012-01-30T14:01:03Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > . . . > > I really don’t like Daisy. She’s such a little ninny.\*\* I’m guessing that she becomes the great-grandmother of Bubbles from _Ab Fab_.\*\* > > . . . I laughed so hard I snorted. 😃 Thanks for starting my day off right! :: giggle :: ---
**Author:** ![PrettyVacant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/49beb7/32.png) [@PrettyVacant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PrettyVacant)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-series-2-pbs-please-no-unaired-spoilers/609368/124 "2012-01-30T14:38:49Z")
Both of them; Daisy and William, you wouldn’t be desperate to get them in your pub quiz team. Just how many people did get kicked in the head by horses back then? ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-series-2-pbs-please-no-unaired-spoilers/609368/125 "2012-01-30T15:02:06Z")
A few medical questions: How realistic was William’s injury and death? Did that really happen? All he did was give a few wee ladylike wheezes (my mother had bronchial asthma, and would have rolled her eyes at those tiny rasps). Matthew’s winkie won’t work? I thought that was one problem paralyzed gents did not have (didn’t Christopher Reeve father a child after his accident?). ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-series-2-pbs-please-no-unaired-spoilers/609368/126 "2012-01-30T15:16:54Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > Matthew’s winkie won’t work? I thought that was one problem paralyzed gents did not have. It depends what caused the paralysis, the type, location, and severity of the injury. > [@](#): > > (didn’t Christopher Reeve father a child after his accident?) Reeve’s injury was in 1995. So far as I know, his youngest child was born in 1992. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-series-2-pbs-please-no-unaired-spoilers/609368/127 "2012-01-30T15:33:13Z")
> [@Cub\_Mistress](#): > > I’m guessing Jane isn’t really a widow, and is therefore not receiving a pension. The other housemaid (Ethel?) will move on and use the same ruse to get work in another house. This was my exact thought when I first saw her last night. Not a war widow, but a knocked up housemaid. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-series-2-pbs-please-no-unaired-spoilers/609368/128 "2012-01-30T15:39:05Z")
Am I the only one who’s kind of annoyed at Grantham’s characterization this season? They’ve made him so saintly, I was half expecting him to cure William and Matthew with a laying on of hands. ---
**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:** [January 30, 2012, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-series-2-pbs-please-no-unaired-spoilers/609368/129 "2012-01-30T15:40:02Z")
> [@Clockwork\_Jackal](#): > > If I was Anna I’d have been all over Bates like white on rice. Mrrrrrraow baby. I find the actor extremely attractive despite the age and portliness. But hey, YMMV. Double ditto this!! 🆒 > [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > I don’t see anything wrong with Daisy. She knew what she felt for William & didn’t shilly-shally–like Mary blowing hot & cold with her “great love” for Matthew. I thought Daisy showed great integrity in contrast to the high-born, game-playing, wishy-washy Mary who can’t sh8t and can’t get off the pot. I got the feeling that at the moment when William and Daisy actually got married (possibly with the kiss), Daisy’s solid loyalty kicked in and that’s why she wanted to sit with William til the very end. That she really grasped what he was doing for her–and it was a lot. He loved her and wanted her to have this, and she accepted his gift. A bittersweet transaction. As for how much was the widow’s pension? If it was more than zero, it counts. What I can’t figure out is what Sybil sees in that dufus of a chauffeur. She looks a little daft herself, what with her mouth always hanging open. Can we just kill Mrs. Bates, please? I think Richard could arrange that. It must KILL Grantham to just hang around the house all day wearing his uniform, reading the paper. I heard in an interview with Dana Reeve after Chris’s accident that he was able to achieve erection, penetration, and ejaculation. But presumably Matthew’s injuries are not the same. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-series-2-pbs-please-no-unaired-spoilers/609368/130 "2012-01-30T15:45:47Z")
> [@Clockwork\_Jackal](#): > > I’ve only been watching this show for a few weeks now. I saw the first season on Netflix. But I will say this: if I was Anna I’d have been all over Bates like white on rice. Mrrrrrraow baby. I find the actor extremely attractive despite the age and portliness. But hey, YMMV. Thirding this. I usually go for skinny guys but there’s something about Bates that makes him really attractive. And it seems that’s quite a popular view: [“The surprise sex symbol of Downton.”](http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/lifestyle/article-23894018-the-unlikely-cult-of-mr-bates.do) ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-series-2-pbs-please-no-unaired-spoilers/609368/131 "2012-01-30T15:55:01Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > What I can’t figure out is what Sybil sees in that dufus of a chauffeur. She looks a little daft herself, what with her mouth always hanging open. Thank you! During her whole scene, I was thinking , “close your mouth–are you trying to catch flies?” > [@ThelmaLou](#): > > I heard in an interview with Dana Reeve after Chris’s accident that he was able to achieve erection, penetration, and ejaculation. But presumably Matthew’s injuries are not the same. Yes, that’s what I was thinking too: those cringe-making too-much-information interviews Mrs. Reeve insisted on sharing. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-series-2-pbs-please-no-unaired-spoilers/609368/132 "2012-01-30T16:11:46Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Thirding this. I usually go for skinny guys but there’s something about Bates that makes him really attractive. > > And it seems that’s quite a popular view: [“The surprise sex symbol of Downton.”](http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/lifestyle/article-23894018-the-unlikely-cult-of-mr-bates.do) He’s this generation’s Mr. Darcy. ---
**Author:** ![PrettyVacant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/49beb7/32.png) [@PrettyVacant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PrettyVacant)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-series-2-pbs-please-no-unaired-spoilers/609368/133 "2012-01-30T16:44:08Z")
Well, I guess it’s a big issue for the Reeve’s. A ll about erections and spinal damage, perhaps not surprisingly it depends on the extent of damage to the spinal chord: [http://www.christopherreeve.org/site/c.mtKZKgMWKwG/b.4453431/k.A0C5/Sexuality\_for\_Men.htm](http://www.christopherreeve.org/site/c.mtKZKgMWKwG/b.4453431/k.A0C5/Sexuality_for_Men.htm) I think pretty well all the aids described post-date WW1. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-series-2-pbs-please-no-unaired-spoilers/609368/134 "2012-01-30T16:46:19Z")
[QUOTE=Captain Amazing] They’ve made him so saintly, I was half expecting him to cure William and Matthew with a laying on of hands. [/QUOTE] That would have made Daisy say “Oh shit then…”. ---
**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:** [January 30, 2012, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-series-2-pbs-please-no-unaired-spoilers/609368/135 "2012-01-30T17:21:23Z")
> [@PrettyVacant](#): > > Well, I guess it’s a big issue for the Reeve’s. It was an issue. Both are now deceased. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-series-2-pbs-please-no-unaired-spoilers/609368/136 "2012-01-30T18:06:59Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > I don’t see anything wrong with Daisy. She knew what she felt for William & didn’t shilly-shally–like Mary blowing hot & cold with her “great love” for Matthew. Without the war pressing, Daisy would have probably explained that she loved William like a brother–not romantically. I agree. I thought Daisy showed a lot of integrity when she resisted marrying William initially. Mary should marry either Richard or Matthew and get over with it. Frankly I might have chosen Richard over Matthew as he is vibrant and hard working. The moaning mush she’s become this season is not as interesting as her hard mannered, brittle, sharp tongued, confidence from the first season. What exactly was William’s injury? Was it severe gas inhilation in his lungs? My understading of paralysis before WWII was that even short term survival was rare due to infection and lack of access to effective antibiotics. So Matthew’s ability to even live might be in question after that sort of injury. Someone feel free to correct me if I’m wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-series-2-pbs-please-no-unaired-spoilers/609368/137 "2012-01-30T18:10:51Z")
I thought the doctor said his lungs had collapsed. It seemed a pretty bizarre kind of fatal injury to me that he was perfectly conscious and able to communicate and interact normally. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-series-2-pbs-please-no-unaired-spoilers/609368/138 "2012-01-30T18:58:17Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > I thought the doctor said his lungs had collapsed. > > It seemed a pretty bizarre kind of fatal injury to me that he was perfectly conscious and able to communicate and interact normally. Just a WAG, (haven’t seen the episode yet) but pleurisy was a very common cause/result of collapsed lung. Having experienced it (an infection of the pleural lining surrounding the lungs) I can say that as long as I lay still, there was little discomfort and I was able to talk normally. The slightest movement, deep breathing, or exertion induced extremely sharp stabbing pain. Like, you know that horrid stab of a “stitch in your side”? Now imagine that over a large area, any time you try to take a full breath. Luckily, in the 1980’s it was fairly easy to drain the fluid and destroy the infection with antibiotics. William wouldn’t have had the latter, and therefore the former would have been a fatal risk to take. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-series-2-pbs-please-no-unaired-spoilers/609368/139 "2012-01-30T19:35:19Z")
[QUOTE=LavenderBlue] What exactly was William’s injury? Was it severe gas inhilation in his lungs? [/QUOTE] No, I think it was related to an explosive but not a gassing. His lungs apparently got crushed or punctured in whatever happened to him. The actor playing his father did a good job of stoic grief. ---
**Author:** ![PrettyVacant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/49beb7/32.png) [@PrettyVacant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PrettyVacant)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-series-2-pbs-please-no-unaired-spoilers/609368/140 "2012-01-30T20:16:00Z")
My understanding was his lung issue was explosives related, something like overpressure from the shock waves. Wiki has stuff on blast injuries: > **[Blast injury](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blast_injury)** > > A blast injury is a complex type of physical trauma resulting from direct or indirect exposure to an explosion. Blast injuries occur with the detonation of high-order explosives as well as the deflagration of low order explosives. These injuries are compounded when the explosion occurs in a confined space. > Blast injuries are divided into four classes: primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary. > Primary injuries are caused by blast overpressure waves, or shock waves. Total body disruption is t... > [@ThelmaLou](#): > > It was an issue. Both are now deceased. That was quick. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-series-2-pbs-please-no-unaired-spoilers/609368.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downton-abbey-series-2-pbs-please-no-unaired-spoilers/609368.md?page=8)