Two ground rules; 1) open spoilers are allowed after each ITV broadcast, and 2) the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell rule is in effect for non-British dopers.
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I’m glad somebody pointed out to Edith early on how obvious she’s being and what conclusion people (like Mrs Hughes it seems) will draw. I like Violet’s slow realization of what Isobel becoming Lady Merton could mean to her, but her fears are completely unfounded. Even Isobel does marry him she’s not going to try to rival Violet (well maybe just a little, if only to throw it in her face a bit ;)). Thomas is just as evil & sexy has ever (don’t get me wrong he’d make a terrible boyfriend, but the sex would be fantastic). And if he did have more of a sense of moral propriety not helped Jimmy sneak into Lady Anstruther’s room Edith would be dead, and Downton possibly burned to the grown. 
Things sure aren’t going to be pretty when Edith’s secret get’s out. I loved how no one actually said what “one of those things” actually was when it’s comically obvious what they’re talking about 
(& I’m sure Lord Gillingham came prepared and w/ a lot less trouble too). And I can’t wait to see what’s in Granny’s past.
I gotta say Miss Bunting was being down right obnoxious during dinner. At least Robert finally realized when to quit. I did love how effortlessly Violet switched topics to Edith’s column while everyone pretended nothing happened. Speaking of Edith; I’m getting sick of her storyline. It’s dragging and threatening to turn into the next “Bates in prison” (I’m not looking forward to a reprise of that either).
I’m really confused as to what’s up with Thomas. :dubious: At first I though he was getting signing up for some kind of conversion therapy, but that doesn’t involve mysterious injections. I think we can safely rule out VD since he would actually need a sex life for that.
The phone call he made was to something called “Choose your own path” so yeah, I’m going with it being some kind of gay conversion therapy.
I’m becoming so disinterested with this show. The recycled plot lines are really starting to grate on me.
I’ve read no other post here; here’s the spoiler-free-until-broadcast-in-the-U.S. thread: Downton Abbey S5 - spoiler-free until broadcast in the U.S. - Cafe Society - Straight Dope Message Board
Did Cora really not realize how much she was leading Bricker on, though it was fun watching Robert go at him. Any thoughts as to who Edith was calling? It sounds like she’s gearing up for a custody fight; which she’d obviously win for a variety of reasons, at the cost of a huge scandal.
Anybody have an idea how Thomas’s “cure the gay” thing was supposed to work? :dubious: I know it’s pure quackery, but a little more detail would’ve been nice. I’m glad we finally saw some action on Edit’s storyline, but I wish somebody would’ve brought the insane Mrs Gregson. Doesn’t she get a life interest in at least a 3rd of his estate? I’m also very impressed that they managed to get through an entire horse race w/o anyone being thrown or otherwise injured; I can’t be the only one who was sure that would happen.
Shodan figures out in time that this thread is not the spolier-free one and runs out of the thread with his fingers in his ears chanting "ICAN’THEARYOUICAN’THEARYOUHMMMMHMMMM!!!
Regards until January,
Shodan
…and no comments so far on Mary’s bob? I liked it. Brought to mind when Sybil came downstairs in the harem pants.
I think the bob looks good on her. Until this episode I’d forgotten that Lord Merton was the one with the obnoxious son at Lady Mary’s wedding. Larry hasn’t changed at all. Granted everything he said were common opinions among the aristocracy of the time; but most would have much better manners than to actually say so at a dinner in someone else’s house.
I look forward to Lady Flintshire’s reaction to Rose’s fiancé. I presume they have to get married in a register office? I know even a Reform rabbi isn’t going to conduct a mixed wedding in 1924, but what were the Church of England’s rules at the time? I could imagine Rose eventually converting, but that takes too much for a single episode.
Oh, I don’t think we’ve even seen Robert look that vulnerable & heartbroken. Most of his grieving over Sybil was don offscreen. Only 1 more episode left before the Christmas Special.
Isis. 
In all a good episode. I was surprised at just what a vile bitch Susan is, even though it was incredibly obvious she did it. I am not happy that Anna is now being accused of murder, thought that case should fall apart pretty quickly and it was fun to see the detective’s response to Lady Mary trying to forbid him from arresting her maid. And now for the Christmas Special; which rumour has it actually takes place during Christmas this year.
Well I called Carson & Mrs Hughes getting married as soon as she mentioned she had no savings. And it was nice to see Thomas focus his wrath on people who actually deserve it for once. 
Granted they each deserved it for reasons unrelated to why Thomas actually did it, but still. Violet’s history really wasn’t much of a surprise, only the exact details of her confrontation with Princess Kuragin. On the other hand I wasn’t thrilled that Mary now get’s another Matthewesque suitor or that the Bates storyline is still not quite resolved. Can Fellowes please come up with a subplot for them that doesn’t involve homicide or sexual assault.
Didn’t Carson and Mrs Hughes have a discussion about marriage in the 2nd series? I’m remembering the sick old vaudeville partner or maybe it was the old farmer neighbor of Mrs Hughes who was sweet on her… somewhere around then Carson hinted that maybe he and Mrs H should be together and she turned him down.
I did enjoy the Christmas Special, more than the actual season. Thomas using his conniving for good although it did backfire on him. I LOVED the Dowager’s confession about how her affair with the Count ended. “She saved my life and now I’ve saved hers.” Perfect.
OTOH, this ridiculous pursuit by the police up to Yorkshire with first Bates and then Anna being suspected based on a vague description months later and Moseley and LadiesMaid trekking for months around pubs to find an eye witness. Although their story, of the barman remembering Bates because they were in the same outfit during the war wasn’t too bad.
Edith continues to be a drag. I mean, she runs a newspaper now? Is she at least writing her infamous column? No, she spends her time glomming onto the tenant farmer’s family. And in the end, she kidnaps the child, once again prying the kid away from a stable situation. Yech.
The Bates/Anna and the Edith/Merigold story lines prove that Fellowes can outline interesting characters but he fumbles the day-to-day script writing. He’s lucky that it’s so well-cast.
I mean, the ominous doctor’s visits by Robert… was that really just set up so he could over-indulge at Christmas? I ended up thinking the ulcer was just a story he told Cora so she wouldn’t worry. Because having him die with Mary taking over running the estate would amp up the story. I liked her new potential suitor by the way, but I like him on The Good Wife as well so I hope he doesn’t jettison one for the other.
Also, can Daisy please go off and get another job instead of just talking about it for TEN years (in the series’ elapsed time)
That was a nice send off for Tom.
I thought Mary was going to confess her love for Tom. Seems to me they’re on the same wavelength and have great admiration and respect for each other. Prime fodder for getting hitched.
Nah, they clearly think of themselves as brother and sister.
Like that’s ever stopped Nobility.
I really hope we get to see more of Edith the financially independent businesswoman next series, but I don’t want to get my hopes up too much. I agree about Daisy. Sure there must be some way to keep her on the show and give her a better life plan than waiting for Mrs Patmore do die. It’s gotten even worse since apparently Ivy hasn’t been replaced and Daisy’s back doing kitchen maid work (granted they were always kinda fuzzy on the distinction between assistant cook & kitchen maid).
Funny, for awhile I was starting to think the same thing about Edith and Tom.
European nobility drew the line at first cousin (or occasionally uncle/niece) marriage; it was Egyptian royalty that wed brother to sister to keep the divine bloodlines pure (even that it’s unclear how many of those unions were ceremonial instead of being intended to produce offspring). Even though Tom & Mary are only in-laws them marrying would raise more than a few eyebrows (it only became legal for a widower to marry is sister-in-law in 1907.
During one of the openings of the earlier episodes I thought to myself “that dog must be pretty old by now” then only a few episodes later she was sick, like somehow it’s my fault for questioning the dog’s existence.
I’m very happy about Carson and Mrs. Hughes and I hope we can stop having people named Bates go to prison.
oh right, did the dog die? I forget now.
At the time, I thought it was foreshadowing Robert’s death and then in the Christmas episode, he had those mysterious visits to York, which wasn’t so much foreshadowing as blatant signposting. But it turned out just to be an ulcer. Except someone like Lord Grantham would absolutely not be going to a “doctor in York” but seeing a specialist in Harley Street.
I’m not convinced it was just an ulcer. I think he’s sparing Cora and the family from worry and that he really has the looking-good kind of cancer (see Love Story) and will die at the beginning of the next season, throwing Mary into running the estate on her own. The death duties alone will take up two or three episodes.