The dress Mrs. Russell did wear reminded me of the inside of a dragon fruit.
That’s a great article, thanks for posting! I sent it along to a friend who became a great fan of the series.
Did anyone else notice this comment (from August 2013):
love to see a mini-series on the Vanderbilt/Astor world of the “Gilded Age”…a la “Downton Abbey”…
The poster only had to wait eight and a half years.
The show had been announced as in development at NBC in 2012, so…
I’m enjoying the look of the show, but that’s about it. My wife is really into dress-making, so we’re doing a lot of pausing to examine how a particular outfit is constructed. Other than that…. To paraphrase someone on Twitter, the stakes are 0 and the drama is 100.
I did enjoy discovering that some of it was filmed in Troy, NY. I realized this when I recognized the stairs into a fraternity house where I spent way too many inebriated evenings. 
Someone mentioned Teddy Roosevelt earlier and I checked to see what he was doing around this time. Apparently he was in the New York State Assembly fighting corporate corruption including Jay Gould the railroad tycoon who was a possible model for Russell. He would fit beautifully into the show and would be a nice counterweight to Russell who has basically seemed invincible till now. I really hope he is introduced in Season 2.
I think there is a rule that any show set in the 1880s has to somehow shoehorn Jack the Ripper into the storyline. So which character is going to pursue a new career in Whitechapel in the next 6 years?
He also lost his wife and mother on the same day in early 1884, which could add a great deal of (actual) pathos to the show.
There’s already a character named Jack, so halfway there.
Or Pumpkin. I wouldn’t trust Pumpkin. Pumpkin the Ripper has a ring to it.
I’m thinking that Baudin/Borden ratted out Bannister in episode six, and Bannister ratted out Baudin/Borden to he estranged wife as revenge. The sequence works out - Bannister is caught in episode 6, he received the note telling him who the rat was in episode 7, and Mrs. Borden shows up in episode 8. I think the elapsed time between episodes 7 and 8 is vague, so there might have been enough time for Bannister to suss out Bourdin’s past (plus presumably being English he was more exposed to native French speakers and picked up Baudin’s phony accent).
Church seemed the obvious candidate for ratting out Bannister; I think he was shown stepping away for a moment, presumably that was when he wrote the note.
I’m thinking that was a red herring, seems too obvious.
Fellows loves butlers. In his world, the butler never done it.
Given the season ended without resolving that loose end, my guess is they never return to it.
Plus Baudin/Borden seemed too nice a guy to do something so devious.
Depends. Spratt had no problem sabotaging Molesley when he felt his own job was at risk, plus he’s just kind of a dick in general.
I don’t think Fellowes TV shows are particularly known for their subtlety.
It seems pretty clear it was Church who ratted out Bannister.
I think maybe you’re glossing over the moment where Bannister makes Church stand in line at attention with the footmen, humiliating him in front of everyone, followed by Church glaring jealously from behind a corner at Bannister as he welcomes Mr. McAllister into the house.
Then there’s that scene when Bannister meets up with the Russell crew in their side alley where, after mentioning the letter he received from Turner which revealed who snitched on him, he basically threatens Church.
That’s a lot more believable than Bannister somehow (and completely off camera) figured out Monsieur Baudin’s entire past, anyway. I mean, sure, he could have just friended Baudin on Facebook, checked his LinkedIn profile, and then Googled him, but come on, when is he going to find the time to do that between serving luncheon and walking Pumpkin?
In that same scene Bannister also is sure to point out Baudin arguing with a woman on the street so that the staff couldn’t help but notice.
Then why is he threatening Church if this is all Baudin vs. Bannister?
Preferably, the answer will also explain away the 4 or 5 examples where we’re led to believe it is Church in the first place.
I’m just saying it would be a good plot twist and that it could fit what has been shown to the viewer. The threat to Church might be useful information to be used later as leverage.
If you’re going to have a twist, you have to set it up with misdirection.
That’s not a twist, that’s lazy story-telling.