Sorry this is late but as you can imagine, life is a little busier these days. I was solo this weekend while Brian was with him mom at Stanford Medical Center where his dad is still recovering. Today I was busy running errands and helping my MIL with some things. My FIL is doing well, although we were hoping he would come out of ICU today but he was having some heart issues so he’s still there. His recovery is going to take some time and a lot of effort (from each of us.) As such, this may be shorter than normal.

Photo credit: itv.com

Okay, where to start….

She Love Me, She Loves Me Not

Mary decided that she was not in love with Tony and planned to break it off. Although she likes him, she wants him to be her children’s godfather, not their father. I hear a chorus of “I told you so” from #teamblake members everywhere. (Myself included.) Tony is nice and certainly easy on the eyes (wait, can I say that as a married Catholic woman?) but there was no spark. No fire. It was all too vanilla. Now compare that to when Blake and Mary are in  the same room. The sparks are definitely flying. More importantly, they do have a lot in common, they have a similar backgrounds, they work well together and they complement each other. But, that’s just my opinion. 😉

Tony, of course, disagrees. He was shocked and angered that Mary broke it off with him. I was a little taken aback that he was going to fight her on this. Maybe he’s not all vanilla. The one thing I didn’t understand is when Blake told Mary maybe she could soften the blow. What did he mean? My first thought was to get Gillingham back together with his former fiance. (Her  name escapes me at the moment.) Or maybe he wanted Mary to tell Tony she chose Blake instead. That would seem to aggravate, not soften. What did you think he meant?

Unrequited Love

Rose continues to surprise me that she prefers to spend time feeding the Russians in a soup kitchen instead being out on the town. Her character is developing into someone with much more depth than the flighty girl of seasons past. At the soup kitchen we met Violet’s old beau once again. This time we find out that Prince Kuragin once asked her to run away with him. She was tempted to do so but Lord Grantham subtly gave her two picture frames of their children. She declined the Prince’s offer but it seems she never quite ended her love (or fondness) for him.

This was an interesting bit about Granny. I always picture her a little like Mary as a young woman, opinionated with a sharp tongue and definite ideas of how she will lead her life. Knowing she had the opportunity to run away with wild abandon, yet she decided to honor her marriage vow, makes me admire her more.

Now Violet has set it upon herself to look for Kuragin’s wife. It was discovered that many of the Russians ended up in Hong Kong, where they found work as servants, taxi drivers, milliners and prostitutes. Violet commented, “I will not suggest which of those callings the Princess Kuragin was most suited.” It’s obvious Violet did not like the woman yet she said that she owed her.  Why did she owe her? Did something happen between them? Did the Princess know about the Prince’s plan to run away? We’ll see.

Meanwhile, Violet’s gal pal had her own romantic intrigue. As expected, Lord Merton proposed to Isobel. What was not as expected was how eloquently and beautifully he expressed his regard for her. Well, not just regard. He was in love with her. I never gave him much mind but for the first time I really felt for him. I still prefer Isobel with the doctor and she seems to be more suitable for him but now I hope Lord Merton does find happiness with someone.

In the downstairs quarters, Thomas is looking for happiness and seems to be taking extreme measures to find it. He came back from “visiting his dying father” looking like he was dying himself. Baxter, who I admire for trying to be kind to him despite his nasty behavior to her, found him screaming in his room with what looked like a syringe and heroin. Later she saw an ad in a magazine he was reading about “choosing your own path.” I can only assume he is undergoing treatments to supposedly cure him of his homosexuality. It will be interesting to see if he eventually opens up to Baxter and shares his ordeal.

Baxter’s side-kick was not at her side last night. Instead he was doing the numerous jobs of “first footman.” I had to laugh at Carson trying to rid him of holding onto to no longer relevant titles since he is so resistant to change himself.

The Calm before the Storm

Robert was not having a great episode. First he had to deal with his jealousy over Mr. Bricker’s infatuation with Cora. Then he had to once again be jousted by Sarah “I-send-people-to-the-confessional-for-their-thoughts-about-me” Bunting at his own dinner table. Omg, is that woman incapable of shutting her bloody mouth? I have no problem about how she feels. I have a big problem with how she expresses it! It is one thing to hold your convictions but another to insult the man that is feeding you, not to mention humiliating the very man you supposedly care for and who just asked you to behave. If Tom does not distance himself from her after this last episode, I will really lose respect for him.

Back to Robert, I must say that I was touched by how kindly he dealt with Edith as she opened her heart to him about Michael and her fear to know what really happened to him. He explained that knowing the truth, as ghastly as it might be, was better than not knowing. Poor Edith, cannot get much lower. The pain of Gregson’s death was only magnified by being banished from her little girl’s side. I am just waiting for that storm to blow and for her to crack and take her child back.

The other storm that is about to blow is the Bates situation. Not only is Bates under suspicion but now Anna is too! Beloved Anna. She innocently delivered a note to Gillingham’s and then went to where Green was killed. She didn’t know that she was being followed by a police officer who was watching her moves. So now they both are going to be in trouble. Shall I say again how much I detest this dragged out storyline? Shall I explain how much I loath the thought of another “is Mr Bates going to hang” cliffhanger? Shall I express my disdain at the thought of having to watch Anna’s pained expressions again?? No? Fine, then I shan’t mention another word.

Random Thoughts

— I admired Cora for not going further with Bricker when she had the chance last episode but she is treading dangerous ground as she enjoys his flirtations. I’d hate to see her make a mistake she’d regret. (And Brian does not like Bricker one bit!)

— Kudos to Daisy for expressing herself so eloquently to Robert. Kudos to Robert for accepting defeat so gracefully.

— Kudos again for Robert for not jumping over the table and strangling Bunting on the spot. For once I appreciated Mary’s icy response when it was directed to her.

Favorite Quotes

Lord Merton: “I should really get down on one knee but I fear I’d never get up again.”

Robert: “We can talk about it [selling the land] tomorrow.”
Mary: “Not me. I am going up to London first thing. Aunt Rosamond is taking me to a dress show.”
Robert: “It’s good to know you have your priorities straight.”

Blake: “I wish I could work you out.”
Mary: “I wish I could work me out.”

Violet: “Oh dear, Susan has been in a rage since she was playing with her dolls. I am proof against her tantrums.

Okay, your turn. Tell me what you think!

Find other Downton Abbey Episode recaps here.

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