Downton Notes

Normally I don’t do this, but I am tonight, just to sum up points:

• I want a doctor to attend to me in White Tie from now on. Exclusively. 
• The Matthew/Doctor convo (“everything working as it should?” “Oh yes.” ) was the most awkward thing I have ever seen on TV, in movies, or on the stage. Wow.
• Robert needs to grovel to his wife. And his daughters. and to Branson. And to Clarkson. He messed up. Big time. And now Sibyl is dead.
• Sibyl was definitely the sweetest daughter. I think Mary could’ve lied to Edith and said they’d try to “love each other better”, but Edith was a real bitch (sorry, she was!) in season 1, and sometimes in 2, and even when Mary was married, she couldn’t say congratulations. Edith has a lot of issues and she’s NOT been very nice to Mary in the past–she’s been just awful. (And yes, as we know, I have a Mary bias, but still)
• We know how Robert feels about Catholics, so next week will be interesting…but I really think he should let Branson do what he wants vis-a-vis a baptism. Although Catholics believe that an Anglican baptism is a valid baptism, so there really isn’t an issue here, but whatever.
• Something is going to happen with James and Thomas. Mark my words.
• I think Robert is going to have to “give” on the estate. The two people he’s always had on his side are Violet and Mary, and both of them now support Matthew (I think Mary will, based on the clip we saw of next week). For Downton to survive, changes have to happen. And Matthew and Mary’s future rests in that. How many more Reggie Swires will leave Matthew loads of money? Not that many. Not even in Downton is that possible! And Mary is Robert’s favorite, just like Sibyl was Cora’s favorite. Edith is, of course, no one’s favorite…oh well.
• I want Bates freed ASAP because I’m sick of the jail storyline. That would also make Thomas a first footman again, which would lead to the James and Thomas bit I forecasted above.
• Branson is going to be staying in England for a bit–maybe forever, because of the baby. That will be interesting.

This episode changed a lot of things and I think it will affect Robert and Cora the most. I don’t think they’ll divorce (as Violet would say, “our people don’t do that”–at least not until the 1990s….). But I do think Robert’s going to have to change things for his wife, and for his family. Especially for Mary and Matthew, since this is their future–Downton. One daughter has died, but he has two more, and they need to be provided for (although Mary’s married, her “providence” does depend on the estate. I suppose Matthew could go back to being a lawyer.).