Nick and Jess: OTP Forever

New Girl’s (On Fox Tuesdays currently) Nick Miller and Jessica Day. Arguably current TV sitcom’s greatest off and on relationship. The two first met when she moved into the loft, and as Nick would later put it, “I fell in love with Jess the minute she walked in that door.” In season two, Jess was casually hooking up with the handsome Dr. Sam until she started to develop feelings for him. She didn’t know how to deal with her emotions so she turned to Nick as a friend for emotional support, which upset him, because he had real feelings for her. Then, the fateful, infamous episode “Cooler,” happened when during a wild game of true American, Nick refused to kiss Jess for the sake of the dare, because he wanted a real kiss. Later that night, he grabbed her in the hall and we were #blessed with one of the sexist kisses in sitcom (TV ever??) history.

After a bit of will they won’t they and other respective dating partners, they finally became official. Their dating days were glorious and hilarious, and #Ness shippers could not get enough. Devastation came at the end of season 3 when, after weeks of constant bickering, Jess started to overanalyze the entire thing. She brought up what essentially was her 10 year plan of marriage and a family, and Nick freaked out. In the final heartbreaking conversation, they decided that love was the only thing they had in common, and it was not enough, ending it with an awkward salute/finger pistol combo. Honestly, it was really sad, mostly because we as the audience understood there was and always will be so much love (and chemistry) between them. The content of their conversation though, is worth considering going forward with the series, now that Jess realized she’s still in love with him, but I’ll get to that in a minute. After a season and half where it really seemed like were moving on and their relationship was behind them (besides the great sex mug storyline), the second to last ep and finale of season 5 brought about this realization, jam packed with callbacks to Nick and Jess’s past relationship. The handsome and excellent Dr. Sam broke up with Jess as she realized she didn’t want to marry him anyway - postgame time of true American (sound familiar?). In the moment, Jess couldn’t articulate her feelings for why she couldn’t marry him, but good ol Dr. Sam knew. “It’s Nick.”

(Call back to Sam before: HE EVEN EXITS COOL).

The next morning, Jess broke the news to Nick: “He was in love with his best friend, so. Predictable. Hah.” (all the feels.)  Throughout the wedding festivities, Nick frets about trying to reconnect with Reagan (Megan Fox, who was their temporary roommate), unsure if he should pursue a relationship with her or give up. “You of all people know that I’m just the weird detour you take before you find the guy you want to be with.” “Stop it Nick. I’m tired of you being the only person who doesn’t see how incredible you are. You’re always so ready to believe the worst in yourself and right now i need you to believe in the best, okay.” I believe this was the moment Jess finally admitted to herself that she still loves him, deeply. The way Nick and Jess of season 5 ended, he was going to leave with Reagan to travel with her doing her job in New Orleans, dancing (and looking hella fine with his beard I might add) while Jess stared wistfully.

Season 6 is almost certainly going to be #Ness focused, or it’s at least going to be a major theme. Show creator (and straight up awesome writer) Liz Meriwether said as much in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, she had this to say about the two: “We're trying to figure out a way to reintroduce the dynamic but in a new way. I love the two of them together, and I think this season we did a good job of using the guest stars to be catalysts to the Nick-Jess relationship. I think we're going back into that story area, but hopefully with growth for both characters and a new dynamic that will be still give us some tension between them.”

Has anything changed? Can they realistically successfully be a couple again, and last for the long haul? The two as an OTP are not without haters. This author felt that the writers artificially forced the chemistry between the two (????) and that them being together would ruin the dynamic of the show and this article claimed that Jess “neutered” Nick’s existance. Also, I could be way wrong here, but it’s really possible these authors and others like them wrote a controversial opinion about a popular thing for the sake of clickbait.

One other negative nelly worth noting: Jake Johnson himself is not the biggest Ness fan: “What I personally think, is that I really like the Nick and Jess dynamic together, [but] I think Season 3 it was just too much. I don't think the show was ready for them to be together for an entire season. I think that was hard and that the show suffered from it a little bit. There will always be something between Nick and Jess. But I think that they're [the writers] just a little bit worried that it gets a little bit too heavy when they get together because they are both such big characters on the show." Sure, maybe Jake has a point - the writers chose to create Nick and Jess’s relationship something focused and all consuming that changed some storylines, but it absolutely doesn’t have to be that way. Look at Schmidt and Cece’s relationship in season 5! Most of the season has been about their wedding, yet it’s served up many opportunities for the gang to get up to the usual New Girl shenanigans and grow deeper friendships. Also worth mentioning is that Winston of season 3 is very different than the fabulous, fully fleshed character of Winston we are gifted with today.

Ultimately, I totally believe that Nick and Jess are endgame. Liz Meriweather has said again and again that they are the central characters of the show and always will be her favorite.Though, if that is the end goal, I doubt that would actually happen (like a wedding or a kid) until the series end someday (hopefully not anytime soon!!). As for going into season 6, I think they will get together, though probably not until the end of the season - they can and should take their sweet time. It's certainly a shift in dynamic - in previous seasons, Jess was oblivious and Nick was pining after her, so it's switched now. And as to the question of not breaking up this time around, Liz said this: “She’s realizing that she still loves Nick, which I think is a big moment of self-awareness for her, that is also growth in a lot of ways. She says to Reagan that she realized that a lot of the things that she thought were wrong with Nick the first time they dated [don’t] really matter.” SEE! SEE?? Problems before are not problems anymore because of how they've grown and changed and learned about love. ALL THE HEART EYES. I can't wait, and I fully trust it'll be worth the wait till fall.

Ranking Community Episodes

I recently binge-watched all Community and it is now one of my all time favorite shows. Like The Office and Parks and Recreation, it’s a sitcom based in a simple, realistic setting that casted an incredible and quirky ensemble of actors. Joel McHale leads as an arrogant and snarky lawyer who got caught having a fake college degree. He is forced to attend the world’s worst fake real educational institution; Greendale Community College, a place where it somehow takes 4+ years to get a two year degree. When struggling to connect with a girl in his Spanish class (taught by an crazy Asian dude who calls himself Señor Chang), he accidentally creates and becomes the leader of a group of misfits in a study group that never actually studies. If you liked the other shows mentioned above, you will love and are missing out on this show. The first 5 seasons are currently streaming on HuluPlus and season 6 can be viewed on Yahoo (#sixseasonsandamovie).

There are many articles discussing the best episodes, but it is a difficult thing to do because they show evolved in so many ways by the end, not to mention switching writers for a season. I decided to break them down into different categories so that a wider array of the most excellent episodes can be appreciated for what they are. Season 2 is unquestionably the best. There’s no debate about it. In doing extensive research for this episode, I realized that only a single episode from season 4 made it on this list. This season had new writers because there were “creative differences” with the original creator/writer for the show. While I don’t remember feeling like it was a particularly bad season, it was mostly just average not that memorable. Joel McHale said he refused to come back if they didn’t bring Dan Harmon back, and thank goodness he did because seasons 5 and 6 were worth it. I also surprisingly dearly loved season 6, something I was not expecting to considering three of the original cast members had departed. They handled their absences like pros; created some genuinely great and hilarious episodes that still felt like the same show, and brought the series to an appropriate (though terribly bittersweet) end.

FUNNIEST STANDALONE EPISODES 
I’m talking about ones that, while would be even funnier in context of deep knowledge of the characters, stand on their own as freaking hilarious and worth watching over and over.  

• Epidemiology S2E6 A Mysterious zombie outbreak starts at the Halloween party and everyone must fight to survive. We get the return of the doctor student who doesn’t seem to actually know anything. Troy’s reaction to the jumping cat is one of my favorite Community moments of all time: I cry with laughter every single time:

• Conspiracy Theories and Interior Design S2 E9 Dean Pelton tries to bust Jeff for a phony night school credit, which only unveils a series of conspiracies (who is Professor Professorson?) plots, and double-crosses between Jeff, Annie, and the dean. In the midst of this, Troy and Abed create an expansive dorm wide blanket fort (that holds a civil rights museum, the turkish district, and a Latvian parade):

• Intro to Political Science S2E17 Dean Pelton decides to organize an election for campus president. Among the candidates are Jeff and Annie, and the race becomes personal between the two. Jeff has some great speeches and we get into for the first time the character of Magnitude, and in the meantime Troy and Abed provide the school tv network’s commentary. In a side plot, a Secret Service agent becomes attracted to Abed.

• App Development and Condiments S5E8 This episode has classic Greendale extreme shenanigans. A new social network app called MeowMeowBeenz allows the users to rate a person between 1 to 5 MeowMeowBeenz. The school quickly develops into a Hunger Games-esque dystopia, with the more popular rated students controlling everything, forcing the losers to perform in a talent show.

• Wedding Videography S6E12 Abed films a documentary for the event of the wedding of “weird” Garrett. The group has a pre-wedding party, are late to the wedding, and everybody is in full form during the reception as they try to be the best wedding guests ever. I was laughing this entire episode through. Season six really went out on a high note, this is one of the sharpest comedic episodes of the entire show.

BEST EPISODES THAT PARODIED OTHER TV SHOWS
This was a major theme of season 3. The show took on styles of different TV shows and mockingly lived them on Greendale’s campus. Listed chronologically. 

• Pillows and Blankets S3E14 *Perfectly* presented in the style of Ken Burns' documentary, The Civil War, what started as a casual fight about blankets and pillow forts between Troy and Abed blossoms into full-on war that overtakes the campus. One of my all time favorites, you guys, this show is genius:

• Basic Lupine Urology S3E17 Someone sabotaged the group’s science lab experiment, and go into Law and Order SVU mode to solve the mystery, ending with the classic dramatic cross-examination on the witness stand that reveals all.
• Regional Holiday Music S3E10 A highly satirical Glee styled episode guest starring SNL’s Taran Killam. The group gets roped into participating the school Christmas show. Lots of singing with strong mocking of Glee ensues. 
• Basic Intergluteal Numismatics S5E3 based on crime/thriller show genre with dark and moody cinematography and dramatic acting. The notorious  "Ass Crack Bandit" (whose sneaks around and drops  a coin down the back of someone's pants when they lean over) returns to campus. The group falls victim to his ways one by one as they investigate, but in the end, they can't be sure. 

PAINTBALL EPISODES RANKED

Probably the best recurring storyline (though absent in season 5) of the show, certainly the most memorable.

5) Season 3 (E19) Abed reminisces about the past year, and a flashback shows they had a paintball theme in a Noir Theme.

4) Season 4 (E13) Jeff dreams about a the “darkest timeline” that involves use and a big battle of high tech paintball.

3) Season 1 (E23) the dean hosted the first paintball war with a prize. Jeff is skeptical at first but goes into full action movie mode. It’s so so classic.

2) Season 6 (E11) these last two are pretty close I went back and forth several times. A great final battle in which the paintball has been banned but  an undercover game commences, and no one can be trusted.

1) Season 2 (E24) This battle is the quintessential paintball episode. Created by the evil city college and had a ringer involved, this more of the western-combined with Star Wars-theme.

BEST EPISODES OF THE SERIES

These are episodes that hit all the highpoints of what a polished and clever sitcom should be, in terms of story, writing, editing, even character development, humor, and emotion. Ranked based on my view as the top 3, lowest to highest.

3) Mixology Certification S2E10 Troy turns 21 (which he didn’t realize because his mom told him everyone turns 10 twice) and the group takes him out to celebrate. It presents the continued theme of Jeff and Britta being the “parents” for much younger Annie and Troy as they start coming of age of age: Annie - as Britta sneaks her in the bar with a fake ID - and Troy - Jeff gives him a manly pep talk and sees them as equals now. Various funny conversations go down at the bar: as Pierce struggles to get in with his wheelchair, we find out about Shirley’s partying past and Abed spends the night chatting about one of his Sci-Fi shows. The tables turn when Jeff and Britta get wasted and birthday boy and totally sober Troy takes everyone home.

2) Cooperative Calligraphy S2E8 Simple situational comedy at its best. Annie’s favorite pen goes missing and the group goes on lockdown all night: something so trivial creates chaos because of the “higher principle of trust at stake between beyond just the object in question” (says Annie). That mistrust and anger tear them apart as they try to figure out who stole it and go after each other, ripping up carpets, emptying bags, and stripping to prove their innocence. The worst part is, they missed the school’s puppy parade.

“Everybody stay within each other’s eyesight -- one of you is a monster.”

1) Remedial Chaos Theory S3E3 One of the most popular and widely agreed upon fan favorite, and critically acclaimed, earning an Emmy nom for writing. The group has a party at Troy and Abed’s new apartment, and while playing a game of Yahtzee the pizza arrives. They roll a die to determine who has to go down and pick it up. The episode then splits into different timelines, with each alternate timeline playing out every possible outcome of the die roll. It endeavors to do a lot--running gags that repeat and end differently every time--and is jam packed with great moments as every character gets a highlight.

“I DEMAND TO BE HOUSEWARMED”

HONORABLE MENTIONS: CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

Brief list - I narrowed it to my favorite from each season - these you need to follow the show closely to fully appreciate. Not especially funny or clever, but very important to understanding the character growth throughout the show. 

Pascal’s Triangle Revisited S1E25 Troy and Abed's discuss moving in together. Includes the epic beginning of Annie and Jeff’s will-they-won’t-they relationship.

Paradigms of Human Memory S2E21 An episode full of never before seen major flashback clips that shows how far the gang has come.

Foosball and Nocturnal Vigilantism S3E9 Shirley and Jeff discover their pasts intertwine.

Cooperative Escapism and Familiar Relations S4 E5 Jeff finally meets his dad.

Cooperative Polygraph S5E5 Major secrets get revealed as the group takes a lie test.

Advanced Safety Features S6E7 A Britta and Dean Centric episode.

Emotional Consequences of Broadcast Television S6E13. The season finale. Practically perfect in every way.

The end. If you made it all the way through, wow, I'm impressed. 

I am so happy I discovered this show. #SixSeasonsandaMovie

Downton Abbey Recap: Season 6 Episode 9 (Finale!!)

The final episode people. Let’s do this. Please forgive my many caps and exclamation marks. It’s a big deal!!

• Loving Henry as an official member of the family now. He’s smoking and down in the dumps. Driving isn’t fun anymore and that was literally the only thing he had in his life so makes sense that he’s depressed. Henry’s decides to give up racing and realizes he’s just a trophy husband which will be a turnoff for Mary: “I want to be worthy of her.” He and Tom discuss his career options. Sidetone, Henry and Mary are absolutely adorable in wedded bliss.

• Isobel finds out that Merton’s dying. She’s pretty upset and wants to help him deal with it. His evil DIL is back and shooing her away because they don’t want the money or home slipping from their hands when he dies. The Dowager helps her storm into the house and she’s going to marry him and take care of him till he dies. In the end, we find out he is ill but probably not dying, but they're still together. This was actually the only character story ending I didn’t like. I think it’s a crying shame she didn’t end up with Doctor Clarkson.

• Daisy spends the first half of the finale thinking she can do better than Andy, and sassily rebuffing him. He gives up on her.  Ms. Patmore calls her out, and Mr. Mason tells her he’s a cracking young man. He gives up on her for a few months, and then of course she wants him. Ah, young love. Eventually, she hacks off all her hair in an attempt at a fresh start, and ends up with a cute bob, and Andy as her boyfriend. Very cute.

• Moseley has been offered a teaching job and he’s going to take it, he’s kind of leaving Baxter behind. I thought it was strange that we didn’t see him in the final scenes at all, but I think we’re to believe he and Baxter stayed close.

• Carson’s got shaky hands and keeps spilling things. Ms. Hughes is upset. IS HE GONNA DIE. Oh okay, it’s just “shaky hand” condition. His career is done for it seems. He turns in his notice to Lord G, prepping for interviewing his replacement. We’re supposed to feel sorry for him, but honestly I didn’t feel much. He was such an unlikeable character this season, and for me it felt appropriate. He is getting rather old.

• Thomas thanks the gang for saving his life. He’s really quite happy, getting very into saying “thank you” these days, apparently. Are we really supposed to believe he’s instantly, finally turned his wicked ways in? He’s suddenly giving all this sage life advice to Ms. Baxter, who in fairness was the only person who’s ever been unfailingly kind to him. He leaves to start a new job, but it took him literally one day to be depressed and hate it. He ends up coming back and taking Carson’s job as butler, in a painfully obvious plot twist. I can’t see him being butler at all, but I get it. We’re supposed to believe he’s changed and deserves this new honor.
  
  
  

• Edith starts the the episode off bitterly cheerful in accepting her single-mom spinsterhood life. She and Henry drive into town together and chat, and with Henry’s general awesomeness you can’t help thinking, poor Edith. She’s had 3 kind, generous, friendly brothers-in-law at this point and no husbands for herself. But! Happy news! Rosamond ambushed Edith by setting up a date with Bertie at the Ritz (swanky), and it turns out Mary arranged it all. Bertie: “I want you back. I’ve changed. Would you believe me if I said I couldn’t live without you? I’ve been doing a very bad job of it,” as he gets emotional. That was fast. We’re only 22 minutes in! 

• Sidenote: Edith and Mary's sisterly moments. “You’re such a paradox. Hate me all my life than suddenly be nice and fix everything." Yep. Later, we get this gem from Mary <-----

• Cora and Robert rejoice: their poor, wretched daughter is to be happy at last. They go for a visit in the FREAKING LITERAL CASTLE. We finally meet Bertie’s pushy mother. They bicker to the discomfort of everyone else. She’s throwing shade at Edith and her past already. Edith is very worried about this, so she decides to come clean with her MIL, which is probably for the best. Bertie tells his mom off when she says to drop Edith. I love a man who knows how to outgrow being a momma’s boy and not melting at her every beck and call.
• A moment of appreciation for the spectacular interiors shot for the inside of Bertie’s castle.

• 3 Months magically fly by, and it’s time for the wedding.
• Branson and Henry talking business while playing with their children: my ovaries…my heart…gah. They end up creating “Talbot and Branson Motors.” They set up shop, and it’s swell. Mary’s bursting with pride and is also pregnant. Joyus news!
• Rose and Atticus are in town. They literally left their baby in America. I didn’t realize how much I’ve missed Rose. She’s so peppy and fun, and in general was a great addition to the show.
• General happy pre wedding festivities ensue.
• Tom seats Edith’s editor friend at the wedding and tells her he likes strong independent women, very much. She catches Edith’s bouquet OF COURSE. I'm very happy to know he won't end up alone, but I wish he would have been in the episode a little more! He didn't get any self reflection.
• Edith and Lord G marvel over the fact she’s finally getting a spot of happiness. He’s a very proud dad. feels feels feelssssss. “It’s so strange. I feel so, so happy.” This was by far the best part of the ending. Edith has been so miserable for so long; they finally pushed Mary to the back burner and let Edith shine, and we rejoice with her.

  

  I'M NOT CRYING YOU'RE CRYING

  An another “saw it coming” moment - Anna goes into labor in the middle of Edith’s reception. Cute moment with Henry running about looking to tell Bates the happy news. The Bates’s achieve one big happy family, at long last. A way too quick, but very satisfying ending.

• Mr. Mason and Ms. Patmore is a tough one for me to swallow, for some reason. It’s just so unsubtle. But they deserve happiness just like everyone else, so I’ll keep quiet.

• Even Violet and Cora makeup. Maggie Smith made this show what it is, I feel quite lucky to have gotten to witness her in this role.
  
  
  

• The episode, and beloved series draws to a close with a boisterous round of Auld Lang Syne, which feels very appropriate. THE END.

It was certainly very rushed and far fetched. It’s all very corny, sticky sweet, mostly unbelievable, and simply delicious. Our nostalgia and love for the show made the fact they were throwing years of character development out the window (suddenly Mary and Thomas are angels? Really?) totally fine. In the name of love and well-tied knots on multiple frayed loose ends, we are willing to look past a lot. I enjoyed every minute of it. I’m so sad to see it go.

Downton Abbey Recap: Season 6, Episode 8

• We learn about the man sneaking in Mrs. Patmore’s bushes. Her hostel has been branded house of ill repute bc a doctor stayed at her place with a mistress. Nearly everyone is getting a good crack out of it. Eventually the Granthams go for tea there and pose for the local paparazzi (??) to give some good press.
• I’m so confused by Merton’s son inviting Isobel to the wedding, or rather the daughter in law to be (Annabel?). It seems to be a long winded ploy to get her and Merton back together but it seems so unnecessarily complicated.
• Tom has been is bro hanging with his bff Henry and says he’s missing Mary a lot. He’s still straight-up begging Mary to do this. I think at this point he’s just tired of dealing with her when he knows having a man would cheer her up and make her more pleasant. Her self aggrandizing sabotages her own happiness and makes her even more terrible to others than usual, and he’s over it - but also is a good person so he’s trying to push her in the right direction.
• Edith is torn between going into her marriage with a lie and telling the truth and being ashamed. In quite a plot twist we learn Bertie’s cousin (the Marquis of another local family legacy fancy house) died and it seems he has inherited: he now higher up, richer, and more famous than all of them.
• Mary is FURIOUS. The thought of Edith “Lording” over all of them is unbearable. Her wheels immediately start turning to how she can blow this for her.
• If I haven't already made this clear, I really like Bertie and Edith as a couple. He’s a nice, honest sort of man. He’s very emotional in his grief, and the responsibility of a new position; he wants her to be his helper. He also warns everyone that his mother is intense. Poor Edith starts sweating at the prospect of an intense future MIL.
• Mosley is an assistant teacher now. He struggles some with getting their attention but he has a way with them and gets better at the end.
• Daisy passed all her exams. She’s chuffed.
• IT'S HENRY MAH MAN. He charmingly grins as he zips up the drive. He drops in because, well, he just wanted to. Henry checks in with Bertie in a conversation that goes something like this: "Hey dude, how’s it going, Edith going to marry you?” “Yep. Pretty soon I think.” “I’m jelly.” “Heh. Sorry. I got the nicer sister.”
• Mary flips out on Tom, of course, Henry being the man he is is going absolutely nowhere despite her pleadings. “I’m going to make this as hard and horrible as I can.” Chemistry flying here, but she continues to fight it. “Aren’t you better than this? It’s rather small to marry a man for a lack of money,” He hollers up the stairs at her as she flees. This is suddenly feeling very Rhett Butler Gone With the Wind-equse, what with the sparks flying, stairs, and fights.
• The next morning, Mary comes down to see Henry off and then throws a fit as she learns he’s gone. Tom and Lord G exchange knowing looks that killed me. They’re quite used to petulant  Mary.
• She continues in evil robot mode; literally can’t stop spewing pure nastiness every time her mouth opens. In her one of her pinnacle stone-cold-bitch moments she tells Bertie Edith’s secret. If I were Edith I literally would have jumped up and slapped her face. We were chanting FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT at the screen.
  
  
• Bertie: “You should have told me the whole story from the beginning. You haven’t been fair to me.” He’s right. I mean, realistically in this time period he probably would have went running from such a scandalous woman. In this case, he’s hurt by her lack of honesty more than the truth itself. It’s obvious he is sorry to cause her pain, but he ends it and walks away in a truly heartbreaking moment. I daresay it’s not the real end.
  
  
• Thus began a rapid-fire slew of slapdown moments as Mary begins to unravel: 1) The queen of the narcissists blames Henry for the reason she’s ruining everyone’s lives. Tom shouts her down and calls her out and thank goodness someone in her life can put her in her stupid little place. 2) Edith exchanges some choice (and apt words) with her:  I wanted her to actually slap her face, but her words were whiplash enough: “You’re the same old Mary, who wants her cake and hate me, too." 3) Violet came back from her trip to tell her she should marry Henry (remember when she said only Tom could have her contact info? He literally reached out to her on her vacation so she could come here and make this happen). We finally get the real reason Mary’s running from him: she can’t handle losing another husband to a car crash, and she won’t have him giving up his career for her. We get this gem of a quote: “Can’t you get me some duke to marry instead? Surely there’s one around to spare [lol].” Violet tells her that love is important and she needs to be a freaking grown up and clean up her messes.
  

• Thomas sliced himself in the tub. Baxter, Andy and Mrs. Hughes rush to action. It’s a pretty big deal, but this episode was so action packed this was barely dwelt upon. Mary and George come to visit him later, and they bond over closing people out and being meanies but having good hearts underneath. At the episode’s end, Carson and Lord G agree Thomas should stay on because he has a heart and whatnot.
• In one of the random, brief plotline moments we find out that Violet’s weird butler Spratt has been secretly writing a lady’s column for Edith’s paper.
• Mary goes to visit Matthew’s grave to tell him she’ll always love him the most. Gosh I miss Matthew. I had very real tears welling up. Isobel gives her blessing. Poor poor Isobel. No son and no man and no family besides her crazy in laws. Feelings abound.
• Hot diggity dog. Mary sent for Henry. They said a bunch of words that were so sweet and sexy I lost track of most of them, but it was an epic moment when she finally gives in and he’s over the moon: “"I don’t know how you remain so calm. I'm hot. I'm cold. My heart is pounding... And it's all because of you. Thank God for you.” [I love this man. <333] Unable to wait a minute longer, he proposes a wedding a few days away and the happy event takes place.
• Tom is bursting at the seems his wishes have come to fruition and he’s got another brother in law at long last, which all he’s ever wanted apparently.
• The final scene before the wedding, Edith comes home, and wearily forgives her wicked sister for the millionth time, for old (and future) times’ sake: “I assumed you would be fairly sorry, unless you are actually insane.”

PHEW my keyboard is hot from my fingers flying. I am a flurry of emotion and words. Parting thoughts, and then we’ll be waiting for TWO WEEKS for the finale on March 6th:

For a comparatively calm season, this was a whiz-bang episode packed with multiple storylines and a wealth of good lines, some of the best the show’s ever seen. The main focus of it all was obviously Mary. We question all the time: why do we keep rooting for Mary? She really is a very ugly on the inside person. She’s only selfless when it’s convenient for her, she’s only sorry when the worst damage has irreparably been done. I think it comes down to two things: 1) the rollercoaster writing that has made her character develop a long way and 2) the skill of Michelle Dockery’s acting. She weaves from Mary being one of the worst human in the world to kind and, well human. Because the thing is, Mary is all the nasty things Edith accused her of. But somehow, there’s a good person buried in there somewhere, and that’s what we as viewers find interesting and want to see more of. As she herself has said before, Matthew made her good. He made her the best possible version of herself, and we’ve seen for several seasons now, she really is lost without him. She’s slipped back into her cunning wicked ways, and she will never be the same person she was when he was her man. Will Henry be able to “tame” her? No, but he probably will be able to fight her down in her worst moments in the future. If nothing else, he clearly won’t be steamrolled. And he will be a good father and master of the estate someday. He’s no Matthew, who was certainly the great love of Mary’s life, but then again the same love never happens twice.

Loose ends to be tied in the finale: Will there be a reconciliation for Edith and Bertie? Will Anna carry her pregnancy to full term and finally she and Bates can be happy? Are Ms. Patmore and Mr. Mason going to hook up? What does Branson’s future look like? What will Daisy’s future be - a schoolteacher? A suffragette? A farmer’s wife? I’m really so sad she’s been so left out this season, I hope she gets a really satisfying ending. Is Isobel going to stick with her widow life, or give Merton one final change? Basically a massive coupling up is what I’m anticipating. It’s quite cheesy but it’s what they’ve set up for. And please, give Maggie Smith some epic final lines. I’m not ready for this show to be over. TWO WEEKS. PBS. 9/8c.