- The episode starts by informing us it is now 1925. Time certainly flies by on this show. One of the best first moments is the proof that little George (who basically looks like a mini Matthew) is alive and Thomas, in a rare moment of humanity, gave him a piggyback ride. Within the first 5 minutes Anna is already crying as per usual and I am rolling my eyes.
- Best pals Ms. Patmore and Hughes have a conversation in which Elise admits she is feeling insecure about herself and her ability to fulfill her wifely duties. She asks Ms. Patmore to talk to Mr. Carson on her behalf to see if he’s interested in a “just friends” marriage. Ms. Patmore is a very good friend and wingman so she agrees. The conversations these two have are hilarious.
- Isobel, Dr. Clarkson, Lord Merton, Violet, Cora have a meeting about the future of the hospital. It seems the royal hospital wants to take over and convert their small, local hospital. Lord Merton is for it, as well as Isobel. They think the money and the people they could bring would be a huge benefit to the sick and hurt. Lady Violet disagrees vehemently because she is unwilling to give up her power. Cora and Dr. Clarkson sit in the middle quietly and try to be reasonable. It seems to be the subject of this season’s Violet v. Isobel battle.
- Robert is having pain and is very wiped out after a day of riding, but he tells Mary not to tell Cora. Very sketchy. His health is almost certainly going to come into play this season.
- A mystery woman starts low-key stalking Mary, and we eventually found out her name is Lisa and she was a chambermaid in the hotel when Mary was there for her “week in sin” with Tony Gillingham. She has the register to prove they were there and wants money to keep quiet, threatening to go to the papers if not. Mary scoffs and tells her to get lost with a “you’re not the first person to blackmail me” line. (She’s right. We’ve seen this before.)
- In typical form, Anna refuses for a few scenes to tell Bates why she is acting so upset. He finally gets it out of her that she thought she was pregnant and found out she’s isn’t after all, and that this has happened several times. Bates responds with love and patience which left me saying SEE HE LOVES YOU JUST TELL HIM THINGS UP FRONT YOUR AND ALL OUR LIVES WILL BE BETTER. Ahem.
- Lord Grantham and his mother have a conversation about cutting down on the staff because their salaries are too expensive. Later, Lord G. has a conversation with Carson about it, and Violet mentions it offhandedly to the evil Denker (why does she continue to trust this woman with privileged information? She literally always blabs).
- Mary says she intends to take over the estate, essentially doing Branson’s old job. Edith is thinking about moving to London, mentioning things about her publishing business and house tenants. Mary has a snippy no-one-likes-you-or-cares-Edith response locked and loaded. She has something mean to say literally every time Edith opens her mouth this episode. You have to feel for E, I mean really, imagine growing up with a sister like that. As a side note, I like that Mary and Edith both have industrious things to attend to; they’re certainly breaking gender expectations for the time period and Robert has come a long way to be supportive of it (Sybil would be proud).
- In an entertaining scene, the blackmail lady (I’ve already forgotten her name) somehow lies and sneaks her way into Mary’s room and Anna is all OH NO YOU DINT and literally drags her out the door.
- Dr. Clarkson and Isobel fight about the hospital decision. Dr. Clarkson makes a comment about Lord Merton and Isobel has a freakout moment and scurries away.
- The dreaded Scotland Yard Inspector is back and says the Bates’ have a hope of getting off because some has confessed but mostly just serves as a grim reminder them they still could go back to jail. *bangs head against wall*
- Cora gets word that a newlywed Rose is happily settled in NY.
- Daisy’s father in law (Mr. Mason) asking Lord Grantham’s help. He’s getting kicked out of his house by new estate owners, because the old family is broke and moving away. As far as it was left off at the end of the episode Lord G is pretty useless.
- Denker shows up at the “big house” to stir up trouble and tell them they’re probably all getting fired and they start to worry. There’s always gotta be an evil housemaid somewhere.
- Ms. Patmore and Carson have the awkwardest conversation ever and it’s amusing as they have some difficulty getting on the same page. Carson says he expects a real marriage, asking the faithful wingman to “tell [Ms. Hughes] she is beautiful to me.“ Awww.
- Edith is in London with Aunt Rosemary and laments about her current place in life. “Sometimes I feel I’ve been given one little bit of happiness and that’s it. I’d like to have a life again.” Same Edith, same.
- The sassy blackmailing lady somehow pushes her way into house and ends up telling Lord Grantham everything. Can I just pause here to ask why is it that everytime one of his daughters ends up having a lover he ends up paying people off to cover up the scandal of it coming out? Good grief do these girls need to smarten up. He pays her off and takes care she will never return, just as Mary arrives home, fully embarrassed. She tells him she would never have given into the blackmail herself, saying she would rather have the scandal come out. He puts her in her place by bluntly asking, “Didn’t you think about George?” and, “That’d have been rather tough on Tony and Mabel.” Both great points - the answer is obviously no, because Mary is selfish to her core. The conversation then takes a strange turn when he decides to reward her behavior by giving her the job of running the estate for him. What a father.
- Thomas is sweating about the staff reduction. He (rightly) knows they would love to have a reason to get rid of him. I think he’s trying to decide if he needs to start sucking up or just hit the road preemptively.
- Violet publically shames Denker for spreading the rumors about people getting fired in a marvelous display of her power and wit. I didn’t realize until this moment how much I missed her (I actually clapped with delight at the moment). In yo face, evil housemaid.
- Daisy attends the auction of the broke family with the Granthams and Mr. Mason, and she looks so cute in her-out-and-about-life-clothes. She gets up in the face of the new owner of the house for throwing out her father in law and it’s so precious and fiery, but the family is embarrassed. It’s the most action she’s had in like 2 seasons. She is scared for her position but ends up getting off with just a stern talking to from Carson. The new footman Andy asks her how her day went, and Thomas creepily inserts himself into the situation, but everyone kicks him out of it, haha.
- The inspector returns with joyus news, assuring the Bates them they’re free from danger and that the end of this drama has come. Pardon me if I don’t believe it for one minute, but okay. The whole upstairs family is so pleased they pop open wine and join the staff for an impromptu party. Daisy and Andy dance and my little sister says “I ship it!” and I concur. Robert and Cora decide to raid Ms. Patmore’s fridge and hang out in the kitchen for a few minutes, and it’s so strange/funny. Cora informs her husband that she is going to fight her MIL on the hospital matter. Sigh.
- In the final scene, Carson and Ms. Hughes confirm their engagement and share a kiss - I believe their first one on the show? - and it felt weird but it was cute.
All in all, a great first episode. It set up many different plot points while still having good moments in and of itself. Can’t wait until next week.
Thanks for reading!
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