- 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.
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