Downton Abbey--Upstairs/Downstairs, Stiff Upper Lips, and Tea!

[jen_faith]

I love Sybil but I think she's too young for him. I ship Sybil-socialist driver. Run away together, very romantic!

Tchh...

The chauffeur and Gwen (the maid who wants to be a secretary) need to run off together. The step would be too far down for Sybil. She, reforming woman that she is, could marry a middle class laywer (particularly if he was about to come into a literal and figurative pile) but a working class husband would be too much. She might *dally* with the driver, but marry... nah....

[my little pony]

you arent alone, ive been shipping matthew and sybil.she's so pretty, i want her to have the house and the money

[Latte]

mlp, you still watchin'? 'Cuz that scene just now =

So friggin' good!

Ok, wait a sec, now we're watching "Mrs. Miniver"? Hmmmm.

Oh good! Someone else caught that too!

At least the old man didn't die the same night he won the cup!

[Latte]

Must re-watch Cold Comfort Farm instead.

I adored Cold Comfort Farm!
First time I ever saw Kate in anything and I thought she was enchanting.
I still think she was the best Emma of the bunch.

[moojja]

you arent alone, ive been shipping matthew and sybil.she's so pretty, i want her to have the house and the money

But the house and the money comes with a set of roles and responsibilities. It's the reason why Matthew was so against being turned into one of "them". (Although in the first two PBS episode, he is slowly changing his behavior to fit the upper class norm.)
For Sybil, she will lose some of the freedom if she marries the heir no matter what she wants. After all even Matthew is expected to stop working as a lawyer as soon as he inherits. And so far, they have shown no interest in each other.

[modern_muslimah]

Mary is turning out to be quite an interesting character (and that actress is just beautiful.) Bitchy middle sister, well, maybe she's just been twisted by so many years of being overshadowed. And if there's any justice, O'Brien will get her comeuppance in the end.

IA! I love Mary. She seems like the most complicated (except for Bates) character in that show. I've read on other forums where people think she is an utter bitch and that Edith has redeeming qualities but I just don't see it. Mary is spoiled but she's a good person at heart as shown by her reaction to Pemuk's death and some other situations which, if I discussed them now, will be spoilers. Edith, on the other hand, is just bitter and rather manipulative. She even puts down Sybil when she gets the chance and she

Spoiler

manipulated poor Daisy so that she could get damaging info on Mary

. She's jealous of both of her sisters and Mary just goes tit for tat with her.

As for O'Brien:

Spoiler

She gets her comeuppence, sort of, when she hurts Lady Grantham in the last episode. She feels a lot of remorse, especially when she realizes Lady Grantham is not a scheming person like her. It turns out the grinch actually has a heart.

Or go ice dancing.

Mary's prettier than Sybil but if Sybil is going to run off with the socialist chaffeur, of course she will be my favorite character.

Yes! I so want Sybil to get with the chaffeur. That would be .

[Latte]

Nooo.... Mary and Matthew is too easy and it's been done already in practically every Jane Austen book. Since Matthew has modern ideas and Sybil has modern ideas, they are definitely the best match. Obviously I am alone in my lonely Syb-Mat shipping

As for Daisy and William: I speculate that William will finally win over Daisy and then Cranston will use his previous connections in the entertainment industry to get William gigs/a career in music and whatever the British version of vaudeville was/is. That's my prediction!

Oh and I agree Matthew will end up in WWI in some awful battle like the Battle of the Somme and be traumatized by it. He can't be killed, though, or the soap goes out of the soap opera.

No, you aren't the only one RE Matt and Syb.
She is the most beautiful, the most modern, the nicest, and darn it, she's fun, not like her boring, proper sisters.
But I think she will fall for the the Irish Rebel car driver(can't spell that Chaff word)

I love Matt, Granny, Mr Bates, Lord and Lady, and Anna and Gwen.
Like the Housekeeper and Butler too.
What can I say, I love this show. My treat of the tv week now that Vampire Diaries is in rerun.
I will miss it, can't believe there is only one show left.
Can't wait until the next installment.

[vesperholly]

you arent alone, ive been shipping matthew and sybil.she's so pretty, i want her to have the house and the money

ITA, Mary and Edith can ruin each other's lives until they become bitter old spinsters together.

I'm glad that O'Brien

Spoiler

gets a bit of a heart in the last episode, even if what she did was totally horrible.

I don't like O'Brien, Thomas and Daisy mostly because they're so one-note. I really want to know what Thomas's deal is, though - there's got to be a reason behind his completely malicious behavior.

I lurve me some Anna. Of the downstairs crew, she's my favorite. Dowager Lady Grantham is my favorite upstairs person. She's the quintessential Maggie Smith role, and absolutely hilarious.

[Fergus]

Oh good! Someone else caught that too!

At least the old man didn't die the same night he won the cup!

Dame Maggie Smith is definitely our 21st century Dame May Whitty!

[Reuven]

I love Jim Carter’s (Mr. Carson) voice. First saw him as Mr. Brehgert in “The Way We Live Now"

[Wyliefan]

Mary is spoiled but she's a good person at heart as shown by her reaction to Pemuk's death

Did I miss something? I just remember her being panicky and freaked out, as anyone would be under the circumstances.

Then again, I was busy at the time and only watching with half an eye, so maybe I did miss something.

[Bostonfan]

I don't think the reference is to her initial reaction to Pemuk's death, but rather her reaction in the days that followed (weeping and such). If she truly were a bitchy character, she would have dismissed the episode from her mind and acted like it didn't impact her.

[Fergus]

^ Although it could be possible that any post-Pamuk grief was caused by fear of a reputation ruining scandal and the potential fury of her father if he ever found out.

[skatingfan5]

I don't think the reference is to her initial reaction to Pemuk's death, but rather her reaction in the days that followed (weeping and such). If she truly were a bitchy character, she would have dismissed the episode from her mind and acted like it didn't impact her.

^ Although it could be possible that any post-Pamuk grief was caused by fear of a reputation ruining scandal and the potential fury of her father if he ever found out.

I don't think fear of scandal/reputation damage was what played the major part. Sitting in the corner of his room the day afterwards certainly wasn't behavior of someone who wanted to avoid gossip at all costs. She also made some comment about having had a glimpse that she might experience happiness in life, but now she felt that this possibility was entirely lost to her.

[Wyliefan]

Yeah . . . I did kind of get the impression that Mary's tears were all for Mary. But maybe I was mistaken.

[moojja]

I have serious issues with what Pemuk did. The show gloss over it, but it came pretty close to non-consensual sex to me. Frankly it sucks/grossly unfair that it's her reputation that will suffer.

And I don't think her grief over his death was just worries about her reputation. She tried to close his eyelid, and cried when it wont close. She bust into tears when talking to her possible suitor about Pemuk, and had to excuse herself. She sat in a darken room talking about her feelings with the butler. She obviously can't control what she was feeling. And I missed the last few episodes, but didn't she also disclosed what happened to Matthew?

But Mary is definitely a cold snob, and that makes her hard to like. I personally always like the Ice Queens, but I hate that in popular culture, the Ice Queen must be humiliated before they can be liked.

[El Rey]

I have serious issues with what Pemuk did. The show gloss over it, but it came pretty close to non-consensual sex to me. Frankly it sucks/grossly unfair that it's her reputation that will suffer.

And it really sucks that even if she had yelled for help, her reputation still would have suffered!

[Wyliefan]

I have serious issues with what Pemuk did. The show gloss over it, but it came pretty close to non-consensual sex to me.

Interesting take on it! I thought his attitude was really icky, myself, but I hadn't actually thought of it as non-consensual. I mean, maybe screaming would have been a problem -- unfortunate as that is -- but I thought that she could have run or threatened him with something. Instead, she seemed to go into "Well, why not?" mode.

Maybe I really do need to watch this part again, and pick up on some of the nuances I didn't notice.

[moojja]

Interesting take on it! I thought his attitude was really icky, myself, but I hadn't actually thought of it as non-consensual. I mean, maybe screaming would have been a problem -- unfortunate as that is -- but I thought that she could have run or threatened him with something. Instead, she seemed to go into "Well, why not?" mode.

Maybe I really do need to watch this part again, and pick up on some of the nuances I didn't notice.

He was standing btw her and the door. She did threaten to scream, but as he pointed out, scream or not scream, her reputation is ruined. She was attracted to him, but we saw her firmly say no quite a few times. I thought she looked kinda trapped. She wanted him, he touches on a deep seated desire and need in her. I just don't think she was completely willing or even ready to sleep with him at that moment. Your interpretation might vary.
Of course, then he drops dead on top of her. Overall she had a memorable first time. I really glad the plot didn't make her pregnant.

[my little pony]

didnt he did say something about her still being a virgin for her husband ?