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

[Bostonfan]

Poor William. Can't catch a break with Daisy. Such a sweet boy...

[my little pony]

i dont care if lavinia is tormented w blackmail or anything else, she is insipid

and what on earth does william see in daisy, she is awfully nice but plain as can be with the mentality of a 5 yr old

if only he knew how desperate lady edith is

[skatingfan5]

I think Matthew is the one who will die a terrible death. He is too beautiful and pure to do anything as mundane as live happily ever after. I think Lady Mary will marry Sir Richard and regret it, because he will torment Lavinia with blackmail and Lady Mary will fill guilty about bringing him into the family circle.

There is not a scintilla of a chance that they will kill off Matthew! After all, they haven't even mentioned who would be next in line to inherit. I suppose they could marry him off to Lavinia and she could quickly become pregnant with a son ... but that would completely distort the fabric of the entire series. There is an underlying "good overcoming evil" thread that runs through out. Not to mention that they would be by hordes of angry fans. WARNING:

Spoiler

And after writing the above, I now have inadvertently "spoiled" myself by checking the Downton wiki to refresh my memory about a character's name. Much was revealed there, so beware if you don't want to know.

I am so glad that this is back on the air. Lots of new subplots (and a few new characters) added into the mix. As for wishing terrible Thomas a terrible, terrible death, I'm hoping that there is some mills of the gods justice meted out to the very, very vile Vera Bates.

[merrywidow]

So glad this is back on. I surprised myself at how well I remembered all the various characters & story lines connected to each. I want a happy ending for Anna & Bates. Also, for Lady Sybil. Did I miss the "why" as to why Lady Sybil's chauffeur friend isn't in the military? Anyone know?

[skatingfan5]

So glad this is back on. I surprised myself at how well I remembered all the various characters & story lines connected to each. I want a happy ending for Anna & Bates. Also, for Lady Sybil. Did I miss the "why" as to why Lady Sybil's chauffeur friend isn't in the military? Anyone know?

I'm not sure if a reason was explicitly stated or not, but it would seem that he has not enlisted yet (or had tried to and was rejected for some medical reason?). He's Irish, so perhaps the selection process was different/separate for those in the UK who weren't English? I know that many Irish fought and died in WWI, but my knowledge of WWI military selection procedures is just about nonexistent.

[vesperholly]

Dame Maggie Smith. Lara - Vanessa Redgrave's sister.

She's not.

[Grannyfan]

Is the actress who portrays Bates' wife the same one who was Queen Mary in The Tudors?

[Amy L]

Is the actress who portrays Bates' wife the same one who was Queen Mary in The Tudors?

The actress's name is Maria Doyle Kennedy, she played Catherine of Aragon in The Tudors.

[aliceanne]

Does this show remind anyone of that book "Brideshead Revisited" by Evelyn Waugh? I read it years ago and can't remember details, but I am getting a strong sense of deja vue.

[Grannyfan]

I don't know why, but Anna and Bates just leave me cold. I don't care about them, although I have tried. I wish they could come up with a different sort of story line for Bates. This long-suffering-loyal-thing is getting old...

I've had a hard time divorcing Bates from the character portrayed by the same actor in Lark Rise, and his salt of the earth nobility and goodness began to annoy me long ago I'm ashamed to say.

I was hoping Mrs. Hughes would hatch a plot to do away with Bates' wife after she listened in to their conversation. She and the butler must know a lot of really good places to hide a body at Downton.

[Grannyfan]

The actress's name is Maria Doyle Kennedy, she played Catherine of Aragon in The Tudors.

Thank you. I had the right actress in mind but the wrong royal.

[skatingfan5]

Does this show remind anyone of that book "Brideshead Revisited" by Evelyn Waugh? I read it years ago and can't remember details, but I am getting a strong sense of deja vue.

To me it is much more similar to the original (1970's) Upstairs, Downstairs in its depiction of the contrasting (and often interwoven) lives of early 20th c. English gentry and their servants.

[skatingfan5]

Dating myself, but I absolutely loved her in The Prime of Miss Jean Brody.

Dame Maggie Smith. Lara - Vanessa Redgrave's sister.

She's not.

I'll admit to being by BittyBug's post as well. The late Lynn Redgrave was Vanessa's only sister. Lynn Redgrave did create the role of Miss Jean Brodie on the stage, though, so perhaps that was what BittyBug was referencing -- or there maybe some other acting connection?

[BittyBug]

I'll admit to being by BittyBug's post as well. The late Lynn Redgrave was Vanessa's only sister. Lynn Redgrave did create the role of Miss Jean Brodie on the stage, though, so perhaps that was what BittyBug was referencing -- or there maybe some other acting connection?

I wish there were some other connection. The only connection is my poor aging brain that conflates people and things in similar categories.

[skatingfan5]

I'll admit to being by BittyBug's post as well. The late Lynn Redgrave was Vanessa's only sister. Lynn Redgrave did create the role of Miss Jean Brodie on the stage, though, so perhaps that was what BittyBug was referencing -- or there maybe some other acting connection?

I wish there were some other connection. The only connection is my poor aging brain that conflates people and things in similar categories.

No problem, for now it's time for my own poor aging brain to take a few hits, because what I meant to write in my post above, was that Vanessa Redgrave created Jean Brodie on the stage. So there was a more direct Vanessa-->Maggie connection than my careless original post indicated. for me.

[ChelleC]

Link? I already figure O'Brien and Thomas for Slytherins.

It has spoilers through the end of the second season. I don't know if you've been spoiler free, but two major plots are revealed.

[danceronice]

I was hoping Mrs. Hughes would hatch a plot to do away with Bates' wife after she listened in to their conversation. She and the butler must know a lot of really good places to hide a body at Downton.

The house used for exteriors (and interiors? Think it's Highclere Castle?) is so huge, they could just stash a body in an upstairs room somewhere and it might be YEARS before anyone found it...pack it in salt, you wouldn't even need to worry about the smell.

I think I'd find the Anna/Bates plot a little less frustrating if the first Mrs Bates weren't so two-dimensionally evil. One thing I liked about the Tudors--in that case I was (ironically, given the actress) absolutely sympathetic to Queen Catherine but Anne Boylen was more than just "evil ho." In this case, Anna is nice, Mrs. Bates is evil, and we don't even have much secondhand backstory to explain why he married the sociopath in the first place.

In fact that really is what bugs me with that plot: EVERYTHING is second hand. We learned about Mrs. Bates and what happened from his mother telling Anna, we learned how on earth his wife found out about Mary with HER telling Bates...it's not much showing and a whole lotta telling.

I think the chauffeur hasn't been called up and may not be an enormous rush to volunteer to fight for a country he views as oppressing his (I don't know if he'd have to join an Irish regiment or not and they might hold his politics against him as well.) Considering WWI is easily in the running for "most people killed for the least logical reasons" I really can't blame anyone for not being in a rush to enlist.

I don't know if I feel sorry for William (who clearly does not get when she is not that into you) or Daisy (who clearly isn't interested but can't get the point across.)

[manleywoman]

Why is it an abbey and not a manor?

[PRlady]

It has spoilers through the end of the second season. I don't know if you've been spoiler free, but two major plots are revealed.

I am spoiler-free and will stay that way, thank you.

And NBC Nightly News just ran a story about how wildly popular Downton Abbey is on both sides of the pond. Wheeeee!

[Civic]

Why is it an abbey and not a manor?

Just a guess...perhaps it was a religious abbey before Henry VIII confiscated Roman Catholic properties back during the 16th century.