DeepRunner

I don't think it is Rose Leslie. And the guy on the swing sorta looks like Andrew Buchan from "Broadchurch" and "Cranford".

This is the VERY LAST thing I will say on Green's death (for at least 5 minutes. ;-) ).... The only way I can see Anna doing it, is if she did it and was worried that Bates, who went to "York" but quite likely to London, saw her in the area. That would be one way (and maybe the only way) to explain the nervousness she had when questioning Bates about his business in "York". But I just can't see "everyone's favorite character" doing it, or even being part of it. She might have entertained the idea, but...

Fringe...one of the. BEST. SCI-FI. SHOWS. EV-UH. Olivia, Peter, and Walter loomed large over the show as The Big Three, Whether taking us through our own wormhole to 1985 at Reiden Lake, or the Twin Towers in the Alternate Universe, or Peter going Over There with Walternate, only to come back Over Here with Olivia and Walter, or The Tank, or Gene, or Aspirin/Astro/Ostrich/Abner/Claire, or Brown Betty, or Monster of the Week, or Cortexiphan, or The Machine, or The Observers (when they were the good guys), or Leonard Nimoy, this show brought it every episode. Well, except for a couple of episodes in Season 4. Man, I miss this show. Fringe hit its apex in the run from Mid-Season 2 to Mid-Season 3, then in the final few episodes of Season 3. But it was almost always interesting, which is more than could be said for TV generally.

ITV trailers are good stuff. Yep, it seems to pretty strongly imply that Cora and the Richard Grant character will have more than cordial relations; just don't make it the reverse of Robert and Jane. Looks like Lady Anstruther is getting her hooks into Jimmy Kent. I don't think the redhead is Gwen.

Just so you know, when I put "adult language" in quotes, it is with a sense of wry sarcasm, because I don't think it's "adult." I think it 's locker-room childish, and it would be more so if the F-bomb were to become regularly used (I can see that happening, btw, as the suits behind Suits try to prop up the show--hence my reference to it being a show about a NY law firm, I would have expected it more and sooner...) But the dialogue is more than the curse words, and it comes across as more coarse than compelling. It's a sign of laziness, imo.

I was not saying that I thought Bates killed Vera (or Green, for that matter). I am saying it would be an outcome that would only be revealed at the end of the show. In a DA panel a month or so ago, Fellowes said you could never be sure what Bates would do if provoked. Bates has become less a lovable oaf and much more Luca Brasi, not quite a henchman, but getting there. (I would guess there are more than a few in DA fandom who think Bates did either or both.) As far as Anna goes, I find it plausible but not likely that she was the culprit, especially given how anxious she was to find out what Bates was doing in "York" while she was in London. It would not be a recon but a full rewriting of who the character is and has come to be with the audience, if she is the killer. I think either Green got loaded and staggered into Picadilly, or someone else he raped did it (I am pretty sure Anna would not have been the first he had sexually assaulted), or maybe, just maybe, Gillingham. I heartily agree that TPTB did an egregious disservice to Anna by shifting the story away from the rape and its effect on her, and toward Bates, and makes it seem to many that the hideous attack was just a plot device.

I think the citizens of Downtonia fandom are eager to find out more about Baxter, and more importantly, what blackmail material Thomas has on her. I suspect she had a fling in a previous time. Some have speculated that she and Thomas are related. As for Green, The Fellowes Way would be to build all the drama around Bates, and then let it whimper out with Green just being staggeringly drunk and getting in the way of the Bus O' Justice. Regarding the burning of the ticket as an end to the storyline, to quote John Bates, "Nothing is over, and nothing is done." If we ever find out about who killed Green, it would likely be at the end of the show, where we find out Bates had been responsible for two deaths, Green and Vera.

What I liked about the episode: * Louis saving Harvey's bacon on getting Forstman to sell to Logan. Louis is the Suits version of Molesley from Downton Abbey; often a piñata to be whacked with gusto. * Mike getting gobsmacked and tossed over the side by Sidwell. Mike used to be a good character. I agree with others here that he and Harvey made the show go in Season One, and some in Season Two. Now, he's just an insufferable schmuck who got what was coming to him (am I the only one who thinks Forstman knew Mike was gonna get fired and offered him a job, knowing full well he would probably say no?) What I didn't like about the episode: * So, they initially telegraphed this triangle between Rachel, Logan, and Mike. It is now a cliche of a caricature of a parody of a stereotype. Like Harvey and MIke, Rachel was interesting early on. They have wrecked her character just as they have others. (FWIW, I think they have made Logan a more extreme form of Eli Loker, a character that Brendan Hines played in "Lie to Me") * I have the answer, have Mike use his "leverage" to get rid of Logan, that'll fix it all. Oh wait, it didn't... * Louis and his illegal win. TPTB have gone out of their way to make the audience root for and appreciate more this season. Why does it all come down to him doing something illegal just so he'll have Harvey's respect? * Harvey, The Pearson Specter Sith Lord, being at his "young apprentice's" mercy all the time. He has become all mopey. Just once, it would be P-E-R-F-E-C-T to see him drop Mike like a rock instead of trying to patch things up. I can't decide if Gabriel Macht is getting tired of the show, but it sometimes seems like it * "Adult Language." Each episode seems to have more of it, and a lot more "adult." I get that it's a show about a New York law firm, but still... Suits has had a lot of good scenes this season, especially the Louis and Katrina, Louis and Donna moments. Unfortunately, if my hunch about where things are going, I see in the offing stuff that seems...mmm...trite and a bit tired.

Hmmmmmm...Sarah Bunting...hmmm...Why introduce her if not to try to put Branson with her? Not sure it is so much Ross and Rachel, Peter and Olivia will they or won't they. Branson doesn't feel like he fits in, no matter how much Violet assures him the Crawleys are his family now. Why would TPTB make Miss Bunting hit the bricks as fast as they did Edna? Regarding Blake and Gillingham, each has the excitement of watching pavement be made. Matthew was at least interesting (big nod at Dan Stevens for his desire to do something different so that he wouldn't be typecast), and challenged Mary. Chahles (misspelling intentional) is...mmm...stuffy, and Gillingham is honest, earnest, and needy. Sort of like Evelyn Napier, only not quite as much of a yawner. I think it is more likely that Thomas the Vampire rather than Baxter will be the one tracking the Green and Bates story. Remember S3 when Bates was in prison (Fellowes really could have let him out a few episodes sooner, although all the Bates and Anna shippers would not have had the payoff grasp and kiss), Thomas would have had Bates "hanged by the neck, until [he is] dead." Thomas has always had a jones for sticking it to Bates. Personally, as much as I dislike Thomas as a character, I think he is the essential evil in the cast. He makes it interesting, but they need to broaden his character, make him a bit more complex like they did in S2, and get gobsmacked a bit, as well.

I saw something online (what looked like promotional photos referenced by a couple of different above-board DA fan sites that I trust) that appears to have been removed from the original site that posted the information. Among other things, they seemed associated with some of the stories from last season, moving into Season 5. Because it appears the information is no longer available on that site, I have edited my original post to remove the link to the original site, I will be interested to see how things play out in Season 5.

Imelda Staunton and Dame Judi were also in Cranford with Jim Carter. The Downton Abbey Cranford Reunion Tour...has intriguing possibilities.

Agreed on O'Brien. Since they didn't kill her character as they did Matthew, the door is open for her return to end her story. As a show reaches its end, it often closes the narrative arc for major characters. Mentioning Helena Bonham Carter reminds me...she is a Harry Potter alum, like David Tennant, who played Barty Crouch Jr, It might be nice to see some others from that franchise have a guest visit on Downton...Maybe Alan Rickman and Emma Thomspon, who were in Sense and Sensibility, and possibly Michael Gambon, who was also in Cranford and Gosford Park.

I am waiting for the great reveal that Edith is an adopted child, born to Rosamund. TPTB dropped loadsa hints that those two were more connected than as aunt and daughter. If that really does happen, then Downton will be in full soap opera mode. The parallels between them are interesting. Violet holds Rosamund with the same level of regard as Mary does Edith. In Season 1, both were pretty catty, Edith moreso only because she was there the whole season. One other thing I hope happens in S5...Mary gets seriously taken down a couple of haughty notches.

OK, so I started a thread about the cast members after Downton ends...now here's who I'd like to see on the show BEFORE Downton finishes its run: * Siobhan Finneran. Bring back O'Brien. One. More. Time. She was and remains the perfect Black Hat Character for this show. Make her character somewhat more complex, instead of flattened like they did between Seasons 2 and 3. Have her have a tragic heroine's ending, saving Cora's life * Rose Leslie. Bring Gwen back for a visit * David Tennant. Make him a new age (for that era) butler, or perhaps a Lord (but not a Time Lord) or government bureaucrat. Make him one of Evelyn Napier's friends. Dry humor, but don't make him a Downton-era Dr. Who * Claudie Blakley and Julia Sawalha. Make one a lady's maid, the other an aristocrat with designs on Branson. They have connections to Brendan Coyle (Lark Rise to Candleford), Claudie Blakley was in Gosford Park with Maggie Smith, and the two of them were in Cranford with Jim Carter. And speaking of Cranford... * Dame Judi Dench. Just because. I think she could be cast as someone who is a foil to Violet without being sympathetic to Isobel * Laurence Fox. Another Gosford Park alum, he was California Cool as DS Hathaway in Inspector Lewis. His father James Fox has already played Lord Aysgarth, Madeline Allsop's father * John Noble. One of The Big Three from "Fringe," one of the best sci-fi shows ever, he was excellent as Walter Bishop and as the parallel universe's Walternate. He could be a cabinet minister I realize it would probably be another couple of seasons before all this could come to pass. But I could always enjoy another couple of seasons of Downton Who would YOU like to see make a special guest appearance?

Starting a new thread here, looking ahead to the end of the Abbey's road--What kind of show do you think various members of the cast will end up in? For me, it would be interesting to see: * Hugh Bonneville in a law firm type of role, or maybe a comedy * Elizabeth McGovern in ANY role that is not like Cora (meaning, intellectual, sharp, etc.) * Jim Carter in something other than costume dramas * Phyllis Logan in a Cagney and Lacey sort of setup, as the police chief * Brendan Coyle or Rob James-Collier (or both, at the appropriate time) as The Doctor. I think each would bring a different kind of edge to that character * Joanne Froggatt in a sleuth show set at a college/university * Lesly Nicol in a household sitcom * Sophie McShera in something a bit more modern...if a period drama, something from the 60's or 80's maybe Those are my thoughts. What say you all?

My speculation: * One of three characters will die--Cora, Thomas the Vampire, or Bates * Gregson is found in Munich, mangled and marred--sort of a Patrick Gordon scene, sans the burns * Molesley and Baxter do NOT connect * Gillingham the Greedy and Blake the Mud Wrestler both jilt Mary (Leaving Evelyn Napier, the old standby, well, standing by) * More misery for Anna and Bates * If Cora dies, Robert starts looking for contact info for Jane Moorsum * Violet makes it to S6 (if there is one) * Isobel is stuck in a love triangle between Merton and Clarkson * Carson and Mrs. Hughes retire, get married, and go off to the Highlands

Maybe. Could work. I am just not sure that it would happen. Julian Fellowes has made it clear over time (to me, anyway), in his approach to Anna and Bates, that their lives seem meant to be spent in the crucible, with their lives together in the Abbey a crucifix. FWIW, I have seen on the Interweb that

I think it is better than even money that Branson and Bunting get together. Long term, maybe not, but I think they will at least spend some time a-courtin', so to speak. I would like to see Madeline Allsop back, although I think TPTB pretty well laid the groundwork for her and Harold to have some sort of (more than) Platonic relationship. I have been rooting for Evelyn Napier to have a good outcome (getting with Mary, his long, longed-for love interest), just as I have for Lady Edith. I am hopeful that S5 brings more in that direction. On another front, I am curious to see what the new season brings for Anna and Bates. Misery has been the hallmark of their relationship. I would like Anna to have a secret she keeps (and has kept) from Bates, one that, if he found it out, would cause him some serious problems. Not infidelity, maybe, but something that would make more tough sledding for them. I think Bates would probably have told his darkest secrets to her, so that would not be a storyline to play. Really, there isn't a lot left for them to go through, other than the death of one of the spouses, unemployment, and children. I also am interested in the interplay between Molesley and Thomas. I have wanted for the longest time for Thomas to be gobsmacked and taken down a few rungs. But at the end of S4 (and according to Interweb reports of the Downton Abbey panel this past weekend), there have been tidbits which point to a coming conflict between them. Molesley has needed character development from being the convenient running joke. But I am not sure whose side I would be on if there were conflict.