Season 5 Speculation WITH Spoilers (US)

[ZulaMay]

Sure seems like real competition to me.  I Googled some pics of the actress:  she's lovely.   Not that we couldn't tell from the clip but her other pictures confirm it.  And Mabel's "the great heiress of the season".....and younger.  So rich in her own right, no kid or estate to compete for the money (or at least no kid).

 

Very interested to see what her role will be.

 

So Thomas slips the noose once again!  LOL.  Him and Bates, I swear.  This pattern is as stale as week-old bread.

 

So let's take bets:  will Mary succumb to temptation with Tony?

Edited August 31, 2014 by ZulaMay

[Kirsty]

Tom is kissing Sarah good-bye in that scene.

I'm delighted to hear it. But I can't believe you already know so much about this storyline!

 

I wonder why Tony dumped her for Mary?  She must have some fatal flaw....

C'mon, she doesn't need any flaw. Mary is not just a main character; she's obviously one of the writer's favourites. Men will fall at her feet as long as the show airs. Mabel is a non-entity on the show.

 

Good call on Edith as the lady being rescued.

 

So let's take bets:  will Mary succumb to temptation with Tony?

I say yes. Widows could get away with more. And the show could use some sex scenes between attractive people.

Edited August 31, 2014 by Kirsty

[ZulaMay]

Oh, you're totally right.  In Fellowes' Fantasy World Mabel is a non-entity.  Even though she's younger, just as pretty if not more so, filthy rich and sits a horse like she was born to it.  But she sure seems to be stiffer competition than Lavinia was, if only because of the money and the Toff Skills (although IMO Lavinia was quite lovely and stylish).  

 

So I don't think she's going to be quite so easy to dispatch post-haste.  She's not like a Sarah who is a non-starter because.....well, for a lot of reasons.  So I imagine there will be something that makes her "beneath" Mary.  Maybe she's dumb?  Whips her servants?  Is infertile?  Falls off that horse, becomes a cripple and pulls a Matthew Martyr Move, saying she can't marry him and tie him down like that!

[ElizaD]

Robert is puritanical enough that if he catches Jimmy in bed with the lady, he just might fire him.

 

I would have preferred it if the Baxter business had been solved without word of it getting upstairs. It does look like Thomas gets to be the hero by rescuing Edith, but it's still risky to keep a blackmailer in your service.

 

Oh, you're totally right.  In Fellowes' Fantasy World Mabel is a non-entity.  Even though she's younger, just as pretty if not more so, filthy rich and sits a horse like she was born to it.  But she sure seems to be stiffer competition than Lavinia was, if only because of the money and the Toff Skills (although IMO Lavinia was quite lovely and stylish).  

 

So I don't think she's going to be quite so easy to dispatch post-haste.  She's not like a Sarah who is a non-starter because.....well, for a lot of reasons.  So I imagine there will be something that makes her "beneath" Mary.  Maybe she's dumb?  Whips her servants?  Is infertile?  Falls off that horse, becomes a cripple and pulls a Matthew Martyr Move, saying she can't marry him and tie him down like that!

 

Sometimes people just don't click even though everything seems right on paper. My own hope for Mabel is that she's going to be the show's take on the mature 1920s woman. Rose has been the fun-loving bright young thing, but Mabel could be someone who has decided to embrace change and independence. Maybe she and Gillingham got engaged because they were doing what was expected, but since there was no passion it was easy for him to fall for Mary in Downton's romantic atmosphere, and Mabel found it easy to let him go after she'd had second thoughts and decided she didn't want a husband. Even though Mary gets the haircut and might sleep with Gillingham and Edith will probably get her daughter back before the season ends, I don't think any of the upstairs women are really going to reject the conventions of their class; some things, yes, but not the system. To illustrate the changing times, the show could use a female character who shows up to enjoy the perks of her class (the money, the horses, the fashion) but doesn't want to commit to living by its rules.

[Dejajeva]

I need screenshots. Surely someone somewhere on tumblr has taken this trailer apart and posted screenshots. Point me in that direction?

I didn't realize it was going to start again already so soon- but I always like to watch the British version.

[Tetraneutron]

 

My own hope for Mabel is that she's going to be the show's take on the mature 1920s woman. Rose has been the fun-loving bright young thing, but Mabel could be someone who has decided to embrace change and independence.

That would mean someone is better than a Crawley. And that's slightly less likely than Lady Violet captaining a spaceship.

 

Also, the show is really committed to the idea of looking back on the glory days of the 1890s-1940s with nostalgia. Sure, a few minor changes were good, like women getting the vote and adding tractors to farms, but ultimately the system was great as it was. The only people who get to rise above their station in life are people who still end up with service jobs: like becoming a secretary or chef. Succeeding in business (like Sir Richard, or like Thomas tried to) means you're a terrible person. And the landed gentry are benevolent and kind. Everyone should want to be a tenant farmer or a servant.

 

The question is, will Mabel be a passive drip like Lavinia, or a spoiled brat like Rose? Probably the Rose version. That way the audience won't be mad when Mary gets the best of her.

[ZulaMay]

I think Mabel will be her own version of Not Mary.  Perhaps a pathological liar?  Promiscuous?  Arrogant and snide?  Oh wait, not the last one.  Too close to Mary for comfort.  People might see the similarities.

 

And seriously, get out of my brain!  I have thought (and said) the same things so many times about this show.  Every year they say "change is a-coming!" and it never comes, except in the form of an appliance that sends the servants into a tizzy, or a small measure of social progress that does the same to Violet and Robert.  Maybe this year it will be:  Mary bobs her hair!

 

You have the former chauffeur living at the house as a family member, of course.  But his working-class Irish socialist edges are quickly smoothed and only referenced in passing.  His new Liberal Progressive Working Woman acquaintance is a crass harpy with a massive chip on her shoulder.  People who earned their money and titles and furniture (Richard) are ill-mannered bullies who make their employees work on Christmas.  The Toffs are benevolent dictators kind enough to let the servants have PART of Christmas off (amazing), or let one of their footman go visit his dying mother, forcing them to go an entire week with only two guys to wait on them hand and foot while they eat their dinner.  

 

That whole world and era is treated with such misplaced nostalgia, IMO.  The goal is to preserve that huge estate for George is "best for everyone", even noble,  because the Crawleys are......nicer than most landlords.  There is no reference to the fact that at that time tenants were fleeing the entrenched feudalism of the Big Estates, leaving the land in droves for the cities where there was at least some chance to get ahead in life.

 

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-29103503

 

Interesting that this popped up today.  I thought the part about class prejudice becoming "respectable" was relevant.   I remember reading something about the conservatives preaching against "the politics of envy", IMO an insidious way to paint cries for greater socioeconomic progress as whining and bitterness.

 

And then the response being they won't be "lectured" by unions because their leaders make six figures.  Seriously?  Like, God forbid these important positions should pay well.  And what does six figures mean?  200K pounds?  Because given how damned expensive the UK is now, that's not even that high.

 

Sorry, I would move this to "The Politics of Downton" thread but there isn't one.  Can we create one....?  Because I've love to read Obviously's take on some of it.

Edited September 8, 2014 by ZulaMay

[NotBothered]

Well judging by the new promo photos Mary is still wearing Matthew's ring.  Hopefully this means that the ring in the CS filming pictures is not a new one...

[photo fox]

Sorry, I would move this to "The Politics of Downton" thread but there isn't one.  Can we create one....?  Because I've love to read Obviously's take on some of it.

Sorry, we try to steer clear of current political discussion around here.

The politics of the era in which Downton Abbey is set and how they are or are not represented on the show are a different matter, however. Feel free to start a thread for that if you like, but we ask that it the topic remains politics in relation to the show.

[ZoloftBlob]

I'd like that as a topic :)

[Elsinore]

Is there an airdate for the new season?

[NumberCruncher]

Is there an airdate for the new season?

 

In the UK it's September 21.  In the US it's January 4...I'm still bugged that PBS is living in the Dark Ages while everyone else is in the 21st-century Internet Age.

[Tetraneutron]

Does anyone know about Canada? I went to the official website and it said "Later this year." So I'm guessing no airdate.

 

It's so stupid that TV stations still do this in this day and age. They know about torrents, right?

[ZulaMay]

Press Embargo lifted, but still no Press Pack.

 

Anyway, apparently Mabel is higher on the social ladder so Mary feels competitive with her.  Sounds promising.

 

Confirms what I expected that Mary thinks Edith is being mopey about Michael, because she (Mary) was widowed and has moved forward but Edith is just being self-pitying because her boyfriend might be dead and she doesn't know what happened to him.  How dare Edith have lingering feelings and sadness over a man she lost!  Laura said Mary "doesn't realize how insensitive she's being."  

 

To say I am not surprised is a huge understatement.

 

Also hints that Thomas might be considering getting married?  Something about Robert being jealous of Bricker and Cora flirting.....yada yada I don't care about their marriage so whatever.

 

Rose gets involved with helping the Russian refugees.  

 

Confirmed:  Sarah Bunting is a huge cow and pain in the arse.  Also, Robert hates her and they "spar."  Also promising.

Edited September 11, 2014 by ZulaMay

[NotBothered]

So can we speculate here based off of info from the UK airings? Or because it's aired is it not considered a spoiler now?

 

Because I have thoughts about Tony.

[photo fox]

Excellent question, NotBothered!  I've conferred with Management and we're dividing the spec topics into US and UK versions.

 

This topic shall be for US and other "waiting" viewers going forward.  The speculation should be based on traditional spoilers (promos, articles, leaked photos).  If you have already seen episodes in the UK, speculation about the rest of the season should go in the Speculation WITH Spoilers (UK) topic that I am about to start.

 

Once episodes begin airing in the US, this topic will turn into a "speculate about the rest of the season" topic.

 

PM me with any questions.

[photo fox]

This topic shall be for US and other "waiting" viewers going forward.  The speculation should be based on traditional spoilers (promos, articles, leaked photos).  If you have already seen episodes in the UK, speculation about the rest of the season should go in the Speculation WITH Spoilers (UK) topic that I am about to start.

Once episodes begin airing in the US, this topic will turn into a "speculate about the rest of the season" topic.

PM me with any questions.

[becauseIsaidso]

Sweet Holy Hell!!! MPBN's Downton Abbey Revisited is ok - BUT - has Bernadette Peters been replaced with some sort of automaton? She sounds like a wooden figure, stiff, NO expression or emotion at all! Quite takes all of my attention away from the rehash and speculation of what season 5 has to bring - and I used to like her (Bernadette) so much! What the hell happened to her?

[Pickles]

I was just coming here to post the same thing about how awful Bernadette Peters is on this show! She is just standing there awkwardly reading the TelePrompTer. No expression, stilted speech, etc. Is she drugged up or what is the deal??

[ajsnaves]

I had been wondering why Bernadette Peters was not in Into the Woods, which comes out on Christmas.  Now I know why.  She can no longer move anything on her body except her lips, barely.

[AZChristian]

I don't think she blinked once during the program (because she's so full of Botox her eye muscles don't move).  But she was wearing a very pretty dress.  Too bad they didn't have one in her size so she would have been able to inhale at some point.

 

Her appearance was so distracting that I hardly heard a word she said . . . bizarre.

[Gemma Violet]

I thought the same thing about Bernadette.  She looked like she had taken a strong sedative or something and was fighting to stay awake.  Very weird.

[Cranston]

I always thought Bernadette Peters was kinda cute and quirky...who was that woman?!  We won't have to suffer her during the upcoming season, will we?

[shipperx]

Sweet Holy Hell!!! MPBN's Downton Abbey Revisited is ok - BUT - has Bernadette Peters been replaced with some sort of automaton? She sounds like a wooden figure, stiff, NO expression or emotion at all! Quite takes all of my attention away from the rehash and speculation of what season 5 has to bring - and I used to like her (Bernadette) so much! What the hell happened to her?

She was so distracting, affected, and wooden that I had to change the channel. Unwatchable.

Edited December 4, 2014 by shipperx

[talula]

Spoiler...found this photo...looks like Ms. Mabel Fox gets together with her ex-fiancé Tony Gillingham.

Edited February 2, 2015 by RealityTVSmack1

[caligirl50]

I don't know how many of you are cinefiles but I most definitely caught on to two uses of music in the show this season:

1) When Mary attends the fashion show, the music is from the fashion show in the famous women-only film THE WOMEN

2) When the card sharp realizes the letter he has stolen is missing, the music played is from Hitchcock's DIAL M FOR MURDER

 

Very clever. 

[caligirl50]

Also, did anyone notice the the first Marigold is in the train car with Edith and Cora and then when they pull up to Downton station it's the new Marigold?

[Avaleigh]

I don't know how many of you are cinefiles but I most definitely caught on to two uses of music in the show this season:

1) When Mary attends the fashion show, the music is from the fashion show in the famous women-only film THE WOMEN

2) When the card sharp realizes the letter he has stolen is missing, the music played is from Hitchcock's DIAL M FOR MURDER

 

Very clever. 

Really. I have to listen for that now when I do my rewatch in September. The Women (1939) is a favorite of mine since I was a teen. 

[photo fox]

I'm going to go ahead and lock this, since season five has already aired. :-)