Season 5 Speculation WITH Spoilers (UK)

[photo fox]

This topic shall be for UK viewers going forward.  If you have already seen episodes in the UK, and want to speculate about the rest of the season based on spoilers, your post goes here.

PM me with any questions.

[NotBothered]

Thanks for the new thread! 

 

After this epsiode I am pretty sure that the Tony relationship is going nowhere good.  He was far too knowledgeable about the required arrangements for an illicit rendezvous in Liverpool.  Right now I just can't decide if he's going to blackmail her, if she's going to find out something terrible from Mable Lane Fox, or if she's going to marry and then divorce him (since she mentioned not wanting to divorce specifically).

[NumberCruncher]

Agreed, @NotBothered.  There's something definitely off about that whole relationship.  Tony has put far too much pressure on Mary from the start, constantly tells her how to think ("You're in love with me"), talks about his money situation a lot, is creepily familiar with Liverpool hotel logistics...red flags all over the place.  It also makes me wonder if he didn't purposefully want her to use her real name at the hotel so he can use it against her later.

[CofCinci]

I think he wants to get her pregnant to force her into a marriage.

[ZulaMay]

That occurred to me too, CofCinci.   He might not expect her to deal with the birth control situation, since they clearly didn't discuss it (and she didn't even want to ask him to get it).  He also proposes that they go at it like rabbits for a week, which increases the chance of a pregnancy too.  Even if I didn't suspect that I just find his behavior odd and suspicious in general.  He makes me uncomfortable. 

 

Blake on the other had I liked this week, even if he is a bit cocky.  Cocky is better than creepy any day of the week.

 

I do wonder about divorce too though.  I never would have thought JF would go there, but now I am not so sure.  The fact that she mentioned it a couple of times did make me wonder.  Often when something is mentioned or appears on this show it comes back to bite someone later.  Like when Matthew showed up in 3.02 with a fancy new car and bragged on it a bit......then said car disappeared and was never mentioned until shortly before he ran it into a ditch.

 

I suspect someone will spot them or otherwise discover their liaison, and that might just be exactly what Tony wants.  Even if she doesn't get pregnant their compromising situation might force a shotgun wedding.

 

i thought I sensed a bit of Tom/Rose chemistry in 5.01, with her going to find him in his "lair" on the estate (echoes of the garage?).  But this week there was little interaction and she seems intent on setting him up with Bunting.  Who I predict will be gone after 5.04 anyway.  And Rose supposedly has a hunky new guy and is sporting a rock on her finger at the end of the season.  Her family is appearing in 5.08, which sounds like a wedding.

Edited September 30, 2014 by ZulaMay

[NotBothered]

I enjoy the fact that Blake treats Mary as an equal and doesn't engage in all this sneaking around.

 

I also thought it was suspicious that Gillingham wanted to take Mary out for a night on the town.  They certainly aren't making much of an effort to be discreet.

 

Divorce is the major melodrama tentpole we haven't seen yet.  It seems like the obvious place to go (and is one of the only things left on my Upstairs, Downstairs plotline checklist).  I just can't decide whether limited remaining shelf-left on the show makes it more or less likely.  If we only have two series left (I have no idea if that's the number...they keep saying it's almost over, and then it keeps going), are they going to waste a year burning through an unhappy marriage? Or does that buy us easy drama for another year?  This year is Mary making the choice, next year is Mary deciding to divorce/have and affair, final season is her happy?

 

I hadn't heard that we'd seen Rose with a ring.  That definitely fits with the fact people said they were filming a wedding.

[Tetraneutron]

 

I suspect someone will spot them or otherwise discover their liaison, and that might just be exactly what Tony wants.  Even if she doesn't get pregnant their compromising situation might force a shotgun wedding.

Repeating the Pamuk plot line, only with far lower stakes? Yes, that does sound like something JF would do. 

 

Personally I think Tony and Blake are dull and interchangeable. I hope Mary finds a new suitor. Or that one or the other gets a personality of some kind. 

 

I'm curious how the Edith situation resolves itself. It seems, as usual, that great potential for dramatic conflict is introduced only to sweep it away. How does no one else fine out? Does Edith get blackmailed? Shunned? It has to be revealed at some point. 

[ZulaMay]

Here's a bit of info:  David Robb is not listed on the Radio Times cast list for 5.03.

 

The RT cast list is the go-to one, as the ITV one is usually incomplete.  It has pretty much always been correct in the past.

 

His absence wouldn't matter if he were a recurring guest character instead of Main Cast.  But he is Main Cast.  Any character who appears in Episode 1 is included in the Main Cast, no matter how few episodes in which he/she appears or how short the duration of his/her stay.   Last season Edna and Nanny West were both listed as Main Cast in the press pack.

 

After that, the cast list varies by episode:  every recurring character is listed ONLY if he/she appears in that particular episode, but a Main Cast member remains on the list unless and until he/she either dies or departs permanently.

 

The most important time a Main Cast member disappeared mid-season?  When Sybil died.  JBF was on the cast list for 3.02 even though she and Tom were not it.  But she was not on the list for 3.06 or thereafter......because she had died.

 

So it seems likely that Clarkson departs as a character.  I don't think he'll die but he might leave for a job elsewhere.  Of course this is not 100% certain but there is a precedent for it.  When Sybil didn't appear on the list for 3.06?  I was pretty sure she would not make it.

[DianeDobbler]

What about this:

 

Does Tom start any new relationships in Season 5?

While Allen stayed mum on the topic of any romantic relationships, he did reveal he and one of the ladies of Downton will get closer come Season 5. And no, it’s not Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) for those out there still holding a torch for that wannabe relationship.

Instead, Allen says his character will interact more with Crawley cousin, Rose MacClare (Lily James). “I think Tom likes Rose see’s a lot of his late wife in her,” he tweets.

 

It's from this:

 

http://www.wetpaint.com/downton-abbey/articles/2014-02-24-season-5-spoiler-branson-relationship

[Andorra]

Oh, they're quoting MY tweet! That was me who asked Allen about Tom's relationship to Rose and if he liked her? Allen answered Tom likes Rose very much and that they will have more interaction this series. And that he sees a lot of his dead wife in Rose.

 

I would like "Trosy". I really like Rose and I think Tom and Rose have a lot of onscreen chemistry. Last episode in the office? I thought they sparkled.

 

But Rose's story has been seemingly obvious this season. She will have this "hunky" new beau Alistair Aldridge (played by Matt Barber) and we saw pics of her with a big rock on her finger in the CS. Also they seem to visit his home when the cast filmed at Alnwick.

 

So is he just a red herring and Tom will suffer silently, because he sees her getting engaged to another man?

 

I wouldn't mind, but I also would like a new love interest *coughMadeleineAllsopcough* for him!

Edited September 30, 2014 by Andorra

[ZulaMay]

The Rose/Tom spark hit me in 5.01 but not in 5.02.  She seems more friendly toward him, supportive and such.  But she's into "shopping and dancing" so I don't see her with Tom unless she undergoes a radical change.

 

OTOH her story this season seems almost too obvious.  They've revealed her hunky beau and let us see her with a big ring.  It's rarely that easy.  And he isn't even in the show yet as of 5.03.  I guess we'll see this week if he appears in 5.04 or not.  

[NotBothered]

I don't see Rose and Tom.  The show has continually portrayed Rose and flighty and unserious.  Rebellious and open-minded, yes.  But not exactly one to live by her convictions.  I actually love Rose as a character, but I can't see myself jumping on board that ship. 

 

I can't remember...wasn't there something awhile back about Lily James needing time off to promote Cinderella?  Did I make that up?  A marriage would be a quick and easy way to lighten her episode load.

Edited September 30, 2014 by NotBothered

[Tetraneutron]

The thing with Tom is, since JBF left, they've tried to make Tom into the new Sybil. That's part of the reason all this Sarah Bunting stuff is so awkward - they keep dancing around the fact that Tom should have something of a life by now, but not committing to it, probably because Allen Leach has no intention of leaving the show. So they've sanded off all the revolutionary edges and are giving him the same lines they would have given her - the voice of progress and the future, but still comfortable being from an upper-class family, living in that world, and not out to rock the boat too much. And given Tom's history, it makes everything weird. 

 

And since Sybbie keeps him tied to the Abbey, he doesn't need to get married to have a reason to stay on the show. (Plus, how weird would that be, marrying your dead wife's sister or cousin). Besides, it makes even less sense for Rose to marry Tom than it does for Mary. Rose is young, a catch, and wants excitement and adventure. Tom is to opposite of that. 

 

I wonder what they'll do for Rose's husband. Lily James is leaving the show at the end of the season, right? So I'm guessing suitable marriage to a guy with an estate on the other side of the country. 

[Andorra]

I wonder what they'll do for Rose's husband. Lily James is leaving the show at the end of the season, right? So I'm guessing suitable marriage to a guy with an estate on the other side of the country.

 

That's how it appeared to be but now Lily James has come out and said that was just a rumor and that she would love to stay on the show if it gets comissioned for series 6.

 

So was it only a rumor spread to make us believe Rose will get married?

 

I like Tom's storyline so far. He's by far the most interesting character to me. But I do want him to have a romantic storyline now with someone who is progressive, modern AND can be accepted by the family. Allen Leech said that Tom is looking for love this series, but that Sarah Bunting is no more than a friend. There has been no announcement of a young female character who could become Tom's love interest though. So the question is: Who will it be??

[DianeDobbler]

I've been looking at other Downton Abbey boards and came across quotes from Robert James Collier that Thomas WILL have a real story this season, that Jimmy's departure is a blow, and Thomas begins to question himself and act in unhealthy ways, and apparently it's a sympathetic story, even more so than when he was being blackmailed by O'Brien. He didn't give details, but my guess is Thomas attempts to straighten himself out, as it were, and have relations with women, and it's gut wrenching. Collier re-emphasized that Thomas loves Jimmy. I don't know if that (his love for Jimmy) will ever come back around for him in some way, or if his love for Jimmy is simply emphasized so that when Thomas loses him, what he does next makes sense.

 

By "come back around", I am considering the times they live in, when being gay was considered sick, foul, and I think, illegal. Generally, I think the richest and the poorest are able to be a bit more free - not entirely free, but a bit more (the rich are protected, the poor, society doesn't care as much), but "respectable" people, including servants, were at risk. Jimmy could end up being one of those gay guys who denies who he is, even to himself, but maybe evolves. Plenty of gay people married, etc. The pass Thomas made might have freaked him out even more if it was a part of him he's kept hidden.

 

Oh well, I'd like if in the end something came of it in some way - the two guys have chemistry, the attachment makes sense. I don't feel as if Thomas's care for Jimmy, and the loss, is "forced". It works on my screen.

 

Really glad Lily James wants to return for S6. It didn't make complete sense to me that promoting a film would take her off the show, plus don't the actors sign three year contracts? I don't know what hers is, of course. Making a movie might take someone off the show, that's true, although Downton actors manage both. I'm hopeful that Rose's advocacy of Bunting is/was simply a device to show that Rose is empathetic towards, caring of, and notices Tom, and is also sympathetic to Bunting and Tom's ideas and politics, which of course makes her likeminded with Tom. Tom even said, in reference to Rose, that he's not accustomed to having someone likeminded at the table.

[kpw801]

That occurred to me too, CofCinci.   He might not expect her to deal with the birth control situation, since they clearly didn't discuss it (and she didn't even want to ask him to get it).  He also proposes that they go at it like rabbits for a week, which increases the chance of a pregnancy too.  Even if I didn't suspect that I just find his behavior odd and suspicious in general.  He makes me uncomfortable. 

 

You know what else?  Matthew would be rolling over in his GRAVE at the thought of what Mary is doing.  He was adamant that Michael Gregson leave Edith alone rather than consent to stand by and watch her "slide into a life of scandal".  Mary is really something else!  I like the way it is being brought up that Tony is not that smart.  I remember when Mary was telling her aunt Rosamund one of Matthew's selling points was that he was "awfully clever".  We all know that Earl Grantham is not too bright when it comes to money and investments so Tony is probably hiding some major money problems.  He was full of advice about Mary's tax issues but his family is living in their dower house instead of the house proper.  I'll bet he will faint when Mary does not get pregnant.  Something in the milk is not clean with Lord Gillingham.

 

Blake on the other had I liked this week, even if he is a bit cocky.  Cocky is better than creepy any day of the week.

 

I do wonder about divorce too though.  I never would have thought JF would go there, but now I am not so sure.  The fact that she mentioned it a couple of times did make me wonder.  Often when something is mentioned or appears on this show it comes back to bite someone later.  Like when Matthew showed up in 3.02 with a fancy new car and bragged on it a bit......then said car disappeared and was never mentioned until shortly before he ran it into a ditch.

 

I suspect someone will spot them or otherwise discover their liaison, and that might just be exactly what Tony wants.  Even if she doesn't get pregnant their compromising situation might force a shotgun wedding.

 

i thought I sensed a bit of Tom/Rose chemistry in 5.01, with her going to find him in his "lair" on the estate (echoes of the garage?).  But this week there was little interaction and she seems intent on setting him up with Bunting.  Who I predict will be gone after 5.04 anyway.  And Rose supposedly has a hunky new guy and is sporting a rock on her finger at the end of the season.  Her family is appearing in 5.08, which sounds like a wedding.

[NotBothered]

The 5x04 press release is out.  

 

 

Sarah Bunting continues to cause waves above stairs, but this time she may have gone too far. On returning to Downton, Thomas is suffering an inexplicable illness; Baxter suspects there’s more to it than he’s letting on. Meanwhile, Violet reveals to Isobel the surprising truth of her past with Prince Kuragin and Mary comes to a decision concerning Lord Gillingham, but things don’t go quite as planned. When Rose’s father Shrimpie returns to Downton, he breaks news that will shock the whole family.

 

It sounds like Thomas's "straightening out" story line starts next week (aversion therapy seems to be the current popular guess).  I'm interested to see this, but I'm so worried the Fellowes is going to completely bungle it.

 

It also sounds like Shrimpie and Susan might be divorcing and that something goes awry with Mary's plan regarding Tony.  At first I thought she might be calling the engagement off due to seeing someone get divorced, but upon rereading it I'm not so sure.  Maybe she does decide to break of off and the blackmail begins...

[ZulaMay]

kpw801, just a quick note on my post you quoted above.  It's all mine except the paragraph about Matthew rolling over in his grave.  I didn't write that part!

 

Yes, I expect Thomas is going for gay aversion therapy or something.  In the EM Forster book "Maurice" the character submitted himself to such treatment (it would have been around 1912) and surprise!  It didn't work. 

 

This could be a very good story line but fingers crossed JF can handle it.

[DianeDobbler]

How much did aversion therapy cost, and would it fit into a service person's schedule? It never occurred to me he'd be doing that - I figured it would be aversion therapy of his own devising - just try to force himself with women (not force himself ON a woman, but submit himself to attempts with women). But real aversion therapy would be interesting too. Either way, it's got the potential to be truly heartbreaking in a good, soapy way (the way the blackmail story was last time - Robert James Collier is good at the vulnerability). It's set up well. He's in love with Jimmy. Jimmy's gone, so he doesn't even have his one friendship connection. I think it must be even more wrenching to do something like that when you aren't just oriented in one direction, but are in love with a particular person, even if it's apparently unrequited.

[NotBothered]

I haven't listen to that.  There's be a lot of jokey speculation on Tumblr that it was Mrs. Hughes, but I don't think anyone actual takes it seriously.  Just a crack!theory. 

 

I'm interested in the "devious plan" Mary and Blake are supposed to be setting up next episode.  It doesn't really make sense that it would be Tony related already, because I think Mary would be embarrassed to tell Blake that she was wrong and he was right. 

 

I am however very excited about the introduction of Mable Lane Fox.  

[Badger]

I think we're going to learn that Green was treated badly at pretty much every house that he and Lord Gillingham stayed at and that for some inexplicable reason, someone always wanted to pick a quarrel with him.

 

Amazingly enough, these were almost always male servants who had wives/sweethearts/sisters/daughters, etc. who also worked at the house and who suffered from bad falls while Green was there.  Or at least they claimed their injuries were the result of bad falls.

 

IOW, I think the person who killed Green was someone in pretty much the same circumstances as Mr. Bates - someone connected to the victim of one of Green's rapes.  It might even be one of his victims.

[Andorra]

Does anyone listen to the Afterbuzz pod for the series? Some of their conversations for series five are just puzzling to me. For instance, for episode three, they engage in a great deal of debate as to who the "real killer" of Greene will be revealed to be, with much of the the thought going to Mrs. Hughes (they've completely eliminated BateZzz, considering him too obvious which - while I agree he's too obvious - when has being obvious a deterrent to Fellowes' narrative choices?).

 

 

Yes, I love that afterbuzz podcast! When an episode is bad, the afterbuzz is even better than the show itself!

 

I watch it since series 3, but what I must say: Their predictions are wrong almost every time. They're not as spoiled as I am and really just watch the show without any further information so it is not that surprising. For example they have no idea what is going to happen with Thomas so far and so they thought last episode "choose your own path" was meant to be a career move when we already know from interviews, that it is anti-gay treatment.

 

I love it that Courtney hates Bunting so much, that she even said she would stop watching if Tom left with her for America. I can so relate to that! And I liked it that they said that Mary spoke for all of the viewers, when she said "I'm not keen on Miss Bunting and I can't bear the thought of you leaving." I hope JF wanted us to feel that way!

 

Their theory with Mrs Hughes is interesting, but it doesn't hold IMO. Mrs Hughes definitely wasn't away the day Greene died. It was the day before the big bazar and it would have been very weird if the housekeeper had been away all day. They couldn't just let that happen without an explanation.

[ZulaMay]

Hughes the killer?  LMFAO.

 

"Choose Your Own Path" clearly sounds like anti-gay treatment, but seriously, did organizations with names like that exist at that time?  It sounds very anachronistic to me, more of a modern era Self Help program.  I don't know what I would expect it to be called.  Maybe something more clinical-sounding and judgey?

 

That name makes me picture a group therapy session with men sitting around in a circle discussing their experiences and "progress," encouraged by a group leader who has successfully joined the other team. And by "successfully" I mean he has married and managed to have sex with his wife in the dark once a month and maybe get her pregnant, all the while suppressing his continuing attraction to men.

Edited October 9, 2014 by ZulaMay

[NotBothered]

Now that I'm thinking logically, it seems more likely that Mary confides in Blake about Green and their devious plan is somehow related to finding out more about the "the incident."

 

I have to say, I'm really getting sick of Bates.  Apparently Brendan is getting increasingly dismissive about Downton (a la Dan Stevens?).  I wouldn't be surprised if he's gone by the end of the season.  The real question seems to be if Joanne Froggatt goes with him. 

[Andorra]

I'm pretty sure the "cunning plan" refers to the horse race, doesn't it?

 

ZulaMay the "organisation" wasn't called "Chose your own path", but they advertised with that slogan? It is probably one single doctor, not a real organisation and they would need to hide their intent behind flowery words, since homosexuality was illegal.

[ZoloftBlob]

And by "successfully" I mean he has married and managed to have sex with his wife in the dark once a month and maybe get her pregnant, all the while suppressing his continuing attraction to men.

 

So... Matthew and Mary's marriage? ;)

[NotBothered]

I'm pretty sure the "cunning plan" refers to the horse race, doesn't it?

Do we actually know anything about the horse race at this point, other than that it happens?  If we do know more about when, where, how, and if Mary's hair is really post-bob, I would LOVE to know.

[Andorra]

We know the horse race is in Episode 5. So that's when Mary will have her short bob.

 

The trailer doesn't contain scenes from beyond Episode 5.

 

I also think Episode 5 will have a shock in it. We haven't seen any stills of this episode yet. We had stills from the other episodes way ahead. Not all of them, but at least 4-6 pictures for each episode.

 

Also we always had a shock midseason so I assume the shock for this series will be in episode 5.

Edited October 9, 2014 by Andorra

[DianeDobbler]

I, too, think "Choose Your Own Path" was advertising code, written so the target market would get it, but sail past everyone else. I was just reading about aversion therapy, and it involved drugs to make you nauseous - poor Thomas (I really do like him despite everything). It also sort of evokes, for me, the adult education program known as Chautauqua that flourished in the U.S. (or at least the eastern part of it in some quarters) in the late 1800s, early 20th century, although maybe by 1924 it was past its peak. Lectures, programs, all the new ideas and new ways of thinking, new psychological theories, etc.

[ZulaMay]

So... Matthew and Mary's marriage? ;)

 

Thank you so much for that. ;)

 

I'm only mad I didn't think of it...

[ZoloftBlob]

Matthew and Blake would have so cute! ;)

[ZulaMay]

Hmmmm.  I think Matthew might go for Tom.  There is something rather homoerotic (in an Edwardian English sort of way) about one guy teaching another how to play cricket.  All those boys being in single-sex boarding school throughout their growing years.  Stuff happened.  Did you ever see or read "Maurice" by EM Forster?

Edited October 11, 2014 by ZulaMay

[ZoloftBlob]

See, the Matthew/Tom thing occurred to me but honestly, Tom seems so likely to be horrified by a straight up proposition...

 

Amazon has the book and it looks interesting.

[ZulaMay]

I agree, Tom doesn't swing the cricket bat both ways.  But Matthew?  I'm not so sure.

 

Funny thing:  During the first two seasons there were some who wanted a Tom/Thomas romance.   Well, they knew they wouldn't get it but they enjoyed speculating.

 

"Maurice" was made into a film, which was decent.  Worth a look.  Hugh Grant is in it and I wouldn't have recognized him. He's quite good.  He doesn't play Maurice, though.

Edited October 12, 2014 by ZulaMay

[Andorra]

Counting down the episodes with Sarah Bunting. Only this one and then next week and we are FINALLY rid of her!!!!!!

[ZoloftBlob]

Unless Bates murders her. Then we'll see her in flashbacks :D

I agree, Tom doesn't swing the cricket bat both ways.  But Matthew?  I'm not so sure.

 

Heheheh I first was introed to this show by receiving a dvd set in 2013 and I swear, watching it, I always assumed there was going to be a big reveal that Matthew had been living a lie that Mary fulfilled on by being so hard to get. (I mean really, his intro to the audience was his living with his mom at age 30, complaining that his new relations were going to throw their daughters at him because he was single and that was *horrifying*) Had the show been daring, they could have hooked him with Thomas in some sort of PTSD thing and then let the blackmail begin.

[NotBothered]

Episode summary for 5 is up:

 

Following last week’s altercation, relations between Robert and Cora are strained. Blake’s scheming starts to come to fruition, when Mary is unexpectedly pitted against her love rival. Edith receives some terrible news and decides to take drastic measures, leaving people reeling. Following a mysterious tip off, Baxter becomes embroiled in the investigation of Green’s death. Meanwhile, Thomas’s condition is deteriorating, prompting him to finally reveal the truth to Baxter. It’s not all bad news however; love is in the air for more than one member of the Crawley family.

 

So is Blake's plan to get Mabel and Tony back together?  And I wonder what Edith's drastic measures are.  To go to Germany? Or to suddenly go and get her kid?

[ElizaD]

My guess is that Edith gets confirmation that Michael is dead and reveals the Marigold secret because their child is all that's left of him.

 

Tony/Mabel will allow him to exit without looking like a loser.

 

The investigation of Green's death is the new Bates in prison. It seems to me that 99% of viewers just want it to be over. I saw a reference to set pics of Mary visiting a prison: if this leads to (probably innocent) Anna Bates in prison for her rapist's murder, it's going to be even more depressing and time-consuming than the first version of the plot in seasons 2-3.

[ZulaMay]

That is what I am hoping, that Edith finally tells her family.  She seemed on the verge of breaking in the last episode, based on what she told Violet.  She's tired of suffering in order to protect the family from scandal.  She's inclined to look after herself right now (and her kid).

[ZulaMay]

Cast list is up for 5.06.  Nothing new except Bunting is finally gone!  Break out the champagne.  Atticus Aldridge is there with his parents, the Sinderbys.  I wonder what his title is?  He must have one if they have different last names (he'd inherit Sinderby when his father died).  Merton is not there and neither are his two sons, who we know appear at some point this season.  I suspect they'll arrive together in 7 or 8, maybe for an event at the house.  Violet's new Ladies Maid Denker is there.  Everything else appears the same.

 

There is a hotel clerk or something.  So maybe another hotel visit.

[DianeDobbler]

If it's revealed Gregson is dead, Julian Fellowes might have to write a love interest for Edith, and are we sure he's got the time? Mary has fashion shows, teas, walks in the park, room service, dinners with rejected suitors, and dressing downs from Violet AND Violet's butler, and there's only so much time in an hour an episode.

[ZulaMay]

You forgot he has to spend five minutes an episode on the "Moseley Running Joke Of The Week" and up to this point, five minutes on "Bunting Won't Shut Up."

 

I think if Edith ever gets a decent love interest it will be at the last minute....like maybe in 6.08 or something.  Or they'll stick her with an existing character so he doesn't have to bother writing another.  I fear it might be Tom, frankly.  I really like both of them but for various reasons don't want them together.  She spent her whole life being made to feel inferior to both her sisters.  I imagine marriage to the guy who was madly in love with her sister would exacerbate her insecurities rather than heal them.  As  for Tom, there was a reason he fell for Sybil instead of Edith.  

 

I thought Gregson was ideal for her and I much prefer him to either of Mary's guys.  Most importantly, he loved her first and enough to sacrifice for her.  He valued her and she would never be second best for him.  Too bad they had to get rid of him (or so I assume) .  I think it was a huge mistake.  It would have been far better and more interesting to watch them struggle with the issue of his institutionalized wife.  But we can't have that because Edith must live at the house and be the butt monkey.

[NotBothered]

Interesting.  We have 5x06 photos of the horse race out -- which Charles is at.  It also appears to be at Downton, as there are photos of both Violet and Carson.  No Robert and Cora, no Edith.  

 

None of that was really very speculative, but I'm getting antsy on a Friday afternoon for something exciting to happen.  

[Andorra]

I think 5.05 or 5.06 will be the episodes where something shocking happens. Otherwise I would be very surprised.

 

BTW I saw pics of Robert and Cora from the race. Also a pic of Edith, but it was not from the race. Not a single pic of Tom, he's not even in the background.

Cute pics of George and Sybbie at the race though.

 

Rose with Atticus smiling at each other.

 

Also Tony Gillingham and Mabel smiling happily at each other.

[NotBothered]

We've been so conditioned to expect a bomb at this point in the season, it will be weird to not get one.  I keep wondering if someone falls of their horse and dies at the race, or if we'll have another paralysis story line, because that is just how this show rolls. 

 

Well it seems pretty clear Bunting is leaving.  I wonder if they're trying to create suspense around whether Tom stays or goes.  

[ZoloftBlob]

Perhaps Bunting will die! :D

[ZulaMay]

Maybe that's it....trying to create suspense over whether Tom leaves or not.  Which is lame because does anyone seriously think he would leave with her?  When he told Mary he was considering "her and America....either or both" it just did not ring true at all.  The American part, sure, but not the part about her.  We have barely seen them interact on screen and what we have seen in no way suggests any serious attraction.

[DianeDobbler]

It's so irritating that they dragged Bunting out because they didn't write it. Nothing happened. They didn't interact. They just kept putting her in there, then clubbing us over the head with the idea, mostly from Robert, that this meant Tom would revert back to his own Bunting-ness. Not that they wrote that either. For EIGHT EPISODES it was, here's this socialist type woman in the vicinity of Tom. Oh noes, will Tom leave Downton? That was it. No development, no further insight into Tom, no events, no story whatsoever. I don't even like Bunting and didn't want a story - just saying - eight episodes of this. When Fellowes does this, it screams "I don't want to write for Tom, so here's a two series placeholder."

 

I'm glad the ratings are apparently down. I'm surprised they remain as high as they do.

 

I, also, eventually liked Gregson and Edith, mostly on the strength of their last scene together - the love scene where Marigold was conceived. It was just lovely, directed beautifully, and played beautifully, even though it was short. I thought it was very convincing that Gregson loved her. Now, although her life apparently continues at the paper, we only SEE her doing the same damn thing she's done throughout. Hang out at the house, and we hear Robert's contempt for her. Then hang out with some guy on a farm somewhere, while the wife looks uncomfortable. I don't think Fellowes even cares about Marigold. He's just half-assing some sort of triangle with the Drewes, and making everyone look stupid. There's no reason whatever Mr. Drewe wouldn't tell his wife where Marigold came from, and absolutely no reason his wife can't immediately know the deal, as anyone would.

 

I wish Fellowes would actually write this show.

 

 

[NotBothered]

 

7/8. Secrets could be exposed as Rosamund arrives at Downton following Edith’s shock departure. Rose is delighted to introduce Atticus and his parents to the Abbey, while Anna and Bates start thinking about a fresh start, now that the worst of their problems are seemingly behind them. Molesley is concerned to see Daisy becoming disillusioned with her studies, and Isobel makes a happy announcement, but there may be trouble ahead. Violet has her hands full with her warring servants, while Mary and Blake seize an opportunity to send Gillingham a strong message.

We're still trying to put Gillingham off in 7?  Oh lord.

 

So does this mean that Edith actually kidnaps Marigold?  Of course we know this all gets squared away by 8 (I think), as Edith was with Marigold when they filmed the war memorial dedication.

 

I hope Isobel is that weird wedding spoiler we got during filming, but I don't want to know what trouble may be ahead.

[ElizaD]

Sounds like Isobel gets engaged but it comes to an end for some reason so that she can continue to have her weekly scenes with Violet, and Anna/Bates plan their future but she gets arrested for murder in the final scene.