S05.E07: Episode Seven

[mcjen]

 

Also, as someone else has noted, I'm pretty sure that Edith continued to write her column and call into the office periodically and that she mentioned those things several times.

That seems to be the consensus.  To be frank, I can't recall which times Edith may have been "going down to London tomorrow" to actually go into the office and which times were trips to see a doctor and find out if she was pregnant, or to visit an abortion doctor, or whatever else.  Guess that's why I would have loved to have scene an actual scene with her, meeting with people at the office.

Edited February 19, 2015 by mcjen

[Milburn Stone]

I'm pretty sure that Edith continued to write her column and call into the office periodically and that she mentioned those things several times.

 

I hope you're right, but I don't remember that. I would have wanted to see some continued references to those things, so that I could believe Edith actually had a reason to take up space, but if those references ever happened I sure missed them.

Edited February 19, 2015 by Milburn Stone

[ShadowFacts]

 

But, seriously, they didn't even have DNA testing so how did they identify his remains? And hadn't too many years passed for the corpse to be recognizable?

 

Oh, no, you're adding more fuel to my conspiracy fires. 

[LadyintheLoop]

But, seriously, they didn't even have DNA testing so how did they identify his remains? And hadn't too many years passed for the corpse to be recognizable?

 

 

Maybe they just found Gregson's wallet with the remains. This would leave some room for his return, but -- please, no.

 

Anyone else read To Marry an English Lord? These people lived by the maxim "Never comment on a likeness." The success or failure of Cora's plan may depend on whether it's actually intended to fool the world, or whether it's only supposed to supply a story that people can pretend to believe. It would be great if Mary were the only major character who didn't figure out the truth.

[ennui]

But, seriously, they didn't even have DNA testing so how did they identify his remains? And hadn't too many years passed for the corpse to be recognizable?

 

I actually kind of love the name Marigold.

Didn't Lord Grantham say that the editor or whomever came to visit said that the magazine had been left to Edith? Also, as someone else has noted, I'm pretty sure that Edith continued to write her column and call into the office periodically and that she mentioned those things several times.

Remains have been identified for centuries without DNA. I imagine there was more to it than just a wallet. Did they have fingerprints? Dental records? Maybe Gregson found out he couldn't get a divorce after all, and faked his own death. He'll reappear under an assumed name, and whisk Edith and Marigold off to America, where they can create new identities and live happily ever after. Kind of like Witness Protection.

 

Flower names seem to be popular in England. I occasionally watch Keeping Up Appearances, with Hyacinth, Rose, and Daisy.

Edited February 19, 2015 by ennui

[helenamonster]

Someone above mentioned that Robert managed to accept the Mary/Pamuk information without looking at Mary differently constantly. But I don't think Edith knows that Robert knows about that. We know, and Cora knows (and I thought I saw that knowledge flit across Cora's face when Edith was saying not to tell Daddy), but does anyone recall that Edith knows it?

 

I don't think Edith knows that Robert knows (they don't know we know they know we know!). If she does, it was never shown.

 

I hope that Edith takes a flat/house in London, moves into it with Marigold, changes her name to something less silly, and that Bates and Anna move in to take care of them and they all  live happily ever after murder-free and disappearance-free off screen.

 

I know I said this in the last episode thread, but it bears repeating: Anna has suffered enough. I know she wasn't at her best this episode, but I don't think she's done anything to warrant a lifetime with Edith just yet.

 

Actually, I've been thinking a little bit on the whole "Anna sees Marigold, puts five and seven together like any sensible person would, and immediately runs to Mrs. Hughes with the information." I remember noticing in the earlier episodes with the whole birth control thing that Anna's main issue with Mary using it was because it went against the perceived societal norm. Anna seems to be a stickler for propriety. Not in the same way that Carson is, in that he doesn't want anything to change. But in a way that's like "this is how it is, and until it changes, I'm going to go along with it." Perhaps there's a little bit of that here as well. If she's correct, and Marigold is Edith's biological daughter (we know for sure that's true, but Anna doesn't), that's a big no-no, and I can see Anna having a problem with it in that sense.

 

Another thing might be jealousy. She and Bates have been married for about five years now. Their marriage has its issues, but at the end of the day it's respectable and legit, and yet they haven't been blessed with children. Meanwhile, unmarried Edith runs off and has one without (seemingly) much trouble. I could see where a woman like Anna, who lives in that time and feels certain ways about societal expectations, could get her feathers ruffled by that. All of this is pure fanwanking on my part, but it would be an interesting angle to explore.

[Driad]

 

Dental records were used for identification by 1900.  Can't you just see Dr. Clarkson -- "This person had teeth. Gregson had teeth!  Must be him!"  Actually, maybe I missed a line (we should have seen the whole scene) but were the remains really sent to England for identification?  If so, why?

[LadyintheLoop]

Anna seems to be a stickler for propriety.

 

 

Back when it looked like Bates would be married to Vera forever, didn't Anna offer to become his mistress?

 

I hope she never tells Mary about the baby picture under Edith's pillow. Loyalty should only go so far. 

[Mrsjumbo]

As much as Edith feels like a 2nd class citizen in that home, esp by Robert, does she think Robert is going to treat Marigold, the "adopted" child from who knows where, the same as he treats Sibby & George, his blood relations? Add me to the list that thinks she should have sold her business & taken Marigold with her to America.

LOL at the pregnant- looking TOM. Either he's put on weight or has the most unflattering clothes ever.

[LadyintheLoop]

As much as Edith feels like a 2nd class citizen in that home, esp by Robert, does she think Robert is going to treat Marigold, the "adopted" child from who knows where, the same as he treats Sibby & George, his blood relations?

 

 

No, but Cora will.

[helenamonster]

Back when it looked like Bates would be married to Vera forever, didn't Anna offer to become his mistress?

 

I hope she never tells Mary about the baby picture under Edith's pillow. Loyalty should only go so far. 

 

Ah yes, very true. Idk, I could buy her love for Bates (at least back then) trumping any sort of standards.

 

I don't think she'd tell Mary, and it doesn't really have anything to do with loyalty. She knows that by telling Mary, she'd essentially be unleashing her onto Edith. I mean, she gave Mary quite the death glare when Mary was snarking about Edith and Gregson. She might not approve of what Edith's doing, but I don't see her deliberately undermining her like that, either.

[meep.meep]

Dental records were used for identification by 1900.  Can't you just see Dr. Clarkson -- "This person had teeth. Gregson had teeth!  Must be him!"  Actually, maybe I missed a line (we should have seen the whole scene) but were the remains really sent to England for identification?  If so, why?

No, I'm sure we are supposed to think that he was ID'ed by the Hun. I just like to bring up Dr. Clarkson's amazing powers of perception whenever possible.

[Badger]

Remains have been identified for centuries without DNA. I imagine there was more to it than just a wallet. Did they have fingerprints? Dental records? Maybe Gregson found out he couldn't get a divorce after all, and faked his own death. He'll reappear under an assumed name, and whisk Edith and Marigold off to America, where they can create new identities and live happily ever after. Kind of like Witness Protection.

 

Flower names seem to be popular in England. I occasionally watch Keeping Up Appearances, with Hyacinth, Rose, and Daisy.

 

Don't forget Violet.  She's the one with a sauna, a Mercedes and room enough for a pony.

[Andorra]

I hope you're right, but I don't remember that. I would have wanted to see some continued references to those things, so that I could believe Edith actually had a reason to take up space, but if those references ever happened I sure missed them.

 

She actually mentioned having to go to London all the time in series 4. Usually it was followed by Rose's "Ohhhh, can I come?!!". Then it was often mentioned that she would be late for dinner, because she was in London, or she was shown coming from London or couldn't participate in something "because I have to go to Michaels office" etc. She also said a few times that she "called the Newspaper" or "Michaels office". So it looks as if they were in constant contact.

 

LOL at the pregnant- looking TOM. Either he's put on weight or has the most unflattering clothes ever.

 

I think it's this weird way to have the upper half of the jacket buttoned. Looks very weird, but must be historical accurate. I met Allen Leech (and Rob James Collier) in May last year just when they were shooting those episodes and they both looked really thin in real life. I know the camera adds a little extra weight but that much? I noticed that Thomas looks a bit heavier on the show, too, so I wonder if that's their way of aging them a bit? It looks as if they're both wearing suits that are a little too big.

Edited February 19, 2015 by Andorra

[CeeBeeGee]

So happy they're finally giving Maggie Smith something to do other than pithy one liners the last couple episodes  Loved her explaining her objection to Isobel's engagement, her work with being called out like a naughty child by Cora for her part in the Marigold Cover Up, and her smack down of Queen Mary at dinner.  My hopeful spec is that Isobel backs out of the engagement and Violet makes it her mission to get Isobel and Lord Merton back together.  I'd pay good money for a scene where she incinerates his sons on the road to that goal.

 

If only!!!!  God, I'd LOVE to see that!

 

... and sometimes I remember that the Irish Setter I had while growing up, only went to the vet on the day he had to be put down. He barked his sweet old self into a stroke at an astonishing age 18.

 

WHY MUST YOU MAKE ME SOB LIKE THAT

 

Flower names seem to be popular in England. I occasionally watch Keeping Up Appearances, with Hyacinth, Rose, and Daisy.

 

In Harry Potter, there's Pansy, Rose, Lily and Petunia...

[LateJuliet]

And DA has already has a Rose, a Daisy, and a Violet.  I don't think Marigold is especially strange except for the fact that I doubt Edith would incorporate her sister's name into her child's.  If JF just had to have another botanical name, something like Iris or Myrtle would have made better sense for the character.

[JudyObscure]

I keep waiting for a Hyacinth in honor our Mrs. Boo-kay.

[Calamity Jane]

That seems to be the consensus.  To be frank, I can't recall which times Edith may have been "going down to London tomorrow" to actually go into the office and which times were trips to see a doctor and find out if she was pregnant, or to visit an abortion doctor, or whatever else.  Guess that's why I would have loved to have scene an actual scene with her, meeting with people at the office.

What, you mean actual continuity within the plot?  Not to be hoped for on this show. 

[RedHawk]

I don't think Marigold is especially strange except for the fact that I doubt Edith would incorporate her sister's name into her child's.

 

 

The way Mar-i-gold (Mare-eh-gold?) is pronounced I don't think Edith hears it as Mary-gold.

[alias1]

The way Mar-i-gold (Mare-eh-gold?) is pronounced I don't think Edith hears it as Mary-gold.

Since Sybil has become Sybbie, I wonder what they will make of Mare eh-gold (mare, marie, goldie)?  I still hate the name and I'm not sure where Edith came up with it, but I will say she always looks stunning in colors that look like some variation of actual marigolds.

[jordanpond]

All Edith ever had to do in order to avoid suspicion was to name the child "Mary." She could have brought her directly back from Switzerland with the most ridiculous cover story ever, and no one would have ever guessed that the birth mother who had named the child "Mary" was actually Edith.

[HyacinthBucket]

And, I don't see how taking care of a child for less than a year makes one its mother... Edith carried and breastfed that child.

 

 

You defeat your own argument.  Edith cared for and breastfed for far less time than Mrs Drewe cared for that child.

 

 

Edith has been a mother since she gave birth to Marigold, and has loved and longed for Marigold since the child was born, even after she was done breastfeeding.  She never stopped caring for her.  

[Mrsjumbo]

She actually mentioned having to go to London all the time in series 4. Usually it was followed by Rose's "Ohhhh, can I come?!!". Then it was often mentioned that she would be late for dinner, because she was in London, or she was shown coming from London or couldn't participate in something "because I have to go to Michaels office" etc. She also said a few times that she "called the Newspaper" or "Michaels office". So it looks as if they were in constant contact.

I think it's this weird way to have the upper half of the jacket buttoned. Looks very weird, but must be historical accurate. I met Allen Leech (and Rob James Collier) in May last year just when they were shooting those episodes and they both looked really thin in real life. I know the camera adds a little extra weight but that much? I noticed that Thomas looks a bit heavier on the show, too, so I wonder if that's their way of aging them a bit? It looks as if they're both wearing suits that are a little too big.

You met Thomas? Is he gorgeous? ((Swoon))

[ennui]

You met Thomas? Is he gorgeous? ((Swoon))

I like Tom, too. I acknowledge that some think his character is boring, but I think of him as "us."

I got a little nervous when at the SAG awards, Allen didn't sit with the DA cast; he sat with the Imitation Game crowd. Maybe he has career ambitions beyond DA (duh).

[Andorra]

You met Thomas? Is he gorgeous? ((Swoon))

 

Yes, Thomas (Rob James Collier) is very handsome and incredibly nice, but I must admit I didn't pay that much attention to him, LOL. I was blinded by Allen's blue eyes!

They were both very, very lovely and friendly. I took a picture with them and we talked a bit. Allen is taller than I expected. I'm 5'8 myself and I thought he would be around that height, too, but he must be 5'10, because he's visibly taller than me. The other men in Downton must be really tall.

 

 

I like Tom, too. I acknowledge that some think his character is boring, but I think of him as "us."

I got a little nervous when at the SAG awards, Allen didn't sit with the DA cast; he sat with the Imitation Game crowd. Maybe he has career ambitions beyond DA (duh).

 

Yes, but Allen said it's a bit like with divorced parents. At the GG he sat with Downton, at the SAG he sat with The Imitation Game.

 

I'm sure he has ambitions beyond DA, being in an Oscar movie it would be weird if he hadn't. But he has also said that he wants "to finish the show together with the others" and was very vocal about wanting to return for series 6. Also in a recent interview he said he would like the show to end after 7 seasons, so we'll see. We all know it is not going to last much longer now. Many people say series 6 will be the last, but I think 7 is possible.

[photo fox]

Hey, all, please do your best to avoid characterizing types of moms as more or less "real", and be sensitive to the fact that our posters are a diverse group. Adoptive moms, birth moms, foster moms, teen moms, working moms, stay-at-home moms, soccer moms, tiger moms, helicopter moms, Pinterest moms, moms (I'd) like to fool around with. They're all "real" moms.

Neither Edith nor Mrs. Drewe are perfect moms, but let's not fall into the trap of saying that one is more "real" than the other.

[ZoloftBlob]

No, I'm sure we are supposed to think that he was ID'ed by the Hun. I just like to bring up Dr. Clarkson's amazing powers of perception whenever possible.

 

Heh at this rate, considering Clarkson's record of misdiagnosis, I wouldn't be surprised if the show ended with Mary seeing Matthew trot out of the shower.

[Kohola3]

In defense of Clarkson, he was correct about Sybil's eclampsia and in the real world he would have been correct about Matthew. However this is JFSoapWorld he got the rug pulled out from under him to fit the story line.

[Milburn Stone]

In defense of Clarkson, he was correct about Sybil's eclampsia and in the real world he would have been correct about Matthew. However this is JFSoapWorld he got the rug pulled out from under him to fit the story line.

 

Agree. Despite all the times he wasn't superhumanly prescient, I've thought of Clarkson from the very beginning as a good, competent doctor doing the best he can in the time and place he lived in.

[Kohola3]

Plus I think he's quite handsome.  Not like all of those clones that are Mary's spurned suitors.  I can pick Dr. Clarkson out of a crowd quite easily!

[WatchrTina]

I'm re-watching the ep and I just saw one of my favorite moments that I don't think anyone has commented on.  After Tom's outburst ("You bastard!  Why don't you leave?") Larry the Loser says "Well if that's how you all feel" and then Lord Crawley responds "While I don't endorse Tom's language that is certainly how we wall feel."  Watch closely as the camera cuts to Mr. Carson who give one of the most eloquent non-verbal takes in the whole series.  His look at Larry coupled with a slight head nod says "You!  Out!" in exactly the same manner that he would use to order out a scullery maid who blundered into the drawing room during tea. The utter contempt he conveys is marvelous -- every bit as cutting to Larry as what the family and his father say out loud.  It made me laugh out loud both times.  Wonderful subtle acting.

 

 

Plus I think he's quite handsome.  Not like all of those clones that are Mary's spurned suitors.  I can pick Dr. Clarkson out of a crowd quite easily!

 

I like Dr. Clarkson as well (and he WAS right about Lady Sybil), so it would make me very happy if Isobel decided to send Lord Ashe and his horrible sons packing and Dr. Clarkson came back into the picture as a suitor for Isobel's hand.

 

ETA:  I want to give a bit more love to Rose.  When Atticus starts talking about "let's have a reason to defend ourselves" she has the good sense to say "I'm not going to give you an answer until you say it properly."  How many English novels would be different if every heroine had the good sense to demand a clear and unambiguous marriage proposal (I'm looking at you Marianne Dashwood.)  I applaud Rose for demanding the proper form.  Not every man is as honorable as Lord Gillingham.  I'm sure 1920's England was littered with women who mistook the words "I love you" for a marriage proposal or thought it went without saying that having sex automatically meant an engagement was understood between the parties.

Edited February 21, 2015 by WatchrTina

[ennui]

I thought Carson's head nod was to Molesley, to get the door -- i.e., show the young man out.

[WatchrTina]

You may be right ennui. Your interpretation makes more sense, but I like my interpretation better.  It cracked me up.

[Clanstarling]

LOL at the pregnant- looking TOM. Either he's put on weight or has the most unflattering clothes ever.

I think it was partially the way they had him button his jacket (up high - so that he looked somewhat like the Mayor of Munchkinville), and that he has put on a few pounds. He looked a bit...fluffy...in The Imitation Game.

[ennui]

You may be right ennui. Your interpretation makes more sense, but I like my interpretation better.  It cracked me up.

I think either interpretation is funny. My way made me chuckle, too -- "YOU BASTARD! Here, let me get the door for you." 

[pj3]

I think it was partially the way they had him button his jacket (up high - so that he looked somewhat like the Mayor of Munchkinville), and that he has put on a few pounds. He looked a bit...fluffy...in The Imitation Game.

I hate the top button thing - but assume that's how they wore the jackets back then. As for the fluffiness...didn't I read somewhere that they were limiting food on the set because too many of the actors were grazing all day and putting on weight? Or am I misremembering?

[Crs97]

I would have loved Rose's "say it properly" comment if it weren't somewhat of a retread of Mary and Matthew's proposal.

I can't remember; did anyone other than Mary hear Matthew call Richard a bastard? No one complained about his language. I still love that he had to sit in the car until dinner was over!

[RedHawk]

I thought Carson's head nod was to Molesley, to get the door -- i.e., show the young man out.

 

It was a bit of both. Carson clearly was in agreement and he then nodded to Mosely as if to say, "Open the door for this person to make his exit, and it's fine with me if you let it hit him in the ass on his way out."

[JudyObscure]

It was Downton at its finest wasn't it? I liked seeing the chain of command work without any verbal orders needed. Lord Grantham wishes the man gone, Carson perceives it and gives the nod to Molesley who hustles to the door. Smooth!

[LadyintheLoop]

I give the actress playing Mrs. Drewe credit for depicting her fear/suspicion of Edith in a way that I felt was natural and instinctive for a mother. She even managed somewhat to sell me on her panic when she returned from the dentist and didn't immediately see Marigold and Edith in her home.

 

 

And it’s telling that her panic broke through at a moment when Edith was behaving impeccably -- present at her invitation, and actually doing her a favor. Thus began the vicious circle, with Edith increasingly desperate to see her child and Mrs. Drewe increasingly frantic to protect her.

 

Because Mrs. D. knew that things were not as they seemed. She just couldn’t explain why: might the aging spinster, driven mad from the frustration of her natural instincts, snatch the child? Was her devotion a mile wide and an inch deep (the “plaything” theory)? Was she using Marigold as a stalking horse to get to Drewe himself? None of those theories made much sense, but she knew in her bones that something was wrong. It just never occurred to her that Marigold herself might not be as she seemed, because she trusted her husband to tell her the truth. It’s the kind of situation that makes sane people act crazy.

[pasdetrois]

 

Watch closely as the camera cuts to Mr. Carson who give one of the most eloquent non-verbal takes in the whole series.  His look at Larry coupled with a slight head nod says "You!  Out!"

I loved that too. Mr. Carson's eyebrows should have their own acting credit. However, I think he was indicating to one of the footmen that the nasty brothers should be formally escorted out.

[jordanpond]

Agree. Despite all the times he wasn't superhumanly prescient, I've thought of Clarkson from the very beginning as a good, competent doctor doing the best he can in the time and place he lived in.

Although I agree that he has been mostly been competent, I don't think one has to compare him to the standard of being superhumanly prescient to find him wanting. Although he had correctly diagnosed Matthew's paralysis as temporary, he witheld this information in order to avoiding giving Matthew "false hope," and that was not his decision to make. And of course, he erred in a big way when he initially refused to try Isobel's treatment for Mr. Drake, the farmer with dropsy. If not bullied (in a good way) by Isobel into doing the procedure, he would have let the man die.  

 

He does seem like a nice man, though. I have been torn between whether he or Dickie Merton is the right man for Isobel. And although Dickie did stand up to Larry at dinner, I think he should have done something to comfort her privately before he went home. He went down a bit in my book this episode.

 

Speaking of Larry, as someone who initially had trouble telling Larry, Tim, and Atticus apart at dinner, I found the references to "Larry, my brother Daryl, and my other brother Daryl" to be hilarious. Well done, fellow posters! You made me laugh until I cried.

 

Loved seeing Mr. Mason! And although I found that the whole set up to the luncheon at his house stretched credibility, I enjoyed the lunch scene, and agree with whoever said above that they liked seeing Daisy, Mr. Molesley and Miss Baxter dressed up for lunch.

Edited February 22, 2015 by jordanpond

[flutist4fun]

Two wishes:

1) This show has now spanned more than 12 years. They could have really used that time well, shown realistic aging and character development, and the gradual impact of the modern world. Instead, it's always Insta-change: Daisy reads books for two weeks, then moans about the gov't and decides education is not worthwhile (puleeeaze); we miss the progression of Rose's courtship, and instead get a FF through it b/c no one can be bothered to give it a good story, it's just, let's marry her off now!; and the Bateses are dragged through hell and back in a soggy story loop of 12 long years of courtship, marriage, alienation, and murder suspicions that no marriage could survive (and why doesn't Anna say, thank God I'm not pregnant yet, I'm getting out of here!?), and now it seems the murder plot is off, so let's ignore our issues and why don't we buy a B&B after selling our property in, um, London(!).

2) I'm yearning to see a REAL story about the hardships servants really faced dealing with their second-class lives, under the thumbs of their supposed 'superiors.' (The Drewes are a start, but that SL is hopelessly biased in favour of upper-class 'rights' and privilege.) Pair this with how strange and difficult it was for those pampered aristos to adapt to a world that didn't centre around them, where they had to pull their weight, (gasp!) work for a living, could no longer find/afford servants... You don't have to search for that story, it really happened. TPTB are too invested in the characters having shoehorned-in redeeming qualities. Much more realism, along with the great (often underused) actors they have, and the cool sets and costumes, could have made this an awesome show. I'm thinking Downton Abbey by the writers of Breaking Bad. Everybody is both good and bad, flawed yet sometimes lovable.

It's a pipe dream, I know.

[ZoloftBlob]

Although I agree that he has been mostly been competent, I don't think one has to compare him to the standard of being superhumanly prescient to find him wanting. Although he had correctly diagnosed Matthew's paralysis as temporary, he witheld this information in order to avoiding giving Matthew "false hope," and that was not his decision to make.

 

Made worse that there's at least one scene where Matthew is telling Bates that he's been having tingling in his legs but that Dr. Clarkson is quite adamant that Matthew is imagining it and made it very clear to Matthew that his spine was broken and he would never recover. I mean, there's not giving false hope and then there's committing to a bad diagnosis.

[ennui]

I don't really want a story about the hardships servants faced dealing with their second-class lives; I get that in my own life. I just want to be entertained.

[statsgirl]

I rewatched the episode last night and I was struck by Violet's putdowns of Mary.  (Win, win for me.)  When   When everyone is worrying about Edith and Mary is all "why would  you bother about her?", Violet tells her that this dismissal of genuine upset is as tacky as crying in public.  Later, when Mary visits Violet for tea and talks about her not liking Isobel's engagement because Isobel will now be the great lady, Violet tells her what is really bothering her.  Mary dismisses it as ridiculous to which Violet replies "I regret telling you my real feelings.  Have some cake" and Mary took cake because it's always all about her (as Blake told Gillingham earlier).  Maggie Smith just nailed those lines.

 

I think it's ironic that of the upstairs gang, Violet has grown the most as a person after Tom.  I never would have thought it.

 

Speaking of the Merton sons,  I hope Isobel realizes they're never going to change because Lord Merton will never act like their father and discipline them. Even at the dinner table, it took Tom to tell them how rude they are and Robert to throw Larry out.  At the end, when the other son comes in to get his father, saying that Larry has been waiting in the carriage since he left the dining table, Lord Merton says he'll be right there instead of what he should have said, which is that naughty boys get punished.

 

Aside from the undoubted suspicion of villagers around Downton about Lady Edith's "ward", I would think the London office is another place where her story may unravel.  (As someone else pointed out upthread.)  After all, they are journalists.  Would they really all just accept the situation as they're told or wouldn't someone look into it?

I can't imagine why any of them would care.  It's just personal gossip since neither Gregson nor Edith are enough of a celebrity for it to make real gossip for the middle class and certainly not worth risking their jobs over.

 

Given how hard the receptionist (?) was trying to hide from Cora and Rosamund that Edith was there at the paper working, it seems like there is some affection for her from the staff.

 

I agree that Cora must tell Robert. Come on, his grandchild, his home, etc. Why would Edith think "He would never look at me the same," when he clearly looked at Mary the same after hearing about Pamuk?

 

Because it's Mary, who he has always spoiled rotten.  In this episode, said since it was going to be neither Gillingham nor Blake, could he tell her what he thought, and she replied, no, I don't care.

 

I'd say he would never take that from Edith except he wouldn't have bothered himself enough about Edith to want to talk to her.

 

Edith has been a mother since she gave birth to Marigold, and has loved and longed for Marigold since the child was born, even after she was done breastfeeding.  She never stopped caring for her.  

Ever since Edith decided not to have an abortion, she has tried everything she could to keep Marigold with her, and been twarted either by society or her family or by Mrs. Drewe.

 

Yes, she had a glass of champagne while she was looking after her child. This was the age when porter (a brown beer) was advised by doctors to nursing mothers.  She probably did drive to the station with Marigold on her lap because since there were neither car seats nor seat belts at the time, it would have been the safest way to take Marigold.

 

Overall, in terms of Marigold's well-being, being with Edith would be best.  There would be money and an education and opportunities which she wouldn't get with the Drewe's, she would be deeply loved by her mother and raised with her cousins of the same age, have a variety of adult role models and a stability centuries deep that few children get.

 

Edith made the mistake of making love with a man she loved and wanted to marry and got pregnant.  I can see why some would condemn her for it in 1924, I have a harder time understanding it in 2015.

[ZoloftBlob]

Ever since Edith decided not to have an abortion, she has tried everything she could to keep Marigold with her, and been twarted either by society or her family or by Mrs. Drewe.

 

She gave her baby to the Drewes to raise for her. Mrs. Drewe was told the child was now her adopted daughter, with no strings attached. How is that Mrs. Drewe thwarting her?

 

I mean, at all points in this narrative of Edith doing everything she could, simply telling her father the truth, that she had a child with Michael Gregson, is the one obvious way, once she decided to not have an abortion, to keep her child with her. At this point she's handed her precious child off to *two* different families and yanked the kid back and as of the end of this particular episode she's still unwilling to claim Marigold as her *child* - a ward is a ward, not your flesh and blood.

Edited February 22, 2015 by ZoloftBlob

[statsgirl]

Giving her baby to the Drewes was a Hail Mary pass because she couldn't bear to leave Marigold in Switzerland.

 

It's 1924, not 2015. If she told everyone that Marigold was her baby and she was keeping her, the society backlash would be on all her family members.for as long as Marigold was alive, especially on Marigold herself.  I remember the 1970s and it was still a stain to be illegitimate and nice girls gave up their babies to be adopted.   For a family of social standing like the Crawleys, It would have made Mary's night with Pamuk a walk in the park.

[ZoloftBlob]

I agree, Statsgirl, that 1924 was a much different time, but you're one stating Edith was *thwarted* by Mrs. Drewe, the woman she gave her baby to. Was Mrs. Drewe supposed to love and care for the child and hand her back with a "Thanks for the priveledge of raising your child, Lady Edith, bless you for letting me change the baby's diapers for a year and I do so hope your plan to call me too poor to raise her so you can justify raising her as your *ward* and not your daughter is successful! I live to kiss your royal ass"?

 

She couldn't bear to leave Marigold in Switzerland and yet she did. She couldn't bear to be apart from her child but she handed her child to the Drewes for a year. She can't bear to be apart from her child but heavens to Betsey, Marigold isn't her *daughter*, she's just the poor little ward someone else couldn't afford.

 

I do get your point - Edith is in a shit spot, no question - but her family *that knows* of her situation has done nothing but try to help her, and Mrs. Drewe did nothing but open her home to an orphaned child of one of her husband's friends.

Edited February 23, 2015 by ZoloftBlob

[helenamonster]

Giving her baby to the Drewes was a Hail Mary pass because she couldn't bear to leave Marigold in Switzerland.

 

Of all the things in life for a mother to make a Hail Mary pass with, I don't think her baby should be one of them.