S06.E08: Season 6, Episode 8

[Artymouse]

Yes, Dr. Clarkson said Sybil had protein in her urine, and Robert said he shouldn't use such words in Violet's presence.

And of course, Violet had a great response. Can't remember verbatim, but it was something about women her age being able to face reality better than most men.

[photo fox]

I never like the TV/movie development where a man somehow gets a special wedding license behind the woman's back, without both parties appearing before the court/registrar/etc., and the marriage is still valid. Is/was this really a thing?

Not sure how historically accurate it is, but I feel like this was a plot point in more than one Georgette Heyer book. So if it's a trope, at least it's one of long-standing (and good company!)

[Athena]

I never like the TV/movie development where a man somehow gets a special wedding license behind the woman's back, without both parties appearing before the court/registrar/etc., and the marriage is still valid. Is/was this really a thing?

 

 

Not sure how historically accurate it is, but I feel like this was a plot point in more than one Georgette Heyer book. So if it's a trope, at least it's one of long-standing (and good company!)

 

Yes, this was a thing in Britain. The bridegroom (usually but not always) would go to the requisite jurisdiction's office and submit an allegation under oath that there were no impediments to the marriage. The license would include names, ages, status, jobs, etc. and if one of them was under the age of consent, the guardian had to be there.

 

I have read most of Heyer's books and licenses were frequent tropes, but so was kidnapping. Hehe.

[Dejana]

Yes, this was a thing in Britain. The bridegroom (usually but not always) would go to the requisite jurisdiction's office and submit an allegation under oath that there were no impediments to the marriage. The license would include names, ages, status, jobs, etc. and if one of them was under the age of consent, the guardian had to be there.

I have read most of Heyer's books and licenses were frequent tropes, but so was kidnapping. Hehe.

Thanks for the info. It seems like it could bring up all sorts of legal complications and unintended consequences, but it makes for great romance novels, I guess. Whether it's in character for Mary to agree to such an arrangement is another matter...

[RedHawk]

I was fascinated by the "More Manners of Downton Abbey" special. It makes me want to go and read more about this time period, and maybe check out that Jessica Fellowes book.

Because it was called "More" Manners, does that imply that there was an earlier "Manners of Downton Abbey" special in one of the earlier seasons? I'm sure it's gone from the PBS site, but did it show up on any of the DVDs for the prior seasons? Was the content similar?

There was indeed an earlier special. My local PBS station re-ran it this afternoon. Look at your local listings because it's likely to be shown again.

I was fascinated by the "More Manners of Downton Abbey" special. It makes me want to go and read more about this time period, and maybe check out that Jessica Fellowes book.

Because it was called "More" Manners, does that imply that there was an earlier "Manners of Downton Abbey" special in one of the earlier seasons? I'm sure it's gone from the PBS site, but did it show up on any of the DVDs for the prior seasons? Was the content similar?

There was indeed an earlier special. My local PBS station re-ran it this afternoon. Look at your local listings because it's likely to be shown again.

[Roseanna]

It seems like it could bring up all sorts of legal complications and unintended consequences,

 

Yes, in one or three of Agatha Christie's detective novels a man who already had a wife, would marry another woman, and then he murder his wife in order to prevent that to find out that he wasn't married to the second woman.

 

Why on earth was the couple demanded to present an official certificate that they were free to marry? That's quite simply to get if the church or other local authorities have kept the registers of birth, marriages and deaths for centuries.    

[SusanSunflower]

I suspect that, like producing a ring, arriving with a duly registered application for a marriage certificate, indicates a "romantic" degree of commitment ... whether it's a rock or "something from Jareds" (a local jewelry chain) or a piece of paper indicating he duly registered his intentions (and swore to his availability), both indicated that he was "serious" ... and not leading a girl on, so that he could seduce and abandon her ... having been badgered into get "engaged," I don't find it romantic at all ... nor would Mary (given her history with Carlisle and Gillingham) ...  

Edited March 3, 2016 by SusanSunflower

[DeepRunner]

Last weekend, I DVR'd the PBS Downton Abbey marathon and have been watching it over the last few days. I think my previous judgments and posts (not having seen the series since I'm in the US) might have been premature. Overall, I think Season 6 seems to (so far) be a fitting wrap-up to a series that was often very good while sometimes showing signs of age and a lack of imagination.

 

I was struck particularly by episode 8, which featured Fellowes acknowledging to all of the Abbeyheads in Downtonia that Mary really was the queen of the hive, and called her to account for it. Just as only Nixon could have gone to China, only Tom could have administered the Berating Branson Bully Beatdown on Mary. The exchange between Edith and Mary expressed what many Downton fans have felt about Fellowes's favored child. Even Robert got into the act,

[Mrsjumbo]

My youngest was knocking them dead at 3 years old, and kept on doing so. She's considering auditioning, but currently doesn't live anywhere near professional opportunities. For child actors I think it's probably difficult to find the combination of a natural actor whose parent is actively seeking roles for them, and lives close enough to get them to the jobs. But the additional element, I think, is to have someone who knows how to direct children. It, too, is a unique skill.

My youngest was knocking them dead at 3 years old, and kept on doing so. She's considering auditioning, but currently doesn't live anywhere near professional opportunities. For child actors I think it's probably difficult to find the combination of a natural actor whose parent is actively seeking roles for them, and lives close enough to get them to the jobs. But the additional element, I think, is to have someone who knows how to direct children. It, too, is a unique skill.

My boys were 1 or 2 yrs old when a call out came to our twins club that they were shooting a movie in the area, & needed boy twins (to play 1 role). My boys were the right age but are fraternal so there is no way they can swap them out.

So sometimes availability (as in twins that can be swapped out & work longer hours) trumps talent. Marigold, anyone?

[Camera One]

Mary and Henry still had zero chemistry, so the wedding left me cold.  I don't understand why shows in the final seasons think it is a good idea to introduce a love interest and expect viewers to get any satisfaction out of it.  I was guessing they would go with Mary/Tom.  Not that I cared too much for that pairing, but at least the two characters seem to be genuine with one another.  

The writer seemed to think having every character saying that Mary was in love with Henry made it so... talk about overkill, from Anna, to Robert, to Robert's sister, to Cora, and finally even Edith and Violet, and of course the biggest cheerleader, Tom, to the point where it got weird.  I'd be more convinced if Tom came out of the closet and expressed his feelings to Henry, than what we saw in this episode.  Henry was pushy to the point of irritating, in his scenes during that forced visit of his.  I didn't see what he had as being strength in character or being Mary's equal or whatever they were peddling.  Plus we never even saw Mary have a conversation with him about stopping racing, so is he going to?  

The Edith stuff was pretty sad, but the Edith/Bertie scenes were good, and Edith actually handled the breakup with more resilience than I had expected.  It was big of her to come back for Mary's wedding and be so civil to Mary.  It would have been nice to see this relationship develop more gradually, since that was an area where characters could still grow.  I did like Bertie, so at least this gives me hope that the Christmas special will ACTUALLY have a happy ending.

I was a bit appalled that everyone, even nice Anna, was laughing at Mrs. Patmore's misfortune.  That was her life savings, so I thought it was rather mean-spirited of everyone.

Would Robert be able to eat normally after such a serious operation?

Thomas' attempted suicide was hardly dealt with, to the point where it was almost unjustified.

Mr. Moseley suddenly winning over the students on the second day was a bit abrupt, but I did feel happy for him.  This needed to be developed a bit more.  I didn't find it believable that the students and their parents wouldn't already know that he was a servant at Downton.

It is disappointing knowing that this is the last regular episode, and looking back at how much time was wasted this final season.  We still haven't seen Violet reconcile with Cora, and I guess that is something else that still needs to happen.

Edited May 22, 2016 by Camera One

[caligirl50]

Camera One - I thought the same thing with Robert’s eating.  I was going to ask my stepmom, who is a nurse, if he could drink wine twice a day if he had a burst ulcer so recently...but I keep forgetting to ask her.

[AndySmith]

Maybe George will end up becoming the Earl a lot sooner than people expect?

[TV Diva Queen]

On 11/9/2015 at 1:10 AM, Kostgard said:

Well, that was a thing that happened. 

 

For the good - I enjoyed Moseley's triumph. Daisy wasn't annoying as hell for once. I liked everyone laughing at Mrs. Patmore's House of Ill Repute. And I truly enjoyed Tom calling Mary out for the bully that she is. I don't mind that Mary is sometimes a bitch. It gives her character more depth. But I always hated that she always got away with being awful and no one called her on her shit. I'm glad that someone finally called her on her shit for once in her life.

 

And I really, really like Edith and her ladies at the ladies' magazine. I would totally watch that if it were a spin-off. Edith has really become the bigger person between the two sisters, and the one who is far more interesting. Yes, she was a sad sack for the longest time, but she's grown out of it and come into her own. Mary is still the same as she ever was. She has small moments of growth, but she had Edith perfectly personify "conservative" and "progressive" - Mary is old-fashioned and will do what is necessary to keep things afloat, but it is old-fashioned things she is keeping afloat. Edith has grown and changed and even from the beginning, embraced newer things and ideas (learning how to drive way back in the earlier seasons).

 

Mary/Talbot was anticlimactic and boring. If they had actually shown how they fell in the love and why they fell in love it would be thrilling, but it wasn't developed at all. I wasn't expecting Mary/Tom at all, because that is one point that Fellowes has actually been consistent on - Mary completely flipped a bitch over the idea of Edith outranking her. A woman who does that is never going to marry someone on the payroll, no matter how fond she is of them. 

 

That was also the most boring suicide attempt I've ever seen. That's all we get? It was nice that Mary showed her support and brought George to see him, but...seriously? That's all? Thomas just sitting in bed reading, realizing he's been a big meanie to everyone? Christ on a cracker. What a waste. And he's gonna stay put and go absolutely no where and spin his wheels for the rest of his life. Thrilling storytelling. 

 

So... Christmas special. The only thing I am looking forward to is the possibility of Bertie coming back and Edith finally getting a wedding where she isn't left at the altar. I'm sure the Bateses will have their murder baby (one moment of comedy - Anna pointedly asking the cop what he was doing there. You just know she was thinking "Dammit, did my husband kill someone again?"). Mary and Talbot will some some sort of...zzzzzzzzzz. Sorry. They bore me.

I watching this series for the first time and have been reading comments after each episode, I haven't commented on one because who likes to revive a 3 year old thread.....BUT the bolded made me literally laugh out loud!!  I'll go back into hiding now.....

[jschoolgirl]

On 2/28/2016 at 4:35 AM, Roseanna said:

We probably saw this party in Gregson's flat in S4, but unfortunately his quests were never introduced to us, which was a shame for now we just have to believe (instead of being shown) that Edith, who lacked all social skills in S1, in fact succeeded to socialize with London bohemians.

We saw a shot at that party of a woman clearly meant to be Virginia Woolf, based on the actress's appearance. I'll get a screen cap of it sometime.

Edited December 29, 2019 by jschoolgirl