Lucresiare

I think JF has said he wouldn't go further than the 30's, but I don't think ageing is the problem, as you can do wonder with good make up. I remember Jeremy Irons playing a 20 years old at the beginning of a movie called The House of Spirits, then at least 60 years old at the end of the movie and it was perfectly credible. I would like to see what the main characters are going to become in 20 years, in 30 years, but only if they can find some interesting storyline of course ! Violet would be dead though

aggiemom09121416

Don't forget about Isis, the oldest dog in tv history.

L i N d $ @ y

Enjoy the new ep tonight everyone! I'll be late to watching it (as always).

Andorra

Downton Day!!!!

And one I've been looking forward to for a year!!!

I'll only say that much:

lassothemoon

I am so in love with Mabel Lane Fox right now and Mary should be too.

"Eat it. I hope it chokes you." Me too

puffball7

Waving a very happy bye bye to Sarah Bunting! Was there ever a character who was more rude, presumptuous, charmless and tactless?

So, she reckoned she loved Tom? She had a strange way of showing it. She only wanted him, she didn't or couldn't accept that he came as package with the rest of the Crawley family. Also wanting them to have met before he met the Crawleys? I don't think Tom would agree, he only had eyes for Sybil when he met her, if he didn't want her now, he wouldn't have wanted her then.

Tom, of course was the personification of a gentlemen in dumping her. He basically said she had pitted herself against his family and daughter from the start, she had totally misjudged him, in thinking that he despised them in reality. The truth is he has matured in his thinking, as Tom said, it's no longer black and white for him, but for her it is, she is still in let's storm the Bastille mode and cannot understand Tom.

It did require a slight suspension of disbelief however to even remotely think he was interested in her as we had no previous evidence to think he was. As a friend, yes, and as a plot device I salute her for enabling Tom to become more of himself once more.

BUT. Thank God she has gone! (Could have been further than Lancashire though).

Had to laugh at Daisy trying to give relationship advice!

Thomas, lurking around looking like death warmed up.

Robert and Cora, shame Edith cut the punch up short.

And how much food did Mary and Blake have? I love Mabel, she's brilliant!

I still like Isobel and Merton, they're very sweet.

I love Rose more and more, she doesn't care that someone might be Jewish, as she said, what does it matter?

Lucresiare

Does Isis have a heir who could succeed him in the 40's ?

Andorra

I'm not one to say: "I told you so, but I told you so!!!!

Bunting is goooooooonnnnnnneeeee!!!

And did she really think she would have had a chance with him had he met her before Sybil? Really???

Bye Bye Bunting!

I said it from the start, didn't I? I said it from the start it would lead to nothing and IT DID LEAD TO NOTHING!!!

Yay!

I'm actually tipsy now, so sorry for the rant, but I drank so much champagne during the episode.

Actually watching Downton drunk is the most fun. I can highly recommend it!!!!

On other news:

Mabel rules! She's great!

Robert/Bricker/Cora was the funniest scene ever!

*beep* this Atticus guy is Jewish! Damn. Why that now? I thought he was Mr Boring Perfect?!!! Now he is Jewish and that could be why he's not eligible!

I hate that. I want Rose for Tom. I thought Mr.Boring Perfect was perfect so she wouldn't need the Blank check! Are they now just going to marry Rose off??? But I want her for Toooooom!!!!

Who's left now?

Edith... well... I love Edith. But seriously. Just because she's the only woman of marriageable age there, she shouldn't be the leftover for Tom now...


OK. Off. To. Bed.

Soooorry....

EndlessღLove

Hello everyone

I was expecting SO much more from Robert/Cora/Bricker. I wanted to see the aftermath of that punch.
Why is Robert ignoring Cora? I hope they talk about it in the next episode because Cora is certainly NOT to blame.

God I love them so much but Robert needs to rethink his life choices

northboundtrain

Thoughts:

* Loved every bit of Mary/Charles/Mabel at dinner and only wish there'd been a little more of it. I'm glad that whatever Charles is planning, Mary appears to be right on board. Though it was a little jarring to hear that Mabel is still in love with Tony, and I can't imagine why she'd agree to get back together with him after he threw her over for Mary.... I guess we'll see the rest of the scheme play out next week.

* I'm glad the Sarah/Tom story has wrapped up. I just wish the show had been a little clearer about what Tom was supposed to feel for her. I think he viewed her as a friend, but he rarely (maybe never? I can't remember) sought out her company on his own, and at times seemed uncomfortable with her. Maybe his discomfort stemmed from the fact that she made him question whether he was being true to himself, which is fine, except it made it that much harder to view her as someone he enjoyed being around.

* The Daisy/Tom scene was nice. I always like seeing characters sharing screentime with those who aren't normally in their storylines.

* I was disappointed to see Thomas back at war with the Bateses -- I figured he would be too sick to worry about scheming. Maybe it's a case of Thomas feeling miserable so he wants to take it out on others?

* I think I missed something with the Mrs. Patmore storyline. Does she really mean to use the money to build a house she can rent out (at least I think that's what she said...?), or was she saying that to get Carson off her back, or get one over on him or something?

* Rose/Atticus were too cute. I thought his line to her about being sort of Russian was just going to be an awkward way to get him to sympathize with the Russian refugees. Then, of course, it all made sense when we got more details.

I thought there was still a chance for Rose/Tom (which I didn't necessarily ship; I did like their interactions, though), but now I'm thinking Atticus is going to be her end-game, and her earlier conversation with Shrimpy was foreshadowing possible opposition to her relationship with Atticus.

* That was a sweet Anna/Bates scene, but from the previews it looks like the angst is coming.

* Glad that Edith's storyline is finally moving. While we still got repetitive dialogue (about Edith seeing Marigold as a plaything), there were some great moments: Edith awkwardly bringing Rosamund to the farm, Rosamund/Violet's chat, Edith/Drewe's final conversation, Edith/Rosamund/Violet in the library, and then Edith's phone call made for the best cliffhanger all season.

I've got a good feeling about the final three episodes. It feels like everything's finally been put in place for some serious fireworks.

Andorra

So here's my "sober" review :

Great episode yesterday, I enjoyed it very much.

So Mr. Super Boring Wonderful is there and he DOES have a flaw. Damn. There goes my nice theory. Now we know why that scene with Shrimpy was in the script and his nothing to do with Tom.

Mr. Super Boring Wonderful is Jewish! Filthy rich of course, and titled, but tz tz tz not perfectly suitable. Only a little bit. Susan will be against it, Shrimpy will set his foot down and we get the super boring wonderful wedding in the CS that made the director cry. Snore!

That was the big disappointment in the episode.

The best thing about the episode was, of course, that Bunting left. But come on, Fellows! That oh-so-sudden romance was a bit too much. We never saw ANY indication that Sarah Bunting "loved" Tom. She might have showed a little bit more interest to please him then, especially after he told her repeatedly that he loved the family and even asked her to go easy on them? Now all the sudden she "loves" him and he has to pity kiss her.

At least HE didn't pretend he loved her, I was relieved. He just smiled a bit embarrassed and said nothing.

So she's gone and good riddance. Worst character ever on the show and 8 episodes I will gladly forget.

Mabel was great! Charles Blake is a slimy schemer, sorry. I still don't like him, but I love it that Mabel doesn't buy his BS. She is a great character! Can't we have a Mary/Mabel relationship instead of Mary with her boring suitors? And it's a bit sad that Mabel will now probably end up with Tony Gillingham, who is not good enough for her!

Bricker/Cora/Robert was hilarious. The best thing was poor Edith's face when Cora said they were playing a "game", LOL.

I must say: I love Cora this series. She has so much style. She is really a classy Lady.

Isobel and Violet were great again. I love it that Isobel has a bit of the upper hand for a change. It's so much fun to watch them this series!

So what now? I predict some accident for the race next week and Anna will of course land in prison at some point. I didn't pay any attention to the whole Green thing, but it looks as clear as the day.

I'm glad Edith will obviously confide in Tom! That's finally a good idea!
I don't want them to end up together though. I don't want Edith to BE the leftover and neither do I want Tom to GET the leftover.

Since it looks now as if Rose will probably be Mrs Super Boring Wonderful at the end of the series, I have my last hopes for the CS. That Tom meets some lovely, girl in the Catholic Christmas Mass or something. There MUST be someone for him, it is ridiculous to leave him without a love interest!

L i N d $ @ y

I thought the ep overall was very slow. Probably picked up in the end which was good.

My favorites: Sarah is gone! At least I hope she really is because I don't see the point of her ever coming back again. Yes Tom needed someone to remind him of how revolutionary he used to be but they could've done it better than make the character irritating.

The whole fallout of the Bricker/Cora and Robert drama. It reminded me of the Matthew/Carlisle tussle but (like I always say), I enjoy seeing Robert lose it. What I didn't like was how he reacted afterwards. Cora should be the one pouting there not him. But I also didn't like how Bricker was saying those things to Robert in his room. I'd be angry too if I find a woman inside my own bedroom talking to my husband. But because of cultural/societal changes, I'd probably be angry more at my husband for letting the woman in.

Edith/Rosamund & Violet. I don't think that was a good solution but even I can't think of any. I can understand why Edith feels horrified of not seeing Marigold but I really think the solution to all of this is to tell Mrs. Drewe why she's drawn to Marigold. She may or may not understand but at least she told her the truth. I love that Rosamund was around to help Edith this time around. Edith needs someone to talk to these days.

Not so favorite parts: Rose and Atticus. What is up with Rose meeting all this random men only to be disappointed in the end?

Also Charles/Mabel/Mary. I didn't get why Charles had to do that to both Mabel & Mary, did he want to stir up more trouble? Even worse, Mabel had to end up leaving and Mary had every reason to leave too.

Baxter/Molesley and Thomas drama. Too slow. I get that Thomas doesn't care about people minding and looking out for him but this will blow over soon but the SL is dragging out.

Lastly, Mrs. Patmore/Mrs. Hughes/Carson SL. Why are people in Downton always getting money? The bottom line was just to stroke Carson's ego which we don't already need (and I like Carson but this SL was just lazy writing for me).

The next ep looks good though. And I really hope we'd see some fallouts now because we are literally down to the last 4 eps.

I'll comment on some posts tomorrow, FF is very slow for me today.

ClaireK80

My own random thoughts:

- I loved Mabel Lane Fox, can't wait to see more of her. And I don't think she should get back together with Tony, even if I guess it would be convenient for both Mary and Charles.

- I also liked Atticus Aldridge, now we know why Fellowes wrote that scene with Rose asking her father to be on her side in case she fell in love with an 'unsuitable' guy.

- That scene with Robert returning while Simon is in Cora's room was pretty suspenseful. LOL at Cora telling Edith she and Robert were "playing a game", OMG. I know Cora was caught in an inappropriate situation, but she did nothing wrong and I hope Robert understands this soon. After all he's the one who almost had an affair with a maid some years ago.

- Glad Bunting is finally gone (poor Daisy, she was the only one who really liked her). But I never got the impression that she and Tom were romantically interested in each other, so the last scene felt a bit off for me.

- Edith's storyline is finally moving, I wonder who Edith was calling at the end. The problem is that, while I'm sorry for Edith, I also wonder if it would be good for Marigold to be separated from Mrs Drewe, whom she considers her mother.

- the Carson / Hughes / Patmore storyline was enjoyable to watch, but a bit pointless.
And the dynamic between Carson and Mrs. Hughes, with him having a bad idea /being wrong about something and her outwitting/convincing him, is getting very repetitive even if it's always amusing. Fellowes is really a lazy writer sometimes.

- Violet and poor dr. Clarkson have apparently accepted that Merton and Isobel are well suited for each other. Now I guess Isobel will refuse his proposal, LOL.

- I still don't care about Green's death, but the Anna / Bates scene was cute.

- Thomas's storyline is also developing very slowly. And I still find it very very hard to feel sorry for him, since he's so mean with other people.

JoJoF92

I loved the scene with Robert beating that A-hole sooo much that I barely remember anything else from the episode I love it when he loses his temper but this's been the best outcome yet and Cora explaining the noises to Edith was priceless "your father and I were just playing a stupid game" hm, I'll say. but I'm worried he thought that Cora had anything to do with it..he was so cold afterwards :/

oh yeah, Bunting is gone! partaaaaay

I'm looking forward to next week. seeing Mary horse racing should be real special, although I'm afraid she might get hurt. hope that's just paranoia..

Rastapopoulos

Actually, I think Fellowes is setting it up that Isobel will say "yes" to his proposal. Not only did he make it very obvious in this episode (if it hadn't been before) that they are well suited to each other, but also that Isobel is clearly softening toward Merton. She said she wanted Dr. Clarkson to get to know him better ( sort of like when a girl/woman wants her male friend to like her bf/fiancé/ guy she's serious about). She also came with him to the cocktail party - meaning the initiative is coming from her now or at the very least she's welcoming his advances. And there was clear difference in her tone when Violet asked her about him, compared to her reaction to that same question in 5x03. The proposal (Fellowes wouldn't have written it so romantically if he didn't want it to go anywhere) made her see him in a different light. Also, there's no point to drag out her answer if it's going to be "no" when she was ready to turn him down during his proposal (before he spoke of how he'd fallen in love with her - which caught her by surprise). The longer we have to wait for her answer, the greater the chance Isobel is going to accept. It's just a hunch of course. And I don't expect it to be resolved until 5x08 at the earliest. Will Isobel find love again or get married again is her SL this series.