L i N d $ @ y

That's exactly what I want. Kind of like the M/M duet in S2 when Matthew came back from war (with William).

northboundtrain

This picture bothers me so much because I'm dying to know the context! They're in their ball clothes, but they're in the middle of the street in the middle of the day. Is he coming to see her before the ball? Or is this after? If it's after, is he dropping her off? Or did he follow her home because he was that anxious to talk to her?

So many questions!

And another one: does anyone know what U.S. time the Christmas special will be airing?

ediedoyle

Which time zone are you in? I believe it airs at 8:30 pm in the UK, so you can work it out from that.

northboundtrain

Thanks! I'm in Central, so I just used a time zone calculator and found out it'll air at 2:30 pm here.

L i N d $ @ y

I won't be able to watch it live because we don't get "live" UK shows here and even if we do, we get it at an ungodly hour (CS airs 4:30am here).

ediedoyle

Same here. Well, not as bad as that, we would get it at 11:30 but I'd be too tired anyway. I usually read tweets from the first 10min of each show and then watch it the next day.

Ugh I really want to know what Mary says to Charles in that scene outside too. He is shown a LOT in the CS trailer!!

L i N d $ @ y

I avoid Twitter & Tumblr like the plague when the ep airs in the UK. I don't like getting spoiled.

I'm very curious about that scene too. Just a few more days of waiting now.



x

ediedoyle

But the tweets are so funny! I can't resist. Also I loved that Julian Ovenden was watching every Sunday night with the rest of us and live tweeting his episodes. Too cute.

Question for all of you: Why does Charles like Mary so much, to the point that he wants to "fight" for her love?

L i N d $ @ y

I think it was the moment he met her. Granted he too was irritated at her but after that pig incident, he let his guard down too. And quite frankly, we don't hit it off well with guys we meet. Eventually when you both get to know each other, it's not so bad and that's what I feel happened to both of them. Besides, who doesn't want to fight for Mary?

northboundtrain

I think for Charles it probably came in stages. Mary's beautiful enough that he may have been physically attracted to her the first moment they met. Then when they started to spar, that showed him that she had a quick wit -- which I'm sure is something else he would value in any romantic partner, since he's pretty witty himself.

But I think the pigs/eggs stuff elevated things beyond the superficial surface level. After all, there are probably a lot of pretty and witty rich women up and down the countryside, and Charles has probably met many of them.

So when Mary refused to leave the pigs and then got down in the mud with them, it was the first real evidence for Charles that she was willing to back up her investment in the estate with action. She worked all night, got mud and pig crap all over her, never complained, and then had a giggle about it afterwards. In one night, she blasted through Charles's preconceived notions of snobby aristocrats burying their heads in the sand where their estates were concerned. That's a powerful thing, IMO.

And then afterward she could have just gone to bed. No one would have faulted her for it -- it had been a long night and she was probably exhausted after doing more physical labor than she'd ever done before in her life.

Instead she took Charles to the kitchen and made a dinner they could share together. So now not only was Mary pretty and witty and a fighter -- she was also considerate and good company. But there's also sexual tension, which Charles definitely picked up on...JO's delivery of the line in my signature, "Who knows what they thought?" seemed a bit suggestive, which I think was why, dramatically, JF had Ivy interrupt at that moment, before Mary could respond. And the next day the flirty banter continued, from Mary too ("It's always nice to leave something for another time").

So even though I wish the slow-burn had lasted longer purely for my own enjoyment, I don't have trouble believing that when Charles left Downton he was unable to get Mary from his mind. He believes there is something between them and he wants to pursue it -- because he's a fighter, just like Mary.

L i N d $ @ y

And Charles wasn't afraid of getting dirty. Most snobby aristocrats wouldn't even dare (let alone someone like Mary also getting down & dirty). For a while, I thought they were just going to ask someone to do the work for them so it was nice to see them do it themselves and not ask for help. I think Robert would have a heart attack if he saw them with the pigs.

ediedoyle

Great points. I feel like he's s a bit of a Darcy figure, having fallen for her in spite of himself.

Wonder if Mary will be seeing him for the first time in months at Rose's ball, or if Charles continued dropping by during the time we are skipping between ep8 and the CS.

L i N d $ @ y

I have a feeling that it may be the first time again (since episode 8) that the two have seen each other. Unless of course it's stated in the ep that Charles have dropped by in-between episode 8 and the CS. Regardless, I think (and hope) that we know already where Charles stands 2 days from now.

northboundtrain

That's a great point. Not only did the pig crisis show that Mary was willing to back up her words with action, but Charles was, too -- even though it's not even his estate. He just immediately ripped off his jacket (which was kind of hot) and got to work.

To me it was symbolic of Mary having a partner in fighting for Downton, which I think is something JF wants for her.


That's a great parallel. He didn't want to, didn't plan on it, and maybe even resisted, but in the end he couldn't deny it.


At the end of the finale, I got the sense that Charles declaring his intentions and then Mary walking off with both men meant that they were both going to start courting her between now and the CS. But that's total speculation on my part.

The time jumps have always been one of the frustrating things about DA for me. I know they are trying to cover a lot of time in just a few seasons, but it bugs me.

kindness is free

I loved that scene with the pigs! I think he can challenge her to be better like Matthew did!

Michelle has great chemistry with all her suitors its hard to choose just one for her