ClaireK80

I liked the episode. It was a bit slow in the middle, but the last 30 minutes or so were were quite suspenseful. And there were lots of funny scenes and one-liners, as always (Molesley's hair, LOL).
My only complaint is the fire was very marginal in terms of screentime, I wish we had seen more of it.

Edith's storyline is quite interesting so far, I'm sorry for her but I also understand Mrs Drewe's concern, after all she is raising Marigold as her daughter and Edith's behaviour can create a difficult situation.

I agree the interactions between Mary and Tony feel flat, they lack spark. And I wasn't a fan of the scene where he asked her to become his lover. Not very subtle.

I really liked the war memorial storyline, with both Carson and Robert being shocked by the fact that the butler was asked to chair the Committee instead of his master.

Sarah Bunting is really annoying. I know she is right in many ways, but she comes across as rude and patronizing - for example when she asked to go downstairs and thank the servants.

I'm not particularly looking forward to this "educating Daisy" storyline, I know everyone loves Daisy but I often find her quite irritating. It does make sense that she would start considering Mr Mason's offer though.

I liked the scenes between Isobel and Violet (Violet's motives for sabotaging Isobel's relationship with Lord Merton were quite mean though), but I hope we won't see another love quadrangle. Just no. I still don't care for Isobel / Merton though, he seems so stiff.

I wonder if Jimmy will really get fired or Thomas will convince Lord G. to change his mind. After all, even Carson noticed something was wrong with lady A.

Loved it when Cora almost fired Thomas for blackmailing Baxter. But of course he got another chance at the end.

JoJoF92

well, I was just kidding but thanks for the explanation I know Edith isn't fond of Mary

puffball7

I like Tony well enough but there's just something about it that doesn't hold the interest for me, it feels a bit lifeless.

I agree with most here, that I had to laugh when Bunting demanded to see the people downstairs, it was like some sort of freedom fighter descending from on high to rally the troops. It was definitely done as a statement for the toffs to show them how egalitarian she is as opposed to any genuine interest. It felt extremely condescending to me, like something a politician would do on the campaign trail before an election, or am I just overly cynical?

The thing is it was Robert and Bunting who behaved badly, but it was Tom who ended up apologising! Robert put on his juvenile, "you can't talk to me like that" attitude and Bunting just lacks any basic social graces so she behaves with crass tactlessness which is uncomfortable to watch. Whereas Tom maintained his polite respectfulness whilst still holding true to his principled opinions. He was head and shoulders above these two in manners. It's interesting because for the most part I agree with Tom's outlook and thus also with Bunting's, but it's all about presentation. Tom acknowledges that he sees his former self in Bunting, when he was a bit rougher round the edges, although the difference being he was never rude or unnecessarily nasty, and now he's matured into his viewpoints. It comes back to what Tom said in series 4 about believing in people rather than types, he doesn't always agree with what the family think and vice versa but they tolerate it about each other and agree to disagree so to speak because the bonds of love and friendship are greater, hey I don't agree with everything my own family thinks and does! But that's just family isn't it? On the other hand Bunting is simply intolerant, Tom hates the system, quite rightly but not the people in it, he sees that the higher ranks can be just as trapped as the lower ranks. Whereas Bunting hates the system and the people in it, she cannot separate the two and sees no difference. She's embittered and it's quite sad.

I know I probably bore you all with my rants, but I just have to get it off my chest sometimes.

carrie.suze

Actually I like your rant, because I totally agree with everything you said about Bunting, and I'm hoping Tom will see the light and not pursue her any further, and I thought her visiting the servants was pretty funny too.

As for Tony, he'll always be too much of a drip for me, I want to shake Mary and say what do you see in him girl. or maybe I should address her as my lady.

And don't get me started on Thomas, he always manages to worm his way out, and find someone else to bully, will they ever, ever see the light and actually fire him.

Ha, that's my little rant over.

carrie.suze

.....and thank you for that treasure, just made me laugh so much.

when the fire broke out and Robert said "save the dog!" that cracked me up, I swear he loves Isis more than Cora' ..... and that made me laugh too.

HarshBench

That's a good point that Sarah might have had a loved one killed in the war. Perhaps we will discover that and feel more sympathetic toward her. But I'll never like the irksome little troll.

I love Mr. Drewe to pieces. When he showed up in his uniform I thought "Sexy Fireman!". LOL.

L i N d $ @ y

It's okay, rant away! We do have the Rant Thread just in case you want to rant more. Anyway as you said, what really bothers me about Sarah is her timing which was also my issue with her last season. It was so out of line for dinner talk on that kind of occasion. Maybe do it when dinner is over? I have to admit, this kind of SL for Tom is getting tiring. Or maybe it's making me tired because of Sarah.

I think he should get caught in the act of misbehaving like that nasty nanny in S4 so he can get fired. He does seem to get away with everything and he's lucky for that.

Typical Robert, he loves Isis so much. I would think of saving my dog too if I was in a given situation.

ClaireK80

A question re: Thomas and Baxter, can someone remind me what Baxter actually knows about the Anna / Bates / Green situation?
She doesn't know about the train ticket Mrs Hughes found in Bates' coat, right?

ClaireK80

(Sorry, I hit the "post reply" button twice, it seems)

JoJoF92

I wouldn't leave them there either, pets are like children to me but it was funny to see a grown aristrocrat in that era feeling that way too

carrie.suze

Actually I was hoping he'd say it, I was worried about Isis too.

And that picture is still making me laugh.

HarshBench

Actually the stereotype of English aristocrats is that they like their dogs and horses more than they like people.

audreysurp

Here is a recap incase you missed it!

Who Set The Abbey On Fire? - Downton Abbey - Season 5 Episode 1 - Kernel Critic

JoJoF92

you're right. I forgot about that

Lauren60

Yikes! All the negativity aimed at poor Tony. He’s definitely a popular (unpopular?) punching bag. I appreciate that more times than not the criticism is coherent and constructive, on this forum anyway. I’m going to continue to stand firm and strong on the Mary/Tony ship despite it being fired upon from many directions. They are so worth it to me! I must say though it was much, much easier to be a Mary/Matthew shipper.

Hey was everyone excited about the momentous Madge sighting? Edith’s lady’s maid has been quite elusive in the past. We actually saw her tending to Edith and she even said “Good night”. It was nice to finally meet you Madge!

Speaking of Edith…that girl falls into a deep sleep very quickly doesn’t she? It’s hard to believe she didn’t notice the fire or smell the smoke in time to escape. I guess she fell asleep or was she overcome by the smoke and a bit unconscious? No matter, there had to be a reason for Thomas to rescue her and save his job.

Speaking of Thomas…I’ve always characterized him as just a “bad boy” who stirs up trouble but his behavior towards Baxter in this episode carried over into “sinister” territory.

Thomas had a lot of nerve saying “So lady Mary isn’t so ladylike after all” after seeing Tony enter her bedroom. He’s the one who escorted Pamuk to Mary’s bedroom in S1. Thomas is largely responsible for what happened to Mary that night. We’ll have to see if (how) he causes trouble with this new information he’s stumbled upon…

Tom was so brave during the fire. First he scooped up the children and then he fought the fire with Robert. I loved how he kissed little Sybbie on the forehead before he left her to fight the fire. And who did Tom entrust Sybbie to? It was Tony! He made sure she got out of the house safe and sound. That should be worth some points in Tony’s favor!