A big episode of “Downton Abbey” Sunday had a couple of the season’s big storylines coming to an end, no end to Mary’s suitors, a new direction for Edith, and love possibilities for characters as diverse as Mrs. Crawley, Molesley and Tom Branson. It even ended with the church bazaar on the grounds full of surprises.
And on top of all that, Bates might have killed a guy.
To fit all of this action, the episode squeezed out of its hourlong slot for the first time since the start of the season, and set the stage for next week’s finale.
The episode began with pigs, all healthy now thank you, following last week’s mud-splattered rescue. They still need a full time keeper, so the Granthams reach out to Mr. Drew, the farmer on the land who they sort of helped before. Edith seems to be taking a liking to him, for reasons we don’t quite see.
Downstairs, Ivy gets a letter she’s shocked by. Later we learn it’s a message from Alfred, who will be back in the area for his father’s funeral. Not too shocking so far, but then he proposes marriage to Ivy based on her friendly greeting last time he was around. She writes back quickly to decline.
Molesley is talking more and more to Miss Baxter, who tells him how lucky he was to live in a town where people know and like him. He’s taken aback by this, he’s never felt lucky before. In fact, it’s the first episode nobody has referred to him as “poor Molesley.”
Lord Grantham is still off in America, trying to extract Cora’s brother from involvement in the Teapot Dome Scandal, a name that amuses Mrs. Crawley and the Empress Dowager. After all, everybody knows Americans prefer coffee to tea.
A daytime gathering of the family has the babies come in for the first time in weeks. When Mr. Blake puts Mary’s son on his knee, she seems delighted by his possibilities as a stepdad. Certainly whatever animosities that once existed between them melted in the mud.
But there’s no shortage of possible suitors for Mary, from the poor Napier, Blake’s accomplice who Mary mostly ignores, to the imminent return of Lord Gillingham, still holding a flame for the radiant widow.
News of the visit chills Anna once more since it means the return of his manservant, the man who raped her, Mr. Green. This possibility leads the unnerved Anna to tell Lady Mary that he indeed was the one who had attacked her. Mary tries to keep Gillingham from bringing him back to the scene, but the message doesn’t get through.
When they arrive, Gillingham says he’s broken his engagement with Mabel in hopes of snaring Mary some day. She has nothing to offer him, but asks how attached he is to his servant. He wonders why, but then he’s off. She brought it up a little late.
While there Anna doesn’t talk to Green, but Bates asks casually where he stays when they go to London. Innocent question, it would seem.
On a trip to Thirsk, Tom runs into that school teacher he spoke with at the political meeting, Sarah Bunting, who he’ll run into twice again in the episode. More importantly, sees cousin Rose with the jazz bandleader Jack Ross, sitting at a hotel restaurant, stroking his cheek.
He turns to the kind of phrase heard on “Seinfeld” in explaining the interracial scene to Mary. “I’ve seen something,” he says. “And I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with it.”
Mary of course has witnessed their potentially controversial romance already and not said anything but now she must talk to Rose about it.
“All I want is for you not to lose control of your life,” Mary tells her.
“I love him,” Rose replies. “And I don’t want to listen to any imperialist nonsense about racial purity and how he should be horsewhipped for daring to dream!”
Mary says she hoped Rose knew her better than that. But Rose goes on:
“I’m going to marry him, Mary,” she declares, but soon she shows her true intent as she screws up her expression and says she can’t wait to see her mother’s face “crumble when she finds out.”
Mary meets with the jazz singer, telling him Rose only “wants to shock her mother, who incidentally she hates.
Ross backs down saying “it may come as somewhat of a relief to know I won’t be marrying Rose.” Not because he doesn’t love her, but because he does. “I don’t want to spoil her life. i don’t want to watch while people point at her and jeer. ”
“It doesn’t mean I think it’s right,” he says of his backing down. “I wouldn’t give in if we lived in even a slightly better world.”
“It may surprise you Mr. Ross,” Mary answers, “but if we lived in a better world I wouldn’t want you to.”
Which is kind of a confusing line. She wouldn’t want him to live in a slightly better world? No, her intent is probably if they lived in a better world, she wouldn’t want him to give up.
Anyway, no more Mr. Ross. And Rose is a little mad about it, but will get over it.
Lady Rosamund, after hosting Edith last week and hearing of her problem, has come to visit. She’s told her sister the Dowager to treat Edith gently but doesn’t say why; pretty soon she knows exactly what they’re talking about.
Edith’s first solution for her unwanted pregnancy is to let the newly hired pig farmer raise it as his own, so she could be able to see it. But Rosamund has a better idea: going on an extended trip to the Continent, where ether can give up the child to someone where they happen to be, probably Switzerland. Everybody likes this idea, and they don’t even have to tell her mother about it.
Besides getting involved in Edith’s situation, and offering to fund it (so she’s not completely beholden to Rosamund) the Dowager also finds a way to thank Mrs. Crawley for nursing her to health last week, by arranging a luncheon with Lord Merton, Mary’s godfather, who might be a very good catch for the widow.
They get along OK and he walks her back to the village, but had forgotten Matthew was dead. Mrs. Crawley dislikes him for this but the next day he sends her a big bouquet.
Plans are in the making for the annual church bazaar on the grounds which means mostly Cora complaining about how much work they have to do. There’s a funny line downstairs when Mrs. O’Brien tells staff to make sure there’s refreshments for the Village People. Apparently a disco group from 50 years in the future will play their little party.
Actually, the bazaar is a big event for the villagers and some of the characters, such as Molesley who does better than Jimmy on the strongman challenge and he stands up to Barrow, telling him not to bully Baxter, on whom he is now officially sweet.
The sweetest moment of the episode — and maybe the season — occurs when Daisy takes Mrs. Patmore’s advice and flees the bazaar to avoid seeing Alfred. While visiting her father in law Mr. Mason, who is suddenly the wisest man in the village, he tells her to go back and smooth things over with Alfred. “There won’t be too many people you love in your life and he’s one,” he says.
She goes back to see him, smooth things over, and say they’ll be friends forever. She also gives him a nice basket of food and ale for the train.
Mrs. Patmore tells her with tears in her eyes “If you were my own daughter I couldn’t be prouder than I am now.”
The bazaar gives reason for two of Mary’s suitors to return to Downton again. Both Blake, who admits his affection, and Lord Gillingham.
Mary had just seen the latter in London in a hastily planned trip in which she insists that she fire his valet. He agrees but wonders why she’s so adamant.
“He’s done something you’d find abhorrent,” she says.
Before she leaves, he tells her he won’t give up on her, “not until you walk down the aisle with another man, and very possibly not even then.”
To which Mary says, “I find that both irritating and beguiling in equal measure” (which is pretty much our reaction to each week’s episode — just kidding, beguiling usually wins).
Lord Grantham makes a surprise return from the states as the bazaar is going on and everybody is glad to see him.
But more surprising is the news from Lord Gillingham, who also shows up. He tells Mary that Green was found dead in Picadilly, having hit his head on the sidewalk or some such. He’s more curious than ever why Mary had insisted he be fired (“Because he’ll be dead soon!” she didn’t say to him).
(Nobody seems to be looking as Mary as a suspected serial killer after three people surrounding her have been found dead now: the Turkish ambassador, Matthew and now Green. )
Anna is interested in this news as well, especially when she realizes it happened on the day that Bates took off to do errands in York.
Anna questions Bates, but he seems both mysterious and in an extraordinarily good mood. How could she suspect him, he asks. “When I do a thing I need a very good reason for doing it.”
Which doesn’t answer anything.
Next week is the double-length UK Christmas episode that serves as a finale, but it doesn’t occur at the Yuletide; instead it’s summertime and at the beach. And as promised, it comes with a couple of visitors from America.
In other words, both irritating and beguiling in equal parts.