After a sorrowful chat with Mary, Henry and she part ways, her to a family dinner and him to call his friend's family and notify them of the tragedy. After the meal, though, Mary receives a call as well, and Henry proclaims this to be his Carpe Diem epiphany. Still finding herself in the swirling cloud of shock, anxiety, trauma, and devastation, Mary ultimately ends their short romance, citing ill-fitted interests and lifestyles. When she ends the call, Tom feebly attempts to bring her to her senses, but she escapes to the stairs, leaving any definite answer hanging in the balance.
Another relationship hanging in the balance has only grown more complicated after Violet turned into Sherlock Holmes and investigated the source of an awkward invitation to Lord Merton's son's wedding. Meeting with the suspiciously kind finacee, the Dowager got to the bottom of Crookshank's ulterior motive. Following a curt conversation, the truth revealed is that Larry and his soon-to-be betrothed do not want to deal with a geriatric shadow looming about the house and are not in the mood to be nursemaids. Since Shady Pines has not yet been introduced to this part of England,there is naught more to be done than to shuffle him off to the waiting arms of a middle-class wife. In my last blog I had wondered how the bastard could have found anyone to marry him, but now the answer is clear...he found this shady little Crookshank. What kind of a name is Crookshank anyways? Well in case you were wondering, aside from being the name of a famous physician and writer, Crookshanks was the name of Hermione Granger's cat (yay Harry Potter allusions). More hilariously and infinitely more appropriate, according to the Urban Dictionary, a Crookshank is a "mangy old whore." Ha! Anyways, we now await Isobel's decision in rescuing Lord Merton from the claws of this treacherous family.
The mounting frustrations of being the perfect housewife to Carson have finally overwhelmed Mrs. Hughes. We find her and Mrs. Patmore hatching a scheme to give him a taste of his own medicine and a rude awakening to the domestic obstacles women face everyday. Feigning a hand injury, Mrs. Hughes forces Carson to prepare the evening's meal, an idea he doesn't quite warm up to, but somehow manages to burn the potatoes anyways. After an exhausting day of telling other people what to do and watching them do it, cooking dinner proves to be too much for Mr. Carson and he dozes off at the table. The poor thing is then stirred from his slumber to learn he will also be responsible for washing the dishes, and it is at this moment that the light bulb over his occasionally dim-witted viewpoint clicked on. There is a new found respect for the domestic goddess in the Carson cottage.
As Thomas continues to look for a job with Carson nipping at his heels, it seems Molesley may be yet another servant moving up and out of the abbey. Mr. Dawes, of the local academic institution, had both Molesley and Daisy sit for their exams, which sent Daisy into a panic as the fruit of her labors was finally within reach. Molesley chalked up on his studies as well in fear of any pending disappointment; as a man who went from valet to delivery boy to street worker (not the Ethel kind, the tar laying kind), and now a footman, Molesley understandably doesn't want to get his hopes up. But fate smiles on him after all is said and done, and Molesley shines in his exams, which moves Mr. Dawes to offer him a teaching position at the school. In spite of the exaggeration of his lackluster cricket skills, it would seem Molesley had sold himself short on his testing confidence, and he is visibly shaken when he finds he will catch that ship he believed he missed after all. Molesley is set to climb the professional and social ladder. This in turn, may end up being the solution to Thomas' problem as well.
As things have turned for Molesley, so have they too for Edith. Cuddled on the couch with Bertie after the tragedy of Charlie Rogers, Bertie finally musters the courage to ask the question Edith has been waiting for...well since the last two times someone asked her the question. After years of ups and mostly downs for Edith, could this finally be it? Will she have her happily ever after? Will Julian finally leave her the hell alone? Of course, anywhere Edith goes, little Gerbera must follow, and without giving away any sliver of the truth, Edith requests that the illegitimate child come too. Closing without a final answer, we wait to find if Edith will finally tie the knot, so long as he doesn't go out of the country or run away at the alter. Edith is a love pariah no more!
In Downton Tidbits, Mrs. Patmore finally puts the finishing touches on her bed and breakfast, and eagerly attends to her first guests, but a shady looking creeper is loitering about the place and it seems her brain child may soon be causing a stir. The cat is finally let out of the bag when a handful of the servants find Andy can't read. With Mr. Dawes nearby, a plan is outlined to begin reading lessons for poor Andy, which in turn sadly robs Thomas of his responsibilities in teaching him, as well as any sense of purpose and friendship he may have developed with the young lad. We become more familiar with the young editor at Edith's magazine after Edith invites Ms. Laura Edmonds to Henry Talbot's race, and it seems Tom may want to become more familiar with her as well. Of course, if she can't bait his interest and wonders why she could always look in the mirror (where the hell were the blue-stocking suffragettes when this shit was being published? It's bra burning time, bitches!). Hints of Mary trying to be genuinely kind to Edith are more and more resulting in venomous responses as Edith is developing more of a sting in her tail. Once Mary suggested that Bertie driving up for Edith alone should be enough, Edith clipped her at the knees with a sharp-tongued response. In addition to the fact that the previews show Edith calling Mary a flat out bitch, I suspect a battle is brewing. Violet has decided, in the wake of the hospital debacle, to hoist up her anchor and venture off on a recuperative trip. Leaving the family in the throes of her absence, she drops off a final parting gift: the cutest puppy to succeed dear Isis, Tiaa. Gotta love them puppy dogs, and the fact that LG is totally fine with having an untrained puppy upstairs, because of course he won't be cleaning up the mess!
See you next time...
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