Happiness is for This Place, in This Hour (S6 E9)

It has been nearly a week since the finale aired and I found myself avoiding writing this last episode review for days. Irrationally it seemed if I continued to procrastinate, I wouldn't have to acknowledge that the show truly ended. I could live on in a deluded limbo, never quite crossing the threshold into the Hell of life without Downton. But return to reality I must, and without the excuse of the chaotic holidays slowing me down any longer, I reluctantly compose this last synopsis...incredibly reluctant apparently. Typically it takes me about two hours to finish a review and I refuse to go to bed until it's finished. This one I began, walked away, went to bed, and avoided for another half a day before finally returning to complete it. It was difficult, and it's another marathon of a post, but I hope you enjoy this final review. 

For those of you who have followed my reviews since the first episode's post, you are well aware that I had temporarily relocated to West Sussex for the running of this season in an effort to keep my morality in tact. Come to find out I had no morality to start with, but that's beside the point. My family and I bustled through our Christmas celebration and settled down to savor the last precious hour with this endearing family and their servants. The beginning of the show started without a hitch, with the exception of my brother who spontaneously developed ADHD and would not stop flicking me, poking me, and whispering unrelated shit to distract me. I nearly killed him but thought it cruel to leave his children fatherless on Christmas Day. I shall wait until Easter. Unfortunately, in the last 45 minutes, technical difficulties ensued, our connection wavered and we found ourselves having to pause every ten minutes or so to allow the show to buffer. This led my brother to cry out in agony "Aw crap! Now we have to talk to each other!" Intermittent forced conversations aside, we reveled in the glory of Downton one last time.

We begin with the family taking a pleasant stroll and find that Henry, in the wake of wedded bliss, is continuing to grapple with the trauma of the crash. Finding no more pleasure in his favorite pastime, Henry now looks to find some purpose in life aside from lingering in his wife's and stepson's shadows. He mopes around Downton for days, because therapy is not a thing for aristocrats, before Edith echoes on a motivational speech she once received and prompts him to "find something to do!" He joins forces with Tom in their mutual affection for automobiles and decides to open up a car sales and repair shop. Both surprise Mary in revealing their new professional endeavor, and she of course gives all her support and encouragement before offering her own surprise of a tiny Talbot on the way. Perhaps it is the residual trauma he is still coping with, but I found Henry to be much weaker in personality, sulking around like a wounded and lost puppy, seeking Mary's approval in every step he took, and even timidly asked if he had miscalculated and made his wife ashamed of him with his newfound trade. This struck me as a bit off from previous suitors Mary had entertained, men who were mostly sharp-tongued and witty in their banter with her, more confident in themselves as they came with titles and inheritance. But then again, those men are gone. So perhaps the more submissive husband was what Mary needed all along, someone to crack her whip on and ride astride all around the estate.

While Henry has found his place finally, Daisy continues to hop from foot to foot on her own love life (or lack thereof) as Andy begins to show his interest more openly. After a few passes were thrown out, Daisy unleashes her claws and swats the poor illiterate back on his shaky ass. The ever omniscient Mrs. Patmore immediately diagnoses the problem as Daisy's own defense mechanism of lowered self-esteem and chasing the forbidden fruits (ha Thomas), ignoring the harvest thrown at her feet. As she slowly reaches her moment of epiphany, Andy is already done with the drama and the high school games (see kids, dating sucked ass even back in the 20s), and Andy turns away from the befuddled kitchen maid. In a desperate attempt to recapture his adoring gaze, Daisy tries for a new come and get it hairstyle with a pair of ill-fated scissors and Lady Mary's new hair dryer. The end result was a mousey brown rat's nest on top of her shoulders that even a hour's battle with a lawn mower couldn't have produced. Andy got a good laugh and Anna was forced to waddle into the kitchen later to do some serious damage control, but in the end, they finally got themselves on the same page, leaving the expectation that they would some day make a life on Mason's farm.

Happily ever after was finalized yet again with two who had been fox-trotting in the taunting dance of unrequited love, Dickie and Isobel. Isobel was left in the lurch after receiving an invitation from Lord Merton's arrogant asshole of a son Larry, which was abruptly cancelled when she attempted to follow up. A chance encounter with Dickie reveals that he is not long for this life as he has recently been diagnosed with pernicious anemia, a then-fatal disease. Now with his final conclusion guaranteed, the mangy old whore no longer needed Isobel for a nurse maid and did her best to shut her out so she and Larry could  mourn inherit in peace. She even refused Isobel's entry when she came to the house to visit Dickie. Of course nowadays this qualifies as felonious elder abuse, but in those days, what could be done? When all seemed lost, Isobel and Violet rode in on their millennium falcon and drew their lightsabers, crashing the vigil and rescuing Dickie from his captors. Isobel swore to marry her damoiseau in distress in spite of his devastating prospects. Miraculously, after weeks with no decline, Dickie got a second opinion from Dr. Clarkson only to find his anemia was completely treatable and he would not be dying any time soon. The two were set to marry and find love in their dying days. What I loved most of all about this plot is the fervor Violet showed in reuniting the star-crossed lovers, ignoring her own deep-seated fears of being left alone without her dearest friend to laugh with and abuse. Again she demonstrated that with all the spikes, with all the insults, the battles and wars she fought, Violet was always the champion for her family and her friends.

Sadly for Carson, his happily ever after was slightly tainted as a consistent shake in his once rock-steady hands emerged. Simple tasks such as pouring the wine or holding his tea cup became arduous and his faith in himself and his abilities to perform his duties was being shaken as well. Finally being confronted by a worrisome Lady Mary and Lord Grantham, Carson, who would have served his family loyally until his dying day, was forced to give his resignation, and this hereditary affliction robbed him of what should have been his final golden days in the abbey. The only question left was who would prove worthy to take Carson's place?

The footmen had been becoming a dying breed since the war finished and the trend had not slowed in recent years. As we know, dear Molesley had taken on a teaching position and was beginning to find his niche in the classroom when we last left him. During a stroll with Ms. Baxter, the school master Mr. Dawes approached Molesley to take on more courses in the wake of another instructor's retirement. Faced with the difficult task of leaving the house and service, Molesley shakily sets foot into uncharted territory as he tentatively accepts the position, but keeps one toe in familiarity, offering to return and assist at the house during school vacations. Whether or not this new path will also lead Molesley into Baxter's arms was left unsaid, but it gives us warm fuzzy feelings of hope.

With Molesley pretty much gone, Thomas also receives a job offer in York, and prepares for his final departure. Though he had a rejuvenated sense of life after a failed suicide attempt and felt things may be looking up for him, being one of three staff, the new employment left him feeling lonely. With another isolated life lying ahead of him, Thomas began to pine for the busy halls of the abbey, for his friends, for just one more person to plot against. Alright fine, so we'll allow that his brush with death may have embedded some decency in him and he's probably a changed man by now, so I'll lay off him. Forgive and forget, other cheek turned, water under bridges and so forth. Anyways, I had earlier predicted that with Molesley's departure, this would have been Thomas' opportunity to return to the abbey. I could not have imagined that this would instead come about following Carson's own withdrawal. With the position open and only one applicant who had absorbed years of tutelage from Carson presenting himself, Thomas ascended to the butler's throne as Carson quietly bowed out through a servant's door. Though I recognize the necessity of it, this was not the ending I wanted for Carson, and this may have been the only moment throughout the final episode that my heart fell from the euphoric cloud it had been riding. Carson's life was service, and who knows what tasks he can busy himself with now that he can no longer do what he loves, but of course, some must have their unhappy endings as well. With Lord Grantham extending his hand to Carson, not as an employer, but as a friend in a final farewell handshake, we say goodbye to Carson.

While all of this was going on downstairs, a small miracle was taking place upstairs. After working far much longer than she should have into her pregnancy, Anna's bulging body could take no more, and she gushed amniotic fluid onto Lady Mary's carpet, leaving her room now smelling not only like a tart's boudoir but a midwife's apron. Of course, never one to be visibly rattled, Lady Mary only flatly states "ah, your water has broken" with no more urgency than if she had found a hole in her stocking. The doctor was summoned and Henry ran to fetch Bates, who was found in a bubble of obscurity. Really Bates, she has been on the verge of exploding for the past week, and when someone comes rushing up to you saying "You better come quickly!" your first thought isn't about your severely pregnant wife? Get upstairs for god's sake! Because this is Downton and not Call the Midwife, we don't rejoin Anna until the excitement is over and she has a tiny bundle nestled in her arms. Christmas Day was an emotional one for my family for reasons cited weeks ago on this blog, and though I expected to cry much more during this show, I suppose my tears were all but spent. I cried once, and only once the first time I watched this episode, and it was when little Baby Bates was revealed. After everything Anna had been through, and everything she had lost in the process, this was her sliver of sunshine that she so desperately deserved. Survivors of rape are shattered when they are first attacked, and it takes years to recover and rebuild yourself into whoever you were before, though you can never quite get there because you are eternally changed. But moving on, finding your happiness again, finding whomever you want to be and making it happen is the essence of hope and resilience. Anna was such a beacon for that, and this child is her new beginning. I will avoid jokes about the Bates Motel since I have already made so many in the past, but it was not lost on me that Anna did in fact, have a baby boy, and while a fan on Instagram is running a poll for the baby's name, I would avidly avoid Norman.

In atypical fashion, I am moving up Downton Tidbits. First off, we have Denker and Spratt, still arguing and embittered with one another like two children sparring for their mother's undivided attention, affection, and approval, A visit from Lady Edith tips off the eavesdropping Denker to Spratt's alternative life as a journalist, and yet again Denker makes a final attempt to rid herself of the bothersome Spratt the Pratt. Cloaked in a seemingly innocent discussion, Denker let the cat out of the bag to the Dowager, who, always quick to catch on, immediately recognized another of Denker's plots. It is a wonder that the Dowager allows this English novella to continue under her roof, but I imagine she keeps them around as live in entertainment and nothing more, though her careful hand guides the plot in the end. Denker was unsuccessful in her scheme as Violet praised Spratt for his editorial contributions and declared him the oracle of women's advice in the household. Lord Grantham has been throwing a tantrum now that his responsibilities have dwindled with Mary and Tom taking on the estate because Cora's own responsibilities have grown in her position at the hospital. She has taken time from visits and preparing for weddings to attend meetings and public obligations, leaving LG alone with his puppy. But in the changing times of the 20s when women were finding their voices and their places in society and the working world, this was so crucial to Cora's developing identity above and beyond mother, wife, and Lady. Eventually, in her brief return to Downton, Rose dragged Robert to a town meeting where Cora was speaking and the light bulb over his head clicked on and he finally saw how important this was to his wife. Violet too finally buries the hatchet and acknowledges Cora's hard work, extending the olive branch for once and for all. Baxter finally broke free of Coyle's grip over her when Thomas prompted her to leave him behind for good, and now she can bask in the sunshine with Molesley for once and for all. Tom and Laura Edmonds have caught each others' eyes and love appears to be blossoming finally for the former chauffeur. And in a flash of a moment, we saw a piece of our beloved Sybil in her tiny daughter when Thomas was preparing to leave Downton and he advised the little ones to 'be good.' Without missing a beat and embodying the rebel spirit of her mother, Sybbie proudly proclaims "no we won't!"

Finally, in the homestretch, we must fawn over Edith's big evening. We last left her a spinster after Bertie had discovered she lied about her maternity with Marigold (it only seems fitting to finally use the child's real name for the final review), and Bertie ran for the hills. With a little more scheming from Mary and help from Rosamund, Edith found herself face to face with Bertie at the Ritz, and before we knew it, the engagement was back on, but there were still obstacles to be overcome. Edith, wary of living her life in secret, mulled over telling Bertie's mother the truth about Marigold in spite of her exceptionally high moral standards. But the revelation went south, and Bertie's mother forbade him from marrying Edith, which he promptly bypassed and prepared to announce his engagement at a dinner party later that night. His mother ultimately caved and welcomed Edith into the family, and the wedding preparations began. We held our breath as we had traveled down this road before, but Bertie showed up at the alter and stayed there, and they rushed off to begin their life in wedded bliss. This was the moment of the night, when finally dear Edith got the happy ending she so aptly deserved, and I gushed through it all. With this desolate road she has traveled and so much heartache she has endured, some at the hands of fate, some at the hands of her scheming bitch of a sister, all was finally right in the world of this once tragic spinster. Poor Edith is poor Edith no more, surprisingly due in part to her sister, who for once used her powers for good instead of evil and healed her sister's heart.

"Sisters have their secrets"