Downton Abbey - No spoilers!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:and the other thing is they have that cap on and wear the same clothes. And Edna and Ethel? jeepers, no wonder we can't keep it straight.

What happened to Ethel and the baby--didn't Isobel get involved and rescue her?
/quote]

I think Ethel was eventually taken in by the baby's grandparents along with the baby. I don't think she worried at the time about getting pregnant b/c she thought the guy was going to marry her.

[Anonymous]

PP, that's a very interesting story from your grandparents' time. Cannot imagine being a woman living in any era up until recently.

[Anonymous]

I saw something on FB that said "Downton Abbey, what just happened?" Once I watched I knew perfectly what they meant. How bizarre!

[Anonymous]

Yuck!!! Can that really happen with bleeding ulcers?

[Anonymous]

Lord Grantham--always the drama queen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lord Grantham--always the drama queen.

I like you.

[Anonymous]

I'm glad he's not dead. I like Lord G. He's been really wonderful toward Edith lately. For a man in his position, with the world he knows changing so rapidly, he's really embraced Edith's parenthood and magazine ownership. He seemed genuinely proud of her and delighted with the quality of her work when she came back from her all-nighter in London and showed him the magazine copy she'd created.

[Anonymous]

What did Mary overhear about Marigold as Lord G was getting into the ambulance. Cora whispered something that Mary overheard, and then Mary asked Anna what she knew -- but I couldn't hear what Cora said.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yuck!!! Can that really happen with bleeding ulcers?

I read an article recently about this scene- it was apparently well researched, down to the color of blood that comes up at first vs later. They practiced it at a staged set to get projectile distance right because the scene itself was filmed at Highclere Castle, with all the actual furnishings, and they didn't want to ruin carpets, etc. According to the article Cora's (actual vintage) dress was ruined during the cleanup process after that scene, and it had to be glued together to film the next scene, which was filmed out of sequence- the pre-dinner scene.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What did Mary overhear about Marigold as Lord G was getting into the ambulance. Cora whispered something that Mary overheard, and then Mary asked Anna what she knew -- but I couldn't hear what Cora said.

Let's have no more secrets!
You mean, about Marigold?
Yes...blah blah enough of that! Grrr...

[Mary in the shadows, all like WTF?]

[Anonymous]

My FIL had this happen. Felt queasy after a meal and had a massive bloody vomit. Was in the hospital for 4 days. Didn't even know he had an ulcer. And he's on blood thinners.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What did Mary overhear about Marigold as Lord G was getting into the ambulance. Cora whispered something that Mary overheard, and then Mary asked Anna what she knew -- but I couldn't hear what Cora said.

Let's have no more secrets!
You mean, about Marigold?
Yes...blah blah enough of that! Grrr...

[Mary in the shadows, all like WTF?]

That was a little forced. Like anybody was going to keep secrets about Lord G's health. They just needed Mary to overhear so she can realize Edith isn't what she thinks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, that is was pretty awful. And it sort of puts the whole obsession with not having premarital sex in perspective. The consequences for those girls was just so dire--you can't blame a Mrs H for doing everything in her power to prevent it.
My grandmother's best friend got pregnant out of wedlock in the 1920's--the father was a good guy (actually a good friend of my grandfathers), and they got married, but both their parents disowned them. My grandfather went out on a limb and managed to get the guy a job in another state, and my grandmother basically went to friends and relatives to beg starter furniture and baby clothes for them (after trying to talk her friend's mom into forgiving her). The story had a basically happy ending, but it could have been not good.

If you read histories of orphanages in that time period, most of the kids were not orphans. They were just kids whose mothers couldn't keep them....and sometimes the moms would come back for them when they could, or not. Very sad, and everyone should remember that history when they complain about welfare. Welfare was designed to let those mothers keep their kids.

Or even later. The mother of a friend got pregnant in the late 1940s and had to be sent off to have the baby and then give it up immediately (much like Edith). She then married an older guy because her options were limited due to her "indiscretions". She later had 2 kids (one of whom is my friend) who learned about and connected with their adopted half sister when they were in their 30s. It was quite unsettling for my friend but there are probably many other stories like this.

[Anonymous]

My MOM got pregnant with me in 1973 and was sent to a home for unwed Catholic girls and was supposed to give me up. She flat out refused and moved back home before I was born.

[Anonymous]

Any thoughts on what Mary will do once finds out the truth about Marigold?