Anonymous wrote:I read an interview with eh actress who plays Anna. she said the rape was an accurate reflection of the kind of abuse female servants faced regularly in that time.

This is what I thought when watching it last night. I cannot believe that happened to Anna. It was heartbreaking to watch. I do think the storylines are a little slow to develop (although there have only been 2 episodes).

Can anyone refresh my memory on the backstory between Tom and Edna? I can't recall when/what happened between them and why he asked Mrs. Hughes to write a good reference letter.
I think the thing with Gregson becoming German will be bad, very bad, with WWI so recent and heading into WWII (in DA time).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The rape was gratuitous and not needed to set up any tension between Anna and Bates. The tension could be over whether or not they had a child. Tom is so going to fall for new maid, Braithwaite.

Isobel was heartbreaking at dinner, but I think she will rekindle her life with the doctor.

Gregson is clearly shady as he knew how to cheat at poker better than the posh poker cheater. He ingratiated himself to Lord Grantham by saving his hide. How many times is a suitor going to have to save the Lord Most Stupid?

It is devolving into total trash soap opera, but I gotta watch it for the clothes upstairs and the downstairs people who are much more interesting.

It was always a total trash soap opera. Were you under the impression that it was high art?

There is a very large middle ground.

Anonymous wrote:The rape was gratuitous and not needed to set up any tension between Anna and Bates. The tension could be over whether or not they had a child. Tom is so going to fall for new maid, Braithwaite.

Isobel was heartbreaking at dinner, but I think she will rekindle her life with the doctor.

Gregson is clearly shady as he knew how to cheat at poker better than the posh poker cheater. He ingratiated himself to Lord Grantham by saving his hide. How many times is a suitor going to have to save the Lord Most Stupid?

It is devolving into total trash soap opera, but I gotta watch it for the clothes upstairs and the downstairs people who are much more interesting.

It was always a total trash soap opera. Were you under the impression that it was high art?

PP I was horrified that Mrs. Hughes didn't insist on getting the doctor and easily brushed everything under the rug. She must have seen this many times. It seemed to be an accurate reflection.

I hate what they've done to Tom. I thought the fact that he was the agent of the estate alleviated some of his issues with hanging out with the posh in-laws. Why are they bringing up issues that would've presumably been dealt with a year ago (in DA time)?

I also thought the rape was gratuitous and unnecessary. Anna, of all people, wouldn't have been in there hamming it up and flirting at card games at the expense of her duties. I don't think she would've been bored at the opera performance and I don't think she would've left it halfway through. It was all so contrived and strange. Also, how did Mrs. Hughes know RIGHTAWAY, upon seeing Anna, what had happened?

I am so missing the chemistry between Matthew and Mary right now. I am also missing Sybil and the depth she brought to the household. Rose is worthless.

I read an interview with eh actress who plays Anna. she said the rape was an accurate reflection of the kind of abuse female servants faced regularly in that time.

Isabel's heartache brought tears to my eyes. Otherwise I'm not very interested in DA this season. I guess I'm still brooding over the loss of Matthew and Sybil.

The rape was gratuitous and not needed to set up any tension between Anna and Bates. The tension could be over whether or not they had a child. Tom is so going to fall for new maid, Braithwaite.

Isobel was heartbreaking at dinner, but I think she will rekindle her life with the doctor.

Gregson is clearly shady as he knew how to cheat at poker better than the posh poker cheater. He ingratiated himself to Lord Grantham by saving his hide. How many times is a suitor going to have to save the Lord Most Stupid?

It is devolving into total trash soap opera, but I gotta watch it for the clothes upstairs and the downstairs people who are much more interesting.

Anonymous wrote:The rape was soooo hard to watch. The screaming - ugh. Gave me chills. I saw it a few months ago and I knew it was coming, and I had to cover my ears this time.

I started watching late as it was recording on my DVR, so I was able to fast forward through it. Horrible.

I love the costumes and decor, but the storylines at this point are boring, repetitive, vile or absurd. Sigh. Waiting for Call the Midwife to return in March.

The rape was soooo hard to watch. The screaming - ugh. Gave me chills. I saw it a few months ago and I knew it was coming, and I had to cover my ears this time.

After the rape and how Anna was dealing with it it seemed clear that all of the lovey-dovey snookums interactions between Bates and her in the first episode was written to magnify the distance that she will now establish between them.

I had heard that there was a rape coming but I thought it would be Rose or the kitchen maid who got drunk in the first episode.

I don't like that Tom escaped the close call with Edna before, vowed that it wouldn't happen again, and now he seems to be totally welcoming the setup.

I'm wondering if Gregson is shady too, but they wouldn't screw over Edith again, would they.

I agree with both PPs (although I don't see Gregson as shady, more as the flip side of Tom).

I can't even keep track of who is supposed to like who in the kitchen, and the hiring of Edna is just annoying.

Fellowes is lazy and the series is continuing its decline into awful melodrama.

I think this season has been terribly written so far.

I mean, it's always been a trashy soap, but at least it was well-written.

There was no explanation for the house full of guests/party there. None of the seeds they planted last week with Thomas up to his old tricks were followed up on, nor was any more deviousness on display.

Tom's whining is unbearable.

I'm struggling to understand what they're doing with that younger girl (name escaping me).

And what the hell is the point of the sexual assault?

So before watching this episode I was thinking that it's time maybe for Anna to get pregnant. Now I am PRAYING that she does not become pregnant as a result of the rape. . I am also so, so tired of rape being used all over the place (tv, movies, books) as a means of generating narrative drama. It's rarely handled in a three-dimensional way, and most of the time it's inessential to the plot. I don't need a cheap way to be made to feel anguish, physically vulnerable, etc. And Julian Fellowes is a lazy writer.

Isobel at dinner: heartbreaking and beautifully acted

Gregson: is he shady? I get a bad feeling about the Germany thing.

Tom: please do not bonk Edna.

Carson & Mosley: thanks for the out-loud laughs

Dowager: she needs much better, zippier one-liners. Where is the hilarious acerbic wit?

Daisy/Edna/Jimmy/Whosit: zzzzzzzzzz