Remember after Edith was left at the altar by the creepy guy? She got up the next morning and said she would go down to breakfast the way spinsters do. So if you are a spinster you do down to breakfast. If you are married, breakfast in bed.

Also, when Lord Grantham was discussing Thomas's homosexuality, he seemed to imply that he had a few crushes on boys at school. I think there was a good deal of sexual experimenting at British public (boarding) schools among boys and girls.

1) What year are we supposed to be in? (I recall that they scooted forward, avoiding some less historically interesting years, so now their ages don't really make sense if taken with the timeline)

2) Is this weekend the last show of the season?

Anonymous wrote:Anna was the maid for all the daughters before Mary got married.

Whatever happened to the Abbey having actual maid staff? All of the downstairs characters are fairly elite service staff (butler, housekeeper, ladies' maids, valets, footmen, etc.) - what about the people who wash the dishes and do the laundry and empty the chamber pots and clean the fireplaces? In Season 1, Daisy was a "house maid" and had tasks like that (and wasn't allowed in rooms at the same time as upstairs residents), but then she got promoted to the kitchen and we haven't seen real service staff since.

There's background staff, but you just don't get to meet them. Look closely, you'll see under-maids, hall boys, etc.

At dinner, the lower servants don't get to have their dinner at the same time as the upper servants.

Also -- Thomas has been referring to layoffs, etc. Domestic servant numbers were declining steadily from the pre-war period through the 20s and 30s, what with all the labor-saving devices, the financial crises hitting the great houses, and competent domestic staff starting to work in the factories, etc. Of course the Depression will put a stake through the heart of most great houses.

Anna was the maid for all the daughters before Mary got married.

Whatever happened to the Abbey having actual maid staff? All of the downstairs characters are fairly elite service staff (butler, housekeeper, ladies' maids, valets, footmen, etc.) - what about the people who wash the dishes and do the laundry and empty the chamber pots and clean the fireplaces? In Season 1, Daisy was a "house maid" and had tasks like that (and wasn't allowed in rooms at the same time as upstairs residents), but then she got promoted to the kitchen and we haven't seen real service staff since.

Bates didn't kill his first wife. It was also pretty ridiculous that he would have been on the hook for her murder. After he returned from the war, he was a drunk and felt so guitly that he took the rap when his wife stole.

I'm sure it will turn out that he didn't kill the valet either but they will keep milking the suspense as long as possible.

Anonymous wrote:Bates killed both his first wife and the valet. Wafts complicated is they were both for 'noble' reasons-so does that make it ok?

I don't believe Bates killed his first wife; I really think he was set up. And I think he's the most noble (male) character on the show. That man can do no wrong.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Daisy always annoys me on DA; her mouth is constantly open and she just looks so 'simple'.

Oh, come on, you gotta love the way she called Ivy out for teasing Alfred.

I also love Daisy's accent. Any brits on here that can pinpoint it? Definitely sounds northern, practically scottish.

The actress is from Bradford in Northern England. Her parents are Irish so there might be some Irish inluence there, too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophie_McShera

They are doing a "Yorkshire" accent b/c that's where Downton's supposed to be set. Most of the actors are Northern.

If you remember Gwen from season 1, she worked with a drama coach to get that 1900s, northern accent. She has a very posh British accent IRL. If you watch the first 30 seconds of this interview with her they talk about the accent, "Hello vs. Hullo"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPdPTY_-icQ

Ha! I was going to guess North Humberland, but thought you'd laugh at my american ignorance!

Anonymous wrote:Bates killed both his first wife and the valet. Wafts complicated is they were both for 'noble' reasons-so does that make it ok?

What's not wafts

Bates killed both his first wife and the valet. Wafts complicated is they were both for 'noble' reasons-so does that make it ok?

Didn't Anna help all of the girls back then?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think you get a lady's maid until you're married (and thereafter, even if widowed). Married women also aren't expected down for breakfast; it's brought to them in bed by the lady's maid....

No, Mary had Anna before she and Matthew were married. I would hate having a maid in the room, hearing my conversations with my husband! It seems there was no privacy.

Maybe it was b/c she was the oldest and it was expected she was to marry the cousin who was to inherit. Or possibly Anna was a plot device so Mary had someone to go to initially to help her with the Pamuk debacle.

Anna was shared by the girls before they married.

Anonymous wrote:I don't think you get a lady's maid until you're married (and thereafter, even if widowed). Married women also aren't expected down for breakfast; it's brought to them in bed by the lady's maid....

No, Mary had Anna before she and Matthew were married. I would hate having a maid in the room, hearing my conversations with my husband! It seems there was no privacy.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Daisy always annoys me on DA; her mouth is constantly open and she just looks so 'simple'.

Oh, come on, you gotta love the way she called Ivy out for teasing Alfred.

I also love Daisy's accent. Any brits on here that can pinpoint it? Definitely sounds northern, practically scottish.

The actress is from Bradford in Northern England. Her parents are Irish so there might be some Irish inluence there, too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophie_McShera

They are doing a "Yorkshire" accent b/c that's where Downton's supposed to be set. Most of the actors are Northern.

If you remember Gwen from season 1, she worked with a drama coach to get that 1900s, northern accent. She has a very posh British accent IRL. If you watch the first 30 seconds of this interview with her they talk about the accent, "Hello vs. Hullo"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPdPTY_-icQ

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:hmmm...how can I get a lady's maid so I can have breakfast in bed.....

I actually don't like eating breakfast in bed. I don't like eating in bed, period.

OK - then you can get the kids ready for school and then bring up my breakfast later. Thanks!