I'm surprised no one has mentioned how rude Carson was about Mrs. Hughes's cooking. What a jerk! I felt so bad for poor Mrs. Hughes, being humiliated like that.

Also, re: the spoilers - I'm the OP of this thread and by "No Spoilers," I was hoping we could have a thread with none of the big spoilers from the UK airing (as other PPs noted). I really don't want to know how the whole series is going to end, so I avoid that other thread like the plague! But for this thread, I assumed it was understood we could talk about each episode after it had aired here. I don't really consider that spoiling it. Is that ok with everyone?

Anonymous wrote:I also feel like Mary just had a big "grow up" moment. (One would think that having a child, becoming a widow, etc. all would be grow up moments, but none of those really changed her responsibility level.) With her dad's hospitalization, it was like she suddenly realized it was all on her... it seemed like she was suddenly having a "big picture" moment that will make some of the petty crap fall away.
Not like she and Edith are ever going to be doting BFFs...but I think they are going to leave the stupid teenage squabbles behind them, finally.

I agree that this will improve Mary and Edith's relationship. Mary will respect Edith for being ballsy about it and can't exactly look down on her for getting pregnant with her own history. And it's another relative for George, who has now "earned" her place alongside him.

I also feel like Mary just had a big "grow up" moment. (One would think that having a child, becoming a widow, etc. all would be grow up moments, but none of those really changed her responsibility level.) With her dad's hospitalization, it was like she suddenly realized it was all on her... it seemed like she was suddenly having a "big picture" moment that will make some of the petty crap fall away.
Not like she and Edith are ever going to be doting BFFs...but I think they are going to leave the stupid teenage squabbles behind them, finally.

Anonymous wrote:

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

I was glad to see her looking appropriately shocked. Obviously, she never dreamed her boring sister could pull off something like this. I'm concerned though, because she almost looked as if she needed to tell someone, or report it, or something. Of course, how could that be when she herself has had several scandals of her own. Maybe it was my imagination. I'm still holding out hope that finding out about Edith/Marigold will make her respect Edith so much more and see her with new eyes.

I also think Mary is jealous of all the attention Edith's getting with her work on the magazine, etc. Every time it's brought up, Mary looks like she wants to murder Edith.

I think the outcome of this issue will foreshadow the entirety of Mary's future as she relates to others. There is constant talk of "times, they are a' changin", and Mary accepting Edith's out-of-wedlock daughter would fall under that umbrella (although I doubt it would have gone down like that IRL 1920's upper crust England). But there is also the Mary who still insists on propriety and not "marrying down," sticking to the old ways, etc. Plus the fact that she has always been a colossal bitch to Edith, and Edith did write that letter about the Turkish lover...

If there were another season to come I would bet that Mary would try to make Edith pay and drag out the drama, but since things need to wrap up, presumably in a tidy and heart warming manner, I'm putting my money on a reconciliation.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

I've always wondered about things like this. Why on earth don't they film scenes in order, or at least scenes like this one where there's going to be an incredible mess? Wouldn't it have been so much easier to film that scene last? I'm sure they have their reasons, but it's always confounded me.

I think it usually has to do with the actor's schedules, and doing it efficiently so they can get some actors off set. I would not be at all surprised if they film all of Maggie Smith's scenes first...either because she is more highly paid and they don't want to pay her to stand around for scenes she's not in, or out of consideration for her age and status. She was in the blood-soaked scenes, but there may have been some scenes where Cora was wearing the dress before Lady Violent arrived for dinner.

Anonymous wrote:Also, Baxter helping Thomas was a big deal because he'd been so mean to her and she took him to the doctor who told him to just be himself.

Yes. I think Baxter and her kindness are entirely responsible for turning Thomas around. While he can still be a jerk at times, you can tell her warmth and compassion have really changed him. I love her character.

On a related note, did anyone find it a little too "modern" when Bates and Anna were gently chastising Andy for his remarks about Thomas being gay? They seem entirely too open-minded for the era. Of course, the viewers appreciate it (or at least, I did), but that seemed very unrealistic. Mrs. Patmore is also very understanding of Thomas's homosexuality.

Since this is the last season, I personally would like to see Thomas happy at last. I doubt that will happen, as gay couples simply didn't pair off then, but it would be nice to see him finally find love. I think his loneliness is directly related to his meanness, and I love seeing flashes of kindness from him.

I think Mary's biggest issue with Marigold will be that she's the last to know--that everyone else knows and had their reasons to keep it from her.

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

I was glad to see her looking appropriately shocked. Obviously, she never dreamed her boring sister could pull off something like this. I'm concerned though, because she almost looked as if she needed to tell someone, or report it, or something. Of course, how could that be when she herself has had several scandals of her own. Maybe it was my imagination. I'm still holding out hope that finding out about Edith/Marigold will make her respect Edith so much more and see her with new eyes.

I also think Mary is jealous of all the attention Edith's getting with her work on the magazine, etc. Every time it's brought up, Mary looks like she wants to murder Edith.

Anonymous wrote:

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.

I've always wondered about things like this. Why on earth don't they film scenes in order, or at least scenes like this one where there's going to be an incredible mess? Wouldn't it have been so much easier to film that scene last? I'm sure they have their reasons, but it's always confounded me.

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

OMG - YES!! This is exactly what went through my mind during that scene. It was so completely incongruous to everything else we've seen on Downton Abbey. I actually had an out-of-body experience when he started vomiting blood. It felt like some kind of spoof. Really took me by surprise.

On the Thomas question (why he's so much nicer now), I think part of it is that now he's out of the closet. Based on my experiences with friends (I'm not gay), I think that being in the closet really takes an emotional toll. Some people respond by becoming really depressed, but other people respond by lashing out, or by become such good liars that they start lying too much about too many things. I had a good friend who used to tell such unbelievable whoppers when he was in the closet--mostly harmless so we all laughed it off as being a personality quirk. But it stopped after he came out--he said he felt like he was lying about such a fundental part of his self, that he wanted to see what else he could get away with lying about.
Anyway, it must be such a relief for Thomas to have everyone know, and some people have actually been sort of kind. I think that has really softened him.

Right, this thread should be titled Downton Abbey--no UK spoilers!

Anonymous wrote:I think the OP didn't want any UK spoilers since the final season has already aired there.

Yes- and I thought everyone understood that- so I'm surprised that someone actually complained that this thread is riddled with spoilers.

I think the OP didn't want any UK spoilers since the final season has already aired there.

Just a note about the thread title change- someone complained in website feedback (the thread was about a totally separate issue) that there are lots of spoilers in this thread, and the title was changed. Seems confusing to me, because there has been more than one DA thread with "spoilers!" in the title. I know I have successfully avoided those threads b/c I prefer to watch the show as it airs in the US.

Anyway, I lodged a complaint about the title change in that website feedback thread and encourage anyone who doesn't want any REAL spoilers to start popping up here to do the same.