Just in response to the posts about Bates, I think he may have had something to do with the valet's death, but I honestly don't blame him. Like Mary said, if you know someone committed a crime, but he did it for good reasons, do you blame him/report him? I think everything about Bates is good and loyal and true. He adores his wife, who was brutally attacked, and knows justice will never be served unless he takes matters into his own hands (or pays someone to do it for him). My only regret in this situation is that the valet wasn't more severely punished. Somehow, him dying in such an "accidental" way doesn't seem fitting revenge. He was such an arrogant, cruel person... I think he actually got off easy.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OK -- so what does Thomas have over Baxter?

I think she is related to him -- possibly his mother?

My thought, too. She's his mum.

She does not look old enough, and why would that give him a hold over her?

Given the hints she dropped when talking to Moseley about how lucky he was having a whole village know and respect him, I suspect she may have had a sort of Scarlet Woman episode in her past, and that Thomas knows about it.

They do not have the same features, but as they are both dark-haired, the script might well have them be related - I was thinking older sister and younger brother, actually.

I don't think they're related, but I agree that she's probably had some sort of Scarlet Woman past. I actually like her; she seems very vulnerable and sad and it's quite obvious she doesn't want to report anything of interest back to Thomas, even though he has something on her. I hope she's able to break free of him and be the kind woman I think she really is.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tom is hot for teacher. Sadly, I think Edith will miscarry. Gregson was a newspaperman with a crazy wife--he should just be written off. Edith can't bring that baby to Downton and she would never follow through on adoption.

I think he is curious about the teacher, but would you call it hot? She is certainly appearing interested in him.

I don't care for the teacher. She seems to have a large chip on her shoulder and keeps insulting Tom's family. (Even if he's not actually related to them, they've been very good to him.)

I agree. why can't these people be attracted to people that seem to like them. All the guys are instantly ga-ga over Mary and she is usually down right rude.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go Molesley! The strength bell scene was so sweet.

I think he's my favorite character on the entire show. The range of emotion he conjures on his face is just spectacular in every scene.

I like Mrs. Hughes. She seems like a very good and trustworthy person.

And Mrs. Pattmore. I almost cried when she was praising Daisy near the end. Very touching.

And did you see how she awkwardly pats her on the shoulder, and then automatically puts her hand back on her apron, as if wiping it? Mrs. Patmore is not used to PDAs - hilarious!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OK -- so what does Thomas have over Baxter?

I think she is related to him -- possibly his mother?

My thought, too. She's his mum.

She does not look old enough, and why would that give him a hold over her?

Given the hints she dropped when talking to Moseley about how lucky he was having a whole village know and respect him, I suspect she may have had a sort of Scarlet Woman episode in her past, and that Thomas knows about it.

They do not have the same features, but as they are both dark-haired, the script might well have them be related - I was thinking older sister and younger brother, actually.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go Molesley! The strength bell scene was so sweet.

I think he's my favorite character on the entire show. The range of emotion he conjures on his face is just spectacular in every scene.

I like Mrs. Hughes. She seems like a very good and trustworthy person.

And Mrs. Pattmore. I almost cried when she was praising Daisy near the end. Very touching.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tom is hot for teacher. Sadly, I think Edith will miscarry. Gregson was a newspaperman with a crazy wife--he should just be written off. Edith can't bring that baby to Downton and she would never follow through on adoption.

I think he is curious about the teacher, but would you call it hot? She is certainly appearing interested in him.

I don't care for the teacher. She seems to have a large chip on her shoulder and keeps insulting Tom's family. (Even if he's not actually related to them, they've been very good to him.)

Anonymous wrote:

maril332 wrote:At what point did Dowager Lady Grantham (Edith's grandmother) find out that Edith was pregnant? Did she know when she sat Rosamund and Edith down?

C'mon, a sudden three month trip to Switzerland? That is so obvious.

I couldn't figure out why they wouldn't need to be there longer... isn't Edith only a couple of months preggers? Seems like she'd have to be away at least seven months or so.

Anonymous wrote:The scene with Isobel, the Dowager Countess, and the flowers was priceless.

This ep was on the level of Season 1. Finally!

+1
I absolutely love every scene the Dowager is in. That scene was hilariously understated.

Anonymous wrote:Gregson might be keeping his distance from Edith for legal reasons given that era's divorce lawys (a colleague suggested as much today). And yes what did she co-sign? I hope not confession to a murder! (She didn't seem to read it closely, and odd she didn't seek legal counsel, given her upbringing and station.)

I do not like the school teacher for Tom.

Me neither but I think it's because I'm jealous.

Also because he deserves somebody really stellar. This school teacher is mouthy. But then again, that's probably what he likes in her; she says what she thinks, instead of hiding behind double entendres and all the other things that Tom finds upper-class and thus "foreign." He's now not a commoner but not an aristocrat, so he feels lost. However; he's surrounded by the aristocrats so the commoner must feel very refreshing. But YES, good point to PP, a car? Maybe to make the point to us that she's one of those outrageous women drivers--proto-feminist?

Well if he goes out with her, it really would be two commoners at DA estate, so not sure it would go over well. But don't underestimate Lord Grantham's fondness for Tom, his caring nature (remember he's helping the tenant) and his desperate need to have baby Sibby stay at DA. I think he'd put up with anyone for Sibby's sake, but it will grate at him once that teacher starts shooting off her mouth from inside his castle.

I think the schoolteacher is secretly rich -- or not so secretly, maybe -- because how on earth would a teacher of that era be able to afford a car on salary alone?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Real scary, he's a sociopath and total excon. Anna probably senses somewhere in her heart that he really killed his exwife. When he first arrived, she saw his potential and felt that she could help him. Anna has always struck me as having low self esteem deep down. Gosh, I hope they don't turn her character into an abused woman.

I think it was pretty well-established that he did not actually kill his ex-wife, right? She committed suicide and framed him at the same time.

And I still love Bates, but it sucks that all this crap has happened to him and Anna.

We were lead to believe that is what happened, the framed suicide. But, everyone seems so sure he would kill the rapist and I think that is because they really believe he killed his wife.

Anna even believes that he's capable of murder, reason she was afraid to tell him about the rape. She even went so far as to sit next to her rapist a few times during servant tea time. Interesting that Bates picked up bad vibes about the rapist from the start when no one else did.

While it was established that Vera Bates may have framed him, he sure was capable of threatening and killing his cellmate. I totally believed that he could have killed him and never doubted that he killed Vera. Not sure why this side of his personality was revealed back then if not to be used as foreshadowing. In episode one, this season Bates secretly forges Mosesly's signature on some doc (being helpful to give him money) which I thought was sort of sketchy and saying something about his character, the quiet forger.

Season five may reveal Bates for who/what he is, I fear that Anna will suffer. I didn't feel any sense of conflict when thinking of him as a cold-blooded murderer vs. a loving, gallant husband revenging his wife's rape.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OK -- so what does Thomas have over Baxter?

I think she is related to him -- possibly his mother?

My thought, too. She's his mum.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I loved the clothes, too, although when Mary is wearing a really pale dress with short sleeves I can't tell where her arms end and the sleeves begin. At one point I thought she was wearing long white gloves but it turned out to be her ghostly arms.

Ha I thought the same thing - those short white gloves - I couldn't tell they were short at first.

I thought the color gray was so beautiful on Mary. Not sure which I loved more-- the one she wore to tea with Lord G in London that had the stripes of different shades of gray around the neckline or that ethereal one with the dots and pearls she wore to the bazaar. Thank God she's moving away from the constant purple. I've hated in general and on her.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Whatever happened to the man with the messed up face that came to the Abbey and claimed he was the cousin-heir they thought drowned at sea?

Pretty sure he was exposed as a fraud and sent packing.

I keep expecting him to show up again, too. Edith believed him and was in love with him at one point (when he was engaged to Mary) - or, the person he claimed to be anyway. As I recall he just left unannounced one day, after he could deliver no "proof."