Downton Abbey fans, we have more season 4 spoilers -- nothing that will ruin any big surprises for us, just a few bites to whet our appetites for (SIGH) January. Season 4 throws us smack dab into 1922, the roaring '20s, and the Crawleys are keeping up. Is Edith's married editor still chasing her? How close do Tom and Lady Mary get? And what's this we hear about Thomas revealing to Lady Cora how that unfortunate miscarriage really happened?
1. Thomas may have spilled the soap story to Lady Cora. Maybe that's what finally pushes O'Brien out of the house? In case you've forgotten (how could anyone?), Cora's maid O'Brien deliberately placed a bar of soap on the floor, so when Cora left her bath, she slipped on it and had a miscarriage. Ooh O'Brien. So much guilt to carry around with you. Anyway, we don't know this for certain, but there are hints that Thomas tells Lady Cora about the soap incident.
2. Here are the new mens of Downton.Photos of Gary Carr as Jack Ross (possibly Rose's man-catnip) and Mary's two suitors, aristocrat Charles Blake (Julien Ovendon) and family friend Lord Anthony Gillingham (Tom Cullen), show the guys in all their period costume handsomeness. Ahem, if it's not too early, I'd like to declare myself Team Gillingham.
3. Lady Edith and her married boyfriend have an affair. Oh yes, that's still happening. Edith's newspaper editor paramour Mr. Gregson wants to become a German citizen so he can marry her. (I guess some explanation of German marital laws are in order because otherwise we'll have no choice but to conclude polygamy was legal in 1920s Germany.) "I'd become an Eskimo if it meant I could marry you," Gregson declares to Edith. Daww!
4. Lady Mary is totes depressed. Mary just wants to mourn the death of Matthew. (BTW, for Christ's sake, if you don't know by now that he dies in season 3, all I can say is, it must be lovely living on whatever planet you're on.) But Violet is determined to drag her back out into the land of the living. "It is our job to bring her back to the world," the Dowager Countess declares. And you know how determined she can be.
5. Isobel is mourning, too. There's a sweet scene with Mary, Tom, and Isobel (Matthew's mother) where they mourn their lost loves. "When your only child dies, then you're not a mother anymore. You're not anything, really," Isobel says. Her husband is dead as well. But then she turns the conversation and says, "Aren't we the lucky ones?" Lucky to have known such love.
6. Lady Mary and Tom Branson become BFFs. People, stop trying to make Mary-Loves-Tom happen! (Actually, I think that's coming more from tabloids than fans -- we know better, right?) Mary and Tom become closer in season 4, but not in a romantic way. At the Dowager Countesses' urging, Tom takes Mary under his wing so they can run Downton together. "They are very much friends and he is her brother-in-law, still. I think they become close because of what they’ve both been through," Michelle Dockery told Entertainment Tonight. Wonder Twin Powers, Activate!
7. Lady Rose drags Anna into her shenanigans. Our wild Rose desires to go clubbing in London. Who will chaperone her? Oh I know, Anna the maid! Sure, that won't put Anna in an awkward position with her employers at all ...
8. Carson gets bad news. It comes via the mail, which Mrs. Hughes snoops on. What is it? What is it? My guess is it's news that O'Brien is leaving Downton to work for Cousin Rose's family.
Here's the Downton cast, chatting but frustratingly not giving very much away about the next season.
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