Well now, that's settled. That could have been the theme of episode 7 of Downton Abbey season 4. It seemed like everything was being neatly arranged, everywhere you looked. I felt like I was watching someone tidy up a room, putting everything away in drawers. Please tell me we're being set up for something more exciting in the season finale! Anyway, at least we have Edith's desperate situation to enjoy. SPOILER ALERT!
What's to be done about Edith's baby? Rosamond's to take Edith abroad to have the baby and give it up for adoption is ... classic. But that Violet, nothing gets past her. I love how she sniffed it out immediately even when Cora didn't suspect a thing. What is this family going to do when Violet dies? Who will take her place as Family Bullshit Detector and Fixer? My guess is Mary.
Anyway, of course Violet blesses the Swiss plan and offers to fund it. Must be nice! Poor Edith doesn't know any better than to be fretful and sad, but we've seen what happens to less fortunate unwed mothers around Downton -- coughprostitutioncough.
So much for Rose's plans to marry Jack Ross! Of course she's trying to get back at her parents, but I think there was probably some real affection there. I wonder how realistic it was for Mary to tell Ross she would have wanted them to marry if they lived "in a better world." Would a woman with that background really have been so open-minded? She did change her mind about Tom and Sybil.
I like what Mary later tells Rose: "If you're going to complicate your life do it for the right reasons." Great advice in any era.
Meanwhile, stuff is happening between Tom and Sarah Bunting. She's fiesty, drives a car, and teaches, so she's perfect for him. She just needs to let go of some of her class-based assumptions. "I don't believe in types," Tom tells her. "I believe in people."
In other news, Baxter and Moseley -- what do you think? One of the few things I didn't see coming. I think I like it, especially if Mosley continues to man up around Baxter. And then there's Alfred and Daisy -- think they stand a chance, now that they've made peace and Ivy's rejected him for the 100th time? Have to say, that basket of farmstead cheese, ham, bread, and ale should win him over.
And then there's Mary's heart. Who shall win it, Gillingham or Baker? I'm rooting for Blake, of course. Gillingham is way less interesting and is the kind of guy to get engaged for whatever reason, then break it off because he's carrying a torch for another woman. But now there's this icky business with Mary asking him to sack Green and then Green mysteriously dying.
But I think she'll be happier with Blake anyway. He challenges her more, they have better chemistry, and honestly, I just don't think she's that into Gillingham, even though he was willing to fire his valet just at her request.
Oh yeah! Green died. So Bates found a sly way to kill him without getting caught after all ... well, so far. I think a few people smell something about Bates' absence and the timing of Green's death.
Do you think Bates really will get away with killing Green? And who do you think Mary will end up with?
Image via Masterpiece Theater