I am sure that Marigold is not the only child in their social circle who was being raised under less than truthful circumstances.
Edith is a redhead. Rosamund is a redhead. I’ve wondered whether “Aunt” Rosamund is really Edith’s mother. It would explain why Cora and Robert treat her so badly.
I was wondering that back when Edith revealed her secret to Rosamund. Didn’t Rosamund imply that she also had some secret which made her uniquely able to understand Edith’s situation? I’d have to go back and rewatch, but something about her response to Edith made me think she might be her mother.
I don’t think that Cora and Robert treat Edith poorly, particularly since Cora rallied round Edith no questions asked when she learned the truth. Perhaps indifferently, but no worse than Sybil. I think that they were typical of the times where males got more attention than females and in their family, due to the absence of a male, Mary has sucked all the air out of the room for her entire life.
Sometimes it seems the warm and fuzzy relationships are found more among the downstairs folks. For example, Mrs. Pattimore has become like a mother to Daisy and I think there is a same type of material treatment for Anna from Mrs. Hughes.
It was probably challenging to meet our standard maternal/paternal and warm & fuzzy for the upper classes back then. They were raised by nannies and governesses themselves, so they lack any role models for being engaged and affectionate parents. Cora and Robert’s benevolent indifference seems fairly evenly applied to all their daughters, with Mary getting a little more attention as the oldest/wealthiest/more domineering personality.
And Mary is also Matthew’s heir, so she will own the estate when LG passes on. So she gets attention because she helps manage it.
No she won’t; George will. But that is the reason she gets a bit more attention.
Loved the treatment of Isis’ impending death. Beautiful way to end the episode. I have an old retriever and it really got me. I wish Edith had stayed in London with Marigold. She has her own money and business now. Time to have a life of her own with her child. I don’t expect Mrs. Crawley to marry Lord M. She belongs with the doctor. But those snobbish sons of Lord M! Poor man, but he needs to stand up to them, threaten to disinherit or something.
@toledo – 
I’m so sorry about your dog. I know how tough that is.
About Rosemund…I now want to go back and watch the scene where Cora says “I am her mother” to see if there is a knowing look bc Cora took Edith for Rosemund.
I have a hunch the elder of Lord Merton’s sons is gay. It would be interesting to see him take up with Thomas.
Marigold is far better off being raised in the family home. Toms kid will soon be gone. Lots of nannies and tutors. And Edith I’ll be happy. All pluses. Thanks to Cora.
I feel more for Isis, hoping there were babies to come.
I know Edith said she wanted her child raised English, but it would be great fun if she and Tom took off for Boston together, with their children. Not as a romantic couple, but as brother/sister types, getting a house together and raising the cousins together.
No way. Nothing between Edith and Tom
Edith is the most traditional of the sisters.
Well that’s what I said – “not as a romantic couple.” But Edith needs to get out of Mary’s shadow, and Mary is always going to be hanging around Downton even if she doesn’t live there (her son is the heir, after all). If she and Tom go to Boston with their kids, they will be able to each start new lives, with the support of family - - each other in a sibling role.
Edith can still go back to London part time to run the magazine. Having Marigold installed in the Downton nursery will give her more time and energy to strike out some
Has it ever been explained exactly who was running the magazine/newspaper/whatever while Edith has been pregnant, running off to Switzerland and having a baby, coming home to angst over said baby, returning to Switzerland to take back baby, sticking the farmer & wife with baby while she stalks them daily? I don’t think it’s been addressed but it certainly can’t have been Edith. What on earth does she know about running a publication anyway? She used to send columns in via post to be published and would come to London to skulk about with Gregson when she wasn’t inviting him to come up to Scotland to visit her and the family.
If she had been shown at his side while he was working, learning the business and running some part of it, the notion of her going off to London to manage it might be somewhat believable. Since they didn’t, it’s just one more silly plot detour that doesn’t make any sense and would never have been possible. At the very least, she’d have to hire someone to manage it for her.
Are we supposed to forget that Gregson has a living wife? I imagine that her family or lawyers might have something to say about Edith inheriting the publishing empire, even if she is mentally incompetent.
I thought JF was really stretching things in having Matthew inherit Reggie Squire’s fortune but at least he wrote in two prior heirs having to (improbably) die before the money came to Matthew. The whole situation with Edith “running” a publishing empire is crazy; she wouldn’t last 10 minutes.
I love the idea of modern, working, Edith being in London with Marigold at Downton or back and forth with Mummy. Edith could find another publishing man to admire and soon there will be more war refugees and many of them will be children.
Unlike snobby Lord Merton’s son’s prejudice, her having an adopted child will be a good test of whether a man is a good mate or not. It will separate the wheat from the chaff right away.
3430--LOVE IT!!!
I just hope there is some big twist to the dead Mr. Green, like it was a hit hired by all the maids he had raped during his visits around the country with Tony looking for a rich wife. We’ve had to put up with the plot through two seasons and I don’t want them now to just say ‘Oh, sorry, it really was an accident. Never mind.’