Still not feeling the chemistry between Mary and Henry, but they tried hard to emphasize chemistry in this last show.
Not sure exactly how many ‘used’ cars are around during that era in a small town. Guessing that the stigma of ‘used car salesman’ probably was not prevalent yet
The part that was unbelievable was Anna staying in Mary’s bedroom. Her water broke… she had plenty of time to get to the servant’s quarters (her or Bate’s old room) or her cottage. All I could think was ‘that’s really going to mess up Mary’s bed’ and ‘where are Mary and Henry supposed to stay now’??
Love love love that Isobel and Violet went and got Lord Merton. I hope that he keeps his ‘money’ (whatever that might be) and the son and daughter in law are left trying to take care of that big house on their own dime. It would have been even more delicious if they had thrown them out of the estate.
“And (2) Mary’s acceptance of the car mechanic shop / car salesman idea. There’s no way in hell someone in Mary’s position would accept that, and Mary’s snobbier than the average aristocrat.”
I agree. Just a few years earlier haughty Mary could barely lower herself to marry an attorney. And now she’s fine with her new husband becoming a used car salesman? That’s a transformation on Mary’s part as huge and unlikely as Barrow’s.
Pernicious anemia - FYI: today we would call it vitamin B-12 deficiency, and it can be easily treated with a cheap bottle of tablets from Walmart. Left untreated it is indeed often fatal. Back in the 1920s vitamin B-12 (and most other vitamins) had not yet been discovered, although pernicious anemia had been successfully treated by having patients eat a lot of liver or liver extracts - a treatment many patients refused due to the revolting taste.
The question I was left wondering is what is the cause of Lord Merton’s iron deficiency anemia? The usual causes these days are excessive menstrual blood loss, a strict vegan diet, or internal bleeding - usually in the digestive tract from things such as an ulcer, Crohn’s, or colon cancer,
Of course it was all contrived! Some aspects of the story more so than others, but the entire show is not unlike many, many books beloved by millions. I guess I can’t get too worked up about such stuff. I will say, however, that Fellowes should have started showing Barrow’s good side earlier than just this season.
I, too, LOVED Dickie’s rescue – and how he told his son he “loves him, but doesn’t particularly like him.” And speaking of “getting a spine,” I also loved how Bertie stood up to his mother, since initially it seemed as if he never would. I found Daisy as irritating as ever, but I guess she and Andy will sort things out. And one final observation/question – why on earth does the Dowager keep Denker around?
did anyone secretly hope that it would be discovered that Dickie’s DIL and son were poisoning him and that was the reason for the “anemia”? I so wanted to see one or both of them hauled off by Officer What’s his name that has been coming around Downton for years…
The only surprise for me was Daisy’s haircut which was a HUGE improvement, although I was really getting fed up with her silly b****yness to Andy. I still say she’s too old now to be that stupid.
I enjoyed Isobel and Dicky getting back together but am disappointed that they essentially gave his horrible DIL and son exactly what they wanted; full possession of the house without the bother of having him around. Oh well.
I agree that was silly but OTOH it gave Mary an excuse to miss all the excitement and toasts surrounding Edith and Bertie’s departure so she would be fine with it (She and Henry can use Edith’s old room,LOL)
@CBBBlinker , to me, that was the biggest contrivance of them all. Once Denker had blown up at the good doctor, it would have been impossible for the Dowager to have kept her on, no matter what Spratt said in her defense. One thing that the Dowager would have insisted on is discretion - servants do not talk about such things to others. And she was worse than O’Brien (particularly because she wasn’t even very good at it).
I loved Violet and Isabel rescuing Dickie, but would have loved seeing even more the Dowager steamrolling the DIL to get into the hall itself. No way would she have been left on the stoop!
And my favorite line of the episode:
Rosamond: Why are the English the way we are?
Dowager: Some say it’s our history. I blame the weather.
Dr. Clarkson would have had to remove the cervical stitch in order for Anna to have given birth. If that was done, it was left out of the story.
Remember Spratt’s nephew the escaped convict? That little bit of story was just put in and then forgotten.
Bertie didn’t have the cojones to invite Edith to dinner, but Mary somehow knew he wanted to get back together with Edith?
I thought Bertie’s mother’s change of heart was a little too quick. Fellowes should have had her say something like “Well, at least we know Edith is very fertile to continue the line”. Snippy and self-interested and more likely what Bertie’s mother would have been thinking.
I’ve been a skeptic this season but did enjoy the finale. I’m a sucker for happy endings.
I thought Barrows should have been fired EONS ago but I did have a slight twinge of feeling sorry for him when he took the new job. That was just mind numbing. He will probably be a great butler and eager to get along with everybody after that job experience.
Sorry about Carson but loved how Mary considers him part of her family. He couldn’t continue forever.
Violet and Isobel “storming the castle” was great–far fetched but soul satisfying.
I suspect Violet keeps Denker around because she knows all and TELLS all. Her ears appear better than Violet’s.
The second she tells anything about Violet she’ll be gone.
By far my favorite moment was the dinner between Bertie and Edith. Never was an Edith fan but she definitely stood up for herself in a grand way. I was cheering, “Go Girl! Let him have it! He deserves every word!” She didn’t make it easy for him. And happier that Bertie stood up to mom. All is right wheith the world. Except that she can’t run a castle AND a newspaper. I’d let the castle go…time to downsize. The London flat is nice.
Car dealership. Well, Rolls Royce I guess was doing okay as Tom said . He alluded to manufacturing cars, not just selling them.
Anna in Mary’s bed–heck, Mary removed her shoes and threw her in the bed. After all the trouble of getting and staying pregnant Mary probably wanted to make sure the outcome was good. Anna was her friend not just her maid. And dragging Anna down stairs and out through the village during a big party going on downstairs wasn’t going to happen. Ever. The doctor, the family, her husband, herself–were at the party for the long haul. If she had thought a tad quicker she may have put Anna in a guest room.
thingamajig–Poisoning ran thhrough my mind but no episodes left to tie up ends. Guess the cop’s show contract ran out–but it would have been a much better plot line than all that Bates murder stuff which dragged on. I wanted to see her hauled off too.
But now does DIL get her original wish? Isobel marries old man to take him off her hands? Isn’t that what she wanted from the start? Now they own the house? Or does old man just change his will?
I read elsewhere, and I think this makes sense–the story line of Anna giving birth in Mary’s bed bookends the beginning of the story, when that guy dies in Mary’s bed. (also, Anna helps Mary the first time; Mary helps Anna the second time.) We can debate which was the most implausible of the two!
RenaissanceMom, we also did a Rabbies tour in Scotland. Loved it. We had a terrific guide.
I wasn’t crazy about how Carson was treated this year. Such a departure from previous seasons.
The cooking crew at my synagogue has decided that we will dress as Downton characters for Purim. This was after a coordinator of an event this weekend decided to put all the “help” at a separate table from everyone else because we couldn’t be relied upon to socialize with guests (because we were serving food, DUH!). I think we’ll bring cards to play at our table, too. I am going to be Baxter, since I am always sewing.
@TatinG The cervical stitch was my thinking of why they left Anna in Mary’s room instead of even moving her downstairs. And they mentioned calling Dr. Clarkson - at this point I’m not sure doctors attended every birth (more likely to be midwife ?). It was another case in the finale - which I liked BTW - where things were tied up very neatly, very quickly. After Bertie’s mothers long speech about morals, it seemed very easy to change her mind and bring her to Edith and Bertie’s side - just a nudge from Robert.
I kind of like Barrow’s ending. He got what he thought he always wanted, a position as butler in a traditional house, but he obviously hated it and was lonely. I think now that he is back at Downtown he recognizes that he had more of a family there and maybe that’s what he wanted all along (in fact all season kind of showed he realized he had more than he thought at downton and had blown it).
They hinted at romance for Tom and I’m in favor, but he didn’t seem to have much to do since he came back except to be the sensible one that all sides would listen to. I wish he had been given a little more edge.
Yes, if one has a cerclage, it should ideally be removed about two weeks prior to the due date. If it’s still in when active labor starts, that is the FIRST order of business. (I had it done twice. Was 4 cm and 90% effaced within four days of the stitch being removed – without a single contraction.)
^^I was thinking of that. I think at one point while preparing for wedding they mentioned she had another 10 days so maybe that was in the plan since I assumed once it was removed she would not be working since very likely to deliver very shortly. Or I have the timing wrong, since everything very compressed time wise.
I am going to be Baxter, since I am always sewing.