<p>It’s an interesting show.</p>
<p>I think that people are fascinated by portrayals of aristocratic life, especially that from a bygone era. That’s partly why I suspect that Cameron’s 1997 Titanic enjoyed so much commercial success.</p>
<p>I think Martha is amping it up for the Crawleys benefit.
She sees it as her duty, and her money gives her that power.
I thought Branson was over the top, having had to spend several holidays over the past three decades with a family where the patriarch is an alcoholic and everyone spends a great deal of time & energy tipeetoeing around anything that could set him off.
However, there is nothing wrong with having strong feelings and not wanting to live as a hypocrite.
Besides, wasnt Branson drugged?</p>
<p>FYI, don’t look up the Downton episodes on Wikipedia. This season already ran in the UK so they’re summarized.</p>
<p>It’s an interesting show.</p>
<p>I think that people are fascinated by portrayals of aristocratic life, especially that from a bygone era. That’s partly why I suspect that Cameron’s 1997 Titanic enjoyed so much commercial success. >>>>>>>>>></p>
<p>This!
Titantic. My gosh, people fell all over themselves poo-pooing it while completely disregarding the fact that James Cameron was fanatical about every detail in that movie. My gosh, I felt like I was there. Same with this series. I love the background, the house, the grounds, the costumes. ::::::::swoon:::::::</p>
<p>I think we all secretly fantasize about be one of the aristocrats. I know I do. Wouldn’t it be fun to try that life style even for a day. I also know I wouldn’t have wanted Daisy’s job even for an hour.</p>
<p>Spoiler alert:</p>
<p>Poor Edith :(</p>
<p>I’m on the west coast, so I have to wait two more hours. But now you have me really curious!</p>
<p>If anyone is interested in learning more what life was like for women during and immediately after WW1 they might want to read Vera Brittain’s autobiography Testament of Youth. She’s more upper middle than upper class and was educated at Oxford with a break while she served as nurse during the war. It’s a wonderful and heartbreaking book as she lost virtually all her pre-war friends.</p>
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<p>Not really. Personally, one reason why I enjoy watching such shows other than my love of history and beautiful scenery is to watch folks like Branson give the aristocratic family a peace of his mind. </p>
<p>Too bad he’s too polite to gather a group of lower-class friends to stage a party crashing where in addition to going off with Sybill, he and his friends take off with all the food and having fun tossing the rest of the aristocratic family up into the air for a few hours for thrills before the British Territorial Army shows up to break up the festivities. :D</p>
<p>Kinda like the kinder gentler version of this: [Horrible</a> Histories - Literally: The Viking Song - YouTube](<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qSkaAwKMD4]Horrible”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qSkaAwKMD4)</p>
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<p>My date and other women in the theater were giving me each of their respective male dates at the theater glares of death and worse for our silly behaviors ranging from singing “In The Navy”, cheering on the iceberg to sink the ship at the moment the ship hits the iceberg, making sinking noises, and singing the US Navy’s “Anchors Aweigh” song right when the watch spotted the iceberg. </p>
<p>The last was started by a few Navy cadets and many other males including yours truly joined in the chorus. :D</p>
<p>Well, just finished watching tonite’s episode and all I can say is…
I saw that coming. (and I’m NOT very intuitive)</p>
<p>musicmom - I DID NOT see that coming; I seriously thought they were moving story lines along pretty quickly, though.</p>
<p>I knew there was no way that wedding was coming off (the fact that we were seeing more of the ceremony than we did of Mary and Matthew’s telegraphed that something was up), but thought it would end with the groom clutching his chest and falling down dead–which would at least have been less humiliating for Edith.</p>
<p>I thought the “small” (only needing 8 servants!) manse the family would have to move to if the Abbey were sold had far more charm than the big house, which always strikes me as chilly and institutional.</p>
<p>Both Mary and Matthew were major pills this episode–she’s a greedy *****, he’s a self righteous prig. I don’t know why Fellowes is allowing his key players to become so unlikeable.</p>
<p>On the subject of silly plot lines, so Tom Branson has an indefinite leave of absence from his job that permits him to stay on for the second wedding? How will he pay the rent on their home?</p>
<p>Well, I’ll admit that I’m with teriwtt. I never saw that coming.</p>
<p>I knew something was going to happen at the altar, but I too thought it would be that he would drop dead. Poor Edith. Now she will be the martyr spinster.</p>
<p>I’m thinking Edith will find her calling, maybe by working with the woman who helps wayward girls.</p>
<p>Fun episode. I’m back to loving this show.</p>
<p>This season is my first season of Downton, so I’m still a newbie.</p>
<p>But I absolutely love the actress who plays Edith. She is perfectly cast – just unattractive enough to be believable as “the sister who never married.”</p>
<p>Maybe I had my stupid hat on, but I didn’t see poor Edith getting stood up like that. Sir Anthony is a cowardly moron.</p>
<p>Is it wrong of me to hope that Edith finds a calling AND true love? Her comment about not watning to see her sisters because they were both married and probably both pregnant was sad.</p>
<p>Poor, poor Edith. All I can think of to say!</p>
<p>I’m enjoying reading your ‘conversations’ after each episode. It’s killing me not to chime in but once you’ve seen the entire season in two days everything blends together and I don’t trust myself not to slip something from a later episode. It’s my penance for watching ahead. :o Oh well, maybe next season I’ll have the patience to wait it out remembering I had to be an observer in the re-caps.</p>