<p>Sorry to go off on another tangent, but as another fan of Doc Martin & Downton Abbey, when D was home we had a Netfix marathon of Arrested Development. Don’t know where I was when this series originally aired, but we enjoyed all 53 episodes thoroughly.</p>
<p>Just watched it. Yes it has gone a little more soap but still loving it. I actually had a moment’s feeling for Thomas. And they’ve humanized O’Brien a little bit.
How many episodes must we wait for Mary and Matthew to get back together…and of course she still has to tell him about Mr. Pamook (sp.)…</p>
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<p>I approve of Arrested Development marathons. Beautiful ridiculous show right there. They are going to filming again (!!!) and doing a movie too in the next year or two. The cast is completely brilliant. </p>
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<p>Oh dear. Mary and Matthew are currently both with other people so doesn’t look like anytime soon. The Turkish man is just this little secret that half the house seems to know. That whole sequence may have been one of my favorite parts of the first season.</p>
<p>^ well she told her mother last season that she would have to tell him.
Clearly Lavinia and the newspaper guy are con artists…</p>
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<p>My memory is harsher than that. Matthew, who is the heir presumptive to the Earldom, was in love with Mary. Mary was going to marry him, but then when her mother Cora got pregnant (and Matthew could have been knocked out of the succession) Mary got cold feet. Matthew thought Mary was cold-bloodedly planning to marry him only for the title, * and he was right*. So he dumped her.</p>
<p>Cardinal Fang: Mary is in love with Matthew. Throughout the first season you notice it. She may have never said it out loud (not that I can think of). Just the glances during this first episode she can tell she has made a mistake.</p>
<p>I will admit that I’ve seen all of Series 2 and the Christmas Special so I should get off this thread. I know too much. </p>
<p>If you are doubting anything please keep watching. There are some bumps coming up (with WW1 in steady force) and some interesting moments. I am excited to see what everyone thinks.</p>
<p>My take was that Mary at first resisted Matthew because everyone was pushing them together for the sake of rescuing the family fortune and title. It made her look like a gold digger. But over time Mary softened and did grow to love Matthew for his own sake. </p>
<p>Mary got cold feet over accepting Matthew’s proposal not so much because her mother was coincidentally pregnant with a male heir (although the timing certainly made it appear that way to outside observers), but because her personal sense of right and wrong required her to first confess to Matthew her affair with Pamook – which she couldn’t bring herself to do for fear of his reaction and of ruining the whole thing.</p>
<p>So IMO Mary’s love for Matthew is genuine. And her unhappy situation is of her own making, on several levels. Hence we see her distraught over losing him at the end of season 1 and again in last night’s episode.</p>
<p>I liked the scene when Mary went to see Matthew off at the train station, standing there in that beautiful red suit. I think she is growing as a person and realizing that Matthew is the man she does truly love. I didn’t even think about her telling him about “blotting her copybook.” Whoa, that does put a different slant on things.</p>
<p>I see the Mary/Matthew thing the same as courier.</p>
<p>Yes coureur has summed it up well.
I hope they aren’t planning that Matthew is grievously injured or killed in France.</p>
<p>Excellent summaries- thanks! Very Helpful.</p>
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<p>Fret not. They would never kill off one of the main romantic characters. What could happen is this: because reports from the front were infrequent and unreliable, word comes to Downtown Abbey that Matthew has been gravely injured and is near death, which only crystallizes Mary’s feelings for him. </p>
<p>But it turns out there was a mix up in the battleside report, and Matthew is fine.</p>
<p>To be continued…</p>
<p>^^^ Class of 2015 why would you post that ?</p>
<p>^^simply responding to snowdog’s concern with a plausible dramatic extension of the current story line.</p>
<p>I don’t wish Matthew any harm.</p>
<p>Sorry, thought that was a spoiler, not a “plausible” suggestion.<br>
In their segment last night, NBC news mentioned that in England Season 2 has been broadcast, and they alluded to some big event in Season 2. mdemvizi- has seen Season 2! Thought you had, too.</p>
<p>Ok I hope that was not a spoiler classof2015. Let’s keep this thread spoiler free!</p>
<p>I just realized that I’m not shipping Mary/Matthew at all. In the end, he’s a rather dull man, and I can’t see Mary happy as the mistress of Downtown Abbey, popping out heirs, hosting hunting parties and managing the staff. I say marry Sir Richard, start a literary salon perhaps, and generally take London by storm!</p>
<p>I don’t think Matthew is dull, but I do agree that he and Mary are not a good match. I am <em>really</em> curious as to what’s up with Lavinia. It says in the episode guide that this Sunday “Lavinia and Sir Richards secret comes out”.</p>
<p>They look like brother and sister grifters to me (Lavinia and Richard). </p>
<p>I think Matthew is well cast. If he were a bit handsomer or more interesting, Mary would have been taken with him without knowing anything about him (like Mr. Pamook). As it is she is growing less shallow and self centered and learning about love. He’s a little dull but he’s a good man - that’s the point.</p>
<p>Mary and Pamuk-- rape? It sure looks to me like she never agreed to that incident, and he blackmailed her into acquiescing because if she screamed, she would be compromised and her life would be destroyed. What do you think?</p>