<p>I am in Florida on vacation, staying in a very nice beachfront hotel with ocean view and two TVs, but alas, fellow Downtonians, this hotel does not have PBS!!! Can you believe it? I was looking forward to room service dinner, rewatching last week’s episode, and watching the Christmas special. Most unsatisfactory. </p>
<p>I read in the local paper re the 60 Minutes interview with Maggie Smith: she has never watched Downton herself as she feels she would be too critical of her performance.</p>
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They did … but I didn’t realize the Twenties roared that much in Britian. No Prohibition to fuel the sense of naughtiness.</p>
<p>Murder must Advertise- Dorothy Sayers published in 1933.
It had fairly wild descriptions of socialite/coke heads.</p>
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<p>Google Books to the rescue! There are at least some uses of the phrase “bright young things” in print by 1921 to refer to privileged youth, though the phrase becomes much more popular by the end of the 1920s.</p>
<p>simpkin: Thomas and O’Brien are enemies now because O’Brien wanted Thomas to help her nephew, the new footman, as he learned his job, and he refused. She also seems to gradually have realized what an evil creep Thomas is, and so turned against him.</p>
<p>Did that really just happen? Why??</p>
<p>Yep, that’s the horrible spoiler that just happened!
Stupid writers.</p>
<p>Well, I’m gobsmacked!</p>
<p>Oh how could they!!!</p>
<p>What a TERRIBLE ending. Lost my favorite character, well maybe, one of my favorites. I’m in shock.</p>
<p>Seriously?</p>
<p>Noooooo! One minute I’m teary watching Mary and Mathew and the new baby, then…NO!</p>
<p>So the Grantham family boarded the train to Hogwarts… And Dumbledore died again. </p>
<p>D@@@ it.</p>
<p>Dan Stevens wanted out of the series to do other things, so they had to write him out.</p>
<p>Ack. I had read that he wasn’t coming back for another season. Wondering how that was going to be handled.</p>
<p>I was worried it was going to be the baby…did not like this twist.</p>
<p>Yes, Booklady, that’s what I read, too. Blame the actor, but seriously, must we have a death after every child is born?</p>
<p>I just hated the lastscene, with one of my fav characters.</p>
<p>Bookiemom, where in FL are you? I have episodes taped and would be glad to share.</p>
<p>AND they had the nerve to call it a two-hour episode when they actually saved 35 minutes for a pledge drive. Grrrr.</p>
<p>Does this portend a hook-up between Mary and Branson?</p>
<p>I had made the mistake of trying to find the reason why Dan Stevens was leaving Downton and accidentally came across the spoiler. Unfortunately, I had also learned about Lady Sybil ahead of time. No more google for me.</p>