Jill: I felt this episode was all about change and it foreshadowed that bigger changes were coming. We have a change for Anna and Bates; they are getting mail and soon they will be able to see each other again. We have new, handsome footman, James Kent. The seemingly innocent electric toaster is a big change, Carson does not care for it in the least bit. Edith gets a letter published in the newspaper about women's rights.
Martha: I feel much the same way. With the revolution occurring in Ireland, major changes will occur in the British Empire. This of course has a major impact upon Tom, Sybil and the rest of the family. The larger social changes that are occurring after the Great War are starting to make cracks in the traditional British society. The attitudes of working class men who fought in the Great War as well as the rising sentiment of women that they must experience more freedom are evidence of this change.
Jill: With the Irish issue moldering, Lord Grantham talks of Irish Catholics as there being something "Johnny foreigner" about them. Tom then has three strikes against him in Lord Grantham's eyes; he is a chauffeur, Irish, and a Catholic. When the deal to save Tom is cut, he strips Tom of his homeland. To me, this will be a point of friction between Tom and Lord Grantham until something bigger brings them together.
Martha: Related to the Irish situation, Lord Grantham says "what a harsh world you live in". To which Tom replies, "we all live in a harsh world, but at least I know I do". In finding that Tom was implicated in the fire of the Anglo-Irish castle, Mary could not fathom that Tom would be involved in doing something of a violent nature to " a family like ours". The family went on about the beautiful castle that was burned; Tom suggested that while the "castle" meant one thing to them, it meant something very different to him.This episode brought out how very different the views of the world are of the dominant class and those who feel oppressed by it. ( Except for the Dowager who said, " that is the best thing that could happen to that place, it was hideous.")
Jill: I think this episode is just the beginning of many changes that will be coming to Downtown Abbey as well as the United Kingdom.
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