Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Downton Abbey Season 3 Episode 5




Jill: Cora is blaming Lord Grantham's snobbery for Sybil's death. She has separated herself emotionally and physically from Lord Grantham.

Martha: But the Lady Dowager introduces her own brand of marriage counseling. This crisis again shows the importance of appearances to the aristocratic class. According to Violet, "People like us are never unhappily married.".  The Dowager talks to Dr. Clarkson and suggests that he has created a division between Robert and Cora; her intervention involves Dr. Clarkson essentially lying about the consequences of failing to act when he recognized Sybil's serious condition.

Jill: Ethel asks Mrs. Pattmore for help to prepare a luncheon for the Downton ladies. This flies directly in the face of Mr. Carson's directive to go to Crawley house or have anything related to the "fallen woman". Mr. Carson sees her leaving the house and proceeds to tell Lord Grantham about he invitation. It is his duty to ensure that the family's good name is not dragged through the mire.

Martha: When Lord Grantham slams in and demands that the women leave, Cora, choosing to stay as part of her passive-aggressive behavior in regards to Sybil's death  failed to budge and even Violet suggested "that they must not waste a good pudding."

Jill: There seems to be a tribal war going on at this point. Lord Grantham says " that a Crawley has not been a left-footer since the Reformation". Lord Grantham says that the baby must be baptized into his "tribe", meaning she must be Protestant". Tom says "no she'll be baptized in my tribe, I 'm her father, I'm Catholic and she will be Catholic". Mary steps into the fray and supports Tom by saying" Sybil wished the baby to be Catholic". This defuses Lord Grantham's argument immediately, then and there.

Martha: We are starting to see changes in the attitude of the Downstairs When. Mrs. Pattmore admonishes Ivy for wearing make-up, Ivy replies in a smart way, "It's not like the old days, all the girls do it now."Earlier, when Carson complained that mothers used to train servants how to act, Mrs. Hughes suggested that "perhaps their mothers don't want them [their children] in service". To which the very class conscious Carson replies, "What are they supposed to do? Become bankers and lawyers" Mrs. Hughes volleys back,"maybe so, what's wrong with that?" Carson is a traditionalist and Mrs. Hughes a realist. Carson  believes in the old and finds change unnecessary. Mrs. Hughes sees times are changing and so they too must change.

Jill: The changes Upstairs include Matthew and Tom's belief that Downton has been badly managed. Lord Grantham is threatened by the changes that must take place. Mary steps up to bat for Matthew by basically dressing down Lord Grantham. "You are always upset when the world is not going your way."


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