Yeah, Branson said explicitly in season 1 that he had nothing against the Crawleys as people, and that he was only against the aristocracy as a system. He even claimed to admire Lord Grantham (though he said that to Sybil, whom he was trying to woo, so we can take that with a grain of salt.) Miss Bunting, on the other…

Except for Mrs. Patmore, the stories of the downstairs folk seem to be in a holding pattern this whole season. Molesley and Baxter are still having the same conversation they were having in the first episode. Daisy is still studying (good for her, though). Thomas is still being evil because his character description…

Can we just hang Bates now and get it over with? The man is so tedious that I want to slap him every time he's onscreen. I'm rewatching Season 1 of DA now, and it's really weird just how sympathetic he was back then. It's hard to reconcile that with the smug asshole he's become now.

Tom’s pause as he and Mary part on their way to bed is the stuff that ‘ships are launched on.

Ugh, yes, I was worried about that too. Hopefully that storyline has come to an end.

Cora seemed to think Edith was about 7 years old in that scene … didn't she even call her 'poppet'?!

I was horribly afraid that Tom might propose to Miss Bunting or something, just to keep her around. Thankfully, he just bid her a polite goodbye (not even a particularly passionate one) and turned his back. Way to go, Tom!

It's nice to see Daisy finally doing something proactive with her life. In the past couple of seasons, all she's done is sulk and crush on Alfred from afar.

I think the only reason Isobel is against the idea of marrying Merton is plot contrivance - she would have to move away from Downton to be with him, and of course, Fellowes can't let her leave.

Maybe Gillingham thinks that the mere threat of a scandal would be enough to manipulate Mary. Besides, does he know about the old Pamuk scandal? If not, then he wouldn't be aware that Mary's been through a worse scandal already.

But even then, there will be people claiming he didn't do it, that he was framed, or that all the Crawleys killed themselves and Bates was just tidying up.

But even Isobel, as tiresome as she could be in the early seasons, remained marginally likeable, because it was clear that her argumentativeness arose from her desire to be useful or to be fair. Miss Bunting is argumentative just because she likes to make other people (the aristocrats) look bad.

I agree. It's an amazing show - one of my all time favourites. It's such a pity the AV Club stopped reviewing it after the third season. The discussions in the comments threads were so much fun.

Nope - Molesley is now meant for Baxter. I admit that my fondness for Baxter has decreased after the revelation of her 'deep, dark secret', which was frankly far less exciting than the whole buildup towards it suggested. But she and Molesley are still so sweet together. Anna should find a nice handsome young chap, not…

I don't find her unlikeable as such, but definitely boring. I really wish Anna would get a chance to do something proactive rather than being a victim or doormat of others. Even in season 3, when she was investigating the murder of Bates's ex-wife, she was fun, though that entire storyline was terrible. We need that…

OMG, is that frumpy old Edith?!!!

Or at least, he would think he's going to be hanged, and skip town, and never be heard of again, leaving Anna to live her life in peace.

Now all we need is a Bezukhov and a Bolkonski.

So Violet's Russian is named 'Prince Kuragin'?! What is he, a character from War and Peace?

Please don't put words in my mouth. I don't find differing opinions insulting, and never said I did. All I said was that I find Miss Bunting's tendency to constantly disagree with her hosts rude - and the way she does it is as much to blame as what she says. She may be making the most valid point in the world (and I…