Agreed. That bloody cancer scare had better stay far, far away.

I love that, because it reminds me that, for all Fellowes's favouritism towards Mary, he allows one clearly sympathetic, likeable character to not fawn over her.

A LOT of love for Rob James-Collier. Sweet, desperate, dignified, resigned, hunted, and looking matinee-idol fabulous while doing it all.

I loathed Helena Bonham Carter Knockoff Rose. The last two episodes of this series, and we were asked to invest in the tribulations of a brand new character. Who was nabbing Edith's saucy Jazz Age plotlines. Edith was supposed to be snorting cocaine off the shapely backside of androgynous Bloomsbury Group holdovers.…

@avclub-0840875a9da6f24c4e0fc883b399d93a:disqus , those were prophetic words……

@avclub-5bbc67c39fbdf1c74e28b86c595f6e4a:disqus , ah yes, that's true. I meant that his reaction was more on the lines of "No, no, don't put the moves on me, you absurd little plebeian. But you CAN make yourself useful to me in…. OTHER ways", rather than "WHAT THE DEUCE?!"

PlebGate? As in Andrew Mitchell? This sounds juicy.

I've always loved Mrs. Patmore, and that line made the episode for me. And for the record, Mrs. Patmore, you look very much like a frolicker to me.

I have a perverse fascination with watching Mary's take on motherhood. She reminds me of the Dowager Countess in lots of ways (the casual entitlement, the stubbornness, the force of character), so would her mothering be similar? Would a son of Mary be anything like Robert?

I mean, in fairness, who WOULDN'T try to snog Kamal Pamuk? Who, if I recall, took Thomas's overtures very much in stride.

I wouldn't generalise, but I think that Hindus aren't always comfortable with naming a child after a fairly recently deceased relative. With Lord Grantham, I assume that he doesn't want to name his granddaughter after his youngest daughter who died after giving birth to her.
Or he's being a harrurmphing fool.

@avclub-d72f705337e5adcf7e33ec0381c5f5b2:disqus , terrific, thoughtful posts. I think a lot of Britain's current ruling elite (even among the LibDems and Labour) tends to be career politicians (i.e. something in the Oxford Union, then straight into politics without any stint in industry/academia/the armed forces) in a…

@avclub-c65a46c16b70bf886e62e791cd4a80b3:disqus , You may think that. You may very well think that. I couldn't possibly comment.

I'd call "The Ladykillers" mystifying and ill-conceived rather than rote or formulaic, myself.
Can't agree about "A Serious Man"- a gorgeous, wry, elegiac film.

What a delightful and imaginative troll.

Branson is loathsome and vile and must die horribly. Even the new footman is such an underwhelming little squirt. After almost three seasons of (onscreen) celibacy, I demand something extraordinary for fabulous Thomas.

@LurkyMcLurkerson:disqus , I think that it's possible to think of Ethel "That was a stupid, stupid thing you did" and also think that Isobel's right to want to help her. I also think that Isobel dismissed her servant's concerns, but I can think that AND think that Isobel was right to want to help Ethel. I can say that…

(wriggles) As I say, I agree in principle, but in this case we may need to agree to disagree.
(thinks) put it this way: If I'm operating in a scenario in which, subject to his consent, I am not allowed by de jure or de facto law to choose my own sexual partner, then I am operating in a universe in which "choice" for…

Sure. As I say, I read it differently, which doesn't mean that I thought Isobel did the wrong thing.

Hmmmm. I'm not sure about that comparison, but before I get into that I'll quickly point out that my original comment was in response to the Mary/Ethel comparison, rather than whether Isobel's action was the correct one (I think it was). There's a CHANCE that we're arguing about something on which we basically agree.…