I SO wish they would have gotten together!

I think the car race was a problem - a lot of time was spent on it, as if we cared if Mary's bf won or not. It seemed like a mishmash of scraps.

I sure hope we're done with car races - and horse races, for that matter. I also hope Mary and Matthew Goode stay broken up. He's just a 1920's Nascar driver.

YES! :)

I had been hoping Miss Cruikshank had benevolent intentions, but that scene between Violet and her was spectacular.

It was so poignant, too, when Carson and Mrs. Hughes were on the couch, and Thomas came in and asked, "Can anyone join?" His tone was so guileless and hopeful. It was almost as sad, to me, as when Carson told him to find a new gig.

He was surprised, sure, but he didn't hesitate before agreeing to it.

And then the whole "Coyle" thing hasn't been dropped yet. I can't help but love DA, but it's silly nonsense like that that makes me roll my eyes when PBS calls the series "legendary," or anything else so obsequious.

I've not read the book, but this description reminds me of the end of the movie, "Psycho."

Thinking back, I believe the issue was O'Brien thought she was going to be fired. Violet was looking for a new lady's maid, and Cora was helping her find one. O'Brien overheard conversations and made assumptions.

Ack! Please don't say spoiler-y stuff like that! :(

It doesn't seem quite wrapped up, but I think we've gotten all the pay-off we'll get from it.

Excellent! Mary as a cat is perfect, in so many ways…

I've always assumed she meant for Cora to fall, but wouldn't have wanted her to miscarry. (Like, she wanted Cora to suffer an indignity, but didn't think it would be that bad of a fall.)

Yes! You're right. And although she was a guilty pleasure, it was awful, the way she convinced Thomas that Jimmy liked him.

Well, there's that line EB says (in the Jennifer Ehle movie anyway) about wherever Lydia leads, Kitty follows. So, there is a certain logic to mixing them up! :)

I adored this book! A bevy of imitators followed it, but failed. I remember I did buy a full-price hardback copy of The Edge of Reason, which *almost* ruined my Bridget relationship. I mean, $27. Dude.

I actually did yell out (not to my credit), "Shut up, bitch!" when Mr. Mason came in with the vegetables. Daisy, like Thomas, also gets inconsistent treatment by Fellowes. She shows growth when needed, but regresses when the plot demands it. (This inconsistency happens in real life all the time, of course. But, it's…

It was weird Violet didn't say something to the little dude, as they passed in the hallway. Maybe she did. I just assumed she'd be so not-okay with his (innocuous) trespass we'd at least hear a reaction.

Thomas? Is that you?