I've only vague memories of Mary with Mabel but there was a certain rivalry that … iirc … was followed by a recognition that Mabel was "twice the woman" she was — genuinely in love with Tony, willing to forgive him (without shaming him) and take him back whole-heartedly. No, Mary could / would never do that.

It was pretty callous, particularly since she was the beneficiary of Matthew's apparent "miracle" recovery from his war wound … and Lavinia's oh-so-convenient death … Matthew's death was just an every-day bad-luck v. bad-driving motor vehicle accident. It was also odd, because she seemed to suggest "I'm not one of…

I feel badly because although I rather enjoyed last episode, this one had me gritting my teeth… so much unnecessary and out of character loss of dignity for so many … There's no way — given Downton's financial crisis — that Mary and Cora would not have an up-to-date appreciation of the valuables they owned and had on…

Yes, she was guilt tripping someone that the Crawley's owed William (her husband) and by extension Mr. Mason for saving Matthew from certain death by throwing himself over Matthew and taking the blast effect/reverberation (that killed him) …
As if William made a conscious choice or Mr. Mason would want to collect on…

I would have loved to have seen Daisy sobbing and beside herself with anxiety … rather than angry whining … has anyone in this ever wept? Even Mary, even Edith, even Cora, even Isobel …I think Tom wept at Sybil's death … but these actors are really not given enough to work with, has driven me crazy for years.
Show…

most of them have an extraordinary lack of interest in anything …

I had to remind myself what Baxter's position was … I couldn't remember … I could only remember her downstairs sewing or at meals.

Not recognizing Gwen contradicts the family's paternalistic fantasy of being caretakers and guardians of their staff …
and Thomas should have been severe reprimanded for his rudeness (overfamilarity) to a guest (possibly Anna as well my memory is fuzzy).
Gwen's reticence is "renewing old acquaintance" was multifold ……

You're right. Actually I recall both Daisy and Mrs. Patmore as borderline slow or stupid in the early seasons … Mrs. Patmore ill-tempered and mule-like. Mrs. Patmore was a very reluctant surrogate, but the only person around, forced to raise the child as she trained her, willingly or not.
Note, I remembered Mrs.…

Daisy is unfortunately reminding us of her endless refusing to marry William Mason and then her refusal to accept his widow's pension and her see-saw early guilty guilty guilty relationship with Mr. Mason … and finally Mrs. Patmore's endless lobbying for her brother's inclusion on the war memorial … JF's greatest hits…

She's been "mouthing off" forever now … which has always struck me as something that should/would have been nipped in the bud, considering how Carson would react if he heard/witnessed such talk … and she's loud … so other people would have heard and been moved to ask Patmore to stop her …
It's like Thomas' stealing ……

It strikes me as very odd — and out of character — that Mrs. Patmore, Daisy's mentor and surrogate mother, allows her to go-off like that since, I would imagine, Daisy's bad behavior would reflect on her. Daisy entered service as a scullery maid very young woman, older than 10 but not by much — as Mrs. Patmore's…

I'd forgotten that was the set-up for her moment with Blake … I loved that Henry was rather non-plussed by the news of her career. She so wanted to join the club and be admired for her thoroughly modern and independent ways.

Virtually every character downstairs remains employed at Downton out of the kindhearted open-mindedness of the Crawleys … Certainly Thomas many times over, cripple and murder suspect Bates, murder suspect and rape victim Anna, former vaudvillian Carson, jewel thief Baxter, etc. Mrs. Patmore can only see today because…

Socialism took off after WWI as an alternative to Communism … The downtrodden masses were very angry at their losses in yet another imperial war and the peace treaty (so often reviled as "causing" WWII), regardless represented the end of the great empires and monarchies …
A lot of the cradle-to-grave safety net still…

Mary looked shocked that Henry was not caught up by her force field … instead he chose to talk to Tom … she looked dismayed … were her powers failing her?

Mr. Mason is given tenancy of Yew Tree Farm, having been displaced by his last landlord wanting to farm his old farm themselves, despite Downton's original plan to do the same. He celebrates the security of knowing where he will "lay his bones" … obvious unaware that this was achieved — against Robert's "better…

It occurred to me that Mary being estate agent may make "the neighbors" and other wonder just how poor Downton has become that they cannot afford an estate agent.
I'm pretty sure Robert was never "estate agent" — he primarily was only allowed to mismanage the investments … there was an estate agent that,IIRC, Matthew…

seriously. He's another "what do you do all day?" character … Had we actually seen Baxter laying out Cora's clothes and dressing her? A few weeks ago I was startled to be reminded she was "Cora's lady's maid" … she seemed to be the house seamstress. who had considerably more free time to be downstairs than Anna…

I laughed when Mary told Henry she was a career woman too … having suddenly warmed to the idea after Gwen, Sybil, Edith, Isabel, Robert, Cora and Rosamund expressing such positive regard for women who work … I'm not doubting her devotion to managing Downton for George, but I'm fairly doubtful wrt what she actually…