British actress Joanne Froggatt takes the title role in Angela Black, playing a former concert pianist who decides to fight back after suffering violence at the hands of her property developer husband
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Rachel - Longtime Downton Fan
My reaction to these episodes is the same as Lady Mary’s during the dress show: Yummy!
But it’s not just the excellent fashion (which it always is on
Downton Abbey, but a 1920s fashion show only heightens the sartorial appeal), it’s the intrigue. It’s the new loves, broken hearts, and a world that keeps on going into a new, uncertain future that various members of the household, both upstairs and down, either decide to embrace or resist.
Caption Mabel Lane Fox is not amused.
As far as broken hearts go, there are several to note in these episodes. Finally, Mary makes her choice and breaks it off with Lord Gillingham, but not before Charles Blake has his say about how to rectify the resulting drama by bringing Tony’s previous lover, Mabel Lane Fox, into the mix. As expected, Mabel and Mary get on like oil and water, but it sets the stage for next week’s horse racing episode. Unlike Lavinia in Season 2, Mabel is shar
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Rachel - Longtime Downton Fan
With the arrival of the pigs (permanently), the departure of Robert and Thomas (temporarily), an illness, a proposal, a pregnancy, a death, and a festival on Downton’s grounds, there’s no shortage of drama on
Downton Abbey as Season 4 ramps up to its dazzling finale in London. I find that Downton tends to do this often across its various seasons: adding more and more subplots until the final episodes of the season, where everything finally explodes in various heartbreaks, secrets, and reunions. And that’s why we keep watching, right?
Despite all of that, I’ve come to appreciate how much ‘real history’ comes into the plots of these episodes. And in this case, it’s the Teapot Dome scandal. Admittedly, it was a part of American history that was left out in my history classes but I enjoy learning about it now. I’m not sure if I would have looked it up on my own without a cultural touchstone to liken it to, but it helps
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Rachel - Longtime Downton Fan
First, if Kirk doesn’t choose the line “A part of history Mr. Carson doesn’t agree with” as the tagline of this week’s blog, I’ll be shocked.
And second, I think the most prominent feeling I get while watching these Season 4 episodes of
Downton Abbey is relief. From the first time I saw these episodes to the many, many times I’ve rewatched them, I just feel relief for so many reasons. It’s not quite the warm bowl of macaroni and cheese for me that interviews during our pledge breaks reference, but I don’t feel constantly on edge as my heart, for the past few episodes at least, has been with Anna.
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Just as things have begun to settle into a ‘New Normal’ on
Downton Abbey, Julian Fellowes escalates the drama and plotlines that will continue throughout Season 4! Out of all the episodes this season, these are the ones that tend to go by in a blink of an eye for me (at least until the holiday special in London, which is a treat in and of itself). In some ways, the show has returned to its roots: house parties, romantic liaisons, and pressing the barriers of socially accepted norms. Nevertheless, the show doesn’t shy away in giving us moments that shock and surprise us among the comforts we’ve come to expect from