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Rachel - Longtime Downton Fan
As the popular Spider-Man quote goes, “With great power comes great responsibility.” Though as I rewatched last week’s episode of
Downton Abbey, that quote came to mind but with some Crawley-appropriate edits: “With great risks come great consequences.” Because that’s what unfolded last week both upstairs and downstairs ahead of World War I.
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Sybil, not yet living her best life.
If anyone is encouraging of others taking great risks, as well as her own ambitions, it’s Lady Sybil. Her interest in politics escalated in this episode as well as her determination to assist Gwen in finding a position as a secretary in order to leave her life as a housemaid behind. The latter is far more successful than the former (and each time I watch this episode, I still love the conversation Gwen shares with the representative from the telephone company when he insists his mother was a housemaid. She’s likely had no one think highly of the type of work she does and it gives her a sense of pride that carries through to the garden party), but the more I watch the By-Election count unfold, the more I feel like Sybil and Tom’s story becomes more of a vehicle to drive the Mary and Matthew plot along (more on this later!) and I find it a bit tiresome in that aspect.