Text From the Best Husband Ever, and a Few Thoughts on Downton Abbey
Posted: February 7, 2012 Filed under: family, Media, reviews, television, TV | Tags: Downton Abbey, Lady Mary, Maggie Smith, Mr. Bates, Patrick Crawley 4 CommentsSunday was the Super Bowl, so we DVR’d this week’s episode of Downton Abbey. Yesterday, Manfrengensen sent me this text:
Love you too. Can’t wait for downton abbey tonight! Maggie Smith is a luminary. I could watch her in a reading of wiki entries on bugs!Gotta say, that man, he’s all romance, baby. Really knows how to smooth-talk (or in this case, smooth-text) his lady. Manfrengensen didn’t watch Season 1, but he has quickly caught on for Season 2.
And of course, Maggie Smith is The Bomb.
I have greatly enjoyed the series in general. Season 2 has been compelling, but I have to wonder if it’s going to go Desperate Housewives on us, like it’s really just an Edwardian soap opera rather than the high-brow drama we believe it to be. Not that it’s not still absolutely delicious, but a few aspects of this week’s installment have me concerned. (And if you have yet 
to watch, Spoiler Alert.) (Or, if you are reading this from the UK, please do not confirm or deny my suspicions.)
1) The Burned Soldier – long lost cousin/true love of Lady Edith shows up claiming to be the heir, but how can this be proved when Patrick Crawley is supposed to have died on the Titanic? Why hasn’t he come forward earlier? Amnesia. Amnesia? Of course, it’s a real thing, lord knows people suffer amnesia all the time, but you have to admit, it’s also quite the convenient plot device.
Did you see this dress?? To die for.
2) Mrs. Bates is Dead – Mr. Bates has a curious cut on his temple. Will suspicion be cast upon him? Do I see a trial in his future to prove what has surely got to be the inevitable innocence of so empathetic (though still a little shady) a character? Perhaps, but I hope not.
3) Matthew is in a wheelchair – So noble, he won’t allow any woman near him out of his duty to their inevitable futures as breeders and loving spouses. He feels he has nothing to offer them without his body. Both Mary and Livinia love him desperately, but he’s dead inside…but wait…did he just feel something below the waist? We’ll just have to wait and see.
No matter, like many fans, I can’t wait for next week’s installment and am sure to suffer withdrawl when the season ends February 19th.
Fabulous costumes. How I wish we ladies still dressed like this.
egghead23's world 
Did Lord Grantham and that new maid (you know – the only one allowed to wear her hair somewhat down in the front for a side part) have some other sort of past? He took care of her son when she was leaving but there were some curiously-worded, awkward goodbyes. In my mind she wasn’t really a widow; In my opinion, I thought she just had the child with some guy and made up the story. I think it was easy to spot Livinia as a temporary character. After all, we knew as much about her as the dead colonel’s parents adotpting the baby from the Julia Roberts look alike maid.
That thing with the maid was absolute silliness. It was like some kind of time killer to fill out the episode or something. Stupid.
I was actually quite disappointed with the past week’s episode. Way too many trembling lips. Enough already with the overwrought melodrama.
Supposedly, next week should be better. Apparently this past week was the season finale in the UK, and the one coming up was a “Christmas special”. My sources who have seen it say it’s worth the wait.
Indeed, lots of people kissing people they should be kissing (we Americans call that our Teen Years.) I was waiting for Lady Grantham, in a breast-heaving moment, to plant one on Mr. Mosely. Now I will have a breakfast-heaving moment.
I just re-read my last resonse – I meant to say, “…lots of people kissing people they SHOULD NOT be kissing.” I really should look at my posts before clicking the post comment button because that response didn’t make much sense.