Wait. Isis is not getting a funeral? What the hell? All we grievers get is a throwaway line about selecting a dog headstone? And that is only to give Lord Grantham the idea to have a plaque made for Mrs. Patmore’s nephew since he couldn’t be on the memorial?
I mean really, Lord Grantham. You want respect and say, “Don’t call me Donk” and yet you don’t give Isis her due? Not cool, Donk. Next thing I know you’ll be dictating to Sybbie how she plays Snakes & Ladders. Oh right. You did!
In other news, Season Fifteen of Downton Abbey will end with Anna and Bates’s child being taken to jail for something they didn’t do. I’m assuming since Sunday’s episode ended with Anna in handcuffs being taken away by Scotland Yard for the murder of Mr. Green. Even Lady Mary giving the inspector a “don’t you know who I am?” didn’t help and Donk had to hold Bates back from running after his wife (it could be that Bates was going to give his wife some Tips For the Clink so in that case, Donk should have let him). Earlier in the episode, Anna was given the once over by a witness in a lineup. I guess he identified her as the one he saw with Green on the street before he was pushed into traffic. I have to say, after watching some Law & Order episodes, I was distracted by the lineup scene because the witness was in the same room! Makes me wonder if lots of dead witnesses sped up the invention of the one-way mirror. Anyway, my hope is that Anna actually did it. Wouldn’t that be a fun change? “And I was back in time to dress Lady Mary for dinner. Bam!” Then Anna would drop a mic. One of those old-timey microphones like in The King’s Speech.
The big event happening is Rose and Atticus’s wedding in London. The Crawleys and their downstairs crew congregate at Grantham House in the city for the week. And Shrimpie’s back! His estranged wife and Rose’s mum, Susan, arrives as well. She’s really unpleasant. Atticus and his parents come to dinner where Susan acts vaguely racist towards the Jewish couple and Atticus’s father declares that divorcing couples are failures. Guess who’s getting a divorce? Rose begs her parents not to let on that they are separated until after the wedding.
Mary, Edith, Tom and Rose are having lunch together when Rose receives a letter with racy pictures of Atticus and some lady of ill repute. So yeah, nothing happened and Atticus was set up but who did it? And more importantly, why can’t we have more scenes of the DA kids hanging out together like this? Tom had a scene with both Mary and Edith about how they’ll miss him and how he’ll miss them. He says he’ll stay through Christmas and then he’s off to Boston to sell cars. Fingers crossed that Season Fifteen of Downton Abbey will show Sybbie sporting a wicked Boston accent.
Back to StagGate and the pictures. Atticus accuses his father of doing it to stop the wedding. He wants it stopped for sure because he wants his grandchildren to be Jewish and Rose’s Anglican lady parts would ensure that they won’t be. Atticus says he loves Rose and blah blah blah. Lord Sinderby tells his son he didn’t set him up. So who did?
“Get down, you cat!” says Shrimpie to his wife when he confronts her with his proof. Yes, Rose’s mom concocted the whole scheme out of love, she claims. She also tells Lord and Lady Sinderby that she and Shrimpie are getting a divorce. Said out of love, I guess (as the Dowager Countess says, “My dear, love is a far more dangerous motive than dislike”). Lord S is outraged but Lady S thanks her and tells her husband to shut it. The wedding happens and that’s that.
All of this wedding drama causes Isobel to hem and haw over whether to proceed with marrying Dickie. The Dowager Countess tells her that she has lately been reminded that one does not get many chances in life. Take action, she advises. This comes from DC’s meeting with Prince Kuragin earlier. He tells her, “I wish to spend my final years with you” and he won’t change his mind. DC tells him, “Don’t proclaim your intransigence as if it were a virtue.”
What else did I learn from Episode Eight besides the word intransigence? Denker likes her free drinks. She drags the temporary footman to a seedy underground gambling club to get perks for bringing in new suckers. Barrow intervenes, gets the footman’s money back and gets Denker in trouble. Sprat would be proud. Daisy thinks she should get a job in London to get more out of life and gives Mrs. Patmore her notice. This really upsets Mrs. P, which in turn, upsets me. Thankfully, Daisy has a change of heart and decides to stay until her studies are done. Donk realizes Marigold reminds him of Michael Gregson. Cora has him promise not to tell Edith that he figured out that he has a new granddaughter. O’Brien is mentioned! Remember her? Susan stole her from Cora to take to India? Well, now that Shrimpie and Susan are broke, O’Brien went to a new lady. And remember Madge? The mysterious Madge that has never been seen? Mrs. Hughes mentioned her this week!
Oh. Maybe Madge killed Mr. Green and set Anna up? I wouldn’t put it past her. So shifty, that Madge.
