Damn. We get to see a little Revenge-On-The-Horizon Bates at the end of this episode. Once he overhears Mrs. Hughes urging Anna to tell her husband why she has been avoiding her, Bates is on a mission. He threatens to quit if Mrs. Hughes doesn’t tell him what was wrong. And Mrs. Hughes relents and tells him! But she swears that the rapist was a stranger although Bates correctly suspects Lord Gillingham’s valet. He makes Mrs. Hughes swear on her dead mother! The man is serious. He tells Anna that he knows and Anna does the whole “What did she tell you exactly?” She reaffirms that it was a stranger. They make up. She plans on moving back to the cottage. Smiles all around. Later Mrs. Hughes tells Bates she is happy they made up and that it is over and done with. Bates coldly says, “Nothing’s over and done with, Mrs. Hughes.” He will find out who raped his wife. I fully expected to hear a “I’m gonna get all medieval on his ass” from him. We’re going to see that prison education in action. Go Bates!
In other downstairs news, Cora has a new lady’s maid, Miss Baxter. And she’s a gem! She knows Americans love orange juice much to Cora’s delight. She mentions the lovely things she’s heard about Lady Sybil. She sews Mrs. Patmore’s apron for goodness’s sake! Everyone is loving her. So something must be wrong, right? Of course! She is getting into everyone’s good graces in order to be an informant for Thomas. “Why” is the question. What does Thomas have on Baxter? Any guesses? Former prostitute? Murderess? Miss Baxter used to be Mr. Baxter?
Meanwhile upstairs, there’s Guy Disappointment for the Crawley sisters. Mary is disappointed by Lord Gillingham’s engagement announcement and Edith hasn’t heard from Gregson since he left. (Any bets he falls in with the Nazi party while in Germany? I’m feeling very prediction-y this week.) Their brother-in-law is having disappointments of his own. Branson tells the family that he is feeling out of place. He doesn’t know what his ideals are anymore. He throws out the idea of he and Sybbie moving to America. Cora is cool with it but Lord Grantham wants his grandchildren to grow up together. And my ovaries want to see more scenes of Branson and Sybbie playing “hurricane” and knocking over her toys.
In Estate Stuff That I Kind Of Understand, Mary and Branson tells Lord Grantham, “You know that funeral you’re going to? He never paid his debt so we’re foreclosing and farming it ourselves.” But at the funeral, LG talks to the son who begs him to let him keep it. He hits LG’s soft spot who then lends him the back payment to pay his estate. Which makes me scratch my head: does any money physically change hands? Or does LG put out money in his left hand and then gives it to his right? Anyway, the farmer’s son, Mr. Drewe, spills the beans to Mary and Branson about the money lending. They are impressed and Branson’s socialist heart regrows a few sizes.
For her new crusade, Isobel urges Violet to hire the poor Mr. Pegg to be a gardener’s assistant to give his family a leg up. This makes the Dowager Countess say, “I wonder if your halo doesn’t grow heavy. It’s like wearing a tiara around the clock.” Violet gives in to Isobel’s self-proclaimed fervor (“Wars have been made with less fervor.”) and gives him the job. However, DC finds young Pegg watering plants in her study where a letter knife is now missing. If Pegg did take the letter opener, he obviously doesn’t know that a knife is no match for Violet’s barbs and withering looks.
What else did I learn from Part Four? In this week’s “Hey! Remember Them?”, Lord Napier is back and is working for a man who is assessing how estates are faring post-war. Napier is the one that brought the infamous Mr. Pamuk to Downton Abbey in Season One. I had my drink ready but they didn’t mention him at all. Alas. Rose has an idea for Lord Grantham’s birthday party. Methinks that idea involves Jack Ross, the bandleader. Daisy helps Alfred get ready for his chef’s test. When he goes off to London, Carson asks Moseley to replace him. Moseley gives a speech about how footman is a big step down and he’ll have to think about it. Yeah, you think about it, says Carson. Moseley returns to accept the position but Alfred learns he didn’t get the internship so Carson rescinds the offer. And now that DA may get a fridge, then Moseley won’t be needed for as many deliveries anymore as well. If only Sad Sack was a lucrative position.
