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Downton Abbey Season 2

February 20, 2012 by · Comments Off on Downton Abbey Season 2 

Downton Abbey Season 2, It begins by looking a lot like Christmas, thanks to a new credits sequence that shows preparations for the holidays rather than the normal montage of housekeeping.

Mary and Matthew’s story is the main event. Mary is still locked in her engagement with Sir Richard (their July wedding must have been postponed by Lavina’s death). Mary’s patience with Richard’s nouveau riche attitude and general evilness grows thin, bringing out even more of his inner mustache-twirling villain. With the dreamy glances Mary and Matthew send each other, Richard should feel threatened.

The harsher Richard becomes with Mary, the more effort Matthew makes to sweep in and save her. This only angers Richard, who is openly hostile toward her when she refuses to set a wedding date (again).

Matthew follows Mary from the room and tells her she doesn’t have to marry Richard, or anyone. He promises her she will always have a home at Downton Abbey as long as he’s alive. Mary tells him not to make promises, and insists she has to marry Richard.

Lord Grantham wonders aloud if Richard has dirt on Mary, as she doesn’t seem particularly in love with him and yet insists the marriage must go forward. Cora admits he does. She tells Lord Grantham about Mr. Pamuk’s actual death bed and the subsequent cover-up.

Lady Mary and Lord Grantham come together in a heartwarming father-daughter scene when he asks her about Mr. Pamuk. He tells her she’s not the first Crawley to make a mistake, and things are different now that the war is over. He thinks she should end her engagement, and suggests that she go to America to live with her other grandmother until the fuss dies down. He wants her to be with a good man, maybe even head out west and find a cowboy to sweep her off her feet. (That would be an awesome show!) Isobel also tells Matthew that Mary is in love with him, but Matthew doesn’t think he can be with her after Lavinia died of heartbreak influenza. He tells his mother that he and Mary deserve to be unhappy.

Downton Abbey Season 2

January 9, 2012 by · Comments Off on Downton Abbey Season 2 

Downton Abbey Season 2Downton Abbey Season 2, The season 2 premiere of Downton Abbey reminded us why the Crawleys are kind, considerate and compassionate people, genuinely interested in everyone around them. Their own livelihood, that of their town, their country, their home and their staff are all equally important. That they take nothing for granted is unique in a story of this type and makes them utterly charming.

From the moment Matthew and his mother stepped foot onto Downton Abbey, I fell in love with them. But I didn’t realize how much I cared for Matthew until I saw him on the WWI battlefront in the opening scene. As the third cousin once removed and heir to Downton Abbey, what could have been a painful situation for the family turned into one of mutual respect and admiration, as he and Isobel proved themselves worthy to the task of looking after the Abbey.

Whereas the sinking of the Titanic put Matthew into a position he could never have dreamed at the start of the series, his own life is now in jeopardy as he fights for his country, beside the very same people he had come to know as household help just two years earlier. It’s an extraordinary sequence of events demonstrating how easily circumstances can change for any one of us, no matter our position in life. That the residents of the Abbey treat each other justly works in their favor because their situations continue to transform.

If ever there was a catalyst for transformation in Europe, World War I was it. The Abbey is left with few men on staff, and the Earl of Grantham himself is embarrassed to be dismissed from active service and used merely as a morale booster in the war effort. Still, not understanding of the changing times, Violet has taken it upon herself to ensure the Abbey is not completely without man-servants by using her station to speak with the local Army doctor about medical conditions she believes would keep some male staff from duty.

It was particularly upsetting to learn of this hidden deal when two women attending a fundraising concert at the Abbey stood up and handed out white feathers signifying cowardice to the young men left behind. With Isobel hard at work on the war effort and her own son in the trenches, once she learned of Violet’s deception, she demanded that each man be evaluated on their own merit for service. Only Mr. Mason begged release.

It was no surprise that Sybil felt so greatly the need to assist in the war effort. After speaking her mind to Isobel, the latter suggested she learn some things from the help – such as how to make her own bed, clean the floors and learn cooking skills so she would have talents to start with in the nursing career. That she wouldn’t know how to do those things never entered my mind, but it was absolutely joyful watching her in the kitchen. The richness of the household relationships was at its best during those scenes.

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