Downton Abbey Season 2 Episode 8 Recap

PBS decided to air both episodes 7 and 8 back to back. We’ve already covered all the drama in episode 7, now onto episode 8!

Things get pretty bleak in what was the season finale in the original British airing of “Downton Abbey”. The episode sports death, an arrest, adultery, bribery and a near case of baby-napping but that’s not even the worst of it. Worst of all? Mary and Matthew still aren’t together and things are looking bleaker for our favorite star-crossed lovebirds than ever before. Thanks a lot Spanish flu!

With the war finally at an end, “Downton Abbey” is getting jazzed to host the wedding of Matthew and Lavinia. Finally, some drama-free happy event that the house can enjoy! This should be the exact moment you know that things are going to go terribly, terribly wrong.

I kept waiting for “Face Off” Patrick Gordon/Crawley to jump down out of a rafter somewhere and kidnap Edith. Then we’d find out that he never actually left Downton but was just living in the walls like the “Phantom of the Opera”. Oh well, I guess there’s always next season. When Matthew expresses his wish to be able to walk down the aisle unassisted Mary advises him to “never say die”. This is the exact moment you should realize someone is about to take a trip to visit the drawing room in the sky.

Downstairs

It was the best of times and it was the worst of times for Anna and Mr. Bates this week. On the bright side, Anna and Mr. Bates finally tied the knot. In the midst of all the chaos and sickness and death, it’s nice that there was at least one bright spot for our favorite long-suffering couple. Anna tells Mr. Bates that she wants to marry him no matter what. She knows that things are probably about to get complicated concerning Vera’s death and she wants to face it with him together. Now that they’re married, will Anna finally stop calling him “Mr. Bates”? Does he even have a first name?  Is this like a Mr. Big situation?

After their wedding, Mary acts like an amazing wing-lady for Anna and sets her up with a fancy sex room for her and Bates. And we get quite a scandalous sex scene! Watch out shows on HBO because “Downton Abbey” is throwing down the gauntlet. I mean, we saw some naked shoulder! I’m not sure if I was ready for that much skin. Unfortunately, Anna and Mr. Bates’ happiness is short-lived. As the episode ends the po-po come for Mr. Bates and haul him away for Vera’s murder.

In other light-hearted subplots, Ethel takes a break from living in her run down shack like a witch in a Grimm’s fairy tale to talk to Major Bryant’s family again. While it went badly last time, there seems to be some hope now. Mrs. Bryant is excited to see Charlie and remarks upon how much he looks like his mustachioed father as a baby. Mr. Bryant, however, sees that this conversation is going in a pleasant direction and knows he must crush it. He tells Ethel that he wants to raise Charlie as heir to the family fortune but there’s a catch: he doesn’t want Ethel to have anything to do with her son’s life. He points out that he can give Charlie a fine life and the best mustache trimmers that money can buy. Ethel mulls over her options. On the one hand if Charlie went to live with his grandparents he would have an easy, privileged life. On the other hand, the first son they raised grew up to be a jerk face in the extreme. Ultimately Ethel decides to keep Charlie and raise him herself.

Meanwhile Lord Grantham continues creeping on maid Jane, even getting so far as macking on her in his room. After Cora falls ill and recovers they both realize the impossibility of what they’re doing and Jane resigns. I hope Lord Grantham channels his midlife crisis into something a bit more fun next season like an extreme sport or an obscure hobby. This whole Jane situation could have been avoided if Ed Hardy shirts had existed in 1920.

Upstairs

Things are getting really weird upstairs. First, Sybil and Branson decide to drop their marriage plans right after dinner. Sybil starts to get cold feet all like “but what about granny?” which is ridiculous because we all know Violet is the most gangster member of the whole family. My favorite reaction of the bunch is Cora’s. She barely says a word but her gigantic Precious Moments eyes get so wide she looks like a live action Anime character. To say that Lord Grantham is disapproving of Sybil’s decision to marry Branson would be putting it mildly.

Look, frankly I think my homegirl Sybil could do much better for herself. Even now, I still feel like Branson is like one bad day from driving off with Sybil in the trunk of the car. Yet somehow, Lord Grantham’s snobby reaction to the wedding news coupled with Branson being less emo than usual warmed me up to the idea. I mean sure, she could do better but I guess she could also do worse? I mean Mary is still engaged to Sir Richard, after all. Lord Grantham finally comes around and now Sybil is heading off to Dublin to marry Branson. Granny is already plotting ways to spin his new newspaper career and find him a link to the gentry.

Poor Edith wonders to her grandmother whether she’ll ever get married like Sybil and Mary. This season Edith has seriously redeemed herself from her crappy first season behavior. Isn’t it time the poor girl got a love interest? I mean one who isn’t pretending to be a dead relative anyway? Even Violet is like “Word girl, let’s get you a man”.

The Spanish flu that’s going around hits Cora hard. Things are looking bleak for my favorite. Sure Maggie Smith wears a good hat, but no one can wear a gigantic hat that looks like it’s giving birth to a baby chicken quite like Cora. My life would be so empty without her giant Precious Moments eyes and Minnie Mouse voice. O’Brien feels the same way and is so overcome with guilt over that bar of soap from last season that she stays with Cora basically 24/7. While she tries to confess her guilt to Cora, she’s too sick to understand her. Thankfully, Cora pulls through and she and Lord Grantham share a moment. Hopefully things right themselves between Downton's lord and lady.

The Mary and Matthew of it All

There are many ups and downs for Mary and Matthew this go-around. Actually it’s mostly just downs. Lavinia takes ill with the Spanish flu, the same disease that has stricken Carson and Cora. Unlike Cora, who seems to be fighting for her life, Lavinia just seems to be mildly ill. With Lavinia upstairs in her room ill and Sir Richard on the way to Downton Mary and Matthew finally have some alone time. They put on a record, an old tune from a show that went under and dance. “We were a show that flopped,” Mary says. Matthew explains his talk with Violet and how he can’t simply turn over Lavinia now that he’s well, despite how he feels. Then the camera goes all swirly and the music gets all dramatic and they kiss and it is wonderful. Until, of course, Lavinia interrupts them.

Later Lavinia explains to Matthew that she saw and heard everything. She breaks up with him, but in a way that’s both sweet and sad. She says she just wants him to be happy and doesn’t want to get in the way. I wish she had said that she’s too awesome to be someone’s second choice instead of nobly dying to clear the way for Mary and Matthew. I agree totally with Carson’s viewpoint: I didn’t particularly want her around Downton but I certainly had no problem with her being happy somewhere else. Or alive. Alive would have been ok also.

Alas, it’s not to be. Lavinia takes a sudden turn for the worse and dies after telling Matthew she thinks it’s for the best and that he should be happy. This, of course, has the exact opposite effect. At her funeral, Matthew tells Mary that he thinks their kiss killed Lavinia. Considering that Mary once sexed a dude to death, this isn’t as far-fetched as you’d think. Matthew informs Mary that they could never be together now with Lavinia’s death on his conscience. This is of course the exact moment that Sir Richard swoops in and basically hauls Mary away. For an episode with a big dramatic Matthew/Mary kiss, it turned out to be quite a bummer.

Best Maggie Smith Lines

Watch even a few seconds of “Downton Abbey”, and it’s pretty clear that Maggie Smith’s Dowager Countess gets all the best lines. Here are her best gems from episode eight:

“Wasn’t there a masked ball in Paris, when cholera broke out half the guests were dead before they left the ballroom.” – Violet’s reaction when Cora and Lavinia get sick at dinner.

“Don’t be defeatist dear, it’s very middle-class.” – to Edith when she complains about her love life.

What did you think of this week’s episode of “Downton Abbey”? What is going to happen with Mr. Bates? And are Matthew and Mary over for good? Sound off in the comments!