The Downton Dish: Episode 2

January 12, 2016 PBS Wisconsin Leave a Comment

Who knew that a mid-season pig show could stir up so much trouble! Edith had her hands full in episode 2 of Downton Abbey: The Final Season, and the battle royale over the management of the hospital started to get pretty intense. So much drama, so little time!

Watch the complete series of “The Downton Dish” here.

Notes on Episode 2 of the final season from guest contributor and avid viewer, Analiese Smith:

Marigold. My first thought is that Mary is so cold! How is she so oblivious to the whole Marigold situation? And Anna says she’s the kindest person – just such different views! Also, the whole Anna situation totally sucks. I wonder If Mary is going to try to pawn Marigold off on them. Seriously – the writers need to throw these two a bone. I also wonder if the Drewes will move. If they do, will Daisy’s father-in-law take the open space? It would be a nice solution to a few different problems. Two birds, one stone?

Changing times. The discussion about “systems” is interesting; they really seem to be focusing on how much the system is changing. Daisy hates the system, and Thomas Barrow is struggling to find a new job in a world that doesn’t seem to need assistant butlers anymore. The Carsons’ wedding planning might be another example of this: Mrs. Hughes wants to make her own way and celebrate independently.

Hospital drama. All of the medical stories are very telling about progress as well. The whole “do we retain control of our hospital” debate has Isobel focused on progress, while the Dowager is focusing on history. Poor Robert is stuck in the middle, not wanting to choose sides. It made me think of earlier seasons: Robert trying to let go of traditions for the first four seasons was a very big theme, but then the topic was dropped for a bit because he seemed to have resigned himself to the fact that times were changing, especially with his decision to accept his son-in-law, Tom. It’s interesting that they are reviving that struggle in the last season when it seemed resolved, but perhaps that is a statement that they are trying to make: Change is never easy to accept.

What did you think about the episode? Who are you annoyed with? What should we expect from the next episode? 

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