First, THANK GOD O'Brien is gone! HOLLAH!!!!
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| Her new uniform. |
Happy dance time!
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| Maids, blurry because they're dancing. Yeah that's why. |
Irish jig time!
Running man time!
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| Aw yeah. |
That women is the wicked witch of the west with an English accent. The next best thing that could have happened is that she would have melted into a puddle, but this will certainly do.
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| Lady Mary. Whether she was staring bleakly out a window or awkwardly running into Edith on the stairs, this was pretty much her expression for most of the episode. |
Next point: poor Lady Mary, right? I mean, how awful. Did you cry with her when she started crying in front of Carson? I did. And isn't Carson the best? I just love him. Everyone needs a Carson in their life.
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| No one is as good at worrying as Carson. |
This may not be the appropriate time to mention it, but I was previously under the impression that Lady Mary's skin was already the lightest shade of white that was available in skin colors.
I was shocked and a little disturbed at how pale she was.
I'm no fan of the Kardashians, but I think we can all agree that there comes a time when you have to give in and go to Zoom Tan, and Lady Mary's time has clearly arrived. The girl needs some color!
I was so happy to see her in a purple dress at the end, because when she wears black she looks more Amish than actual Amish people.
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| Next year's Kardashian Christmas card? |
For me, though, and maybe for many of you, my major frustration with the episode was Thomas. No wait. Lady Grantham.
No! It's both of them.
Let's start with Thomas: When is he going to die? I just need to know.
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| Die? Me? I'll be the last one standing, my love. |
This guy is so evil he makes me want to punch him dead in the eye.
How many horrible actions can he fit into one episode?! I can't take anymore! Pretending to be Edna DumbTart's friend?
Lying about the nanny??
(Actually Dan and I are a little confused about the nanny. Was she joking with the baby or not? Who talks like that to a BABY? Confusing)
Lying about ANNA?!
Oh hell naw, Thomas. You went too far.
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| Keep drinking please. |
But the one who really got me the other night was Lady Grantham.
Lady Grantham, why are you so terribly idiotic??
WHY are you so gullible?
Why did you always trust O'Brien??
Why do you listen to Thomas and his bold faced lies?!
Couldn't you hear me yelling at you last night?? I TOLD YOU HE WAS LYING!!!
But no.
I'm really starting to think that Thomas could say ANYthing to Cora, and she would believe it.
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| "Do you want to hear a joke, m'lady?" |
"Lady Grantham, there's a pink elephant in the dining hall and it wants a pay raise. It demands to be paid at ONCE or it will stomp us all to death! It says that only I can bring the money."
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| Someone please intervene. |
"Oh! Oh dear! Oh Thomas you must pay this pink elephant right away and give it a tippance! And give it my best regards! And this pearl necklace that is a family heirloom!"
"Lady Grantham, please pardon the interruption, but I need to be excused from my duties. There is a fire down the road and a family that needs saving! I will return swiftly, smelling of smoke, but NOT BECAUSE I'VE BEEN SMOKING! Only because I've been saving a desperate family in a house fire! Oh and by the way, m'lady, I caught Mosely winking at Lady Edith."
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| Cora, how did ever make this far without being robbed blind?? OH WAIT. |
"Dear, marvelous Thomas! Thomas you hero! Thomas whatever you say, Thomas! You precious little jewel, you worthy servant! Blah blah blah and on and on Thomas! Thomas you're such a selfless man, saving the world as you do! And don't worry about Mosely and Lady Edith. I'm sure that was a mistake. No one winks at Edith."
"Lady Grantham, there's been a most unfortunate discovery. It turns out that you are not Lady Grantham. You are an imposter! Your real name is Midge and you are a lady of the night. You never married Lord Grantham or gave birth to three daughters. I am the real Lady Grantham."
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| You're not Carson, Thomas. Step off. |
"Oh Thomas! Oh how horrifying! Oh this can't be true!! Oh Thomas whatever shall I do?? Who am I?? WHO IS MIDGE??? Oh Thomas tell Mrs Prattmore to bake a ham immediately! Oh Thomas how will I break the news to Lord Grantham? Oh Thomas what would I ever do WITHOUT YOU??? Oh Thomas will you be Lady Grantham from now on???"
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| Lord Grantham ain't havin none of that. |
I just want to slap them both. I want to shake some sense into Cora.
I just want ONE cameo role, please. Just give me 3 minutes during an episode where I can run into the parlor and slap Thomas and tell Cora to cut the crap, stop being an airhead and smarten up! Stop letting manipulative people ruin your life, dummy! Stop trusting crazy people who hide your shirts and burn your scarves and lock your husband's dog in an abandoned shed in the forest! STOP IT! Just stop right now!!!
Not exactly the ending, but satisfying nonetheless!
Come on...wouldn't YOU find it satisfying?
Update: You know what though? I think Thomas was genuinely hurt when Nanny West wouldn't let him see the baby. A reader ( thank you Barbara!) pointed out that he was truly fond of Lady Sybil, so he probably feels protective of Baby Sybie.
So only one slap for Thomas. Because he's still mean. But it seems the guy has got a heart after all.
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| You win, Thomas. |
I got the impression that the nanny was horrible, but that Thomas took a gamble on her that paid off - after all, I don't think he was exactly right that she left the children alone a lot. I think the comments she made about baby Sybil (not remembering at the moment if she said anything to baby George about being fatherless) were definitely way out of line and not her place, even if the sentiment was widespread (was being a "half-breed" based on Branson's class, being Irish, Catholic, or all three?) At any rate, I was livid that anyone who's basically paid to raise children would say anything like that to a child, even if meant that Thomas scored a small victory. I go back and forth on him. He's pretty awful, but I feel sorry for him a lot of the time.
ReplyDeleteI completely concur with this.
DeleteOh Heather, you never disappoint!
ReplyDeleteI think the nanny was being horrible and I don't think Thomas was being 100% evil in reporting her.
ReplyDeleteThomas was close with Sybil and if you noticed at the beginning, he went to say hi to Baby Sibby when Nanny West told him not to touch the children. And then the nanny kept telling him to cancel Sibby's tea time egg. I don't think he made up the story about Nanny West just because of his ego and his dislike for her. I think he actually may have had some concern about Sibby.
I also think that Cora was raised to be dumb and really doesn't know better.
I totally just said some of the same thing in my update! I agree. Good points - I didn't remember the egg part!
DeleteROFL! I so want to slap Thomas too. And Cora....arggghhh!
ReplyDeleteI think the nanny truly was being bad there, but I don't think Thomas actually knew, he just lucked out in that his tip to Cora paid off in the end. Evil people have all the luck, don't they?
I think so too, I mean that Thomas just lucked out. I think he was just pulling one of his snaky "I can get rid of you because I don't like you" moves (like with Bates) and he lucked out. But that nanny: whew. I was so shocked when she spat that venomous comment to poor baby Sybil: "Go to sleep, you wicked little cross breed." And the tone she said it in! Yikes! This is like, nanny from hell that is damaging your kid psychologically while smiling sweetly in front of you.
DeleteOkay..you have managed to articulate everything I think about Downton Abbey!
ReplyDeleteahahahahaha....you pegged it. ROFLMBO. "Thomas, when will you die?" YESSSS!!!! That is the one storyline of the new season I didn't care for is Thomas going around all full of himself and trying to get others in trouble...well, the nanny did deserve it (love how Lady Grantham rushed into the room and immediately fired her after hearing how she talked to baby Sybie). I don't get Thomas' evilness but I guess now that O'Brien is gone he's bored? BTW, the paleness of the ladies is intentional; all the cast HAVE to wear sunscreen (it's part of their contract) and are not allowed to tan in order to remain historically correct--people who lived in that time & place were pale. But now that Mary has snapped out of her deep grief I'm sure she'll get out more and a healthy blush will return to her pale cheeks. ;D Anywho, thank you for sharing this. I'm a huge fan of yours and of Downton Abbey and it made me laugh. Love your cartoons. Maybe next, you could draw a cartoon of all of us waiting in line to slap Thomas ('cause I know I want to)--you can be first, of course. lolz.
ReplyDeleteI love this. I haven't even watched the whole episode yet (started watching last night online) and I TRIED to keep from reading your post but it just sucked me in. ; ) Thanks for the laughs this afternoon!!!!
ReplyDeleteThat nanny was up to no good. Remember how Matthew's mother said she wanted to see George, but the nanny told her it wasn't a good time? Yep, Thomas is evil, but I think he inadvertently did something really good. Maybe there's hope for him yet?
ReplyDeleteLove the update...that is all
ReplyDeleteI missed you blogging so much!
ReplyDeleteNo kidding about Cora. And even the rest of them. It's hard to believe the scuttlebutt of the politics among the staff never reaches the lords and ladies. I never could understand Cora's thinking O'Brien was wonderful and O'Brien getting away with leaving the soap on the floor so Cora would slip and fall and lose the baby (because O'Brien thought Cora was advertising for a lady's maid for herself), and no one ever finding out, in spite of Thomas knowing it happened. I can't imagine Mrs. Hughes not watching Thomas and O'Brien together whispering and not putting two and two together, and informing Mr. Carson and the two of them doing everything to block O'Brien and Thomas and get rid of them.
And how about how shabbily Thomas acted toward everyone during the war, when he was an assistant to the medical director. Certainly the lord and ladies know political climbers when the see them, and would not forget some of his antics then, and be on guard toward that sort of charming falseness. So yeah, Cora, what are ya', stupid?
And I thought the hiring Edna Braithwaite again was really far fetched. I mean, does Rose know Edna? (I might have missed this part. I think I went to the bathroom when Rose was putting the ad in the shop window). Why did Rose want Edna to become Cora's maid, and why was Rose the one helping Cora interview? Isn't it weird Cora wouldn't interview the others who responded to the ad, and have Mrs. Hughes and others help her interview, and do more than one interview for so important a position, her own dresser? And again, don't the ladies know the gossip (or at least some of it) in the house and so thumbs down to the Ednas of the world?
BUT -- I worked in a job once where I was training the clerks in our division on the salary administration tool. Well, there was one woman in particular who was very, very sweet acting, but she really had no talent for data input or manipulation, but she aspired to those jobs. She was also really two faced, because when I was training her she acted like, oh, all of it was SOOO simple and she understood EVERYTHING. But, somehow she messed it all up, and then to cover herself, she told her boss I HAD FAILED TO TRAIN HER CORRECTLY, AND THAT I HAD DELIBERATELY MIS-TRAINED HER SO SHE WOULD MESS UP, because, she said, I WAS AFRAID SHE WOULD TAKE MY JOB. Her boss believed her (the boss knew her and didn't know me) and told my boss this story, and my boss called me on the carpet for this. Boy, was I mad! I vehemently denied it, but of course I was viewed with suspicion by my boss after this. I couldn't do a thing about it. I was innocent, but it was a classic my word against hers, and I couldn't win. (I should have confronted her about the lie, but I never did. She didn't work in the same location as me, and I only dealt with her in person the one time I trained her.)
I did get a little satisfaction a few years later, when I got a job in the systems group, and found out this liar was blaming ALL her mistakes on the systems group. Well, the boss in this group defended us to the teeth, PROVING the mistakes were made by this woman. Whenever I'd hear her name spoken in outrage at her audacity, I'd just smile to myself, glad the truth of her ineptitude was finally coming to light. So I can see how some people can be fooled by the very charming. But why no one has outed Thomas, I don't know.
Are you going to break up with me if I say I sort of have hope for Thomas? Like, he's horrible, and a total snake in the grass and your profile pictures of him are THE BEST (his mealy mouth? Oh my gosh, you nailed it), but I can't shake the feeling that he's got this pure center, but has seen so much crap in the world that he's full of self-loathing about his purity. So the only thing to do is be so unbelievably repugnant that he keeps everyone at arm's length. He keeps the really nasty people close to him, so he knows where they are, and keeps his distance from the good people. Which makes his obvious soft spot for Lady Sybil all the more poignant.
ReplyDeleteWhew. That was a lot of defending Thomas there. But I'm with you on Cora. She's the WORST. Oh my gosh.
And I think we can all agree on the Carson issue.
I am so with you on Cora! that woman drives me bonkers!!!
ReplyDeleteYes, Cora is SO gullible. Grrrrrrr.
ReplyDeleteAnd the nanny made me so sad. I'm still scared of that voice she put on. Poor Sibby.
I thought Thomas was finally going to be good! Another grrrrr.
Hey hey hey, Cora actually was very heroic in the scene where she walked in on the nanny, fired her, and then didn't tattletale to anyone about what the nanny said, just said that the nanny's values didn't belong there. Usually she screws stuff up, but I was so proud of her in that scene. Yeah, Thomas' feelings were definitely hurt by the nanny, so he wanted to get rid of her, made up a lie, but in the end she was terrible anyway, so Cora thought he was right. Now Cora trusts him on everything - blech. When Lord Grantham goes to talk to Bates about Anna, I was feeling so bad for Bates! To hear an untruth about your wife must have been so hard for him, but he was so charitable in his response. Oh my goodness, Bates and Anna - the valentines, the helping out Mosely with money scheme, I just LOVE them. Ok, I need to get back to real life, which includes recapping Downton with all my coworkers!!!!!
ReplyDeleteBrilliant recap and I love your sketches! As the seasons have gone by Cora just keeps getting dumber. For crying out loud, I wouldn't have believed Mrs. Hughes if SHE said something bad about Anna!!! But Thomas! Oh my, he is the evil one. I hate him but he does add spice both upstairs and down. Great actor!!!
ReplyDeleteThis is the best. Oh how I love Downton fans. So much so that I may accidentally judge people who have heard of the show but have made no effort to watch it... ;)
ReplyDeleteAs a UK citizen who already has the dvd set of series 4, I can tell you there is a lot of good stuff to come!
ReplyDeleteKeep in mind, every good story has a villain, and Thomas makes a fine one! Without him the show wouldn't be as much fun to watch, don't you think?
ReplyDeleteI think Thomas tipping Cora off about the nanny was probably the only decent thing he's ever done. Nanny was just horrible and flat out mean to little Sybil.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteSorry...was trying to edit my comment. You do know that the entire Season 4 episodes can be watched online, right? I've watched the whole thing. Love the drawings, btw!
DeleteHere I am Heather!!!! Loved your post. Almost made me want to watch the show. I tried; got WAY TOO emotionally involved. From Lisa, your southern connection! :)
ReplyDeleteI missed you, MamaH, and I like your recap of DA. But what about the Dowager??? I need your take on her. And on Edith! Are you for or against her living with a sort-of-but-not-really free man? And didn't you LOVE her green dress with the shocking and delightfully daring slit and low back? I so want her to bloom into the good, true woman that Matthew saw! Alas, I fear that would be too boring for the viewing pleasure of the PBS audience.
ReplyDeleteDo you think Carson and Mrs. Hughes will fall in love? What's going to happen in the Daisy-Alfred-Ivy-Jimmy quartet? Will Mrs. Patmore be the last one standing??? I need to knoooooooooooow!!!!!
I can't wait until next week!
DeleteOh please, tell me this will be a regular weekly thing during Downton! Because I hurt myself laughing at this and REALLY needed that today!
ReplyDeleteGalaxyJane
You are so funny! Great re-cap.
ReplyDeleteAnd I cried when Mary cried in front of Carson, too. Very sad.
Thomas is a snake, and he lucked out with his lie about the nanny. But seeing how fond he is of Sybil's baby (which doesn't seem like a put-on) made me feel semi-fond of him for the first time. No, actually I felt semi-fond of him when he went off and cried after Sybil died. Oh no, now I'm getting sucked in like Cora! I better watch myself.
When I say lucked out, I mean he happened to be right that she was horrible--but he didn't really know that, he just made up stuff to tell Cora because he didn't like the woman.
DeleteAren't you glad I cleared that up? (It's just a show--I must get a life!)
This. was. amazing! Please, please, please do one of these after each episode!! I'm dying of laughter over here!
ReplyDeleteI love Downton Abbey and you nailed it. What is with Thomas and all the updates from the stooge he brought in. Obviously she on a pay back thing with him. I just wish I was a fly on the wall and this was real I would stay incognito just to watch the drama. LOL Love your blog. A friend of mine reposted on FB one of your blogs and I just laughed my self stupid. I do blog to www.buzibodymommy.blogspot.com and have several others. You have inspired me and I would love for you to follow me as well. Im going to blog more. Thank you for you humor. You say what I feel all the time.
ReplyDelete