Downton Abbey Season 4 Premieres Tomorrow Night (2 Hour Opener)

Six months after Matthew's death, Mary is mired in grief, and the family and servants try to help her face a future without Matthew. Meanwhile, both Tom Branson and Carson face figures from their pasts, and Edith experiments with modernism.

The much-loved cast of Downton Abbey Season 4 includes Dame Maggie Smith, Elizabeth McGovern, Hugh Bonneville, Michelle Dockery, Jim Carter, Joanne Froggatt, Penelope Wilton, and a host of others, with guest stars Shirley MacLaine and Paul Giamatti. Written and created by Julian Fellowes, Downton Abbey, Season 4 marks the return of one of television's most beloved and anticipated drama series to MASTERPIECE on PBS.

Now wasn’t that a cliffhanger! I couldn’t understand what Anna was saying to Hughes, but did some research and found that Anna was afraid that if Bates knew, he might take action against Green which would result in a return to prison or maybe even a death sentence.

I also learned that Britishers were shocked at this plot twist, as Anna is the most loved actress in the series. Many vowed to give up watching, apparently, as they thought the depiction was too graphic. It wasn’t graphic at all, IMO, but perhaps they cleaned it up after complaints so we saw the PG version. Don’t know.

So what will happen? Will Anna find herself pregnant? Will Bates figure things out on his own, and take revenge? Will Barrow figure out things as well, take out Green and frame Bates for it?

Whose room did Edna enter at the end-Branson’s or Barrow’s?

Is the guy with Edith a gold digger or for real?

Will Branson leave?

I admit I was a bit bored with the story lines of last week, but things certainly got exciting this week.

P.S. - absolutely hate the 20’s women’s fashions - thoroughly unflattering. But they are perfectly depicted in the series.

“Will Barrow figure out things as well, take out Green and frame Bates for it?”

That could be a distinct possibility, although I’m not sure if they would want to turn Barrows into a killer. Where could you go with that? Unless the actor playing Barrows would want out of the series. Besides, they’ve got to keep their inside the house heavy. Every house has to have one, you know, lol.

What I want to know is where is Edith’s boyfriend, and has he dumped her or has something happened to him. Now Edith is knocked up, and he’s missing in action. Plus what hold does Thomas have over the Lady of the House’s maid? And where, of course, will the budding romance between the black singer and I forgot her name, go now that Mary has seen them making out? So many loose ends, so little time.

Finally got a chance to watch it!

The plot line with Edith is not surprising. She seems destined to be unlucky in love. Yes, what happened to dear Michael? Edith signed that document giving her power of attorney over his affairs while he was away. Is he a fugitive from the law or from some business dealings gone awry? He always seemed like a smarmy sort of fellow. But I don’t see what he could get from Edith by compromising her. I guess a payoff from her Papa of some kind.

I chuckled at Mary’s reaction to seeing Rose kiss the band leader. Who is she to cast judgement after having that amir die in her bed, then plotting to cover up the situation? I don’t think the relationship with Rose and the band leader will go anywhere. I just think it was a plot line to reveal the racial prejudices present at that time.

It’s fun to see Isobel get back her spunk. I had missed the repartee between her and Violet during the early part of the season. That’s a highlight of the series, IMO.

Will something develop between Mary and that land use analyst? They got off to a rocky start, but there are some sparks there. Reminded me of Pride and Prejudice. That actor was Foyle’s son (the RAF pilot) in Foyle’s War. Dashing fellow and good actor so I hope he sticks around for a bit.

Bates confirmed Anna’s suspicions that if the rapist were found, he would murder him.

There were several mentions of Cora’s brother, Harold. Wonder if they’re setting the stage for him to cross the pond? Has he been in the series before? I just recall her mother.

Thomas has something on Cora’s maid. He said as much. What kind of information is Thomas after? Seems as if he wants any kind of scuttlebutt she can dish out, but is there something specific he wants? Does he still have it in for Bates and wants to find a way to get rid of him once and for all?

Well, I guess last week was the end of this season's series.

I undoubtedly missed any announcement of this on the channel as I was jumping back and forth between "Downton" and some Olympic events I wanted to watch.

It'll be a long time for us till January. Although I must say it'll probably take me this long to figure out who all the multitude of new characters are....the field is getting a little crowded.

Leni

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