Downton Abbey - Recap: Gotta Get Through This

I actually liked this episode, but thought it suffered from Julian Fellowes trying to do too much with the story. Much like every other episode this season so far, we could have cut out any number of storylines, whether it's Edith (Laura Carmichael) being shunned by the Drewes (a worthy storyline, but one which gets no real attention here), or whether it's Molesley complaining about his role as First Footman. Hell, as cute as it was, I'm not sure I even needed to see Lord Merton proposing to Isobel (Penelope Wilton), especially since it's yet another case where any sort of interest is pushed off to next week. Isobel agreeing to Merton's suggestion to "think about it" seems less like a choice the character is making, and more a stalling tactic to give Fellowes time to write his way out of this storyline. Whether that's actually the case or not remains to be seen, but the fact that it even feels that way is a mark against the storytelling this season: nothing feels important, yet everything somehow feels wasteful, like there are better stories the show could be telling, but is simply choosing not to.

Credit: Nick Briggs/ITV

Of course, there are a few morsels of intrigue here and there, as Violet (Maggie Smith) reveals her past with Prince Kuragin (Rade Sherbedgia), explaining to Isobel that she nearly ran off with him decades earlier, but decided against it. Also interesting is the news that a court is placing a German gang leader on trial. The man facing trial is one who'd encountered Gregson, and I suppose the implication is that Gregson was killed at his hands, and it's an intriguing possibility to finally get closure on Gregson. But because this is gradually becoming Nothing-Ever-Happens Abbey, we get nothing of the sort, as Edith decides she'd rather not know conclusively. It's maddening, although not nearly as maddening as the continued presence of Sarah Bunting (Daisy Lewis), who has now made it clear that she has no interest in being anything other than an insufferable rabble-rouser. She takes Cora's gracious invitation to dinner and essentially uses the opportunity to badger Robert (Hugh Bonneville) about what she perceives to be his classist views, accusing him of not supporting Daisy's (Sophie McShera) education, and even going as far as to accuse him of not even knowing the girl's name. Robert sends for Daisy and Mrs. Patmore (Lesley Nicol) to ask if Daisy's studies have been interfering with kitchen work, at which point Daisy launches into a passionate defense of Miss Bunting. She says that even if nothing ever comes of her education, she knows she has options, interests, views and facts now, none of which she ever had before. It's a lovely little scene for Sophie McShera, but more comes of it than I was expecting...

Credit: Nick Briggs/ITV

Apparently, rumors of this discord in the kitchen only came to light because Mrs. Patmore, in a moment of frustration over Mr. Carson's decision to keep her nephew's name off of the war memorial, stated that Daisy's studies are causing her to fall behind in her work. Thus, Robert tries to get things sorted out. However, Miss Bunting can't seem to let well enough alone once she's proven right about the value of Daisy's education, insinuating that Robert wants Daisy to fail. In what may be the angriest I've seen Robert get since season two, he loudly orders her to leave his house and never return, before storming off to bed in a huff. Naturally, Miss Bunting was the final straw, since Robert is stressed the entire episode: Shrimpy, Rose's father, getting a divorce, and this forces him to take a second look at his own marriage, and at the threat presented by Simon Bricker (Richard E. Grant), who is flirting with Cora (Elizabeth McGovern) as shamelessly as ever. Also on Robert's mind is Mr Wavell, the developer who wishes to build homes on Downton property. In short, one could see why Robert might be a bit on edge, and why Miss Bunting's patronizing tone would set him off. And yet, throughout the rest of the episode, Robert is somehow depicted as the bad guy for losing his temper? Even though it was Miss Bunting who came into Robert's house and immediately began disrespecting him at his own table! Miss Bunting is a reminder of why I didn't like Branson (Allen Leech) at first: it wasn't just that he had differing views from the Granthams when he first arrived at Downton, and it wasn't even that he refused to play by their rules. Rather, what was off-putting about him at the time was that he felt compelled to throw his views in their face at every opportunity. It just read as disrespectful, and make Branson come across as a bit of a jackass, in much the same way Miss Bunting comes across here. That said, at least Branson gets to explain what he sees in her, telling Mary (Michelle Dockery) that, since Sybil died, it's been rare for him to meet someone with whom he can share his genuine beliefs. And that's kind of an indictment of the Granthams, and how uncomfortable Branson still feels among them.

Credit: Nick Briggs/ITV

Yet it's Mary whose love life is the one shaping up to be the most intriguing. She encounters Charles Blake (Julian Ovenden) and reveals to him that she plans on dumping Tony Gillingham (Tom Cullen). Blake isn't entirely convinced that Gillingham is going to take it that well, although Mary is more optimistic, even if a little nervous. However, she couldn't have possibly predicted just how badly Gillingham would take the news. In short, he downright REFUSES to be dumped, calling her out on having taken him into her bed, entertained his hopes, and even told him she loved him. He's shocked that a lady would do this to a proper gentleman, and he demands an explanation. Yet Mary can't give him one, because she isn't even sure what it is about him that she isn't feeling anymore. And you can imagine how well Gillingham takes that...or maybe you can't without seeing it, since this feels like a pretty sudden heel turn for Gillingham, who's otherwise been shown to be a decent guy for the past year and change. Of course, his insistence last year that he and Mary would be together, even over her objections, seems a lot more sinister now. Hell, it even makes this overreaction seem perfectly in character with how he views love. He's decided he's going to be with Mary, so he feels she should be similarly open to the pairing, even though the chemistry is no longer there for her. And that's not how love works. Sure, it's lame of her to spend an entire week, locked in a hotel room having sex with him, even confessing her love, only to go back on that word. But that's her right. And it's downright creepy that Gillingham outright tells her they aren't splitting up, chalking this up to a setback in their relationship. He declares that they'll get through this, that they have to get through this, together. Yet it's not a sweet declaration, it's forceful. And final. And that's what makes it so damn creepy, since Mary apparently has no say in her own love life, her agency having been stripped from her. I wish I could say I always saw this darkness in ol' Tony, but this was a pretty big shocker to me.

Credit: Nick Briggs/ITV

But Tony isn't the only creepy one this week, as Bates (Brendan Coyle) is similarly eerie. Once again, he drops hints and phrases that suggest he might have been involves in Green's murder, and yet Anna (Joanna Froggatt) doesn't just come out and ask Bates if he had anything to do with it, instead deciding to worry about it to herself. This becomes problematic, as she decides to visit the scene of the alleged crime, and is spotted by the sergeant investigating Green's death. Suddenly, she shoots to the top of his suspects list. So now we're faced with the possibility that Bates, whether he did the crime or not, will confess in order to save Anna. Granted, the possibility is just as real that the story won't go that way, but no matter which direction this storyline takes, the lack of progress has been utterly wearying, to where I can't imagine the payoff will justify the route it took to get there. Faring a little better is the ongoing story between Thomas (Rob James-Collier) and Baxter (Raquel Cassidy), who discovers that Thomas was lying about his father's "death" last week in order to get out of work to be treated for an undisclosed condition. Thomas doesn't want Baxter's pity, but whatever is wrong with him, it's eating him alive. The man looks like grim death the entire episode, suggesting that things are far more severe for him than he's leading on. And that has the potential to be an interesting storyline, far more so than, say, Robert's decision to refuse Wavell's money in order to build homes on Downton land himself. I've never particularly cared for all the estate business the show keeps shoveling into the narrative, and this latest development doesn't change that opinion on my end. At this point, I just want things to get going to wherever they're going to end up. I get that this is a show with patient storytelling, but this season has been downright lethargic.

Yet, with all that said, the stuff with the Dowager Countess, Mary's love life, Robert's row with Miss Bunting, and Thomas' mystery condition were enough to, ultimately, make this a worthwhile episode. I'm not sure where Downton Abbey is heading from here, but I'm hoping the payoff is worth the build.