Downton Abbey - I'm hooked

[Worf]

Julian Fellowes needs to invite in a writing to help him. The show has stagnated for a couple years now. The storylines are stale. I'm still interested in the characters, but I'm not at all interested in any of their stories. I enjoyed the aftershow about manners more than I did the new episode. We've been there. I don't want to go there again.

I agree wholeheartedly. Couldn't have said it any better myself.

Worf

 

[Ernest P Shackleton]

Edith's arc with the local family and her child seems awfully predictable. I hope I'm wrong.

 

[Babydoll]

While watching the trailer for the new Cinderella movie due out this spring, I realized that not only is Cinderella played by Lily James (Rose on Downton Abbey), but Drizella is played by Sophie McShera (Daisy on Downton Abbey). I'm not sure how I feel about Lily as Cinderella. The expressions and cadence she used (what I saw in the brief trailer) seemed a lot like Rose's character. I hope I'm wrong.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1661199/fullcredits/

 

[WarHorse]

Rather late on joining this thread....just about as late as I was to finding this series. I'd heard about it when and all the hoopla it generated while deployed to Afghanistan, but of course couldn't get it there. After coming back home I never thought to look it up or find a schedule. Joined my wife for the season permier of Season 4 (or 5, I'm notsure) and was hooked. I went back to the beginning and am just finishing season 2 now (while watching the weekly releases - makes for a strange sequencing but I've really enjoyed it). After thinking about it, what draws me to the show is the depth of character development, the intertwining sub-plots, and the caste structure of the house servants (never knew there was such a stratified organization). Great show.

 

[Babydoll]

Are you at JBLM, Warhorse?

 

[Worf]

Rather late on joining this thread....just about as late as I was to finding this series. I'd heard about it when and all the hoopla it generated while deployed to Afghanistan, but of course couldn't get it there. After coming back home I never thought to look it up or find a schedule. Joined my wife for the season permier of Season 4 (or 5, I'm notsure) and was hooked. I went back to the beginning and am just finishing season 2 now (while watching the weekly releases - makes for a strange sequencing but I've really enjoyed it). After thinking about it, what draws me to the show is the depth of character development, the intertwining sub-plots, and the caste structure of the house servants (never knew there was such a stratified organization). Great show.

Welcome aboard. I didn't watch the first season either but eventually went back and binged watched em all and got caught up quite quickly. I'm glad you're enjoying the show... If you can catch a recent PBS special called "The Manners of Downton Abbey" wherein some of the arcane rituals and such are explained by the show's "resident expert" on Edwardian England.

Worf

PS Thanks for your service I was a Sgt. in the Regular Army many decades ago.

 

[Gingerella72]

Any theories on what Thomas is up to? My guess is he's trying rid himself of his gayness by some horrific snake oil he was duped into (that ad he called about on the phone - "choose" your own path).

 

[Babydoll]

What I read on an episode review is that he's taking medicine to "cure" himself from being gay. Sad.

(Hubby didn't pick up on it, so I had to explain it. He'd hoped it would have been something more exciting/racy. Sadly, no.)

 

[Benzadmiral]

Any theories on what Thomas is up to? My guess is he's trying rid himself of his gayness by some horrific snake oil he was duped into (that ad he called about on the phone - "choose" your own path).

How many of the other characters know about his "path," and of those, who might he talk to about it? (In order for the audience to understand what he's doing with the hypodermic, I mean. I thought he might have gotten into morphine or something.) I get the impression that he has no real friends any longer among the staff, now that Jimmy has left.

On another topic, but related: Now that I've watched DA, it's time for me to go back and reread some of the Lord Peter Wimsey stories. Sayers was writing in this same time period, the decade after the Great War, as was Agatha Christie. I read a lot of their 1920s-1930s works when I was a teenager, but I had no visual reference for the way people dressed or the way houses and rooms looked. DA has given me that.

 

[Fading Fast]

How many of the other characters know about his "path," and of those, who might he talk to about it? (In order for the audience to understand what he's doing with the hypodermic, I mean. I thought he might have gotten into morphine or something.) I get the impression that he has no real friends any longer among the staff, now that Jimmy has left.

On another topic, but related: Now that I've watched DA, it's time for me to go back and reread some of the Lord Peter Wimsey stories. Sayers was writing in this same time period, the decade after the Great War, as was Agatha Christie. I read a lot of their 1920s-1930s works when I was a teenager, but I had no visual reference for the way people dressed or the way houses and rooms looked. DA has given me that.

On your first point, while it is horrific if Thomas is going through some "cure" for being gay, it is also interesting if that - and I'm sure that Fellow's did he research - is historically accurate. For a moment I thought insulin, then drugs and, then, my girlfriend guessed a "cure." As to having no friends, you reap what you sow. He's a miserable, conniving and selfish person who has chased out if his life all the decent people who have tried to help him.

On your second point, couldn't agree more - it is great to have a visual of the clothes, hairstyles, manners, houses, etc. of this world as books, especially the of-the-period ones that take for granted that you are familiar with the cultural references. There was a special at the start of this season called "Manners of the House" or something like that, that explained a lot of these cultural points. If you missed it, keep an eye out for it as I think you would really enjoy it.

 

[Benzadmiral]

On your first point, while it is horrific if Thomas is going through some "cure" for being gay, it is also interesting if that - and I'm sure that Fellow's did he research - is historically accurate. For a moment I thought insulin, then drugs and, then, my girlfriend guessed a "cure." As to having no friends, you reap what you sow. He's a miserable, conniving and selfish person who has chased out if his life all the decent people who have tried to help him.

On your second point, couldn't agree more - it is great to have a visual of the clothes, hairstyles, manners, houses, etc. of this world as books, especially the of-the-period ones that take for granted that you are familiar with the cultural references. There was a special at the start of this season called "Manners of the House" or something like that, that explained a lot of these cultural points. If you missed it, keep an eye out for it as I think you would really enjoy it.

Right; the actor does a fine job of giving Thomas Barrow a distinctly unlikeable vibe, and he's worked himself into an isolated position. My point is, how will the script bring out what he's up to? Who can he plausibly explain it to? Mr. Carson knows about his predilections, and there may be others . . . but I can't see him telling Carson or anyone else about this, unless he's backed into a corner.

"If you wish to continue your employment here, Mr. Barrow, you will tell me the reasons for this . . . paraphernalia; and you will tell me now."

 

[Worf]

I say he's not trying to "cure" his gayness... though you may be right. I thought it was more him trying to "transform" himself into what he may feel inside... a woman. But it maybe because I recently watched "Transparent"....

Worf

 

[vintage.vendeuse]

Right; the actor does a fine job of giving Thomas Barrow a distinctly unlikeable vibe

He certainly does! And this same actor portrayed a very likeable (and straight) guy on Coronation Street a few years back. My mother had quite the crush on him then.

 

[Ernest P Shackleton]

The scuttlebutt is that DA will be finished after season 6, and that Fellowes is going to then start working on a period piece in NYC about the Gilded Age.

 

[Fading Fast]

The scuttlebutt is that DA will be finished after season 6, and that Fellowes is going to then start working on a period piece in NYC about the Gilded Age.

Edith Wharton is a tough act to follow. "House of Mirth" is in my top ten of all time books and combined with "Age of Innocence" covers Gilded Age NY pretty darn well. That said, always open to new interpretations and, if it is half as good as season one of DA, it will be worth watching.

 

[sheeplady]

What I read on an episode review is that he's taking medicine to "cure" himself from being gay. Sad.

(Hubby didn't pick up on it, so I had to explain it. He'd hoped it would have been something more exciting/racy. Sadly, no.)

I find this story line (if it goes this way, which it likely will) disappointing. I thought it would be much more interesting if something had happened with Thomas' father coupled with Jimmy leaving and Thomas developed something near a conscious/ guilt and turned towards substance abuse.

I would like to see Thomas' character turned around a bit- I do think there is good someplace in him; and I think hitting rock bottom and finding out that the people in the house care for him could bring that out. Not that he'll ever be a saint, but I found the story line with Cora's lady's maid, Baxter, to be a bit harsh, even for him. When Thomas hated Mr. Bates, it was mainly because of envy for Mr. Bate's position and deeply held beliefs about disability; and that seemed like a decent motivation to want Mr. Bates gone in order to advance. But with Baxter, the only motivation is to manipulate her, for very little gain (information? why does Thomas need information?). Thomas can be mean and all, but he's typically calculated mean for personal gain.

I think we saw some of the good when Thomas was humbled by Anna and Mr. Bates saving his position; and he turned from a Bates-hater to an easy truce.

The idea of trying to "change" one's sexuality doesn't sit well with me, for so many reasons. It's also NOT interesting to me.


Also, I am really sick of Edith getting the short end of the stick. Really sick of it- if they steal her child I'm going to be so upset.

 

[Ernest P Shackleton]

I find it somewhat interesting that Thomas would try this realignment. He has no one, and while Jimmy was good for him, Jimmy was also bad for him. It delayed loneliness for him. It was nothing more than a respite from his lifelong loneliness. That's the thing about Thomas, and probably many others in his position. A lot of this scheming and negative drive are attempts to distract himself from his own position. Really, we all do this. He has no distractions anymore. He's facing cold, hard reality in the mirror, and because he's getting older, that's another factor for facing his own situation. And within the foreseeable future, his profession will be made obsolete. He has nothing. He has no one. His future is coming quickly, and it is darker than maybe even he imagined. An act of desperation like this adds a layer to his character and has the potential to pull in a few of the other characters that are lost in the stagnant writing of Fellowes.

I wish it would have been a little more obvious what he was doing. I don't mean that I wanted it to be heavyhanded and slapped in any faces, but even another second or two on the magazine page would have been helpful. They flashed it by us, and I have a feeling a lot of people missed it.

 

[Ernest P Shackleton]

Should I be having a less difficult time believing they would invest this kind of time and manpower into Greene's death? I don't buy that they would, but I also know little of Scotland Yard, particularly at that time. It's not a very interesting arc. Even if Gillingham comes to the conclusion he wants to hurt Mary out of spite or...I just don't care about Greene, the resolution, or how karma comes to roost. I don't care if Bates proves to be nothing more than a ruthless criminal. My goodness, Fellowes. Please don't make me not care about any of them. Can we please skip a decade...or race into WWII?

They laid no groundwork for Gillingham to go from socially liberal to heavyhanded with Mary. He's understandably frustrated with her and could be unraveling, but what evidence has been shared that he is like this? Just because people act differently from friends to lovers? I don't think Fellowes has earned my belief in where this has gone.

 

[Babydoll]

Did anyone watch Downton last night? What did you think?

(Hubby commented that it seemed to have a lot more "action" than previous episodes.)

 

[Doctor Strange]

I think the show is redundant, has exhausted its story ideas, and keeps boring plots like who-killed-Green going way for WAY too long... but for some reason, I still enjoy watching it.