Season 1 – Enneagram and Encaustic

Episode 7

ONE

Housecleaning before the family returns from “the Season” in London. Hughes and Carson catch us up on William: He made it home in time to say goodbye to his mother. Gwen dashes in to tell them, “They’re here.”

July 1914. The murder of the Archduke is the main topic around the neighborhood. Okay, here comes the war.

TWO

As the family goes upstairs to change and “wash off the train” Hughes and Carson worry how they’ll tell them about Patmore, who’s worse. Also, is Bates leaving or not? His Lordship hasn’t decided yet because Bates won’t share any facts.

Now to Mary in London. She’s staying for a few weeks longer with Aunt Rosamund. They stroll the park (in fabulous clothes!) while Mary pretends the rumors about her are just stories. Will she marry Matthew? She’ll give her answer when she returns home.

O’Brien in the kitchen. She reads a note, and then asks Thomas to go out for a smoke with her.

THREE

Robert is surprised to see the doctor come from upstairs. Is Lady Grantham ill? Not exactly. (Cringe. I’ve dreaded this storyline.) Robert dashes upstairs. Cut to the bedroom as he says, “Pregnant!” The showrunners like to deliver momentous news with a jump cut, don’t they? He’s shocked but pleased.

Episode 6

ONE

The title card says May 1914. Time is passing between episodes.

TWO

Sybil is in the crowd at some rally. Oh, I see Mrs. Crawley in the background. I think it’s a women’s suffragette meeting, although it’s a man giving the speech. Men in the crowd throw things at him. Branson in chauffeur’s uniform comes up behind Sybil to protect her. Isabelle comes to Sybil and tells her it’s time to go home. Branson would lose his place if anything happened to you. Good argument!

As he drives her home they speak about politics. He respects Lord Grantham but believes he’s part of an oppressive class. Bold words. Sybil is not offended.

Carson and Hughes talk in his office. In the background we hear Patmore railing at Daisy. The doctor has confirmed she has cataracts. She’s scared. But she can’t keep treating Daisy like that. Carson holds a letter that seems to disturb him. No information yet, though.

Sybil comes through the kitchen. Her whirlwind disturbs William who disturbs Thomas. Bates puts in his two cents, and the staff area becomes tense for everyone. It’s just tension, with no idea of a specific Trouble.

Still contemplating his mysterious letter, Carson is late for his duties. Hughes has to come in and remind him.

Bates dresses Robert for dinner. They discuss politics throughout, and Bates mentions that Branson was at the rally. Ha, now Bates is stuck. He’s forced to tell Robert that Lady Sybil was also there.

THREE

At dinner Robert raises the issue with Sybil. He’s quite calm considering how outraged he was upstairs. And . . . there comes the explosion.

Episode 5

ONE

Gwen, Anna, and Daisy prepare Mary’s bedroom. Daisy, fumbling the andirons at the fireplace, says she hates this room. Flashback to her memory of Kemal being carried out. She says nothing, though, and Gwen shrugs.

Exterior shot of the Abbey, wildflowers in the foreground. I assume we are to feel a sense of summer.

In the dining room the family eats breakfast. Letters and sniping.

TWO

Sybil’s letter gets her up and down the hall. She’s applied for a secretarial job in Gwen’s name. When she’s told, Gwen is excited. Very straightforward Two: the traditions of Downton are changing.

Crawley House. Isabelle will write to Edith about this church tour offer. Matthew makes it clear he has no interest in her. This is a stealth Two. We won’t see how this Trouble develops until later.

Molesley would like to help the village flower show and is given permission. This, which seems kind of a throwaway moment, is the most resonant plotline in this episode. Fascinating structural choices.

THREE

Thomas, returning keys, hides a bottle of wine behind his back as Bates walks in. It’s Carson’s office, and we’ve heard him mention in a previous episode that wine has been missing. Let the sneaking, and its repercussions, commence.

Episode 4

ONE

The Downton Fair sets up in the village, introduced with a lengthy shot of the announcement poster.

TWO

Bates, Gwen, and Anna walk through the construction, excited to get a group together for the opening. Anna, seeing Lady Mary also in the square, sends the others on home. It gives the two women a chance to recap the dead-man-carry experience and share a friendly moment.

Robert at his desk, loyal dog at his feet, is ready to meet the new chauffeur. Here’s Branson! His story purpose in this episode is the “how times are changing” plot. One plotline always carries this theme.

The Dowager and Cora have tea on the lawn as they discuss Mary’s prospects. They’re not giving up. They’ll need a lawyer to fully examine this entail tangle, and Violet knows just the person.

THREE

(There is no Three.)

The moment above references Mary, the person we need at this beat. The Six makes that clear. I won’t count a discussion of Mary as the Three, though, because this scene is a Two mirror for the Eight. Mary’s trouble with the inheritance is part of the climax. It can’t play double duty as a Two and as a Three. The resolution of the entail is critical at the Eight, and this outdoor tea sets all that up. One quick little Mary moment at this beat, herself, in person, would’ve sufficed.

How very strange and disappointing. The next scene is clearly Four stuff, though, so here we are.

Episode 3

ONE

The grounds at Downton as Bates, in coat and bowler hat, walks off the property. A lovely period-dressed shot to establish the village, and then Bates is in the post office. He runs into one of the maids as she enters on her own business.

At the house Anna tries to wrestle a trunk from a high place. In walks Post Maid. “What are you doing?” They’re roommates and Anna needs space. But the luggage is unusually heavy, which is mysterious. Anna insists on knowing the contents.

Outdoors Cora approaches Mary on a bench reading a letter from Evelyn. He’ll be in the area. Cora insists he stay with them.

TWO

Cut to the luggage open on the bed. It’s a typewriter. Post Maid has been taking a correspondence course. O’Brien barges in on business and the two maids quickly block view of the secret until she exits. To want to leave service, to look for a job, is a big deal.

Cora tells Robert and the Dowager of Mary’s interest in Evelyn. Let the matchmaking begin! The Dowager’s only hesitation is to keep fighting for the inheritance for Mary.

Matthew on a bicycle freewheeling through the village, fresh off the train, comes upon Edith. Oh, aha. She and Mary, last episode, argued over Matthew. Mary doesn’t want him and Edith does. Here, she suggests a picnic lunch while touring the local churches. It’s very cringe.

Back to the typewriter. It’s now on the kitchen table and all the staff poke at it as an oddity. Carson comes in with Hughes to tame the wild beast. Ah, O’Brien brought it to light. Big tattletale! Gwen (Post Maid’s name) walks in, quite upset to see her private object in the public kitchen. Hughes, in charge of her and her welfare, insists she has a right to know. Lovely reaction shot of O’Brien as Anna says, “It was you.” Why, Hughes asks, did you buy this typewriter? “I want to be a secretary.” Oh, haha, delicious. The staff react as if a lion is loose. Carson’s face is priceless.

Episode 2

ONE

A car with luggage passes a horse-drawn carriage through the village. Ah, the Crawleys, mother and son, are inside.

TWO

They arrive at Crawley House. Interesting: there’s a house waiting. Feel the weight of the legacy. Matthew wants to turn down the inheritance; his mother makes clear that is a legal impossibility. This is all good storymaking. Characters must accept the thing they want least.

Molesley, butler and valet, greets them. Of course Matthew balks. He’s a middle-class man who doesn’t want to be changed by a title.

THREE

Now we get Cora’s and Robert’s perspective. The former heir, Patrick, was raised to understand his role. Again, reinforcing the fish out of water trope for Matthew.

Episode 1

ONE

As the credits roll we see a wireless transmitting a message intercut with a rolling steam locomotive. Immediately we know we’re in an historical period. Whatever is on this ticker tape, the news shocks the clerk.

The house, the grand Downton estate exterior, is established. April 1912.

Inside, the servants awaken. The staff, a lot of people, bustle throughout the house, lighting fires, opening drapes, preparing trays. Different characters get close-ups, and then here come the keys. It’s Mr. Carson and Mrs. Hughes, our chiefs of staff. I have no idea, but this seems like a huge house of servants for the early 20th century. The sense that Downton is approaching a milestone is evident before we even hear the plot.

TWO

A bicycle messenger approaches the house, meaning the newspapers have finally arrived. “You’ll see why,” he says. The staff all know what the big news is, but we don’t.

Lord Grantham and his dog descend for breakfast. Ah, he knows, too. It’s Titanic. Of course. Someone important to the family was onboard.

O’Brien, Her Ladyship’s maid, gossips with staff and lets us in on what’s important: Mr. Crawley’s dead and Mr. Patrick was his only son. They were heir to the title.

A just-arrived man with a cane is Bates, the new valet. Handshake from maid Anna, stone face from O’Brien (which pretty much tells you what you need to know about each character). Mrs. Hughes wonders how he can manage with his limp. Mr. Carson comes in and smoothes it all, even though he has concerns.

THREE

Grantham again reiterates that his first cousin and the son are dead. Mary, the eldest daughter, will be the most impacted. She was unofficially engaged to Patrick so that the estate could stay in the family, but no romantic feelings were involved.