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.
Continue reading “Episode 4”