I hate to admit I missed Sunday... Our PBS had 2 hrs the first
week... but I forgot last Sunday. Then it didn't appear on
OnDemand until yesterday. So I watched it last night.

Very intense I have to say! And I continue to worry about Edith and her choice of suitor... Something unpleasant is going to happen I suspect with her.

The party was interesting....and Mrs. Pattimore reminds me more and more of my Grandmother!

It was good.

I watch the show for Mary's clothes and for Carson's lines.
He and Mrs Hughes watch over everyone.

My friend likes the clothes too. I like it all.

I do like Mary's clothes also. And strangely I do like the cars.
Hubby mentioned the old autos too on this episode. The one Shirley MacLaine arrived in in a previous season, was very nifty IMO. I like almost all the vintage stuff, esp the medical. The time period was quite interesting from an artistic perspective too. Art Nouveau moving into Art Deco was a very nice period of interesting design IMO.

I like the kitchen scenes. I remember bowls similar when I was very young, watching the cooking. I found a photo of me at about 2yrs old (not long ago while cleaning out a drawer in my studio) looking into a bowl that looks just like the bowls being used in this show! My babysitter was from the Ukraine and made all her own bread and doughs (Pierogi from scratch too). And so did my grandmother, who was short and like Mrs. Pattison the cook.

So that kitchen is nostalgic for me.

My mother did not cook much.

Why is Mary wearing a lot of, or possible only, purple? Is this having to do with what happened at the very end of last season? Sort of like some folks wear dark colors here for awhile after someone very close dies (not usually purple though). I think I missed something.


I like all the characters...Mrs. Hughes is great! I don't like that guy...Barrows...or whatever his name is. The sneaky, devilish one. But, I guess that is part of what makes it fun!

There were actually "mourning rules".

Black clothing was worn during a sometimes very long mourning period in the Victorian era and into the Edwardian era although in Edwardian it wasn't as strictly followed. Purple (and shades of purple and I think grey) was worn in a sort of transition stage... coming out of mourning but not quite if you know what I mean. Downton abbey is set in Post-Edwardian era, so mourning conventions weren't as strict then as during Queen Victoria's reign. Queen Victoria actually wore black for the whole of her life after her husband died.

The only thing I don't like about the show is it's only on for 1 hour. I wish it was on for 2 hours. Or maybe be like a soap opera & on every night.

Some of the cast of Downton out of costume ....
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/0....html?ir=Media

I decided to look up Dan Stevens on Google.

He is the actor who played Matthew Crawley. I found his real life
photo disturbing...esp his eyes. In fact the Downton character bothered me quite a bit too, and while I was upset about his manner of leaving the show, I was quietly and secretly glad he was gone!

So I found this:
http://www.dan-stevens.co.uk/

There are discussions and comments about his new role in The Guest, where he plays a sadistic psychopath very convincingly!
His eyes played into several of the critiques and comments about it.

I found the most interesting photo was of Mrs. Hughes, in real life, as Phyllis Logan. Her portrayal of Mrs. Hughes is even more fascinating to me now, seeing that huge transformation!

Thanks, Chemar, for finding this interesting link. I really enjoyed it and am always spellbound watching Downton Abbey because of its attention to detail, and high quality all around!