Downton Abbey

[nokidsmom]

Re: the baby heir. I remember Matthew saying something like "Downton has two heirs, now". Based on that, there was a "heir and a spare" situation, however briefly. With Matthew's death, the baby still would be the heir succeeding Lord Gratham since the baby is the designated heir's (Matthew's) son not Mary's son. I am not sure if it's necessary for the heir to actually inherit the office in order to "qualify" a next heir but maybe I am wrong. Not an expert on the whole primogeniture thing. May someone else can weigh in.

Now if the baby had turned out to be a daugther, then it would be definitely back to square one on the heir problem as presented in the first season and then they would have to look at other lines in the family.

[CrankyCatLady]

She is the mother to the heir, but she has no legal standing. That said, I doubt her parents are going to kick her out. And I don't know what happens if she re-marries at some point.

[nokidsmom]

She is the mother to the heir, but she has no legal standing. That said, I doubt her parents are going to kick her out. And I don't know what happens if she re-marries at some point.

Right, Mary has no legal standing by herself. She can't inherit Downton directly, but she was going to "pseudo-inherit" it through Matthew and thereby become mistress of Downton anyway. Now that's changed and she's sidelined again.

Interesting if another marriage prospect appears down the line and she's goes through another round of angst surrounding remarriage.

[Bethella]

Right, Mary has no legal standing by herself. She can't inherit Downton directly, but she was going to "pseudo-inherit" it through Matthew and thereby become mistress of Downton anyway. Now that's changed and she's sidelined again.

Interesting if another marriage prospect appears down the line and she's goes through another round of angst surrounding remarriage.

But she'll still be mistress/in charge of Downton if Robert dies before the baby reaches his majority (like a regency but I don't remember the actual terminology) and I highly doubt that he would throw his own mother out of the estate once he did reach his majority.

[Markie]

I'd sure hate to be pregnant or have a baby on Downton Abbey. 1) Cora miscarries, 2) Ethel gives birth, father does not claim baby and dies, hands baby over to paternal grandparents, 3) Sybil dies just after giving birth, 4) Matthew dies just after Mary has baby.

Does not bode well for Anna and John Bates or any other characters on this show.

[nokidsmom]

But she'll still be mistress/in charge of Downton if Robert dies before the baby reaches his majority (like a regency but I don't remember the actual terminology) and I highly doubt that he would throw his own mother out of the estate once he did reach his majority.

One other thing I didn't think about when I said she was sidelined and it's so darn obvious: she now inherits the money Matthew inherited from Lavinia's dad, money that is needed to keep Downton running. So no, she won't be sidelined in addition to any "regency" role she takes on in the event of Robert's death before baby heir Crawley is of age.

Another twist is that now she's a rich widow with a son who's heir to an earldom. Maybe her (re)marriage prospects won't be so tarnished by the Pamuk affair. Pamuk?? Who's he?? And BTW, we never got to see whether Sir Richard followed through on his threat to reveal that affair and create a scandal did we?

[treehugger]

I would love to have the Pamuk thingy resurface again - although that might be too cruel to Mary. Then again - she has never really suffered in her life (unlike her other sisters).

[CrankyCatLady]

Well. This was in the Daily Mail today, for whatever that's worth. http:// www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2 ... erest.html

[Bethella]

Well. This was in the Daily Mail today, for whatever that's worth. http:// http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/ar ... erest.html

Definitely the Daily Fail- they couldn't even get the sex of Mary and Matthew's baby right!

[rbella627]

Awww, I was hoping Mary and Branson would hook up next season. :(

Matthew's death- I saw coming from a mile away, since I heard ahead of time Dan Stevens would not be back. Even so, the purpose for his character was done- he saved Downton and produced an heir, I guess they couldn't leave it as a happy ending just yet.

I was also surprised at how accepting they all were of Thomas's proclivities. I thought at that time period it was pretty taboo and hush-hush? The writers have definitely tried hard to make him more sympathetic this past season.

[Worldofchances2giveu]

Awww, I was hoping Mary and Branson would hook up next season. :(

Matthew's death- I saw coming from a mile away, since I heard ahead of time Dan Stevens would not be back. Even so, the purpose for his character was done- he saved Downton and produced an heir, I guess they couldn't leave it as a happy ending just yet.

I was also surprised at how accepting they all were of Thomas's proclivities. I thought at that time period it was pretty taboo and hush-hush? The writers have definitely tried hard to make him more sympathetic this past season.

Mary with Branson? For the me that just feels awkward happening so soon but I do wish he would find some time of important work with the family. He's the only one that gets what it is like to actually work and not just be handed everything. At this point he's the only one left with that knowledge.

I knew Matthew was going to die and I knew it happened in the original Christmas special (in fact i saw it, just like sybil's death, in a youtube video) I had no clue how it would be edited for American broadcasting (how i was watching) so I just sat and waited for my heart to break as my favorite characters died. All I am left with now is Tom and maybe Mary depending on if I can stand her that episode or not.

[mpheels]

I can't see Mary and Branson having a romantic relationship, but I can see them developing a platonic power couple thing. The writers have to come up with a reason to keep Branson around. One of the driving themes of the show is rapidly changing society. Mary has always been an odd mix of being ahead of her time while holding onto the past for dear life. She could easily step up and take over a lot the work Matthew was doing, especially with Branson and Robert as the public faces of the estate. Mary does not need to marry for money anymore, so she can find a nice guy who adores her and will let her be the boss.

[nokidsmom]

Bummer, just read that Siobhan Finneran who plays O'Brien will not be returning for season 4. So much for getting some of her backstory on future episodes.

[lilith]

Bummer, just read that Siobhan Finneran who plays O'Brien will not be returning for season 4. So much for getting some of her backstory on future episodes.

That sucks, O'Brien is a great character.

[CrankyCatLady]

Fellowes didn't do a very good job of tying down these actors for more than a couple of seasons. I was really hoping that O'Brien would be around - I'd love to know her back story. I'm really wondering how season 4 is going to stack up now.

[Worldofchances2giveu]

With so many of the cast leaving, i'm beginning to lose interest in this show as fast as I became interested in it.

[Claddagh]

Bummer, just read that Siobhan Finneran who plays O'Brien will not be returning for season 4. So much for getting some of her backstory on future episodes.

That sure sucks. With so much of the original cast leaving I don't think the show will have a much longer life span.

I really wanted to learn more about O'Brien.

[crazyforkate]

Okay, guys, spoilers for Series 4. I have just learned that

the offspring of Mary and Matthew has been named George

which is

the same as my grandpa - George Crawley! The whole family has flipped out on FB over it. Does this mean I get to claim Mary is my great-grandmother?

[kpmom]

Okay, guys, spoilers for Series 4. I have just learned that

the offspring of Mary and Matthew has been named George

which is

the same as my grandpa - George Crawley! The whole family has flipped out on FB over it. Does this mean I get to claim Mary is my great-grandmother?

Ohhh, so are you

in line to inherit the estate? Can you imagine the upkeep on such a place?

Do you think

the writers of the show named him George in honor of the new prince?

[thekate]

Ohhh, so are you

in line to inherit the estate? Can you imagine the upkeep on such a place?

Do you think

the writers of the show named him George in honor of the new prince?

Only if crazyforkate

is male. :cry: Unbreakable entail! :naughty:

[lizziesmom]

Season Four Trailer is out.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/3 ... 49645.html

[crazyforkate]

Series 4 Episode 1 Recap, sorry for the delay:

http://blog.freejinger.org/worldly-dist ... isode-one/

[crazyforkate]

Series 4, Episode 2. Carson gets a blast from the past while Mary struggles with new roles in life and Anna has an adventure.

http://blog.freejinger.org/worldly-dist ... episode-2/

[crazyforkate]

Episode Three: Downton throws a party, and people re-evaluate.

MAJOR Trigger Warning for

rape

http://blog.freejinger.org/worldly-dist ... ode-three/

[shrewlu]

Episode Three: Downton throws a party, and people re-evaluate.

MAJOR Trigger Warning for

rape

http://blog.freejinger.org/worldly-dist ... ode-three/

Wish I had seen your trigger warning before I watched it. I was really not expecting that...at all. :o