The Wedding That Wasn't

Oh, Edith. What a sad, yet not totally unexpected, turn of events. The day had started so well, with Downton looking so beautiful for the post-wedding festivities. Edith was radiant, not only because of her imminent nuptials, but also because the day was about her, for once. Remember, Edith has a huge case of the Jan Brady middle child syndrome. The sisters all looked lovely, and Edith did manage to stifle her jealousy long enough to request a photo of the three of them before the ceremony. Mary also managed to put aside her sisterly dislike and have a nice moment with Edith.

Sir Anthony’s timing was, as Violet would say, most unfortunate. Although, in this case, Violet thought it was just in time and was urging Sir Anthony to leave, never mind breaking her granddaughter's heart. If you’re going to bolt, try to decide before the bride makes it all the way down the aisle, smiling and happy. The family's attitude towards Sir Anthony certainly didn't help, with all the talk of the 25-year age difference and the fact that Edith would be his nurse. Even Edith at one point said that she loved him because he needed her, which struck me as a bad reason to get married. Of course, her other main reason seemed to be because her sisters were married, and she hated being left out. Jilted at the altar, Edith rushed home to throw her veil quite prettily over the second floor railing and toss that lovely tiara on the floor. What if someone had stepped on it and hurt themselves, or even worse, broken the tiara? Edith was so distraught that she couldn't even bear the sight of her sisters, what with their status as wives, and Edith's new status as spinster.

Robert ordered the house cleared of all wedding decor and the furniture put back in order before Edith came back downstairs. The food was split between the family, the servants, and local charities. Watching Alfred perusing the "fancy" food provided some amusement, and I must say I was quite impressed with Mrs. Patmore's skill in the kitchen. If only we had taste-o-vision!

Carson managed to ferret out the information that Mrs. Hughes was sick with what could be cancer. He did a poor job of hiding his knowledge from Mrs. Hughes and even mentioned it to Cora, who was already under the impression that O'Brien was quitting (thanks to Thomas's lies to Moseley). Cora's kind nature shone through when she called Mrs. Hughes to her room and told her that if she was sick, then she was welcome to stay at Downton and that they would take care of her. Mrs. Hughes was extremely grateful, but I expect nothing less from Cora.

Carson confronted O'Brien about her leaving during a staff meal, stating that Moseley had told Cora that O’Brien was leaving. O'Brien immediately confronted Moseley, who couldn't manage to stammer out that Thomas told him before everyone dispersed. He did manage to tell O'Brien later, and I think we all know that the O’Brien/Thomas feud is not ending anytime soon. I can't believe that Moseley didn't know that Thomas is not to be trusted. Shouldn't that be basic information that is told to everyone when they enter the house? "Welcome to Downton, Thomas is not to be trusted." It would save so much trouble!

Anna is still working to prove Bates's innocence, interviewing one of Vera's neighbors. Not only did Anna hear the neighbor's version of the Bates' marriage (Vera was scared of her husband), but she also was called a trollop! Of course the neighbor didn't know that Anna was said trollop, but I'm not too sure that would have stopped her. Meanwhile, Bates has an enemy in his cell-mate, and luckily is informed of a setup to get him in trouble. Bates manages to search his bed, comes across what looks like a joint just before the guards came to search the cell, and manages to hide/crush it into the wall.

Mrs. Hughes spent most of the episode waiting for her test results to determine if she has cancer. Finally it was determined that she was cancer free. Since she and Carson were keeping up the pretense that he was ignorant of her illness, Mrs. Patmore was the go-between to tell Carson that there was no cancer. Afterwards, Mrs. Hughes sees Carson happily polishing the silver, singing (!) a love song. This could be interesting.

Matthew was still grappling with the moral dilemma of what to do with Reggie Swire's money, should he inherit. Mary was haranguing him at every turn, and while almost everyone on last night's live chat agreed that Matthew should save Downton, it would have been nice if Mary had shut it for just a few minutes. However, when Matthew refused to read the letter that Reggie had written to him in regards to the inheritance, Mary took matters into her own hands, read it, and after being accused of faking the letter (since it let Matthew off the hook, seeing Reggie wrote that he knew that Matthew and Lavinia had broken up), even found proof that Lavinia had indeed written a letter to her father telling him of the break and sent it the day she died. Matthew finally caved, and after Edith's disastrous wedding, was able to give Robert the good news that he would give them the money they needed to save the house, saving the day.

He keeps managing to save Downton for the Crawleys (the first time was when he fell in love with Mary and married her). Next week looks to be just as fun. See you then!