Downton Abbey, Episode 3

Wow, that is the only word I can use to describe this episode.
It's finally time for Edith's wedding, but money woes are still plaguing Downton and Matthew and Mary are having plenty of fights over it. However, Matthew finally receives a letter from Lavinia's father, Mr. Squire, and he learns that Lavinia must have written to her father just hours before her death. Matthew does not believe that though so Mary confronts the servants about it the next morning, asking if any of them posted a letter for Lavinia. None of the servants had, leaving us to believe that perhaps Mary concocted the letter herself, but then Daisy comes in and says that she did it, not believing that it would be a big deal. Instead of anger, Mary is grateful and tells Matthew the good news. He decides that now the money can go to saving Downton and will tell Robert directly after the wedding.
Meanwhile, Daisy debates on whether she should start speaking her mind more and tell Alfred (the new footman) how she really feels while Anna confronts one of Vera Bates's old friends to try and piece more of the story together, but she doesn't get that far. Thomas decides to start a nasty rumor that O'Brien is leaving which is untrue and O'Brien promises that he will pay for his deed. And he should know that better than anyone else as they used to be on the same team. Mrs. Hughes's health scare is under control as the results are back and the tumor is only benign, or so she says. Crisis avoided. And, trust me, we needed some good news after the disaster known as Edith's wedding.
Edith's wedding was to the main point of the episode. Now, Sir Anthony is a nice fellow, though he could easily be Edith's father. He was also injured in World War I and has no use of his right arm so Robert was quite against the marriage because Edith was going to be nothing more than a nurse. Edith, on the other hand, seemed fine with that, going as far as telling Sir Anthony that he was going to be her life's work. She is also quite looking forward to her wedding and looks absolutely gorgeous on the morning of her wedding and then, upon arriving at the alter, Sir Anthony says that he cannot marry her. I was crushed. It was shocking, I haven't been that shocked in some time. Edith felt the same way. She couldn't even look at her sisters, with their extreme happiness, while she was denied hers. Even O'Brien gathered some sympathy for her. (The servants got a meal fit for a king that night, eating all of the food intended for the wedding, including the lobster.) Isobel says that Edith needs to find a purpose in life and the sooner the better.
Now to the most interesting subplot, and it's not Bates and his nasty cell mate, who tried to hide something contraband in his bed. Instead, it's Ethel who is now a prostitute. Isobel is trying to urge her to get help, but she admits that she is too far gone, but there is much more to her story but have absolutely no clue what it could be.
Despite the devastation of the Edith's failed wedding, "it would have been too easy if they had gotten married." (My mother's line not mine.) She's right. Of course, we all wanted Edith to marry Anthony, but it would have too easy if that had gone forward, but that doesn't mean I'm not devastated and hope never to see Anthony ever again. I have a feeling I'm not the only one. However, what bothered me more was that Sybil and Tom are back for the wedding without any explanation and then they have three lines between them (next week, I have a feeling I'll much more to say and Tom will be in hot water) and Grandmama Martha left despite knowing that another granddaughter would be tying the knot, though perhaps it's a good thing she left when she did. And I hated the way Mary and Matthew would fight like cats and dogs, though hopefully that is all settled. Still, this episode will be long remembered because I haven't been upset for a fictional character in some time. Grade: B+