This was probably one of my favorite episodes this season, until the disastrous ending.
Edith (Laura Carmichael) believes that she has come up with a plan to keep her baby close to her. She will give it to a local farmer, but her aunt (Samantha Bond) doesn't believe that this will work. So she and Edith will journey to Switzerland (thank goodness) for several months and the baby will be adopted by a kind, loving family there. Edith reluctantly goes along with this plan. Also of note, Granny (Maggie Smith) finds out the details and is okay with the plan Rosamund concocted. Cora (Elizabeth McGovern) is none the wiser.
Mary (Michelle Dockery) is still juggling two guys. Tony Gillingham (Tom Cullen) got rid of his nasty valet for her, though the valet turned up dead anyway (I'll get to that later) and broke his engagement with the unseen and unknown Mabel Lane Fox. But Charles Blake (Julian Ovenden) is great with the baby George while Mary is not. Mary is still not ready to move on though, but both guys are willing to stick around and wait for her. For the record, Charles gets my vote by a landslide.
As for Anna (Joanne Froggatt) and Bates (Brendan Coyle), things aren't looking good. Remember when I said that the evil valet showed up dead in an apparent accident, well, it could have been because of actions by Bates, though he plays coy. Anna knows what is up though. I just wish that this show could have one happy couple, other than Robert (Hugh Bonneville) and Cora.
Speaking of Robert, he returns from America at the end of this episode with Thomas (Rob James-Collier) in tow. Nothing much happens despite their return. Baxter (Raquel Cassidy), in the meantime, has formed a friendship with Moseley (Kevin Doyle) and thus tells Thomas nothing that she has discovered. Daisy (Sophie McShera) mends the fences with Alfred (Matt Milne) and spends some time with her father-in-law, finally.
Rose (Lily James) accepts Jack's (Gary Ross's) proposal though things don't work out because Mary rightly believes that she accepts more to tick off her mother whom she despises than because she actually loves him. I'm okay with that, mainly because I liked neither Rose nor Jack.
As for Tom (Allen Leech), he forms an attraction with a local teacher, though, like Mary, he is still from over Sybil, but at least there is hope for him. He hasn't talked about going to America lately also, which is fortunate. Also, I believe he somehow knows Edith's secret, though he could also just be being nice, but know really knows.
Also, Violet (Penelope Wilton) has a love interest of her own to the amusement of Isobel. Interesting.
Though this episode was certainly great, I wish Edith could somehow keep the baby herself because I think that would do her some good, but it is the 1920s and upper class British society so I guess adoption is her only remaining option especially with Gregson completely out of the picture. I also hated the ending, with the whole Bates thing, I really thought he would have wanted to stay out of prison this time, but then again, maybe he got away with it. But Mary leaves the episode with the whole family watching her interact with both of her suitors. Still, the acting was great and it was nice to see the Dowager Countess back to her lively self, smart comments all around.
I just wish that someone in this show would get their happy ending completely, get to grow old together with their soul mate instead of burying them young. I also wished that I liked Mary's suitors as much as Matthew. I wish their was a couple to root for, but there really isn't. Next week's episode should be interesting with the return of Shirley Maclaine and the introduction of Paul Giamatti as Cora's odd younger brother Harold. Grade: B+
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