Downton Abbey #1.2

Professor McGonagall versus Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North. This will be good.

What We Know Already

Last episode, we met our huge, huge, huge cast, from Snaky Thomas to the Earl of Varied Nomenclature/Lord Robert to Granny Downton/Granny McGonagall. Everyone lives at Downton Abbey, the mansion belonging to the Earl of Varied Nomenclature, but he's getting old and his heir apparent just sank aboard the Titanic, so Downton might be taken from them. Matthew Crawley—a lawyer—is the next in line to inherit, which irks all the nobles to no end because how dare he work for a living. Lord Robert sends a letter to Matthew, saying he wants to "change his life."

The Highlights

Mr. Nobody from Nowhere: Matthew and Mama Crawley arrive at Downton Abbey, causing an unprecedented stir. All the servants despise the thought of waiting on him, he despises the thought of being waited on, and it seems he'll be forced to marry Mary. To solve the problem so no one will be forced to do what they don't want, Granny Downton tries to arrange for the entail to go to Mary instead, thus removing the need for Matthew to stay at Downton. This thread is left dangling, presumably to be picked up and worked with for later episodes, but the general impression is that Matthew Crawley, Mr. Nobody from Nowhere, does not belong at Downton.

Carson's Big Secret: Carson gets a telegram and starts acting distinctly shady. Anna catches him stealing food from the Downton cupboards, and he starts making surreptitious visits to the village. It soon becomes apparent Carson is hiding something big. Big on the order of being a convict, or a murderer, or a genocidal maniac, or...a traveling stage performer. 

(Okay, sure, we'll run with that.)

He's being blackmailed by his former partner, who actually is a convict. Carson is filled with shame at his past being revealed to Lord Robert, who forgives him on the spot and summons his thunder-god powers to chase Carson's ex-partner off the grounds forever and always. For all that, though, Mr. Carson is convinced he doesn't belong at Downton, and mopes. Mrs. Hughes puts a sharp stop to it in the final minutes: "You are a man of integrity and honor, who raises the tone of this household by being part of it. So no more of that, please." Good ole Mrs. Hughes, always whippin' folks into shape.

Let's Save Mr. Drake: Matthew's mother Isobel, a former nurse, starts working at the hospital. Granny Downton disapproves of Isobel's very existence, much less her interference in Granny's hospital. When Isobel suggests an experimental procedure to save a patient's life, Granny opposes it on principle. Not one to back down, Isobel presses forward anyway and saves the man's life. Lord Robert, figuring that it's high time his mother stopped being sovereign ruler of the world, makes Isobel head of the hospital board, promising even more major battles between Granny McGonagall and Harriet Jones, PM for Flydale North.

Suit Up or Shut Up: Matthew Crawley absolutely despises the thought of being waited on. He resents the implication that he can't do things for himself and is determined not to be turned into...whatever Lord Grantham and his brood are. He continuously clashes with his valet, Molesley, who just wants to find some fulfillment in his job but can't while his boss refuses to be dressed like a Barbie doll (and who can blame him?). Lord Grantham takes him to task for wanting to fire a man because he doesn't want his services, even though he's done nothing wrong. After a month of being utterly cruel to Molesley, Matthew relents and lets him do his job.

The Ships Sail On/Andromeda and the Sea Monster: The AnnaBates ship carries on with great dignity and slowness, while William pines for Daisy, who's crushing hard on Snaky Thomas, who likes boys and cigarettes and being better than everyone else. The bigger romantic subplot in this episode, though, is between Icy Mary and Matthew Crawley. It's handled with British dignity, which is remarkable because the developments could easily have turned this into RomCom Abbey.

Male makes derisive comment about female lead's family/career choice/personality, which the female accidentally overhears? Check. 

Female responds by insulting the male viciously and with flawless accuracy? Check.

Female publicly shames the male by comparing him to a sea serpent? Double stinking check!

Although...well, I suppose that's not quite a RomCom thing. It happens anyway. 

Adding to the complexity, Mary is writing letters to the Honorable Evelyn Napier. It would seem she and Matthew are doomed to be separated forever. Yeah, right, like that'll stick. Welcome to RomCom Abbey!

Minor Threads: Pretty Redhead gets a name (it's Gwen) and a package, possibly from a secret admirer. O'Bitter is seriously hacked off with Lady Grantham for daring to call her out on her craziness, which will undoubtedly become more significant later on. Edith continues to hate Mary for the shadow she casts, and Sybil is still a lovely, kind, compassionate, thoroughly one-dimensional human being. And, finally, Lord Grantham spends most of the episode fixing everyone's problems by being wise and grave, which is...good, I guess, but a little too Supermanish. 

The Review

As with the last episode, the writing of this is airtight. Dame Maggie Smith nails every line (as if that's a shock), and Penelope Wilton is a welcome addition. Overall, though, the episode belongs to Matthew Crawley and Mr. Carson, in the same way last episode belonged to Lord Robert and Mr. Bates. Their tandem stories—both of men coming to Downton from humbler beginnings—highlight the themes of the show: the sharp divide between the class systems, the dignity available to each, and the central position of Downton Abbey, which serves as a kind of grand touchstone for all the characters. Chekhov-guns are running rampant in the background, though it's anybody's guess when they'll go off.

8/10