Sunday, February 2, 2014

A Journey to the Highlands – Downton Abbey Episode Summary 3.9

Matthew Crawley with Lady Mary and their son
Synopsis: The Crawleys spend a few days at Duneagle and look forward to the ghillies’ ball.  While their masters are in the Highlands, the servants left in Downton Abbey attend a fair at Thirsk.  Mr. Gregson arrives at Duneagle and meets Lady Edith’s family with the goal of charming them.  After attending activities strenuous for a pregnant woman, Lady Mary becomes tired and returns to Downton Abbey earlier than planned.

Episode Summary: Downton Abbey is in a palaver with the Crawleys preparing for their departure for Duneagle.  A very pregnant Lady Mary due to give birth in a month is coming as well, troubling her husband, Matthew Crawley.  Tom Branson and Mrs. Crawley are the only family members who are not going to Scotland.  Just as Lord Grantham entrusts his dog to Tom, Lady Violet entrusts Tom to Mrs. Crawley.  With the Crawleys on their way to Duneagle, some of the servants expect a break from their busy schedule.  Alfred Nugent is first to propose the idea to Mr. Carson followed by Jimmy Kent, both are disappointed to hear that the butler has no plans of giving them time off.  Although Mrs. Hughes informs the maids that they are to do a thorough cleaning of the rooms as well, she does ask Mr. Carson if the staff can be allowed to receive some free time.Continue reading...

The new housemaid, Edna Braithwaite, becomes interested with Tom and begins asking Mrs. Hughes about him and Lady Sybil.  Mrs. Hughes remembers Lady Sybil as a sweet, kind person, beautiful inside and out.  Edna finds that Lady Sybil could have done better, but she does find Tom handsome and approachable as she finds no reservations conversing with the man who used to be the Crawleys’ chauffer.  Meanwhile, Mrs. Patmore receives a visitor.  Jos Tufton has come to deliver an order she made to Mr. Cox in Thirsk.  Mr. Tufton being the new owner of Mr. Cox’s shop took the liberty to fulfill the former owner’s orders and deliver the goods himself.  The man with the cook’s permission tastes some of the food in the kitchen and falls in love with Mrs. Patmore’s cooking.  He begins to flirt with the talented cook who is caught off guard with the man’s flirting.

Mrs. Crawley has Tom as her guest at dinner.  She commends him for managing a superb transition from servant to one of the masters at Downton Abbey.  She, however, notices that Tom is eager to please the aristocratic family he married into so much so that she gives him unsolicited advice.  Mrs. Crawley tells him that being the agent of Downton affords him the right to converse with the servants, some of which are his friends.  Tom returns to the mansion and mindful of the hassle of a servant running to the main door to let him inside, he chooses to enter through the service door.  Mrs. Hughes catches him and asks for his permission to have the housemaids clean his room during the day.  Moreover, the governess informs him that servants are to vacate the room that he wishes to use so as not to disturb him.  Mrs. Hughes requests made Tom realize how different his world has become.

The Crawleys arrive at Duneagle and receive an excited and warm reception from the Flintshires.  They are treated to an annoying bagpipe music that announced the arrival of dinner.  Lady Flintshire begins to display her insolence towards her daughter and husband.  The following day, just as Lady Flintshire said, the sound of bagpipes startles its guests from slumber.  The men especially Matthew, who is not skilled with the rifle, practice for the hunt with the skilled marksman Mr. Nield.  Lord Grantham learns that Lord Flintshire, known to them as Shrimpie, will be assigned a foreign post, the location of which is yet to be determined.  Lady Flintshire is not looking forward to leaving Scotland for an outpost of the Empire and so is her lady’s maid.  Miss O’Brien, meanwhile, finds news of the Flintshires’ relocation an adventure.  Meanwhile, Lady Edith having received permission to allow Mr. Gregson to join them for dinner happily announces the man’s acceptance of the invitation.  Lady Mary is suspicious of Mr. Gregson’s motives for the man’s holiday in the Highlands questionably coincided with the Crawleys’ arrival.

Tom, being the only member of the family left at the mansion, decides to have is lunch at Grantham Arms.  He finds Edna there for she had made a point to be there after hearing of his schedule from Mrs. Hughes.  Having heard stories about Tom refusing to wear proper aristocratic clothes for dinner during the early days of his return to Downton as Lady Sybil’s husband, she asks the man why he has decided to conform.  Tom brushes the issue, but assures Edna that he is still the same man he was before.  The housemaid then coaxes him into joining the servants for dinner.  Tom continues to have dinner alone.  Edna goads him for his decision making a point to shame him for doing so with an argument that Tom has become a snob ashamed of his past.

Alfred upon the recommendation of Mrs. Patmore joins Mr. Barrow to Thirsk after the under butler volunteered to exchange the dry ginger for fresh ones at Mr. Tufton’s shop.  Jimmy tags along with them.  Alfred, who has displayed interest in cooking, has an appreciation of the man’s products.  He could not contain his delight for the range of items on display.  Seeing the young man’s joy, Mr. Tufton invites them to the fair on Friday where he has a stall to display his goods.  Apart from food, the fair will also have games, Morris dancers, and other amusements.  Mr. Barrow becomes interested of the fair as well, and Jimmy shows some interest but only if other servants will come too.  The under butler and the footmen return requesting for time off from Mr. Carson that they may go to the fair.  Mr. Carson becomes even more annoyed when Mrs. Patmore asks for time off for she too is going to the fair in Thirsk after Mr. Tufton invited her to be his date.  Mrs. Patmore’s suggestion that all of the servants including Mrs. Hughes attend the fair will make Mr. Carson fume with rage.  Mrs. Hughes relays Mrs. Patmore’s suggestion and tries to convince the butler to go with them.  Although Mr. Carson has given his permission for the servants to attend the fair, he refuses to go with them, but only because he knows that his presence will put a damper on everyone’s enjoyment.

Mr. Gregson arrives at dinner donning a set of tails confirming Lady Mary’s belief that the man did not just happen to be in the Highlands.  This did not go amiss with Lady Edith as well that she confronts the man about his motives.  Mr. Gregson confesses that he wanted to get to know Lady Edith’s family with the goal of convincing them to accept his situation for he is in love with Lady Edith.  Lady Edith, however, sees no future with Mr. Gregson for he is a married man.  Lady Cora curious about the editor finally meets him, but sees no malice at his presence.  She, however, notices the conflict between Lady Flintshire and Lady Rose.  Lady Violet notices this too and finds that her niece is not handling the situation aptly.  Lady Cora having three daughters of her own can relate to Lady Flintshire’s struggle in raising them and becomes emotional at the remembrance of her youngest daughter who passed away.  However, Lady Flintshire does not possess the same kindness, patience, and compassion that is innate in Lady Cora that Anna and Mr. Bates find Lady Rose in tears.  The young woman relieves her stress with a cigarette and becomes anxious that the two will report her to Lady Flintshire, the same woman who drove her to tears.  She is relieved to hear that her secret is safe with the Bates.  Mr. Bates even offered her peppermint to mask the smell of the cigarette on her breath.  At Downton Abbey, Dr. Clarkson continues to have dinner with Mrs. Crawley, which is a welcome respite for his loneliness.  He finds Mrs. Crawley a good companion and confidant for the woman is familiar of a doctor’s life being a doctor’s wife.  Dr. Clarkson finds it a relief and a privilege to be able to converse with someone without the need to explain oneself.  He wishes to have many more evenings with her.  The fair at Thirsk gave Dr. Clarkson another chance to spend more time with Mrs. Crawley for the widow accepted his invitation to go with him to see it.

With the validation of her suspicion, Lady Mary feels entitled to express her incredulity towards Mr. Gregson, who accepted invitations from Matthew to go stalking and Lady Flintshire’s invitation for him to attend the ghillies’ ball.  Matthew tells his wife not to dislike the man before she even comes to know him.  He appeals to Lady Mary’s amiability that his wife attests only he believes exists.  Matthew finds that his wife is truly a nice person and that her spite is only a façade.  The next day, the men go stalking, while the women go on a picnic by the loch.  Lady Rose goes to fetch Lady Mary and learns from Anna that she already has gone down.  The young lady takes the opportunity to thank Anna for cheering her up yesterday and offers to return the favor.  Anna, in fact, accepts Lady Rose’s offer.  With the lords and ladies outdoors, Anna and Mr. Bates go on a picnic as husband and wife.  Anna is especially happy making Mr. Bates believe that she is up to something.

It did not take too long for Lord Grantham and Lord Flintshire to take down a deer.  They make their way to the loch in order to join the ladies’ picnic.  Lord Grantham having sensed the tension between the Flintshires confronts Lord Flintshire about it only to learn that husband and wife have grown to dislike each other.  Their arrival surprised Lady Flintshire and gave her a chance to express her disapproval.  After receiving a riled response from her husband, Lady Flintshire takes her annoyance on Lady Rose.  Meanwhile, Mr. Gregson and Matthew spent ten hours stalking deer, but return empty handed.  Matthew invites Mr. Gregson to go fly-fishing with him tomorrow instead and for the man to join them again for dinner.  Moreover, Matthew makes it known to the editor that he is aware of his motive to get to know Lady Edith’s family.  All return to Duneagle castle including Lady Flintshire’s insolence.  She asks for Miss O’Brien to help style her hair and makes a point to insult her maid, Miss Wilkins, for her inability to replicate Lady Cora’s hairstyle.  Miss O’Brien does what she is told and becomes a foe of Miss Wilkins in the process.

All the servants are excited at the fair except for frugal Daisy, who is thinking of not attending.  Mr. Barrow offers to buy them a bottle of pop to help convince Daisy to go.  Mrs. Patmore is delighted with his offer, but not Jimmy.  The first footman refuses to accept Mr. Barrow’s offer.  So it seems that Mrs. Patmore is the most excited to go to the fair among all the servants.  She even bought a blouse from Mrs. Curley’s dress shop in Ripon eliciting gossip from other servants that the cook has got herself a boyfriend.  There is truth in the gossip for Mr. Tufton had written a letter to Mrs. Patmore that she shows to Mrs. Hughes.  Mrs. Hughes begins to question Mr. Tufton’s motives believing that a man his age courts a respectable woman with the intention of making her his wife.  The thought has not occurred to Mrs. Patmore and hearing it gave her a fright.  Later, Tom drops by the servants’ hall with the express purpose of asking to join the servants for dinner that evening.  Edna not standing up to show respect to a master of the house did not go amiss with Mrs. Hughes.  Unlike Mr. Carson, Mrs. Hughes welcomes Tom to their table and reminds the butler of his role as the paradigm of politeness.  The fair becomes the topic of conversation at the servants’ table.  Edna becomes disappointed at learning that Tom will not be joining them, but manages to convince him otherwise.  Meanwhile, no one tried to convince Mr. Carson to come to the fair.  In fact, the servants are relieved that the butler has decided to stay and keep watch of the mansion.

The Flintshires’ relocation to an imperial outpost becomes the topic of conversation.  Lord Flintshire does not approve of bringing Lady Rose to an unfamiliar foreign land, but his wife refuses to discuss it.  Lady Violet also disapproves of the Flintshires’ bringing their youngest child with them.  Lady Rose does not mind moving to India, and, in fact, finds the country fascinating.  However, the thought of being stuck with her mother in a foreign land is what concerns her.  She confides this to Lady Cora, who sees only goodness in others, and comes to Lady Flintshire’s defense.  Lady Flintshire hears part of their conversation and immediately becomes distrustful, but Lady Cora covers for Lady Rose so as not to create more rift between mother and daughter.  Lady Mary returns to her bedroom and finds that her decision to join the picnic was against better judgment.  She, however, is happy to learn that Anna is no longer apprehensive about the ghillies’ ball.  In fact, she has a surprise in store for Mr. Bates and Lady Mary.  Unbeknownst to Lady Mary, Anna had been taking reeling lessons from Lady Rose as her reward for not reporting the young lady to Lady Flintshire after she and her husband caught her smoking.

Anna advises that Lady Mary get some rest knowing that the ride on the glen shook her up.  Lady Mary is disappointed at her predicament for she wanted to join Matthew in his interrogation of Mr. Gregson.  Matthew believes that the man is planning to ask Lady Edith’s hand in marriage.  He, however, worries that Mr. Gregson is hiding something, which elicited a snide remark from Lady Mary.  Matthew is quick to point out his wife’s tendency to be unkind, which helps Lady Mary reel in her horridness.  He, however, admits to be madly in love with her in spite of it.  The next day, Matthew spends fly-fishing with Mr. Gregson and learns that he is a married man.  Although he is sympathetic of the man’s predicament, Matthew disapproves of his pursuit of Lady Edith for the man can only offer her a life of a mistress.  Matthew makes it clear to Mr. Gregson that he will not allow Lady Edith to become the subject of a scandal and that he will do everything to prevent her from being mired in one.  He, however, promises to keep it to himself, but suggests that Mr. Gregson bid Lady Edith a proper goodbye at the ghillies’ ball.

Knowing the tension between Jimmy and Mr. Barrow, Alfred appeals to Jimmy not to be too harsh on the under butler that day so as not to spoil their fun at the fair.  This is quite a turnaround for Alfred for it was he who reported Mr. Barrow to the police.  Alfred is very much aware of his misdeed and is remorseful of it.  He finds Mr. Barrow’s refusal to fault Jimmy for his attitude toward him noble.  Jimmy says nothing of it, but he continues to be a bad influence on Alfred as he sits on one of the chairs in the drawing room.  Alfred follows his fellow footman only for Mrs. Hughes to catch them.  Tom arrives excited to drive the servants to the fair.  Mrs. Hughes senses that Tom’s decision to spend more time with the servants is a result of someone’s taunts at his rise in status.  She makes it clear that any derision he receives because of it is the fault of the person who expresses the contempt and not Tom.

The servants arrive at the fair with Tom.  Mrs. Patmore is anxious to find Mr. Tufton, who asked her to bring sandwiches.  Alfred interested at the products Mr. Tufton is displaying at the fair goes with Mrs. Patmore to look for him.  Mrs. Hughes anxious to meet Mr. Tufton goes with them.  Jimmy, on the other hand, is attracted at the Tug of War contest that promised to give cash prizes to the winners.  He manages to enlist the men except for Mr. Barrow to join him, but Alfred asks Mr. Barrow to join.  Edna offers to cheer for Tom and shamelessly puts her arm around his.  This scandalized Daisy and Ivy, but the kitchen maid has plans of her own.  Ivy drags Daisy to play some carnival games.  Meanwhile, Mrs. Hughes is appalled at Mr. Tufton’s behavior after seeing him smack a female attendant’s bottom.  Mrs. Patmore failed to notice for Mr. Tufton has charmed her with his flattery.  Mrs. Hughes could not stand the two lovebirds that she excuses herself to go find Alfred, but the footman and the other men of Downton are already at the Tug of War ready to take the undefeated champions.  The judge calls for side bets, and Jimmy bets a quid for the Downton team.  He then calls on Mr. Tufton to join the team for he is a Downton supplier.  Mr. Tufton accepts and he shows off his muscles to the women who had gathered around to watch.  The sight of it disgusts Mrs. Hughes once again.  Soon the Tug of War begins and people have gathered to watch and cheer for their men.  The Downton team wins the Tug of War and Jimmy leaves with a swad of cash for winning the bet.  He shares his winnings with everyone including strangers as he buys them a round of drinks.  A drunken Jimmy finds Ivy and Daisy at one of the game stalls and learns that Daisy is unwilling to spend money on the game believing that it is rigged anyway.  He pays for their game flashing his money conspicuously then leaves the two.  Ivy gives it a go and does not win anything, but Daisy wins a gold sovereign on her first try surprising and delighting her at the same time.  Jimmy goes for a walk under the bridge where two men from the defeated team confront him.  Fortunately, Mr. Barrow arrives just before one of the men throws a punch at Jimmy.  He attacks the one holding the footman giving him time to run.  Regrettably, the men turn on Mr. Barrow.

Alfred, on the other hand, is at the spice stall with Mrs. Hughes and reveals that his heart is in cooking.  However, knowing that there is no room for men in the kitchen, Alfred finds that cooking is his chimera.  Mrs. Hughes comforts the young footman seeing how times have changed.  There, however, is one thing that will not change, and that is Mr. Turfton’s indecent behavior.  Mrs. Hughes sees him kissing a woman who is not Mrs. Patmore.  Meanwhile, Mrs. Crawley and Dr. Clarkson arrive at the fair and they join one of the games.  Later, Mrs. Crawley thanks Dr. Clarkson for the invitation for she indeed had some fun.  Dr. Clarkson tells Mrs. Crawley that there is something he wants to ask her when he returns from buying punch.  Mrs. Crawley watches Dr. Clarkson as he nervously drinks a punch before walking up to their table.  Dr. Clarkson asks Mrs. Crawley if she has thought of getting married again, and learns that the widow has enjoyed her life as a single woman and has no desire to risk things by changing it.  A flustered Jimmy disrupts their conversation asking them to come with him.  Dr. Clarkson and everyone else from Downton follow Jimmy under the bridge where they find Mr. Barrow badly beaten.  Mrs. Hughes is surprised that Mr. Barrow had gotten himself into a fight, but the under butler says nothing of the reason behind it.  Jimmy says nothing as well.  Dr. Clarkson announces that Mr. Barrow did not break any bones, but they are to bring him home immediately.

At the mansion, Mr. Carson paces the hallway and hears Miss Sybbie crying.  With her nanny not in sight, Mr. Carson takes it upon himself to soothe the child.  Mrs. Hughes finds him in the library with Miss Sybbie, who sits quietly on his arm.  Caring for the child reminded Mr. Carson of Lady Sybil and made Mrs. Hughes sentimental for they knew her when she was the age of Miss Sybbie.  Later, Mrs. Patmore chats with Mrs. Hughes to inform her that Mr. Tufton had indeed asked her to be his wife.  Mrs. Hughes is worried about the proposal, and Mrs. Patmore urges her to explain why.  The governess tells the cook the many misdeeds of Mr. Tufton starting with his stroking a young female assistant’s bottom up to him kissing a woman.  Mrs. Patmore’s infatuation made her fail to notice any of these.  Mrs. Hughes apologized for not warning her at the fair, because she did not want to spoil Mrs. Patmore’s fun.  The governess is surprised to find that Mrs. Patmore is in fact relieved at learning Mr. Tufton’s misdeeds.  The cook knew all along that it was only her cooking that he was after, Mr. Tufton’s offenses give her an excuse not to accept his proposal.  Upstairs, Edna barges in Tom’s room while he is half-naked.  Tom tells the housemaid to leave, but Edna kisses him on the lips before leaving.  Moreover, she invites him to lunch at the Grantham Arms.

Lady Flintshire disapproves of Lady Rose’s dress for the ghillies’ ball stating that it makes her look like a slut.  Lady Rose argues that Princess Mary has the same dress and therefore must be acceptable.  Lord Flintshire puts his foot down and goes against his wife by allowing Lady Rose to keep on wearing her chosen dress.  He instructs his daughter to lead Lady Violet to the ballroom leaving him with Lady Flintshire, who calls him a fool for indulging their daughter.  Lord Flintshire has had enough and yells at his wife for making everyone’s life miserable.  Lord Grantham unintentionally becomes witness to their argument embarrassing all three of them.  Lady Flintshire takes her anger at Miss Wilkins criticizing her job at fixing her hair despite Miss O’Brien’s compliment.  Unbeknownst to Miss O’Brien, Miss Wilkins has grown to dislike her and the incident only made it worse.  Miss Wilkins offers to bring her drink with the goal of adding whiskey to the already potent beverage.  Miss O’Brien tastes the extra alcohol in the beverage and forgoes finishing it.  However, Mr. Molesley takes it and downs it in a few gulps.  Having enjoyed the drink, he goes for more.  Lady Rose drowns her anger with alcohol getting the sympathy of Lady Cora after hearing the incident from Lady Violet.  Lord Flintshire hides in the game room as he palliates his fury.  He admits to Lord Grantham that he was not madly in love with Lady Flintshire, and that both of them married each other for it was their duty.  Busy with the children, the couple managed to bear each other.  However, as the children grew and left to start a life of their own, they learned how little they had in common.  Lord Grantham has always envied Lord Flintshire for his life, and finds that there is nothing enviable about it.  Moreover, he learns that Lord Flintshire has lost Duneagle for the money has dried up.  Unlike Downton, Duneagle did not modernize and Lord Flintshire wished he had.  Lord Flintshire is not too worried about his and his wife’s future, but he is concerned about Lady Rose.

The dancing at ghillies’ ball has begun and Lady Mary proposes that they join in the dance declaring that she is good at all of them, but Matthew forbids her from dancing given her pregnancy.  Later, Lady Rose runs to fetch Anna.  Mr. Bates and Lady Mary follow the two to see what the fuss is.  They find Anna reeling and both marvel at her dancing.  Meanwhile, Mr. Gregson follows Matthew’s advice and confesses to Lady Edith of making the ghillies’ ball their last evening together.  Lady Edith hearing of Matthew’s disapproval only made her like Mr. Gregson more.  She refuses to accept the married editor’s farewell delighting Mr. Gregson.  The two joins the dance and so does the heavily inebriated Mr. Molesley.  The valet’s raucous dancing hindered everyone else’s.  Miss O’Brien confronts Miss Wilkins of her adding copious amount of alcohol in her drink and points out that it was Mr. Molesley, who suffered from her handiwork.  Moreover, Miss O’Brien thanks her for her misdeed for it entitled her not to be loyal to her.  The dancing continues and the lords and ladies of Downton and Duneagle join in including Lady Mary.  Soon Lady Mary becomes tired and finds that her decision to reel was a bad one.  Matthew becomes troubled at learning of her discomfort, but Lady Mary appeases her husband.  She, however, asks that she leave for Downton the next morning, but only her for both of them leaving will only trouble her parents forcing all of them to leave when it is not necessary.  Although Matthew is reluctant to the arrangement, he agrees to his wife’s wishes.  The next morning, news that Lady Mary has left Duneagle for Downton breaks.  Lady Cora apologizes for her daughter not saying a proper goodbye afraid that Lady Flintshire, who disapproves of Lady Mary, will take offense.  Lady Flintshire, however, understands Lady Mary’s actions given that she is close to giving birth.  Moreover, she finds that Lady Mary’s transgressions are nothing compared to Lady Rose’s offenses.  Lady Flintshire confides that her husband would like Lady Rose to stay at Downton while they are in India.  Lady Cora aware that Lady Flintshire disapproves of this makes it clear that she will not agree to this without Lady Flintshire’s approval.  Lady Flintshire reconsiders, and finds that time away from her youngest daughter might be good for both of them.  She only has one request of Lady Cora, and that is for her to speak well of Lady Flintshire to Lady Rose.  Lady Cora promises to do so, and looks forward to caring for the teenager.

Mr. Carson announces that Lady Mary and Anna are on their way back to Downton Abbey.  Mrs. Hughes instructs Edna to prepare Lady Mary’s room and learns that the housemaid had made plans to have lunch with Tom at the village.  Her brazen declaration infuriates Mr. Carson and worries Mrs. Hughes.  Although they disagree that Tom is at fault, both agree that Edna must go.  Mrs. Hughes speaks to Tom of their decision to terminate Edna.  Although Tom did not encourage Edna, he did not discourage her either and he feels accountable for the woman’s misfortune.  He asks Mrs. Hughes to provide the housemaid with a decent reference.  Mrs. Hughes acquiesces to the request.  Moreover, with Tom’s permission Mrs. Hughes imparts her belief that Tom had allowed Edna to make him feel ashamed of his new life even though he has done well enough to make Lady Sybil proud.  Tom breaks down in tears confessing of his inability to bear living without his late wife.  Mrs. Hughes asks that he be strong, and that he will someday find someone to help bear the loss of his beloved.  She advises Tom to be his own master until then.

Lady Mary arrives at Downton’s train station and immediately asks the chauffeur to bring her to the hospital.  She sends Anna to get Mrs. Crawley and to send a message to Matthew.  Matthew is about to make his first killing when a servant interrupts his stalking with news about Lady Mary.  At the Downton mansion, all prepare the house for the return of the Crawleys, all except Edna for she was sent to pack her bags and leave.  Also not part of the palaver is Mr. Barrow for he is still recovering from the beating he took at the fair.  Jimmy hesitantly pays him a visit to offer his apology for leaving him to deal with his attackers.  He, however, found that Mr. Barrow was following him at the time.  Although unnerved with the under butler’s stalking, the man’s sacrifice made up for it.  Jimmy, however, makes it clear to the man that they can never be together, and Mr. Barrow is well aware of this, but he asks if they can just be friends.  The footman agrees and accepts Mr. Barrow’s friendship.

The Crawleys prepare their departure from Duneagle.  Lord Grantham could not wait to go home not only because of Lady Mary, but also because he has found new appreciation of Downton.  He had always been envious of Lord Flintshire for having inherited Duneagle.  His envy dissipated after learning of its fate.  Moreover, he found appreciation of Matthew’s vision for it is clear to him now that it is what will save Downton from ruin.  In addition, the marriage troubles of the Flintshires made him realize of how lucky he is for having Lady Cora as his wife.  The Crawleys bid farewell to the Flintshires who are grateful for accepting their request to have Lady Rose live in Downton.  Lady Rose is the most grateful of all.

Anna appeases the tremendously anxious Mr. Carson and helps him make arrangements for the Crawleys.  She makes her way to the hospital where Mrs. Crawley and Dr. Clarkson are preparing for Lady Mary’s labor.  Lady Mary wishes for Matthew to be at her side feeling that she is not complete without him.  Mrs. Crawley assures her that he will be arriving soon and that not having him in the room during her labor might even be ideal.  She asks Mrs. Crawley to send word to Mr. Carson of her well-being knowing that the butler will be extremely worried about her.  Mr. Carson receives news from Mrs. Crawley that Lady Mary has given birth, and that all is well with the mother and the child.  Matthew arrives at the hospital soon after and is overjoyed at the sight of his wife and son.  He holds in his arms his heir.  Matthew looks at his wife and tells her how she is going to be a wonderful mother for she is to him a wonderful person.  Lady Mary wishes that she would forever be Matthew’s version of her.  The rest of the Crawleys arrive at the mansion and they rejoice at the delightful news of Lady Mary’s successful delivery excited to see the newest member of their family.  Matthew happily rushes back to the mansion to deliver the news and to allow them to see his wife and son.  He drives his AC Six sports car still relishing his good fortune when he encounters a truck on the road forcing him to swerve to avoid collision.  Matthew ends up in a ditch under his overturned car; dead.


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