Keep Calm and have yourself a merry little Christmas

Downton Abbey 

Season 2 – “Christmas Special”

“Oh the weather outside was frightful, but Violet was still delightful, and since they love Mary so, Richard and Matthew came to blows.”

Season’s Greetings. I bring you good news and tidings of great joy. Mostly.

We've reached the end Ladies and Gentlemen. Season 2 is done, finished, final, no more. But don't be too sad. We could have been left with only the memories of episode 8 to keep us going until Season 3.

No sugar plums but the images of dead Lavinia, chained Bates, sad Matthew and even sadder Mary, dancing around in our heads.

Perspective.

I will admit under oath and fear of imprisonment, that I was excited about this episode.
Not only did we get a bonus Downton Abbey but the previous UK Christmas Specials I have seen, which were mostly, if not all Doctor Who, were all very well done. Therefore I was expecting some high quality work. I'm glad to report that I was not disappointed.

Was it perfect? Like parts of the second season it wasn’t always but there were enough moments and sparks of absolute brilliance that you couldn’t help but enjoy the sleigh ride.

So without further ado, let's rock around this Christmas tree.

  
We wish you a Merry Christmas

It was Christmas time at Downton and do they know how to party. I can’t remember how many nights I would stay up just waiting for that magical day when I would get to stand in a line and wait for the people I work for to hand me stuff.

I’m kidding. The Downtonians’s had a very wonderful Christmas thing happening as we first join them during Christmas time of 1919. The festivities included a presentation of presents from those upstairs to those down (Mary + Anna BFF’s 4ever) to a roaring game of charades, an occasion that cemented Sir Richard as the evilest man of all time. Though I shouldn’t be surprised he hates charades, he has always struck me as more of a monopoly man.

As the New Year came to a close many if not all of our characters were in need of a little holiday cheer.

Edith still couldn’t hold onto a man. Thomas was stealing dogs, losing them than somehow still come out on top of the situation. Daisy was still fretting over William before she finally found some peace and a new place for herself in Downton and Lady Rosamund was being conned by an old guy and her maid.

Oh, and Sybil’s pregnant. Yes, that right, Branson and Sybil are going to have a child. Somebody may want to warn England.

All is calm, all is bright

Yes, the residents of Downton all had their share of problems, but at least they weren’t jail. Poor, poor Mr Bates, he looked miserable. I loved that fact that everyone was Team Bates and working had to support Anna and get him out of jail.

Saying that with friends like these who needs evidence. You knew that Bate’s quip about the “late Mrs Bates” was going to come back to bite him, but it didn’t stop the crushing feeling as Robert struggled to admit the particulars of that damning conversation. Mrs Hughes and O’Brien have also been called up to give statements that seemed to lead towards a guilty verdict but it was Robert’s testament that did Bates in.

Going into the sentencing,  I thought I saw where this was leading “Season 3: Bates in Jail” but no immediately following Bate’s guilty verdict being read, the judge put on his hat and proclaimed that Bates would be hang by the neck the following day. I swear I think my heart stopped just for a minute there.

Luckily this is TV land and I know a good doctor so everything was a little better by the end of the episode. Following a winning appeal Bate’s is now looking at a life of imprisonment rather than execution, so yay?

Deck the Halls

But who has time to stay worried about silly, little things like murder trails, when there is still the hunt. I don’t know what I was expecting an proper English hunt to look like, but in my mind it was something along the lines of that scene from Mary Poppins, when they are in the street painting and the cartoon men on horses blow their trumpets and chase the talking fox who Mary Poppins ends up saving from becoming dog food or a scarf.

It turns out an actual non-illustrated hunt is a lot like high school except in tweed. Mary chooses to stand next to Matthew during the shootings, thereby declaring her love for Matthew for the entire world to see.

At that point nobody really understood why Mary was still with Carlisle. Even Robert, once he stopped making out with Maids and paid attention, didn’t get it.

Questioning his daughter’s attention, Cora thought “well, there’s no time like the present” (I’m really, really sorry for that one) and decided to fill Robert in about the night of the dead Turkish diplomat.

What followed was a series of purely excellent moments as Mary finally confronted the event that she felt shamed her whole world war ago.  

From Robert’s acceptance of his daughter’s transgression (he can’t throw stones) and his “go find us a cowboy us a cowboy” speech to the Mary’s confession to Matthew about her past lover was perfect. We all knew that Matthew could never hate Mary, but it didn’t make it any less special for us to see that Mary now knows it as well.

Now all the cards were on the table and the fists started to fly. So long Richard Carlisle. I’d say don’t let the door hit you on the way out but you did really seem to actually have cared about Mary at the end and there’s probably someone already there to open and close the main door for you.

So what else was left for this episode to do? Oh yeah this happened.....
　
... And a Happy New Year?

Matthew proposed to Mary. In the snow. There was twirling. It was awesome.

Well, that’s it for Downton Abbey the second season. I have really enjoyed writing about this fantastic show and I really hope that you have enjoyed reading them.

Next: Season 3. I’m excited. What do you want to see from season three?

We know some of what’s going to happen: SPOILERS:

Shirley Maclaine in the house, Branson’s at the dinner table, Matthew and Mary are wedding planning, episode one will start with Bates walking out of jail with a guard shouting behind him “sorry for the misunderstanding.” Ok, I may have just made up the last one.

Until then, I wish you an early merry Christmas and a happy season 3.

For my other Downton Abbey Season 2 recaps click on the link here: http://popandfizz.blogspot.com.au/search/label/Downton%20Abbey

You can also follow me on Twitter: @Hanniebee852

(It’s like this, but shorter.