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There really should be titles for these episodes. I think I shall call this one "The Princess and the Sea Monster." :D I'll call the other one "Iceberg."
- DOG'S BACKSIDE! This is the first time we see that image (which will open each episode for the rest of the season), and it never fails to crack me up. What an image to be the herald of a new episode! :P
- Harriet Jones! How cracking to see you!
- It took me a few watches to realize what Matthew's opening line is when they arrive at Crawley house ("For good or ill."). Dan Stevens has a rather unique drawl, at least in this scene. And gosh, those eyes are blue! Matthew is so annoying here, with his eye-rolling and bucking at the servantry!
- CLASSIC meet-cute between Matthew and Mary. Matthew's expression on first seeing Mary KILLS me - HE'S IN LOVE RIGHT THEN AND THERE. She is too, of course. Contempt is the oldest cover in the world. Right, Hermione?
- "SHE hasn't even got a LADY's maid." Very similar to Luisa's maid looking down her nose at Mabel for not having her own maid in Gosford Park. LOL at Anna insisting on a full report - LIKE O'BRIEN WOULD EVER HOLD BACK ON GOSSIP! And way to zing O'Brien, Anna - "We're ALL lucky if we get a civil word out of you!" BAM. From her expression, I suspect O'Brien was at least partly impressed. :P
- This is such an excellently directed - or perhaps I should say choreographed - show. The downstairs scenes are like a great dance. You really get the feeling that there's a ton going on in the rooms we're not seeing.
- "What a reception committee!" LMAO! And you instantly know he's said the wrong thing!
- "Well, we could always start with Mrs. Crawley and Lady Grantham." Is Violet's middle name "OH SNAP" or what?! And whenever Carson conceals a grin or stifles a chuckle at her quips, they're twice as funny. But still not nearly as funny, of course, as when Violet laughs at them herself. ;-)
- A JOB?! You'd think he just said he ate a baby! "What is a weekend?" Oh, Violet.
- Love how Carson considers a slightly ripped seam a "state of undress."
- The dropsy patient really gets to me for some reason. I can't help wondering about the knowledge gap between a well-trained nurse and a doctor in this period. I suppose we must assume that Isobel studied and paid enough attention to her husband, father, and brother so that, if she had been a man, she *could* have been a doctor (with sufficient hands-on experience and training, of course). I also suppose that there *were* a few female doctors by this time - OR ARE YOU TELLING ME DR. QUINN MEDICINE WOMAN IS A LIE - but it was probably still unacceptable for a gentlewoman to have such a profession. Or any profession, probably.
- Poor Molesley! "Stood there like a chump, watching a man get dressed." That must have been an incredibly awkward first few weeks. I guess he *couldn't* have left the room, but when he wasn't doing anything - and was indeed *kept* from doing anything - that must have been embarrassing for both parties for him to just stand there.
- Interesting character moment for O'Brien, upon being chastised by Cora for disrespecting the Crawleys. I do agree that it was wrong for Cora to embarrass her in front of the other servants. "Friends? Who does she thinks she's fooling? We are not friends." I felt a lot of sympathy for O'Brien here, actually, and this little scene speaks volumes about the very complicated relationship the servants have with the people they tend to. Because even though they all share a home and can grow quite close, they aren't family and they aren't (strictly speaking) friends.
- "Seems a very silly occupation for a grown man." Matthew, you ass. That's his LIFE you're mocking.
- Love the scene between Cora and Mary, where she floats the idea of marrying Matthew. As hard as I ship them, I couldn't help but sympathize with Mary's horror that even her grandmother was conspiring to set her up - for the rest of her life - with a man she dislikes. It only seems funny to us because we suspect they'll eventually fall in genuine love later on, but Mary doesn't know she's a character in a story. What if he's horrible? She's the one who'll have to go to bed with him, not mother or granny!
- Having said that, Mary is SO insufferable about "our kind of people."
- LOL SHIPPING DEBATE AT THE DINNER TABLE. Princess/Sea Monster 4-EVA!
- "I'd like to give 'er three bags full, preferably on a dark night." Eeeek. O'Brien foreshadowing!
- The Cheerful Charlies! Love Bates trying to hide his grin. But not as much as Robert flexing his title at Mr. Grigg.
- I know it's romanticizing the class system, but I do love Robert's conversation with Matthew about Molesley. It reminds me of one of the last West Wing episodes, where Mrs. Santos thinks she can just dismiss a bunch of the White House staff because she thinks they're superfluous.
- Oh, lookit Mrs. Patmore shipping Daisy and William! I swear she rushed Daisy off to bed on purpose in the earlier scene to stop her getting too high on dancing with Thomas.
- CARSON AND BATES BFFS FORREALZ!
- I was worried when I first saw the last scene that this was the first in a series of obligatory put-downs of Violet, like the show was making her apologize for being a BAMF. I'm glad to have had those fears put to rest and that she sometimes gets one over on Isobel (and not just verbally).
- DOG'S BACKSIDE! This is the first time we see that image (which will open each episode for the rest of the season), and it never fails to crack me up. What an image to be the herald of a new episode! :P
- Harriet Jones! How cracking to see you!
- It took me a few watches to realize what Matthew's opening line is when they arrive at Crawley house ("For good or ill."). Dan Stevens has a rather unique drawl, at least in this scene. And gosh, those eyes are blue! Matthew is so annoying here, with his eye-rolling and bucking at the servantry!
- CLASSIC meet-cute between Matthew and Mary. Matthew's expression on first seeing Mary KILLS me - HE'S IN LOVE RIGHT THEN AND THERE. She is too, of course. Contempt is the oldest cover in the world. Right, Hermione?
- "SHE hasn't even got a LADY's maid." Very similar to Luisa's maid looking down her nose at Mabel for not having her own maid in Gosford Park. LOL at Anna insisting on a full report - LIKE O'BRIEN WOULD EVER HOLD BACK ON GOSSIP! And way to zing O'Brien, Anna - "We're ALL lucky if we get a civil word out of you!" BAM. From her expression, I suspect O'Brien was at least partly impressed. :P
- This is such an excellently directed - or perhaps I should say choreographed - show. The downstairs scenes are like a great dance. You really get the feeling that there's a ton going on in the rooms we're not seeing.
- "What a reception committee!" LMAO! And you instantly know he's said the wrong thing!
- "Well, we could always start with Mrs. Crawley and Lady Grantham." Is Violet's middle name "OH SNAP" or what?! And whenever Carson conceals a grin or stifles a chuckle at her quips, they're twice as funny. But still not nearly as funny, of course, as when Violet laughs at them herself. ;-)
- A JOB?! You'd think he just said he ate a baby! "What is a weekend?" Oh, Violet.
- Love how Carson considers a slightly ripped seam a "state of undress."
- The dropsy patient really gets to me for some reason. I can't help wondering about the knowledge gap between a well-trained nurse and a doctor in this period. I suppose we must assume that Isobel studied and paid enough attention to her husband, father, and brother so that, if she had been a man, she *could* have been a doctor (with sufficient hands-on experience and training, of course). I also suppose that there *were* a few female doctors by this time - OR ARE YOU TELLING ME DR. QUINN MEDICINE WOMAN IS A LIE - but it was probably still unacceptable for a gentlewoman to have such a profession. Or any profession, probably.
- Poor Molesley! "Stood there like a chump, watching a man get dressed." That must have been an incredibly awkward first few weeks. I guess he *couldn't* have left the room, but when he wasn't doing anything - and was indeed *kept* from doing anything - that must have been embarrassing for both parties for him to just stand there.
- Interesting character moment for O'Brien, upon being chastised by Cora for disrespecting the Crawleys. I do agree that it was wrong for Cora to embarrass her in front of the other servants. "Friends? Who does she thinks she's fooling? We are not friends." I felt a lot of sympathy for O'Brien here, actually, and this little scene speaks volumes about the very complicated relationship the servants have with the people they tend to. Because even though they all share a home and can grow quite close, they aren't family and they aren't (strictly speaking) friends.
- "Seems a very silly occupation for a grown man." Matthew, you ass. That's his LIFE you're mocking.
- Love the scene between Cora and Mary, where she floats the idea of marrying Matthew. As hard as I ship them, I couldn't help but sympathize with Mary's horror that even her grandmother was conspiring to set her up - for the rest of her life - with a man she dislikes. It only seems funny to us because we suspect they'll eventually fall in genuine love later on, but Mary doesn't know she's a character in a story. What if he's horrible? She's the one who'll have to go to bed with him, not mother or granny!
- Having said that, Mary is SO insufferable about "our kind of people."
- LOL SHIPPING DEBATE AT THE DINNER TABLE. Princess/Sea Monster 4-EVA!
- "I'd like to give 'er three bags full, preferably on a dark night." Eeeek. O'Brien foreshadowing!
- The Cheerful Charlies! Love Bates trying to hide his grin. But not as much as Robert flexing his title at Mr. Grigg.
- I know it's romanticizing the class system, but I do love Robert's conversation with Matthew about Molesley. It reminds me of one of the last West Wing episodes, where Mrs. Santos thinks she can just dismiss a bunch of the White House staff because she thinks they're superfluous.
- Oh, lookit Mrs. Patmore shipping Daisy and William! I swear she rushed Daisy off to bed on purpose in the earlier scene to stop her getting too high on dancing with Thomas.
- CARSON AND BATES BFFS FORREALZ!
- I was worried when I first saw the last scene that this was the first in a series of obligatory put-downs of Violet, like the show was making her apologize for being a BAMF. I'm glad to have had those fears put to rest and that she sometimes gets one over on Isobel (and not just verbally).