Lady Isobel and Lady Violet went head to head while Edith found out she's pregnant and Rose had a dalliance with the black jazz singer in Downton Abbey.
Evelyn Napier (Brendan Patricks) has returned to Downton with a new man, Charles Blake (Julian Ovenden), in tow. Charles reveals to Mary (Michelle Dockery) that the duo are not there to study and preserve old estates, but to study how the fall of English aristocracy will impact food supply. Mary is furious and thus Charles and Mary find themselves at odds.
Edith (Laura Carmichael) receives a note from her doctor informing her that she is pregnant. The father, Michael Gregson, is nowhere to be found, and Edith could find herself an unwed mother. In other family drama, Lady Violet (Maggie Smith) and Mrs. Crawley (Penelope Wilton) had a verbal spat after the Dowager Countess accused the boy gardener, John, of stealing things from her study. Lady Violet fires John, and Mrs. Crawley loudly objects. Later, one of the missing items from the Countess’ study is found, and Mrs. Crawley urges her to apologize. The other missing item, a letter opener, is soon found as well. Again, Mrs. Crawley pleads with Violet to apologize – doesn’t she care about justice at all? It was after this final blow that Violet called John over and informed Mrs. Crawley that she had already apologized and rehired him.
Downstairs, Alfred (Matt Milne) left abruptly after he gained a spot at the Ritz hotel to train as a chef, leaving an opening for Molesley (Kevin Doyle) to return to Downton as footman. Daisy (Sopie McShera), of course, is heartbroken, but she manages to say a sweet goodbye. On his way out, Alfred thanks the Granthams and compliments Carson (Jim Carter) as a great mentor. Finally, Anna (Joanne Froggatt) and Bates (Brendan Coyle) are trying to get their old, normal lives back in the wake of Anna’s rape, but Bates’ secret determination for revenge is getting in the way. They decide to have a date night at a nice restaurant
Meanwhile, everyone is busy planning Robert’s (Hugh Bonneville) surprise birthday party. Rose (Lily James) arranges for Jack Ross (Gary Carr) and his band to play for them at the party, and the band thoroughly impressed the inhabitants of Downton Abbey, even though Ross is a black man (the first to ever set foot in the estate as far as we know). Robert was so thrilled with the party that he declared he would cover the cost of the band, leading Mary to go searching for Jack later. Instead of having a short conversation about billing, Mary stumbles upon Jack and Rose hooking up downstairs. When Jack and Rose and Mary finally come face to face in the hallway, Mary pretends she saw nothing and simply informs Jack to send the bill to her father and lets him go.
Downton Abbey airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on PBS.
– Olivia Truffaut-Wong
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