Well, this certainly ended on a happy note! Mostly, that is. Bates' life was spared, but he was still sentenced to life in prison. I imagine they'll fix that next season, however. I took that weird scene with Anna and Daisy at the Ouija board to be a direct hint at a resolution to the Bates dilemma. Heck, maybe it even had something to do with Daisy's future happiness. That was a little silly, wasn't it? Also, am I the only one who isn't a big Bates fan? He's alright, sure, but I never liked him a great deal. I suppose it's the way he's written, and all the self-sacrificing he's made to do, like a martyr. Ugh. And perhaps Brendan Coyle isn't the best actor. I first saw him in "North and South" a couple of years ago. I should re-watch that and have another look.
Mary finally got rid of Richard at the urging of Matthew and her father. Everyone was against the marriage, it seemed, and once Cora revealed Mary's "disgrace" to Lord Grantham, and Mary then revealed it to Matthew, the whole point of her marrying in order to keep that secret seemed moot. She was all set to go to America to ride out the scandal, but then Matthew did a 180 and proposed to her, suddenly deciding that, omg! he and Mary do deserve to be happy, and they should be together, and it wouldn't be a slight to Lavinia if he ended up happily married.
Well, I'm happy that they're getting hitched, at last. If they had drawn this into the third season, it would have been a bit too much. However, I think Matthew's sudden change in attitude was a bit far-fetched. If they had at least hinted that he wasn't totally convinced of his own stubborn resolution, I would believe it more.
Some guy that was in season one who Edith apparently wanted to marry made another appearance. I completely forgot about him, to be honest. Seems nice, though, and it's too bad he refuses to marry poor Edith. His right arm is now useless due to the war, so he thinks it'd be unfair to Edith. She really wants to marry someone, however, so she's still working on him.
Sybil wasn't in this episode at all. She's in Dublin, married to Branson, and pregnant. I can't wait to see her next season. That'll be fun.
There was also a story involving Rosamund, Robert's sister, played by the beautiful Samantha Bond. I just love her, don't you? Well she got more story this time. Some guy with no money wanted to marry her, and being lonely, and him being nice, she was considering accepting him. It came as a shock to her, sadly, but not to us, when he was caught in an affair with her ladies maid (Sharon Small, from Inspector Lynley!).
As for Daisy, they've really dragged out her story. If she says "but it's wrong" one more time, I will disown her. They should have ended her sappy story two episodes ago.
Thomas did something stupid again, this time involving Robert's dog, Isis. He figured that if the dog disappeared, and then Thomas found it, that he'd be in Lord Grantham's good graces. It backfired, somewhat. He locked the dog in a shed out in the woods, left it there overnight, and when he went back for it, she was gone. If they had killed that dog, I seriously would have thrown a bitch fit. Luckily, she was alright, but boy was I ready!
Now, I can't end this post without doing one last Cora-dissing. After all, I won't get to complain about her until next year! So here goes: why is Elizabeth McGovern such a bad actress? She has one facial expression, and even when she says something truly heartfelt, there is no emotion behind it. The woman can't emote! She has one go-to look, and she uses it constantly. I can't remember the last time she said something that sounded sincere. That is just bad casting. Not that the character is a winner, either. I grit my teeth whenever she comes on screen.
My grade: B+
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