The writers have dangled death in front of us in recent episodes.  Robert didn’t have a simple ulcer attack.  Instead, he had to worry us by shooting blood all over the tablecloth and any guests or family members who were within spitting distance (literally).  But he lived.  In Episode Seven, we have an auto race and right before the start, Henry gives Mary a kiss full of meaning and says that he’ll see her at the finish.  You might as well paint “Someone’s Going to Die” in place of all those Dunlop signs.

I thought Henry might be shipped out of the story, but he survived.  Minor characters often bear the brunt of these foreshadowings.  Fans of the old Star Trek TV show will recall that on those occasions when Kirk, Spock, and McCoy beamed down to a new planet and took a fourth person along — usually an ensign that we hadn’t seen before – that character was dead within minutes.  Same thing here.  I’m surprised the fellow lasted as long as he did.

Of course, this completely ruins Mary’s relationship with Henry.  He already had two strikes – lack of a title and lack of funds – but a career that invites death into the marriage every time Henry goes to his job, that’s a little too much, don’t you think?  Only kidding.  Mary clearly is going to end up with someone at the end of the series and it appears that there is only one more episode.  There isn’t time for anyone besides Henry[1].  Besides, he suits Mary.  He has the right tone, style, and manner.  He just lacks ready money.  I predict that she’ll come around.  I don’t say that they will live happily ever after, but I think they’ll make it past the end of Episode Eight.  After that, they are no longer our responsibility.

Edith has at last received a proposal of marriage from a man who is not (a) twice her age or (b) already married.  I think she will have to do more for Marigold than just ask whether the child can come along.  Possibly that is what she needs to think about.  If she turns this fellow down, the next most likely place to look for a beau would be where she works, in Fleet Street, where it will be difficult to find someone who is both temperamentally suitable and of her social class.  Also, Edith is operating under the same time constraints as Mary.  We have only one more episode to get this story line resolved.  I think we have to assume that Edith is going to tell Bertie about Marigold.  He’ll be fine, she’ll say yes, and we’ll have another Crawley settled.

There seemed to be no reason for the writers to bring the editor of Edith’s magazine to the auto race except to have her meet Tom.  He likes feisty, independent women.  She fits the bill, and as a dividend, when dining among the upper classes she does not goad her host into uncontrolled rage.  If that works out, there’s another Crawley settled, although I recognize that I am speculating.

One question I had about the editor was how she managed her change of clothing.  She couldn’t show up at Rosamund’s house for dinner wearing the togs she had on at the race.  Everyone else at dinner was staying at Rosamund’s, or possibly at the Crawley mansion in London, so they had a place to keep their dinner clothes and to change into them.  Did the editor pack a bag and bring it with her to Rosamund’s, or did she go home between entertainments, or what?  In an age when people had to wear exactly the right clothing for each of the varied events in their lives, how did someone who was not a member of the leisure class manage it?

It is good that we have unraveled the mystery of Larry Merton’s sudden change of heart.  Now that we know the truth – and thank you Violet for getting to the truth so quickly and efficiently – it’s obvious that the only person who could have been attracted to Larry Merton would be someone equally unpleasant.  I confess that I was taken in, but I’m glad that Violet was not.  If Isobel does decide to wed Lord Merton, she will do so with her eyes open.  I hope that she will retain her independence.  We shall soon know.

Violet is leaving to cruise the Mediterranean and then to spend “a month among the French”.  Someone pointed out to me that Maggie Smith made a movie in 2015 (The Lady in the Van), so it is possible that Violet left the story when she did to allow the actress to go to work on her new role[2].  We may not see her again.

When Mrs. Patmore and Mrs. Hughes – let’s stay with her professional name – put their heads together, they can solve any problem, even the problem of Mr. Carson.  Three pennies’ worth of bandages was all it took to effect a complete role reversal.  We can expect to see a more reasonable Mr. Carson at our next meeting, now that he appreciates the hard work it takes to organize a meal that will meet his standards.  And Mrs. Hughes was able to induce Mr. Carson to sit on the family’s own sofa!  Next, he’ll be discussing Wat Tyler and Karl Marx with Daisy.

When Mrs. Patmore first purchased her house, I got the idea that it was at some distance from Downton.  I think I remember Mr. Carson traveling with her to see it.  Now it turns out that the house is a short walk away from the Abbey.  She has had her first guests, a nice prosperous-looking middle class couple.  I am going to throw caution to the winds and speculate about the man waiting with a camera out in the lane.  I think the woman at Mrs. Patmore’s cottage may be what was called a professional co-respondent.  In those days, a divorce, even an amicable divorce, would be granted only for cause, and cause meant adultery.  One of the married pair would be supplied by counsel with a professional witness, a member of the opposite sex.  The two would spend a night in a hotel or a BnB and would arrange to have their picture taken for evidence[3].  If my guess is correct, Mrs. Patmore may find that her cottage will be used regularly by one half of an unhappily married couple and a hired witness.  Possibly not the respectable source of retirement income she was looking for, although it would be steady.  Again, I am guessing.  If it turns out I am wrong, I will come back and edit this paragraph out[4].

It’s nice to see that Mr. Molesley will be able to fulfill his destiny and become a teacher at the local school.  His performance on the general knowledge examination may have exceeded the schoolmaster’s expectations, but Mr. M’s fans in the audience knew that he would come through.  We were not surprised.  It’s not clear whether dear Miss Baxter will join Mr. Molesley as he moves ahead.  If the two of them end up together, it will be one more piece in the general pattern of pairing off all available hands above and below stairs.

Mrs. Patmore has brought Daisy around on the subject of Mr. Mason, and Andy and Daisy each know where to find each other, so the only odd man out seems to be Mr. Barrow.  And he seems to be in a very bad way.  He tries to sit with the Carsons to enjoy a quiet moment in the family’s own parlor, but Carson refuses him.  He has obviously made some progress with Andy’s reading, as Andy can sound out quite a few words in a text that is too difficult for a beginning reader.  However, Andy’s trouble has been exposed in front of the kindly schoolmaster (whose name I don’t recall), whose role in life seems to be to improve the members of the Downton staff one by one.  As a result, Mr. Barrow is now pushed out as Andy’s teacher.  To add to his troubles, whenever he sees Mr. Carson, all he hears are questions about when he will be gone.

But as he told us, Downton is the only place where he has put down roots.  We will soon know how this ends for Thomas, but I see two possible paths (assuming that a handsome stranger does not arrive in the village during Episode Eight).  One possibility is that Mr. Molesley’s good fortune will provide Thomas with the opportunity to stay at Downton.  He can accept a demotion to footman, or perhaps “under-butler”, and remain at Downton, hanging on to the place with his fingernails.  The other is that he reacts to the inexorable decline in his fortunes . . . badly.  I would appeal to Mr. Fellowes.  Thomas has served you well through six seasons.  He has not been an angel or even a particularly good person, but he has had a lot to deal with.  I hope for the best, but I think we should be prepared for the possibility of a dark ending.

But let us not predict.  Let us wait for developments, which are only days away.

[1] I suppose Evelyn Napier could be bussed in at the last minute.

[2] According to the movie’s website, her character is a homeless woman who lives in a van.

[3] I am not suggesting that they would have gotten up to anything.  Their time together was strictly for the purpose of providing evidence.  There is a Fred Astaire – Ginger Rogers movie that uses this plot, The Gay Divorcee (1934).  The song “The Continental” is featured in the movie.

[4] Another possibility is that the woman may not be a professional witness at all, and this may be actual adultery, the photographer being employed by the wronged spouse of one of them.  If that turns out to be the story, I may leave the paragraph in.  I hope people read the footnotes.