Previously on Downton Abbey: The Crawleys are aristocratic, the servants are complex individuals with their own stories, and Titanic-induced inheritance drama means Edward Ferrars becomes the new heir of Downton.
~Follow the cut to the review and the SPOILERS~
I'm definitely starting to enjoy this show. Now that we know roughly who the characters are, we get to learn about what makes them who they are. Matthew (better known in Aidaland as Edward Ferrars) and his mother Isobel (who, after a severe case of "Hey, it's that guy," I came to realize was Doctor Who's Harriet Jones, Flydale North MP) had one very brief scene at the end of the first episode. This time around, we discover that up until Lord Grantham's letter, they were leading a relatively happy middle-class existence together; Matthew is a lawyer who seems to like his work quite a bit, and Isobel is a kind-hearted, determined former nurse with a strong sense of self. They are both anxious about their move, Matthew because he finds many upper-class customs ridiculous, and Isobel because she has little experience with the kind of life Lord Grantham and his family live.
As might be expected, Matthew and Isobel have some friction with their rediscovered relations. Matthew scoffs at the idea of his new valet helping him dress in the mornings, and Isobel frequently butts heads with Maggie Smith's Dowager countess. It's clear the entire Downton family finds their Crawley cousins a bit bizarre, encapsulated hilariously when Matthew announces his intention to keep working and come back on the weekend, and the Dowager responds, "What is a 'weekend'?" Also amusing is Matthew's own reaction to his distant family. He (somewhat accurately) complains to his mother that Lord and Lady Grantham will want to marry him off to one of their daughters, when eldest daughter Mary walks in and he is, naturally, completely smitten. Unfortunately for Matthew, Mary, who is decidedly still in the ice queen stage of her Defrosting Ice Queen development, is not equally impressed.
Isobel decides to make herself useful by spending time at the local hospital. She proves to have a good head for medical knowledge, though sometimes it seems she thinks of herself as a doctor, and not simply a one-time nurse. Dr. Clarkson, the actual medical authority at the hospital, is a bit overwhelmed by her but humors her nonetheless. When Isobel encounters a patient with dropsy and suggests a risky new procedure, however, both Dr. Clarkson and the Dowager, who is head of the hospital board, have strong misgivings (which might be rather too mild a word in the Dowager's case). Nevertheless, Isobel makes a persuasive argument, and with the consent of the patient's wife Dr. Clarkson decides to go ahead with the surgery. Over the enraged protests of the Dowager, Isobel's advice is vindicated, and Lord Grantham decides to make her a chair of the board to knock his mother down a few pegs. Maggie Smith and Penelope Wilton play out the rivalry deliciously, and at least in this episode it was easy to root for Isobel, pushy though she might be (Aida from the future notes that Isobel's well-intentioned pushiness gets a little out of hand in later episodes, however). I must say, Maggie Smith is a master of snark, and as a devoted fan of Minerva McGongall, I'm slightly disappointed they didn't let her snark flag fly much in the Harry Potter films, because Dame Maggie would have been more than up to the challenge. Ah well. I can imagine they kept the Umbridge-McGonagall career advice scene in and be somewhat satisfied.
Downstairs, things are considerably more lighthearted. Bates has become slightly more accepted amongst the staff (except, of course, for Thomas the Evil Footman and sourpuss O'Brien), and this week the focus is on Carson, the butler.
