"I hate Greek drama – you know, where everything happens offstage."
For the sake of this review, it would be best to get these few complaints out of the way, both because they are relatively small, thought worth mentioning if they grow more problematic later like I suspect they will, and because I'd rather like to talk about all the good stuff in one fell swoop. Tonight's episode introduced a slew of new characters, but two among the – new maid Ethel and Bates' wife Vera – stand out for how instantly grating they were. It's quite obvious that these characters were meant to be this way, especially given that they are irritating the other characters, but they also pass over that fine line where they become irritating to the audience as well. Now, it's quite possible that Ethel's irritating qualities will be downplayed going forward (as suggested by her depiction at the end of the first hour, and her sidelined role in the second), but that only brings up the question of why she had to be irritating in the first place. Far more irritating is Vera, both because she's depicted as the “greedy bitch” type, and because she's just an obvious plot contrivance to get in the way of Anna and Bates' romance.
The larger complaint, however, and the one that I think, nay know, is going to bug me the most, is that of the way in which these first two hours depicted the passage of time – that is to say, not at all. Now, I'm willing to concede that the fist season of Downton would skip time with abandon, giving only a blink-and-you'll-miss-it subtitle to inform us of this shift, so it's not like the show suddenly took on a new pace this season. Nor does the two year time-skip between seasons particularly bother me, both because shows like Mad Men have done it as well with no consequence, but also because it makes good narrative sense to highlight the sacrifices of the Granthams by plopping us suddenly into it, instead of showing the gradual change.
However, what does bug me is that this two year shift hasn't really brought about a whole of lot change in the characters, at least not the kind that we care about. Yes, Matthew has a new paramour, and Mary has lined up her own new prospects, but they are both still very much in love with one another, but can't seem to bring themselves to admit it. Daisy may have admitted that she cares for William in the season one finale, but they haven't seem to have taken their relationship any farther. Branson still pines after Sybil, and she's still looking for an outlet for her activist side, while Edith's still looking for a man. Robert may have been recalled to service, but it's a title only, and he's as listless as always. O'Brien and Thomas still keep in contact, and he's still as big of a scheming asshole as ever, even after spending two years in military service.
But even these flaws are not totally useless, as even they brought about their own positive elements. Ethel's getting pranked on by the staff was a delicious bit of schadenfreude for the first hour. Bates' decision to go back with this wife may reek of contrivance, but I will admit it resulted in a fantastically moving break-up scene with Anna, and his sudden flash of anger at Vera points to a darker side that I am intrigued for the show to explore further. And while the relative lack of change within the two year period that the show skipped doesn't make full logic sense, I will admit that it seemed to up the general sense of longing that I would ascribe to the characters, both to other people, and for a general change in their positions in life, and that helped to drive home some of the emotional moments of these two hours.
In fact, if I was to pick the common thread throughout these episodes, it would have to be longing, specifically centered around (and I swear I'm not trying to be cute) love and war. In both cases, we see a contention among the core character, as people both run to and from both of these things, much to the chagrin of others. But what's most interesting here is the way that love and war are presented as almost equally powerful forces during this time, both coming in when others don't with them, and people find it almost impossible to hide or escape.
The war has sucked in both Matthew and Thomas, and it constantly calls to Robert. And even when Thomas gets himself shot to get out of service, he still can't escape the horrors of war, as he looks after the blind Lieutenant Courtney, who in a fit of depression over his state kills himself. Mosley makes a few passes at the now un-taken Anna, and lies about his health to stay out of the army. And though the worry she feels for Matthew as he goes to war obviously signals her continued love for the man, she's also wise enough to recognize that Lavinina feels the same way about him, and back off. Besides, she's got her own suitor now, and though she's now resigned to scrapping the bottom of the barrel, ans Sir Richard Carlisle more or less admits it would be a marriage of convenience, this is the only path she knows. (Although given that Richard has some sort of shady relationship with Lavinia and her father, this could turn out well for her after all.)
This of course isn't to say that there's not some human intervention along the way. William obviously manipulates Daisy into some sort of a sham of a relationship, and she's too weak to dissuade him of this illusion. In the same way, he also volunteers for the army, I despite all of the advice otherwise. Edith once again hatches a plan to land a suitor, as she uses her recently acquired driving skills to help out a tenant of the Grantham's land, which allows her plenty of time to woo the male owner.
Sybil, who continues to be the show's token activist/feminist character, meanwhile goes on her own journey, though it has little to do with either love or war, as she decides she wants to “do real work”, and thus ends up as a nurse at the local hospital. What's interesting is that the agency that Sybil displayed in the first season has come back even stronger here, as others (Edith especially) seems to ape her and begin to create their own paths. Of course, given the way Carson over exerts himself to cover for the lost labor force at Downton, it very well may be that all the characters will be doing so in the future, only without the luxury of having made the decision for themselves.
Lastly, I would like to turn my attention elsewhere (and this is something you can more or less expect every week), I discuss the various historical narratives at play within the episode. Now, it's been discussed elsewhere how Downton has a somewhat muddled approach to class and labor structures, what with the show depicting how terrible the downstairs population of the abbey is treated poorly, and yet how many of them seemed resigned to their fate, to the extent that they buck anybody's attempt to expand their rights. In the first season, this seemed to merely be the product of nuance, as the show gave us the continuum of reactions to the class system, both from the entitled and workers. However, if these two hours are any indication, the writers have let that nuance slip away from them, and gave us a much more top-down, elite-friendly picture of life at the abbey.
But the other, newer theme concerns that of the show's depiction of wartime England, which has a similar victor-tells-the-story kind of feel. Though I admit that the show does depict some characters as being scared to serve, the overall tone of the season so far, at least based on character count, is very pro-war. Many of the male characters want to serve, and even those who don't see the war as a positive and necessary thing. I realize that the world at this place and time wasn't as anti-war as it would end up being after Vietnam, but the show is created in an anti-Vietnam world, so I find it hard to believe that Julian Fellowes and his writers wouldn't play up the anti-war factions (which did exist) to more believable levels.
Quotes and Other Thoughts:
If, like me, you're still a bit worried about the direction that the show will take from here and whether you should keep watching, I've been assured that the Christmas special is awesome. So there's that.
Obviously, I will be going by the titles used by PBS, since this season has been re-cut to air here in the US. Don't worry, you won't loose anything – in fact, we got at least two full episodes, and possibly part of a third, in tonight's two hour block.
“You weren't even there to enjoy it.” “We enjoyed it plenty from down here.”
“Why don't I drive you?” “She's taking enough risk with her life as it is.”
“She wants us to invite a hawker of newspaper scandal to come and stay in this house? It's a good thing I have a sense of irony.”
“Elizabeth and Her German Garden? Whatever is that about?” “It's about an invitation to talk some more.”
“Edith! You're a lady, not Toad of Toad Hall!”
“The world does not turn on the style of a dinner.” “My world does.”
“Your proposal is improving by leaps and bounds.”
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