Downton Abbey (TV Series) Episode #1.5 (2010) User Reviews

Some nonsense

[CursedChico · 7/10 · 15 February 2021]

Some nonsense

Daisy only saw they were carrying a body -probaby dead- to kemal's room. HOw can she know they brought him from mary's room?

Matthew is handsome and rich and hardworking person. It is starting to be annoying that he insists for mary. She does not want him. She is cold. She even behaved badly to her sister.

Delicate Balance

[Hitchcoc · 9/10 · 30 July 2020]

The continuing saga of O'Brian and Thomas gets stickier. They have to understand at this point that there are those who are suspicious at this point and their messing around is going to be under surveillance. Bates and Anna are starting their relationship, but there is a secret of some sort. Mrs. Patmore has problems. Daisy is utterly vacuous at this time and is a threat to Mary because of what she saw that night. Nicely structured.

War

[jpismyname · 10/10 · 17 December 2017]

Lady Mary and Lady Edith go against each other and compete, while Mrs. Crawley thinks the Dowager Countess makes herself win in a flower contest.

It's really fun to see and watch the Dowager Countess "fighting" with Matthew's mother. She provides laughter in this series. She is definitely my favorite character now.

I also feel bad for Lady Edith here.

Amazing, and blown away

[moviesfilmsreviewsinc · 10/10 · 14 May 2022]

Daisy is flustered after witnessing the late night disposal of the dead Mr. Pamuk. O'Brien and Thomas continue to scheme and make sure Daisy tells Lady Edith the circumstances of Pamuk's death. The evil twosome also plot to frame Bates for the theft of a snuff box, but Anna and Bates outwit them at their own game. And thanks to a letter written by Thomas, gossip about Lady Mary's virtue reaches London. Lady Cora tells Mary she's damaged goods and best marry quickly. Old Anthony Strallin is invited to dinner as a prospective husband. Edith is actually interested in the old coot, sparking up a bitter sibling rivalry between the two sisters. Lady Sybil continues to encourage Gwen in her secretarial ambitions. Sybil applies for a job on Gwen's behalf and gets her an interview. They sneak off to the interview. The horse and buggy breaks down on the way back and they can't find a blacksmith. They both end up in the mud, but no one is the wiser when they return. The village is abuzz with the annual flower show. While talking to Molesley's father, Isobel discovers that Countess Violet wins the flower show every year and deems this unjust. In an unusually kind move, Countess Violet declares Molesley's father the winner, even though the judges have decreed on paper that Violet won yet again. Anna and Bates talk about love while making Edith's bed. He insinuates that he loves Anna. She comes right out and says she loves him on the trek to the flower show. Mrs Patmore makes a very salty raspberry meringue for dessert and nearly chokes Lord Strallin. Carson has a talk with Mrs. Patmore and she reveals her eyesight is going.

Edith writes a mysterious letter to the Turkish ambassador. Oh oh...

A nice touch of classic film homage with Dame Maggie Smith suddenly becoming Dame May Whitty.

[mark.waltz · 10/10 · 23 September 2019]

The 1942 Oscar winning movie "Mrs. Miniver" has a sweet moment when the imperious character played by Dame May Whitty must reach into her conscience to step aside and let somebody else have a moment in the spotlight. In her case, it was train master Henry Travers whose "Miniver Rose" was certainly much more lovely than what Dame May entered in the flower show. Now it's Dame Maggie's chance to show that underneath all that sardonic wit is as big of a heart as Isabel and Cora gently cajole her to step aside and give the best bloom prize at the flower show to Mr. Mosely's aging father. There's the hesitation, a double check of the prize announcement, and the triumphant smile that "Wow. I can do something nice!" when she reveals the not so true winner. Dame Maggie must have watched Dame May's reaction in "Mrs. Miniver" because she plays it off beautifully and it is truly a magnificent moment, one of the best of the series.

Lesley Nicol's Mrs. Pathmore gets to stand out in this episode where her temperament gets the better of her, yelling at Daisy heartlessly, blaming her for a mix-up, then trying to remain dignified as she tries to deal with the truth about her failing eyesight. Nicol and Sophie McShera (Daisy) are terrific in this episode with McShera's vulnerability being mixed with toughness as she stands up for herself, and eventually Nicol's change of heart to a girl she had just annihilated in front of everybody else. This shows an understanding between both characters who may not always be calm and collected with each other, and that sometimes the salt in a relationship can be just as sweet as sugar. Then there's Bates and Anna's dealing with the theft of a snuff box which either Thomas or O'Brien supposedly hid in his room. Their running off to find it when Bates suggests a search is hysterically funny, especially when Mrs. Hughes comes across a guilt ridden O'Brien standing amongst the mess of her room. It is also hinted that Edith intends to utilize Mary's secret of Paduk's death against her in some way, and as cruel as it is, who could blame Edith after the shabby way her sister has treated her? Definitely one of the best episodes of the series with too many highlights to mention.

totally unrealistic

[sandcrab277 · 2/10 · 28 April 2020]

Any butler worth his salt would have sacked o'brien and barrow in the first episode ... the crappy creator and writer fellowes purposely creates problems to make his fairy tale flow ... this whole series is not well thought out and puts in props to make it more interesting except it doesn't