"It's a nutcracker, To crack your nuts!", Mrs. Crawley tells Lady Grantham when she presents her with her Christmas present. For two years, she's put up with Lady Violet's acid tongue, and now she's had the opportunity to pay her back deliciously. It's a sad Christmas however as Bates is in prison for the supposed murder of his nasty ex-wife who haunts him from the grave just after he's shared his honeymoon bed with his loving new wife Anna. There's still joy over the holidays as both the family and the staff play games (separately of course), and the shadow of the past isn't as dark as the presence of Aunt Rosamund and Richard Carlisle, a fiancee that Mary needs to dump any way she can. Somehow Thomas has managed to worm his way back on staff (surprise surprise), and he's anchoring for the position of Robert's personal valet. There's also Rosamund's ladies maid (Marigold) who has a dark presence, but not as dark as O'Brien who along with Thomas engages the downstairs staff with a Ouija board. Anna is determined to stand by her new husband no matter what it takes, and this will not end well when he goes on trial.
Then there's the introduction of Sir Anthony Strallan who will be the next man Edith will fall for, an aging aristocrat injured in the war, but all poor Edith wants is her man alive and breathing. That's not an attack on Edith's character. She's put up with ill treatment from older sister Mary all of her life so her self esteem is very low yet she's retained a sense of kindness and a lack of snobbery, something that Mary could learn a little bit about even though she is completely loyal to Anna and treats her nearly as an equal. As New Year's 1920 arrives ("Downton Abbey" 100 years ago!), Lady Grantham reflects on the past decade and wonders what it will bring. The previous episode ended with her telling Robert that in spite of his past, Tom Branson had promise, and with any luck, they'll be able to reshape his future. News of Sybil's pregnancy arrives although Sybil and Tom do not make an appearance. Daisy is visited by her father-in-law who has come to think of her as a daughter, but Daisy still feels not right for not having really loved William. This episode has a lot of dramatic twists, but it also shows a lot of hope as the world strives for peace but faces other obstacles.
Then there's the introduction of Sir Anthony Strallan who will be the next man Edith will fall for, an aging aristocrat injured in the war, but all poor Edith wants is her man alive and breathing. That's not an attack on Edith's character. She's put up with ill treatment from older sister Mary all of her life so her self esteem is very low yet she's retained a sense of kindness and a lack of snobbery, something that Mary could learn a little bit about even though she is completely loyal to Anna and treats her nearly as an equal. As New Year's 1920 arrives ("Downton Abbey" 100 years ago!), Lady Grantham reflects on the past decade and wonders what it will bring. The previous episode ended with her telling Robert that in spite of his past, Tom Branson had promise, and with any luck, they'll be able to reshape his future. News of Sybil's pregnancy arrives although Sybil and Tom do not make an appearance. Daisy is visited by her father-in-law who has come to think of her as a daughter, but Daisy still feels not right for not having really loved William. This episode has a lot of dramatic twists, but it also shows a lot of hope as the world strives for peace but faces other obstacles.