Downton Abbey: Series 1, 2 and cast career discussion thread — Page 4

I thought the contrast was great between Thomas and the cook's nephew, and I can see why it was written in. Just not with that method. It was cliche even back then, and nearly everyone who tried it using those tactics would have been caught. Thomas (being the crafty sh*t that he is) probably would have done something far less obvious. Something that couldn't be considered "self-induced" enemy fire.

I'm hoping they'll bring the incident back in the plot and place him under suspicion for the crime. Maybe even courtmartialed, then released without enough evidence. Although, it's a little late for that. Still, he would not have gotten off scott-free without being seriously put to to test, especially due to the nature of such an obvious "injury."

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Updated On: 1/13/12 at 09:14 AM

It was definitely an act of desparation. No question. He wanted out, any way he could get out. I was just surprised that Thomas, of all people, wouldn't have realized how "obvious" his staged injury was.

Think about it. It wouldn't take a Sherlock to figure it out. He was shot through the hand at night. Not while bullets were flying and richociheing during an assault. It was quiet. He was on a night watch. The only way for him to sustain an enemy gunshot wound in the hand was if he stuck it up and out of the foxhole. It was done all the time, sadly. And it was usually caught and tried accordingly.

The writing of this story and the characters are both excellent, so I'm still hoping this will come back to haunt him in later episodes and correct that little bit of "questionable" history I'm having with a plot point. That's what I love about Thomas, too. He gets away with a lot, but then he gets his comeuppance. Actually, it would be great if he even did a lot of "good" a the hospital and convalescent center first, and THEN got caught for the "bad" thing he did on the front. One of the best aspects of this show is that the good people aren't all good, and the bad people aren't all bad.

I love Mary. She was a the frosty bitch at first, but she's become genuinely compassionate and mature toward Matthew. I wanted to cheer, at first, when things didn't go her way, and now I genuinely feel sorry for her, even if she had it coming. She has "grown a woman's heart," at least where he's concerned. Maybe too little, too late.

The characters are complex. So it would be great to have this war crime come back to haunt Thomas AFTER he did a lot of good at the hospital. And I would love nothing better than to see the cook confront him when it's revealed that he got away with the same crime her nephew was executed for. What a scene that would be!

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Updated On: 1/13/12 at 04:46 PM

Not crazy about tonight's episode. Out of all the episodes,tonight's was my least favorite.

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I know it will. I absolutely love this show! Off topic but there is a new movie coming out with Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, and Penelope Wilton. Looks awfully good. Odd seeing Penelope and Maggie out of character in something other than Downton Abbey.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDY89LYxK0w

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That's how I did it to and I agree. I watched them on Netflix. My problem was, I watched one episode and found I could not stop. I stayed up one night until 4:30 in the morning watching them all.

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One sitting sounds ideal for Julian Fellowes' upcoming 4-part Titanic series, but for an 8-parter like Downton I imagine I would be drooping near the end - you must have great stamina.

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You paused and rang for tea, no doubt.

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I hope your scullery maid didn't see you, Phyllis.

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Prof. Schama is not impressed:

“Nothing beats British television drama for servicing the instincts of cultural necrophilia.”
"The series is fabulously frocked, and acted, and overacted, and hyper-overacted by all the Usual Suspects..."

Prof Schama, who has become a celebrity himself in America due to his populist books...

LOL!

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Professor who?

Next.

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Sh*t the Dowager Countess Says

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bs5_E1J_9hY

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He singles out America to make Brits feel they're dumbing down their product for the continent. A number of my British online freinds know who he is--NO one I speak to in Canada or the US does.