Downton Abbey (TV Series) The London Season (2013) User Reviews

The Season

[jpismyname · 9/10 · 5 January 2018]

It's the grand event of coming out for the young women of the aristocrats. Lady Rose's debut ball is going to be held at the Grantham House. We meet again the free-spirited American mom of Cora, Martha Levinson, and this time her mother brings Cora's playboy brother Harold, who does not know how to act properly in very formal situations. I really love Martha, I just wish we would see her more.

Meanwhile, there's the Prince of Wales, whose love letter to his mistress are stolen by Sampson, thanks to Lady Rose's carelessness.

We also meet a very American (and hot) young man, the valet of Harold Levinson. He likes Daisy (great for her). He asks her to be a cook for Harold in the US, and for that they will have more time together.

My favorite scenes always include the Dowager Countess disagreeing with Martha. I love the scene where Violet was going into her room, and Martha tells her that her world's slipping away, but Martha's world's just beginning. I think it's a great, powerful scene.

I love this episode really.

Rose Comes Out

[Hitchcoc · 9/10 · 24 August 2020]

What a lot of claptrap that is involved in rich young women reaching the age where they are officially introduced to society. One can only imagine the expense of this extravaganza. Rose is at her obnoxious best as she basks in her entitlement. Shirley MacLaine makes a reappearance with her wealthy son, who, surprisingly, is rather ordinary but quite the playboy. An incriminating letter becomes the center of attention, possibly embarrassing the Prince of Wales. Mary continues to attempt to balance the love of two men. But most significant is a potentially life-changing move by Edith. Thomas continues to lay down his slime trail. And something found in one of Mr. Bates old overcoats causes a considerable stir.

It may not be Christmas at Downton, but with Rose's Ball being the focus the only difference really is an exchange of presents.

[Amari-Sali · 28 December 2013]

It has only been a few months since the last episode, and it is one month before this season's US premiere, and I don't know who can be considered luckier? Those in the UK for seeing it first, or those in the US for getting the whole season straight through? Either way, between a royal scandal averted; Cora's American family visiting; and the happenings of the staff, we are given quite a bit within the hour and a half episode.

Topic 1: The Americans are Coming!

In this episode there is a lot of culture clashing as Cora's mother Martha Levinson, and brother Harold (played by Paul Giamatti) come to visit as part of their European tour, as well as to celebrate Rose's coming out. Naturally though, between them and their traveling staff, issues arise. Martha, for example, naturally clashes with English culture, and especially Dowager Violet; then you have Harold who lacks the social niceties required to be amongst the aristocracy.

But both find themselves in for quite the fun when a father/ daughter duo attempt to combine their title with Martha's money. The father pursues Martha, and the daughter, Madeline, a friend of Rose, pursues Harold. Both seemingly see through this little scheme between the father/daughter duo, but while Martha just goes along for fun, Harold seems to get something out of it. For though he doesn't consider himself the marrying kind, partly due to his own insecurities, some of which come with being rich, Madeline ultimately finds a way to become more than a girl who attracts his attention, but perhaps be one of the first women, in his life to seek a genuine friendship in the man, and not for monetary gain, but simply due to some type of camaraderie.

Topic 1.5: Coming to America

Focusing on the staff though, just as Martha and Harold are awkward upstairs, so is Harold's valet. Between his pursuit of Daisy and his culture clash moments with Mr. Carson, he finds himself outnumbered and out of place. You see, upon volunteering to help around the house he commits a few social faux pas. Examples include him talking to guest while acting as a footman, using American slang, or him speaking badly about his employer in a way beyond gossiping. His main focus though is his pursuit of Daisy, and even convinces Harold to get himself an English cook. Daisy denies the offer, but Ivy jumps at the chance. Seemingly, between Jimmy's dreams and Alfred doing well, Ivy feels like she should advance in life. Now, the boy, as you would expect, isn't the fondest of this idea, but he goes with it. Thus making it seem Ivy is being written out.

Topic 2: A Scandal Averted

As for Rose, so much happens in the lead up to her ball. For one, a new friend, Ms. Dudley, she finds out to be the mistress of the Prince of Wales. But, the thing which leads to drama in this episode is Mr. Samson's appearance, and him stealing a letter the Prince gave to Ms. Dudley confessing his love. Upon knowing said letter was stolen, Rose brings Lord Grantham into the situation and he involves Bates for help, and between forgery and stealing the letter back, Bates saves the day, and thank goodness for that for Mary damn near was about to turn him in.

You see, the murder of Mr. Green remains unsolved, but Bates had an incriminating ticket in his pocket found by Ms. Hughes when Anna donated a coat for Russians. Ms. Hughes shows said tick to Mary to see how it should be handled, and if it wasn't for the scandal averted, it seems Mary might have sought justice for the murder.

Topic 3: Love Is On Its Way

Leaving us with one scandal averted, and Edith prepping the next. As of this episode, Edith's child was left in Geneva, but upon news of Mr. Gregson either being alive, or maybe dead, combined with maternal worries, she decides to follow her original plan of having a local farmer raise her daughter so she can at least see her, even if she can't keep her the way she wants. The last topic worth noting are the the burgeoning romances. Between Tom and Sarah, Ms. Crawley and Lord Berton, Mary's many suitors, and Ms. Baxter and Moseley, many of the cast seem to be finding someone to help them move on from their misery. Mary seems ready to move on, especially upon learning Mr. Blake has title, leading to her announcing to Mr. Gillingham she maybe ready for love. But, for both Tom and Ms. Crawley, their romances moves slowly.

Ms. Crawley is unsure of Lord Berton attention, but he follows her to Rose's ball just to be around her; and as for Tom, as his friendship with Sarah blossoms, so does the anger of Thomas. His jealousy due to lack of social mobility leads him to try to use seeing Sarah in Downton, much less upstairs, against Tom by telling Lord Grantham of the event.

Lastly, I must mention Ms. Baxter and Mr. Moseley. As we've seen, Moseley is trying his best to keep Ms. Baxter away from Thomas so that she doesn't end up ostracized like him. Sadly though, whatever Thomas has on her seems strong, but seemingly with Moseley's words and kindness, she begins to get a backbone and stands up to Thomas.

Overall

I guess technically this is more so the season finale than the last episode, but considering the time jump it almost feels more appropriate to consider this a prologue. Either way, it maintains the quality of the Downton Abbey series and drops a lot of hints of what is to come in 2014. Here is to then!

The season ending

[moviesfilmsreviewsinc · 10/10 · 14 May 2022]

The big news was that rapist Green is no more, him having gone the way of a used chip paper and ended up wrapped around the wheel arch of a Piccadilly bus. Did Green fall or did Bates push him is the question Downton wants us to spend between now and Christmas pondering. Moreover, do we blame Bates if he did? That last point's quite a challenging concept, which must be why Lady Mary's syntax struggled to cope with it. Her coded attempt to untangle the ethical implications of Bates having possibly murdered his wife's rapist was so impenetrable that if Bletchley Park start recruiting early, they could do worse than to snap her up. In her words, if a person did a thing that was very bad and then someone else did a thing that was also very bad but perhaps less bad because they did it (if they did, in fact, do it) to the person who was bad in the first place; is it still a bad thing? No wonder she's confused. Thank Heavens Mary didn't try that little poser on her mother, who'd already lost her beautifully bovine demeanour due to having more than the customary three items on her To Do list (1. Beam at things, 2. Be entirely oblivious, and 3. Beam at things whilst being entirely oblivious, sometimes wearing a tiara). The annual church bazaar (a sort of Woodstock with jam) was the cause of Lady Cora's distraction, and this year's answer to the cricket match and garden party of previous series finales. A church bazaar it may have been, but there was romance and not holiness in the air. Mr Molesley and Miss Baxter hit it off after his Thor-like display on the strength-o-meter ("It's all in the arms", as deadpan treat Kevin Doyle explained), Branson and new squeeze Sarah Bunting flirted over a tray of pansies, and Mary was languorously beating them off with a jewelled stick, her handsome cow-lick admirers finding any excuse (salmon fishing, fake conferences, dead servants) to return to Downton and throw their coats over metaphorical puddles for her. Line of the episode goes to Lady Rosamund, who approached Branson with the mentally scarring image, "I gather you've launched into pigs these days", though that was closely rivalled by Violet's evocative "like a sloth underwater" simile and Molesley's tender confession to having felt fragile his whole life, poor chap.

A new world is coming, and no one will like it.

[mark.waltz · 10/10 · 24 February 2021]

Martha Levinson, the world's oldest flapper, makes another splashy appearance, and this time her son Harold (Cora's brother) is brought along as well. Played by Paul Giamatti, he's a gauche stereotypical brash American who makes his mother seem downright tame. It's eight months later, and Edith is back, having had a baby girl, and completely depressed about giving it up. There's also more mystery concerning the death of Mr. Green, seemingly accidental at first, but a shadow of doubt is a cloud over Anna and John Bates.

It's fun to watch the cultural differences over the two sides of the family with Uncle Harold meeting his nieces for the first time, with one of Martha's male servants asked to help out as a valet and getting told off by Carson for being far too informal. Poor Tom Branson is stuck with Thomas Barrow back home, and it surprising that Barrow doesn't end up with a black eye for his arrogance. I didn't really noticed this at the time of its first airing, but stories of season six involving Isabel and Lord Merton have brief play here with Lady Violet's quiet indigence over their becoming friendly.

Subplots involving the royal family and various scandals aren't as interesting as the stories surrounding the characters we've been watching now for four full seasons, and even if the whole pomp and circumstance seems pretentious, it's lavishly fun to watch. Even more fun are the barbs once again between Maggie Smith and Shirley MacLaine, this time with MacLaine getting the upper hand. They just don't have enough scenes together to truly be satisfying. A brief bit of snark between Edith and Mary has the elder getting the upper hand verbally but the middle one winning the battle with an eye roll. It should be noted that Maggie Smith once played Queen Alexandra (in the TV movie "All the King's Men"), the mother of King George V seen here and later in the first "Downton" movie. Altogether a great episode, in motion picture length, and of course, a shocking cliffhanger.

Welcome to the Lamefest, here is your awkward dialog

[skinnybert · 5/10 · 14 September 2023]

What the heck is this?! OK: to be fair, this series has always had its soap-opera moments -- some dictated by plot, others by cast changes. But here it's squarely on the many lame aspects of the script itself. From the first scene, it feels off: plot-heavy dialog, change-of-pace locations, and far too many characters.

Almost everyone is not quite on their marks: Bates is suddenly adept at forgery, Branson loses his perspective because of an annoying town girl, and the story as a whole has an unfinished feeling. Edith is of course monotonously morose over her secret situation, which onply progresses in ways which were already discussed and dismissed in the previous episode. Oh, let's have a game-changing reveal for one of Mary's suitors -- why not. And isn't it funny if Carson's totally tone-deaf about what the other servants would want to do on a day off? No, you're right, it isn't -- not half as funny as Maclaine and Smith trading lame barbs.

Fortunately, it isn't all bad -- mostly in the beginning, somewhat less so as it progresses. The scene of Barrow serving Branson is great, and the American valet asking to speak with Carson "man to man" is gold. The pageantry of Rose's presentation was a wonderful spectacle which surpassed anything seen so far.

As always, the costumes are amazing, and Isis (the dog) does get some choice scenes. Stupid plot choices are unavoidable, and we can already see the potential soapy problems ripe for next season's picking. If so, I hope it's better than most of this, which was a distinct drop in writing quality from all that had gone before.