I appreciated that the wedding of Carson and Hughes didn't eat up the entire hour. It was tastefully done and sweet. Edith asserts herself for the first time instead of shrinking away. She also meets up with an acquaintance from the not so distant past. Mary and Anna create a bond while Daisy fumes. But the conclusion makes a wonderful impression.
5 Reviews
An Old Friend Returns
jpismyname10 January 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Edith is struggling with her cantankerous editor Skinner, who resigns. Edith has to do the job on her own with, well, a young man.
Meanwhile, the staff prepares for Mr. Carson and Mrs. Hu...wait...Mrs. Carson's wedding. We also see the usually quiet and sweet Lady Cora suddenly get angry. She has that quiet, intimidating vibe when she's angry. Lady Mary is also getting likeable as she helps both Anna and Mr. Carson. I admit, I didn't like her, but now I don't know.
The wedding is happy, the return of the old friend happier.
Meanwhile, the staff prepares for Mr. Carson and Mrs. Hu...wait...Mrs. Carson's wedding. We also see the usually quiet and sweet Lady Cora suddenly get angry. She has that quiet, intimidating vibe when she's angry. Lady Mary is also getting likeable as she helps both Anna and Mr. Carson. I admit, I didn't like her, but now I don't know.
The wedding is happy, the return of the old friend happier.
This is a charming episode
moviesfilmsreviewsinc14 May 2022
All these Lollipop Guild meetings are putting everyone on edge, causing Granny Violet to wave her shiv around at imaginary adversaries and shout in French. They don't bring out the best in Isobel either. She went all postal on poor old Doctor Clarkson, accusing him of working for Kaiser Wilhelm or something like that. And she might have bit him. We'll have to check the replay. Et tu, Isobel? Even Dickie was shocked and may now think he's had a lucky escape after all. It all continues to roll downhill as poor Cora, who's not used to getting up early or leaving the house or exerting herself in any way, had to witness this heavyweight fight and was left with a severe sugar coma headache because of it. Lady Edith did something jolly with her magazine. She bravely looked middle-age in the face (by the way, tell middle-age we said hell-oo) and flew down to London in a cyclone of editor drama. Editor Skinner seemed to be a shiftless old hand who didn't much like the idea of taking suggestions from a woman, but the wind began to switch as soon as Edith found her courage and told Mr. Skinner to take his job and shove off. She finally found her voice. In another bit of urban kismet; on a London street, Edith ran into Brancaster Birdie. Mr. Sprat's feet of clay are showing, by way of his unsavory relatives. His flat-footed nephew turns up after escaping from jail, followed close behind by an inquiring Sgt. Willis, and that's never a good sign, all of which amuses Denker to no end. Methinks she will try to use this info to seek revenge for broth-gate. Bickersons Sprat and Denker go so out of their ways to loathe each other so much, that one wonders, is this going to end up being a Sam and Diane-type relationship? Could Violet's nerves take it? The day of the Wedding of the Century arrives and everything goes to plan; Carson didn't pull a Strallin, and no one jumps up to object. Shrimpy even sent his bagpipes. But there's no kiss at the chapel so it looked a little bit like a business merger. At the receiving line, Lady Mary sort of apologized for her behavior, but wait, did she apologize only to Carson, not Mrs. Hughes? Hmmm, I don't know...we'll have to check that out on the re-run. Anyway, Mrs. Carson (this name change will take a bit of getting used too) took the high road and tells Lady Ignatz not to worry, that Carson would forgive her even if she attacked him with a brick. To which I say, "Don't give her any ideas!" Carson then toasts his bride and is upstaged when suddenly out of nowhere, Tom and Sybbie appear! Tom had been crying himself to sleep dreaming of Downton and pigeons and he finally clicked his heels right back to Crawleyville.
How to belittle a wedding.
eurodolphin15 August 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Am I in a small minority of Downton Abbey fans who finds the character Tom Branson boring, and not really credible? Am I in an even smaller minority who found the upstaging of the Carson/Hughes wedding reception in this episode, by the untimely return of the above mentioned boring Branson, a travesty?
I have to assume that Baron Fellowes must have had a very bitter experience of a wedding to have to have treated that of Carson and Hughes the way he did. Why on earth did he set up the magnificent scenes in the church and the reception room only to then give the combination of the two less than 5 minutes of air time. He gives more time to second-rate, trivial and boring stories like the unrealistic relationship of the ridiculous Spratt and Denker.
He has Carson spend three episodes trying to ruin his future wife's wedding reception, fine. He then allows the wiser women to put this right, very good, so far Julian seems to be on message. So why on earth does he then have the boring Tom Branson ruin, with a few poorly delivered words, a wedding reception he's spent three episodes building up?
I have to assume that Baron Fellowes must have had a very bitter experience of a wedding to have to have treated that of Carson and Hughes the way he did. Why on earth did he set up the magnificent scenes in the church and the reception room only to then give the combination of the two less than 5 minutes of air time. He gives more time to second-rate, trivial and boring stories like the unrealistic relationship of the ridiculous Spratt and Denker.
He has Carson spend three episodes trying to ruin his future wife's wedding reception, fine. He then allows the wiser women to put this right, very good, so far Julian seems to be on message. So why on earth does he then have the boring Tom Branson ruin, with a few poorly delivered words, a wedding reception he's spent three episodes building up?
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