Season 1, Episode 7

The season one finale of Downton Abbey is full of suspense and heart aching moments! In this episode, we recap:

Mary and Matthew's future

Mrs. Patmore's eyesight

Thomas' attitude

O'Brien's big mistake

Cora's baby

Edith's prospects

A telephone

The Dowager Countess' lines

And so much more!

Leave a comment with your thoughts on the finale, or leave us a voicemail at 816- OR use your computer microphone to leave a voice message from your computer with character study ideas.

Season 1, Episode 6

Downton tension!

In this episode of the DA Reflection, we will talk about all the tension that is going around Downton. Namely, tension between Sybil and Robert, Thomas and Bates, Anna and Bates, Mary and Matthew, and Daisy and... Daisy.

Mr. Bates also takes nobility to new levels in this episode of Downton Abbey, so we will have a segment called, "Bates, why can't you defend yourself?" In this segment, we'll go over all the ways that Bates sabotages his standing at the Downton household, defends the guilty and refuses to exonerate himself. And to what end?

Finally, we will wrap up with some typical Dowager Countess lines.

Thanks so much for listening, and if you have comments or points of view you'd like to share with the listeners, you can do so from the blog in written or spoken form - or - you can give us a call at 816-379-6956. We look forward to hearing from you!

John Bates: A Study

In this episode of the Downton Abbey Reflection, we dig deep into the character of John Bates. One of our listeners, Muneerah Page, requested a Bates study, so a Bates study we did. A lot of John Bates' past is a mystery.

So in this episode, we do a lot of searching and a lot of speculation. What was Bates really like before he came to Downton Abbey? Has he really changed his ways? What causes him to be so selfless? After discussing Bates' past, we talk about his current state of affairs: prison. Is Bates really guilty? If not, who is? We talk about who a lot of you think may be guilty of poisoning Vera Bates and what motives they may have. If I left out any significant possibilities, leave a comment or voice message to let me know!

 Also, there are now two new ways that you can interact with me and the other listeners of the DA Reflection. You can leave a voice message by calling (816) 379-6956 or by going to the blog at www.downtonabbeyreflection.blogspot.com and clicking on the "leave a voicemail" button on the right side of the screen. Let me know your name, where you're calling from, and what question or comment you'd like addressed on the podcast or blog.

 Free Mr. Bates!

Season 1, Episode 5

This episode is all about sister rivalry! Hear about how Edith and Mary go at it (in very back-stabbing, slandering, passive aggressive, British ways) and how Mary's pride keeps her from solving everyone's problems. Edith may finally have a love interest, and Matthew has hope for a future that would please Robert and Cora. And of course, we'll talk about the latest quick witted lines from the Dowager Countess.

A listener asked that we do a character study of Bates next, so you can look forward to that next episode. Leave a comment with take aways from this episode - do you agree with my assessment of Mary and Edith's relationship? Is their rivalry simply a carry over from adolescence, or is there more to it?

Let me know what you'd like to hear about next!

Season 1, Episode 4

Things are getting wild at the Downton household! There's a new chauffeur, some new romantic interests, and - as always - some new secrets revealed.

In season 1, episode 4, Mrs. Hughes lets us in on her past and how she came to be at Downton Abbey. Daisy struggles to find out who she is and how she fits in, Sybil pushes the envelope (several of them), and Mary decides to do anything but what she is supposed to. This episode is so packed full that I couldn't fit in all of the action in to one podcast episode.

Leave a comment and let me know what you think about Sybil and Mary - and also to discuss some of the plot lines not gone into detail.

One last thing - apologies for inverting the names Violet and Isobel. For some reason, every time I refer to Isobel Crawley, I call her Violet.

Let me know what you'd like to hear next - another character study?

Season 1, Episode 3

Season 1 Episode 3 is such a fun episode because, although the inheritance storyline moves forward very little, there are SO many subplots that we hardly even notice! Edith is into Matthew, but he seems to enjoy looking at churches more than being in her company. Gwen is (gasp!) taking a correspondence course to become a secretary. I can't imagine why she would want to leave service...

But - if you remember anything at all about episode 3, it's that Mary puts herself in a compromising situation with one Mr. Pamuk. An attractive, persistent, confident and frisky Turkish gentlemen who visits Downton Abbey with Mary's pen pal, Evelyn Napier. It's a racy and scandalous episode, and although Mr. Pamuk succeeds in his conquest, it had nothing to do with his being smooth. As a matter of fact, his advances are quite awkward and uncomfortable.

I name a few awkward moments of Pamuk's in the podcast. If you can think of any others, leave me a comment!

Downton Parody

If you haven't already seen these videos, they're hilarious!

Parody