Downton Abbey: S06E04

This episode was a GIFT. Easily the best one they've had in years.

We'll start with what I was most excited about: Gwen's return to Downton. I was spoiled for her arrival, but I wasn't sure whether she would get the chance to mention Sybil (and my heart was set on it). And then... oh man, it was better than I ever could have expected!

My absolute favourite subplot of the first season was Sybil helping Gwen find a secretary job, and when Rose Leslie left before the start of the second I thought that was it for her character (though I remember being disappointed she didn't return for Sybil's funeral). I hoped she might return when her stint on Game of Thrones wrapped up, and when it was casually mentioned via a letter that her character had gotten married, those hopes were raised.

Clearly Julian Fellowes hadn't forgotten her existence, and now here we are: Gwen not only visiting Downton Abbey as a guest, but remembering Sybil to her family. And such beautiful continuity as well, with Gwen detailing the events leading up to her employment (the horse going lame, the job interview in the library) and the family putting the pieces of the puzzle together.

I never thought Fellowes would be able to top the beauty of Sybil's line: "your dream is my dream now", but he got pretty damn close with Gwen's: "her kindness changed my life."

Thanks Fellowes. That was everything I wanted.

It was altogether a pretty good episode for the ladies! It's always nice to see Rosamund again, but we also had a revisit from Harriet Walter as Lady Shackleton. And what do you know, Matthew Goode is her nephew.

Seriously, I've no idea what his character's name is; it only matters that he's played by Matthew Goode. This has endgame written all over it, though I wish I could be a bit more enthusiastic about it. I guess his love of cars is a fairly interesting barrier between them (given how Matthew died) but I'm still a bit jaded over last season's completely pointless love triangle.  

Branson is also back, which is fine. I'm not his greatest fan, but I don't dislike him and Mary is always at her best when she's interacting with him. He doesn't take any of her nonsense, and when you consider what their relationship was like when he first expressed interest in Sybil, her almost off-handed "you're my brother" was touching.

Elsewhere Baxter is finally getting a half-way decent storyline. Okay, let's call it a quarter-way decent storyline. The man who once seduced her into stealing her last mistress's jewel is to be put on trial, and the police want her to testify as a character witness. She's naturally a bit hesitant despite Moseley's encouragement.

I like Baxter, namely because she's the only post-season three character that's actually worked (I enjoy Denker too, but she hasn't been folded into the main cast quite as smoothly) and because of her role as a "good shoulder angel" to Thomas, who previously only had a bad one in the form of Mrs O'Brien.

And so I love that it was Thomas who was the one to convince Baxter to testify, and the actress captured a lot of history in her response to Moseley's: "he didn't ruin you," with her "no, but he changed me."

Speaking of which – oh, Thomas. Baxter is right, you're your own worst enemy. And he's also a rather idiotic one. Did he really think this family, who consider the chauffer their son/brother, were prepared to host the butler and the housekeeper's wedding, and attend personally to the medical emergencies of their staff would care that a maid who left their house under perfectly respectable circumstances returned as a guest?

And of course, as soon as Gwen begins speaking of Sybil, they're enraptured. And of COURSE she comes down to the kitchens to speak to her former co-workers despite their initial grumbling.

I've been rooting for Thomas, but this really was a dick move. Still, at least he owns his jealousy when Bates calls him out on it.

And was that a bit of Andy/Daisy ship tease going on? Dang it, I was hoping Thomas would get SOME happiness, but since Andy was witness to him trying to embarrass Gwen, it would seem it's right out of the question now.

Miscellaneous Observations:

Here, have some women passing the Bechdel Test in 1920s fashion:

I said it earlier, but Fellowes really did hit all the right notes when it came to Gwen. She embodied the restructuring of society more effortlessly than all of Robert's pontificating about time and change, and I'm glad that her memories of Sybil's kindness shook the upstairs family while her new position in life got the downstairs folk thinking.

And of course, I'm so pleased Fellowes rewarded Gwen for her hard work instead of punishing her for her ambition, as he does with so many other low-class characters who want to better themselves.

I loved that Branson recognized her but didn't say anything ("I married the boss's daughter" – heh) but that Mary also found her slightly familiar. She's a lot more perspective than people give her credit for – and I also liked that she was shamed enough by Sybil's memory that she threw a supportive comment Edith's way. More please!

I've been re-watching season one in the lead-up to a Top Twelve Downton Abbey Scenes post (like I did for The Legend of Korra) and it's amazing to compare how much the staff has been downsized since then. Back at the start of the show the place was bustling, now it's just a handful of workers.

More than that, we would have never seen the Crawley family descend the stairs to celebrate with the servants as they did tonight. Of course, they never would have engaged in a full-scale argument at dinner in front of guests as they did tonight – at least not without being mortified afterwards.

"I couldn't be less interested in cars if I took a pill to achieve it." I'm going to have to use that line one day.

Edith driving a car! Edith deciding to hire a female editor! Edith getting encouragement from Mary! Edith involving herself in a committee to help other career women!

Bates says to Baxter: "for once I agree with you," which is weird because I can't really see them disagreeing very often.

I loved the little scene from Robert when Cora points out he's happy that Tom is back. "I am. Isn't it funny." Bless. Also, you're gonna die.

Thankfully Daisy dodges a bullet, though I'm disappointed she's regressed in her behaviour. The problem with this character is that she wasn't written out (like Gwen) when it was obvious her character was ready to move on to bigger and better things. Instead she's been chained to Downton in a way that made no sense for her ongoing education and ambition – though her scenes with Mr Mason are always sweet.

So this was a very satisfying episode. Everything I wanted from Gwen and Sybil, and plenty of forward momentum in other areas as well. I feel like the show has turned a corner – all the characters are heading pretty steadily toward their respective finish lines.