Throughout this entire season we have all been waiting in anticipation to see if there was possibly another man out there that could charm our Lady Mary like Matthew did. Then we did the most horrible thing a fan can do we glossed over their romance in the beginning. Matthew had to walk through fire before he ever got the ice princess’s notice. If a man wants to pull Mary out of mourning then he’s going to have to make himself useful just to catch up.
Lord Gillingham arrived at Downton along with many others to enjoy a weekend event at the country estate that was to be only topped by the musical performance of Nellie Melba. There was the occasional hiccup with Branson doing his best to fit in to people he had once treated as his superiors. The Countess did her best to guide him yet it was another woman that helped take his mind off the torture. Edna our troublesome maid still has her crush on Branson and despite the sudden change in their hierarchies she hasn’t given up hope to catch his eye.
She plays a sweet young woman in front of him without him ever noticing why she’s always in front of him. However he might catch on after her most recent stunt. Quick word: Warning there is spoilers up ahead. Please turn back for your own safety.
At the very end of the episode not only did Edna supply Branson hard liquor she was also seen sneaking into one of the upstairs rooms. Now why would a girl sneak into a very drunk man’s room? It means she’s smart enough to set a trap. Edna possibly took advantage of Branson.
Usually hearing such news fans can get all gossipy about but what happened in another part of the house means all laughter is put aside. In the same episode we saw Edna take advantage of Bransn we saw Lord Gillingham’s valet, Green, rape Anna. Yes there is no miscommunication. Anna Bates was attacked while the rest of the house listened in on the performance upstairs. Bates, her husband, wasn’t concerned when she failed to reappear. He had joked to Mrs. Hughes at the time that Anna could have taken a nap.
The scene was brutal. There wasn’t a lot of visual but at the same time her screams could be heard echoing downstairs. It was Mrs. Hughes that found her and helped her clean up. Anna wished to keep the whole thing a secret. She said she didn’t want Mr. Bates to ever find out.
Which leaves with one problem. Because she won’t admit to what happened to her then whenever Lord Gillingham plans a visit to see Lady Mary then she will constantly be confronted by her attacker. What if Gillingham is the man to take Mary away from it all? Hypothetically, If he were to move into Downton then his valet will surely come with him. Can Anna handle that?
Sure there were other subplots going on in this episode. Sybil was finally to frame her married lover in a good light but this one episode was about so much more than that. When the Edna situation came up I’ll again state that it would have been discounted. But looking at it in this new light. Didn’t Edna do the same as Green? She didn’t use strength but she did use alcohol. There are two cases of rape in episode 3 and all anyone will mention will be Anna’s.
Anna who Bates guess she was taking a nap. Anna who had been taking powder for headaches. Anna who in the very worst case scenario could be pregnant. What will happen next?
