In what has remain a mystery for years – Why is Thomas Barrow so intent on collecting information on everyone at Downton Abbey? Here is a man that is ambitious and wants to aspire to bigger things and yet he does’t only focus on digging into his employers personal lives. He wants to know about everyone including people downstairs. Why? What good would come out of knowing Anna Bates’ secret? Whatever is driving him is slowly starting to look like obsession this season.
Lord Grantham has to go to America to help out Lady Cora’s brother. Apparently having an earl for a brother-in-law adds a certain shine to any business venture. His lordship is going simply to placate his mother–in-law whom we all saw could be quiet formidable. In doing so he has to takes his valet which usually Mr. Bates. However the man in charge of suits wants to be a physical presence for his wife right now. He can’t tell his boss and his wife can’t tell the boss no. Leaving Mrs. Hughes to do what needs to be done. She goes to Lady Mary and reveal why Mr. Bates needs to stay at this time.
Although the reveal was a long time coming it leaves everyone in the awkward position. Mr. Bates sees himself as failure for not protecting his wife and Anna still blames herself for the rape. Sure Mary has always been friendly with the staff but she’s not a friend. There is a difference. She learns that when her attempts to help (besides getting Barrow to go with he father over Bates) really do fall flat. By
Nor does she make any connection to her extra guest during that weekend. Mary eventually gets caught up in another love/hate story so much so she only got annoyed by the return of Lord Gillingham simply because she had her hands full with two men at the time. Thereby completely forgetting Gillingham’s assessment on his own valet. Remember how the man said he just didn’t like him. Well neither does Mrs. Hughes. With the return of the lord so too came his valet. He was usual cocky and spirited self around the staff but Mr.s Hughes warned him to stay away as much as possible.
For the most part he’s not actively trying to get into Anna’s face but he does taunt her a little. He revealed at the dinner table he had come downstairs that night and everything quieter than a church mouse. He shouldn’t have don that. After all the steps Anna and Mrs. Hughes to claim it was a stranger that attacked, he ruined it all with one sentence. You see Bates knows his wife and after they started talking about the incident odds are she confirmed how she did her best to fight off the attack. By the way Bates looked at him after that his statement then it’s safe to say he knows.
One secret down and what feels like a hundred rearing to go. Lady Edith’s pregnancy was confirmed in the episode but not in the way we all suspected. The assumption was that she would tell her family with the mindset of possibly wanting to keep the baby. But that wasn’t the case. The only person on the know is her aunt. She had went up to London with Rose piggybacking (she wanted to meet her bandleader) in order to get an abortion. She had to tell her aunt why she’d be out all night just so the other woman wouldn’t worry or call her parents to report her.
Her aunt doesn’t want her to do this and in a while all of her talks couple with Edith’s anxieties. She didn’t want to do it either but she knew the family would be ashamed if she had a baby outside wedlock. She changed her mind on the procedure yet she’s still fighting not to be an unwed mother. In next wee’s sneak peek she the audience see her come with the idea of asking a tenant to help in her predicament. Is she going to give up her baby for someone else to raise? That way she won;t have to live under a black cloud while still be close enough to her child to watch he or she grow up.
Somehow that idea come off as a failure before he even got implemented. She may not be a favored child of anyone but that doesn’t mean her family won’t stick by her once they notice her pregnancy. No one will be giving away that baby to a farmer. Wait & see!