Returning to Downton once more, we find polar opposites of emotion within the walls of the abbey. Anna finds herself in the aftermath of a destructive storm following a brutal sexual assault from the previous episode. Mary on the other hand is finding that her own fire has not gone out, but has slept beneath the cinders, and Lord Gillingham is fanning the embers slowly but surely. But again, as is typical of our favorite period drama, the stories of the 20+ characters continue on. I think we’ll call this portion the Downton Debriefing from here on out.
Mary is not the only one gradually re-emerging with the living as cousin Isobel returns to the ranks of Dr. Clarkson in the medical field, though we almost hope to see Clarkson getting drunk and making another clumsy attempt to wed her and bed her. Surprisingly, it would also it would appear as though she and the Dowager Countess have finally made full amends, the two clucking hens ruling the roost, an earned respect for keeping count with cousin Violet’s slings and arrows we’ve come to adore. The love square downstairs intensifies as Jimmy continues to facetiously pursue Ivy to get Alfred’s goat and dear Daisy couldn’t grab Alfred’s attention if she ran about naked with her bonnet on fire. But we wouldn’t slight Mr. Fellowes to write that scene anyways, just for kicks. And if these trials and tribulations weren’t enough for poor Daisy and her singed hair, Alfred may pursue a career as a chef far, far away.
Tom, Mary, and Rose trek off to London, Tom and Mary in pursuit of business, Rose in pursuit of having an innocent fun filled evening…right? Although her last trip to Aunt Rosamund’s found her in a night club with a married older man, and the last dance she attended ended in a brawl, there was no reason to doubt that this trip would go perfectly well. Of course, surprisingly it wasn’t her fault when it didn’t go as planned, due to her white date getting completely inebriated, making a spectacle of himself, then dashing off the dance floor to reminisce with whatever ill-fated meal his stomach had just become acquainted with. The awkward moment came when the doe-eyed (and suggestively effeminate) black Jazz singer descended the stairs of the stage and swept her up in his arms. Thankfully Tom was close at hand to rescue her from what could have undoubtedly become…nothing as he broke up their interracial jig and escorted her off the floor. Never mind that no one rose to their feet to help Rose when she was being swung around by Johnny Lush and nearly suffered whiplash; rather they all uncomfortably averted their eyes, but the gentle black dude, who was probably a Thomas anyways (yeah, I’m now referring to the gays as Thomases), oh no! Save her Branson, save her now! Oh and Lady Edith finally threw caution to the wind and was deflowered…she is poor Edith no longer! But I fear this tryst will not be without consequence (okay I know it will not be without consequence, damn you spoilers!).
Lady Mary, as previously mentioned, is resurfacing, but anchored by Matthew’s memory. Though Lord Gillingham makes a convenient surprise of himself at every turn in what becomes an almost stalkerish chase of Lady Mary as he departs from Downton, pops up at Rosamund’s, then trails Mary back to the abbey in hopes of a successful proposal. However in spite of Mary’s small bursts of smiles and warmth in his presence, she rejects his efforts, citing the loyalty of her aching heart to Matthew. She still smooches the dude, but refrains from getting wild and wicked with him, probably fearing the deadly wrath of her ladyship which has already claimed two victims and after several months is no doubt in need of a third. Aren’t we all…(not gonna lie, I'd totally take the risk).
The story again turns sporadically dark as we revisit Anna’s suffering from Mr. Green’s attack. Still a bit tousled and wounded, she busies herself in her work as a distraction from her trauma, and shies away from everyone, including Mr. Bates. She recoils even as he innocently places a hand on her shoulder, a feeling we all know too well, one I still struggle with at times as I navigate physical contact with others. She follows the text book write ups of self-blame and self-loathing for a tragedy one knows in their mind they couldn’t have possibly been responsible for, but can’t seem to convince their soul of the same.
When I wrote on this issue during the last review, I received a few responses in reblogs: one, a complaint of ratings yet again, which I must confess I had to yield to a bit in recognizing that this art cannot be created without some ratings to drive another season. This is, after all show business, and without the business, there is no show. There must be drama to create a drama series, and the accusation of using difficult issues as a ploy for ratings can be attached to any event in this show as much as the next. The other feedback I received was disappointment that Anna was not made into a suffragette of sorts, paving the way for rape victims to don their Wonder Woman capes and seek justice. Instead, she was made a victim, the victim most women are before they can regain their strength and overcome. She was made human and real. She blamed herself; she called herself dirty and soiled. Is this the way a victim of rape should feel? No. Do we feel it just the same? Unfortunately, we do. Did Julian do rape victims a disservice by showing the true and raw emotion of an assaulted woman just a day or two after her rape? Hell no. Again, this is the reality, a reality that rings true nearly a century later, and in that day and age, there was little a woman in her position could do. We have all fallen to our knees in irrationality before rising above it, why should the expectation of Anna be so great?
Likewise, I couldn’t help but notice the double standard of a rape at Downton that snuck under the radar, and that was the seduction of Tom by Edna. Dear dear Edna, whom we had been warned about last season and already suspected she would be just as deceiving this time around, did not disappoint when she fed drink after drink to Tom at a dinner party, then slipped into his room and apparently stumbled into his bed. She of course wasted no time trying to barter an agreement to marriage out of Tom, and following sound advice from Mary, Tom ran back to the true mother hen, Mrs. Hughes, for help. Can I just say, if I haven’t said it enough, I freakin’ love Mrs. Hughes. She immediately pounces on the hussy like a mama bear protecting her cub and runs Edna off the grounds once more. But before her departure, Edna maintains that Tom seduced her, which Mrs. Hughes quickly set straight in clarifying she intoxicated him and pursued him. But let’s be real here, if John Bullock had purposely gotten Rose drunk and jumped into her bed, we’d have another Anna outrage on our hands. That is just as much rape as wrestling a woman to the floor and beating her into submission. So where were you, dear viewers, when poor Tom was being taken advantage of? Though it may seem silly to some, rape happens to all genders, and I’m not a fan of the double standard.
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