Small Screen Scenes: Downton Abbey Season Two Episode Six Highly Recommended by Whom You Know Available Now From PBS Distribution
Sometimes, Cora, you can be curiously unfeeling. And some people have the power to destry others. Is love supposed to be filled with threats? The war may be at an end but the upheaval is only beginning! The house could be so much more useful?!?! We think it is plenty useful.
And how long do you have to be married to be considered a widow? The twists and turns of Downton Abbey continue to evolve. And would it really be Downton Abbey if Carson weren't there?
Furniture, pictures...one lot inherits it and one lot buys it. In any event, we suppose one has to live somewhere. And Lady Edith has more nonsense up her sleeve but she's so gullible she may not even realize it...desperate people do desperate things. We love Lady Mary's black dress with netting-striped sleeves.
We learn being a patron is a small price to pay. Plain Jane? You'll never say that again. President Wilson is mentioned-we're glad someone is up on America! And life in a wheelchair? We've never seen a better poster child.
It's always helpful for a girl to know how an engine works...it's the dawn of a new age! God bless you all!
Previously, Whom You Know Highly Recommended Downton Abbey Season Two Episode One:
& Season Two Episode Two:
& Season Two Episode Three:
And Season One Blew Us Away:
Watch them all, in order!
Whom You Know Highly Recommends Downton Abbey Season Two Episode Six!
Join our Facebook group, Downton Abbey is PEACHY
Get your own copy, and start watching:
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1919
As the last of the recovering officers depart Downton, the house is reverted to its former state — but not so its residents. The future looms large for a lost and melancholy Robert, an uneasy Bates, a determined Sybil, a cunning, ambitious Thomas and a desperate Ethel.
A stunning revelation deeply affects Robert and Cora and incites Richard to tighten his grip on Mary. But Mary has accepted her fate with detachment. Violet, however, will do no such thing, and even Carson reaches his limit.
Sybil discovers unlikely, however unenthusiastic, allies. A wedding is planned but fate cruelly intervenes. In its wake lay guilt, grief and, among the servants, fresh horrors.
Warning: Contains significant plot spoilers
As the last of the wounded officers leaves and Downton prepares to revert back to life before the war, Cora suggests to Robert that perhaps Matthew should be leaving, too. His recuperation is over, he is well cared for by Lavinia, and with him back at Crawley House, Mary can get on with her future with Richard. Robert is disgusted with her suggestion and calls it heartless. But neither knows that Matthew has felt a tingle in his legs; not wanting to get anyone's hopes up, he has told only Bates of the sensation.
Though the war has ended, Robert is gripped by depression over all the senseless death. He is still grieving William, worried about Matthew, and concerned about Bates, whose wife Vera, it's been determined, committed suicide from drinking rat poison. Finding Jane, the new maid, in the pantry, Robert admits his ennui and kisses her.
Ignorant of the depths of Robert's distress, Cora announces they will host a lunch for Major Bryants's parents, who wish to visit the place where their son convalesced before his death. Mrs. Hughes informs Ethel, and together they hatch a plan for her to show them their grandson. While the Bryants enjoy lunch with the family, Ethel bursts in carrying Charlie. Mr. Bryant is enraged and demands proof from Ethel that the child is his son's, but there is none. He forces an anguished Mrs. Bryant to leave.
All plans change when Matthew, in a reflexive move to save Lavinia from an accident, suddenly lurches out of his chair to his feet. The family is dumbfounded and joyful as Doctor Clarkson admits his mistake, confirming that Matthew will most likely walk again. With the prognosis of a full recovery, Matthew and Lavinia move their wedding date forward to April. This will delay Mary's marriage to Richard. Yet despite Mary's efforts to mask her pain upon hearing of Matthew's pending wedding, Violet observes it, and seeks Matthew out for a frank discussion. She reveals her belief that Mary is still very much in love with him and wants to know: Could he ever love her again? Surprised, Matthew expresses that he is unable to turn Lavinia away after all she has done for him. He stands by his choice, yet is unable to give away the lucky charm Mary gave him to take to the front.
Richard, not content with Mary's assurances about Matthew, asks Anna to spy on Mary for him. But she refuses, then tells Mrs. Hughes and Carson about Richard's proposal. This confirms it for Carson- he cannot work for a man of such poor character. He tells Mary that he won't be going to Haxby and she is furious at both Carson and Anna.
Bates is troubled. He confesses to Anna that, at Vera's request, he had bought her the rat poison months ago. She urges him to tell the police but he fears that to tell them would make a case against him. Worse still, he shows Anna a letter Vera had written a friend before his last visit in which Vera stated that she was afraid for her life. Damning evidence pointing to his guilt is piling up. But Anna is determined to stand by him. She requires that he accept her love and support, and knowing that if he were to be arrested she wouldn't have access to him unless they were married, she insists they move their wedding date forward.
The war is over but Sybil doesn't want to revert to the old way of life. She finally tells Branson that he is her ticket away from this house and this life, in full knowledge that if she runs away with him there will be no way back.
Thomas is still at Downton but knows that his welcome is running out. He has made a contact in the black market and shells out all his savings, receiving a store of food which he intends to sell at a large profit. With O'Brien's encouragement, Mrs. Patmore agrees to try Thomas's supply with the ingredients for the wedding cake. But the savvy cook won't pay Thomas until she's tasted the finished product. Daisy is eager to bake the cake, wanting to impress Mrs. Patmore. But her finished product in inedible — Thomas's materials are spoiled and cut with plaster dust. Upon learning this news, Thomas goes to his store and discovers that he has been swindled out all of his money. He is defeated and hopeless, for there are no jobs and he has no money left. Desperate, he attempts to get back into Carson's good graces. But the butler wants him out as soon as possible.
When Sybil is missing from dinner, having sent word that she feels ill, a suspicious Mary finds Sybil's door locked. She gets Anna to borrow the keys and they discover an empty room; Sybil has eloped with Branson and they are headed for Gretna Green. With Edith behind the wheel, she, Mary and Anna set out to try to stop her. They see the old car parked outside a pub, burst in on the still-chaste lovers, and persuade Sybil to return to Downton. Although Sybil declares that her love for Branson will not be swayed, Mary is hopeful that it will soon cool.
As stories of the Spanish flu circulate, Cora informs a sullen Robert that she will be busy helping Isobel with her refugee work.
Three months later, Downton is being readied for Matthew and Lavinia's wedding. Sybil informs her sisters that after the wedding she will be leaving for Dublin with Branson, who's secured a job as a journalist. They tell the family, and Robert is furious, denying them his blessing. Carson orders Branson to leave immediately. Visiting Branson in his rooms at the pub, Robert tries to pay him off, but the chauffeur will not be bought.
Mrs. Hughes learns that Mrs. Bryant has written asking to meet Charlie, and they arrive with a heartbreaking offer: they will raise Charlie and give him a better life but Ethel can have no part in it. After much anguish, the former housemaid informs Mrs. Hughes that she is unable to part with her son.
Just as the wedding day draws near, the Spanish flu arrives, striking down Carson, Lavinia and Cora swiftly and mercilessly. Out of enormous guilt, O'Brien takes it upon herself to be Cora's sole caregiver, tending to her needs as Cora's condition worsens. O'Brien attempts to ask for Cora's forgiveness but Cora is too fevered to understand. While Cora suffers, Robert and Jane, behind closed doors, passionately kiss. Fortunately, Robert is brought to his senses when Bates interrupts them. Meanwhile, Anna and Bates, who married earlier that day, spend the night together in a room Mary had specially prepared for them.
As Lavinia rests upstairs, Matthew and Mary share a tender and honest moment in the hall and they kiss, but are interrupted: Lavinia has come down the stairs. She seems better but Clarkson urges them to postpone the wedding. Selflessly, Lavinia suggests that perhaps they should call it off entirely, as it turns out that she heard the conversation and witnessed the kiss. Matthew feels terribly guilty and insists the wedding will proceed when she is better. However, during the evening, Lavinia takes a turn for the worse and dies with Matthew at her bedside.
As Lavinia dies, Cora starts to feel better and apologizes to Robert for neglecting him. Carson recovers as well, but not before Thomas is reinstated in the house. Ever the opportunist, he'd make himself indispensable, and Carson feels he cannot fire the footman after all that he has done.
At Lavinia's funeral, Daisy sees Mr. Mason by William's grave, and as she speaks of William, she cries for him with genuine love. But Lavinia's grim graveside offers no such condolences for the guilt-ridden Matthew. Filled with shame, he tells Mary that they are responsible for her death and that they are cursed. With deep compassion, Mary agrees and allows herself to be led away by Richard, resigned to her future with him.
The tragic events have given Robert pause and when he finds Branson with Sybil at the funeral, he gives them his blessing. But as the servants return to Downton, they are greeted by an anxious Mrs. Patmore, who informs Bates that two men await him in the servant's hall. To Anna's horror, and to the astonishment of the staff, Bates is arrested for his wife's murder.
ONE OF THE MOST PHENOMENALLY POPULAR MASTERPIECE SERIES IS BACK –
“DOWNTON ABBEY SEASON 2”
Available on DVD and Blu-ray from PBS Distribution February 7th
Release Timed with Premiere Airing on PBS Sundays January 8 through February 19
The First Season of “Downton Abbey” Won Six Primetime Emmy Awards
PBS Distribution today announced it is releasing “DOWNTON ABBEY SEASON 2” on DVD and Blu-ray. The second season promises to be as satisfying as the first, with thwarted and rekindled romances, forgotten and fresh scandals, and enough new plot twists to weave a tapestry with Lord Grantham’s family crest. “DOWNTON ABBEY SEASON 2” will be available on DVD and Blu-ray on February 7, 2012. The running time of the program is 544 minutes. The SRP for the DVD is $44.99 and the SRP for the Blu-ray is $49.99. The program comes on three discs.
The returning cast includes Dame Maggie Smith, Elizabeth McGovern, Hugh Bonneville, Dan Stevens, Michelle Dockery, Siobhan Finneran, and many more. The DVD and Blu-ray feature the original U.K. edition of the program and are being released a little less than two weeks prior to the airing of the last episode on PBS. Both the DVD and Blu-ray will include special bonus features.
The first season of “Downton Abbey,” which was released on DVD January 11, 2011, won a host of prestigious awards in the U.K. and was recently honored in the U.S. with six Primetime Emmy awards, one of which was for Outstanding Miniseries or Movie. American critics called “Downton Abbey” “an instant classic” (New York Times), “compulsively watchable from the get-go” (Variety), “the U.K.’s best abbey since Abbey Road” (Entertainment Weekly), and “a quintessential Masterpiece Classic” (TV Guide).
Program Details
Last season opened with the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, which had dire consequences for Downton Abbey. The new season picks up in the middle of another disaster, World War I, which affected every aspect of life in England, accelerating the social change that was already transforming an age-old system of class and privilege.
As the Great War rages across Europe, discord is sown even into the serene Yorkshire countryside. Simmering tensions behind the gates of Downton Abbey are beginning to come to a boil as the men and women of Downton do their part on both the front lines and the home front. What’s more, the brutality and intensity of war seem to inflame more familiar passions – love, loss, blackmail, and betrayal – leaving family and staff alike to struggle in an ever-changing world, against a host of new demons.
About MASTERPIECE
MASTERPIECE on PBS is presented by WGBH Boston. Rebecca Eaton is executive producer. Funding for MASTERPIECE is provided by Viking River Cruises, with additional support from public television viewers and contributors to The MASTERPIECE Trust, created to help ensure the series’ future.
About PBS Distribution
PBS Distribution is the leading media distributor for the public television community, both domestically and internationally. Jointly owned by PBS (Arlington, VA) and WGBH (Boston, MA), PBS Distribution extends the reach of public television programs beyond broadcast while generating revenue for the public television system and our production partners.
PBS Distribution offers a diverse range of programming to our customers, including Ken Burns’s films (Prohibition, The National Parks, The War, Baseball, Jazz), documentaries from award-winning series NOVA (The Elegant Universe, Origins), FRONTLINE (God in America, Bush’s War, Growing Up Online), and American Experience (Freedom Riders, We Shall Remain), dramas from Masterpiece (Downton Abbey, Jane Eyre, Inspector Lewis), films from independent producers (Easy Yoga for Arthritis, The Buddha, The Story of India, Carrier, Journey into Buddhism, I.O.U.S.A.), and popular children’s programming from Dinosaur Train, Super Why!, WordGirl, Cyberchase, Martha Speaks, and Arthur. As a multi-channel distributor, PBS Distribution pursues wholesale/retail sales, consumer and educational sales through PBS- branded catalogs and online shops, and international broadcast and video sales. PBS distribution is also a leader in offering programming through digital platforms including the internet, mobile, and web-connected television.
PBS DISTRIBUTION ANNOUNCES THE
SPECIAL BONUS FEATURES ON THE
“DOWNTON ABBEY SEASON 2” DVD AND BLU-RAY
DOWNTON ABBEY SEASON 2” Available on DVD and Blu-ray February 7th
Premiere Episode that Broadcasted Sunday, January 8th Averaged 4.2 Million Viewers
PBS Distribution today announced the bonus features included on the DVD and Blu-ray releases of the critically-acclaimed series “DOWNTON ABBEY SEASON 2.” “Downton Abbey” fans are clamoring for Season 2, and now they have another reason to be excited with more than 32 minutes of bonus features available on the DVD and Blu-ray. With Season 2 kicking off on PBS just this past weekend, averaging 4.2 million viewers, interest in the series, and everything Downton related, will only continue to increase as the series airs over the course of the next six Sundays. (Nielsen Fast National data, 2.7 household rating.) Descriptions of the bonus features are below.
HOUSE TO HOSPITAL
This eight-minute bonus feature briefly recaps where viewers left the house, a grand venue for evening soirees and garden parties. It is now 1916, times have changed and so has the house. Viewers are given a closer look at the changes that take place within the Downton house and shown how news of war impacts life at Downton and the lives of those that live there. In “House to Hospital,” viewers see how Downton is physically changed into a convalescent home and what this means in terms of the social changes taking place at that time. This special feature delves into the archives of Highclere Castle (which is Downton Abbey in the series) to see how houses of this period offered themselves to the war effort.
Interviews:
Alastair Bruce (historical advisor), Julian Fellowes, Lady Carnarvon (lives at Highclere Castle), Donal Woods (production designer), Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, Jessica Brown-Findlay, Michelle Dockery, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter, Phyllis Logan and Rob James-Collier.
ROMANCE IN A TIME OF WAR
This 13-minute special feature takes a look at the relationships that blossom in this series and why the war was a catalyst to love. The main focus is on: Branson and Sybil, Bates and Anna, Mary and Matthew, and William and Daisy.
Interviews:
Julian Fellowes, Dan Stevens, Michelle Dockery, Laura Carmichael, Allen Leech, Jessica Brown-Findlay, Joanne Froggatt, Brendan Coyle, Sophie McShera, Thomas Howes, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Zoe Boyle and Iain Glen.
FASHION AND UNIFORMS
This 11-minute bonus feature takes a detailed look at costumes. Costume designer Susannah Buxton takes us on a detailed journey through the changing fashions of 1916. Viewers get an inside look at how the war has impacted fashions and of course introduced military uniforms to the wardrobe. Interviews with the cast explain how each of the key costumes comes into play.
“Fashion and Uniforms” also explores the nature and role of uniforms, and the etiquette involved in their use. The feature shows the changing fashions – talking with both make-up and costume teams about the arrival of “the hobble skirt,” new hairstyles, and the curling irons that were introduced at the time.
Interviews:
Susannah Buxton (costume designer), Anne ‘Nosh’ Oldham (make-up designer), Jessica Brown-Findlay, Hugh Bonneville, Dan Stevens, Rob James-Collier, Elizabeth McGovern and Alastair Bruce (historical advisor).
Program Details
Last season opened with the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, which had dire consequences for Downton Abbey. The new season picks up in the middle of another disaster, World War I, which impacts every aspect of life in England, accelerating the social change that was already transforming an age-old system of class and privilege.
As the Great War rages across Europe, discord is sown even into the serene Yorkshire countryside. Simmering tensions behind the gates of Downton Abbey are beginning to come to a boil as the men and women of Downton do their part on both the front lines and the home front. What’s more, the brutality and intensity of war seem to inflame more familiar passions – love, loss, blackmail, and betrayal – leaving family and staff alike to struggle in an ever-changing world, against a host of new demons.
“DOWNTON ABBEY SEASON 2” is a Carnival/Masterpiece Co-Production.
MASTERPIECE on PBS is presented by WGBH Boston. Rebecca Eaton is executive producer. Funding for MASTERPIECE is provided by Viking River Cruises, with additional support from public television viewers and contributors to The MASTERPIECE Trust, created to help ensure the series’ future.
About PBS Distribution
PBS Distribution is the leading media distributor for the public television community, both domestically and internationally. Jointly owned by PBS (Arlington, VA) and WGBH (Boston, MA), PBS Distribution extends the reach of public television programs beyond broadcast while generating revenue for the public television system and our production partners.
Distribution offers a diverse range of programming to our customers, including Ken Burns’s films (Prohibition, The National Parks, The War, Baseball, Jazz), documentaries from award-winning series NOVA (The Elegant Universe, Origins), FRONTLINE (God in America, Bush’s War, Growing Up Online), and American Experience (Freedom Riders, We Shall Remain), dramas from Masterpiece (Downton Abbey, Jane Eyre, Inspector Lewis), films from independent producers (Easy Yoga for Arthritis, The Buddha, The Story of India, Carrier, Journey into Buddhism, I.O.U.S.A.), and popular children’s programming from Dinosaur Train, Super Why!, WordGirl, Cyberchase, Martha Speaks, and Arthur. As a multi-channel distributor, PBS Distribution pursues wholesale/retail sales, consumer and educational sales through PBS- branded catalogs and online shops, and international broadcast and video sales. PBS distribution is also a leader in offering programming through digital platforms including the internet, mobile, and web-connected television.
DOWNTON ABBEY SEASON 2
Street Date: February 7, 2012
Genre: Drama
Run Time: 544 minutes on 3 Discs
DVD, $44.99 and Blu-ray, $49.99
Format: DVD and Blu-ray
