Ever since the cliffhanger World War I announcement at the end of last season, we the audience have been playing the most morbid (and obligatory) of Downton parlor games: Which character will die? The smart money was on William, sweet, sympathetic, and disposable — and not fifteen minutes into this week's episode, our best guesses are confirmed. Fatally wounded in a shell attack, William is brought back to Downton to die, and the whole house pitches in to stage a wedding-slash-funeral in his final hours. It's not particularly surprising, nor is it subtle. (Those garlands on the bed? Overkill.) But the collective upstairs-downstairs grieving taps into what’s best about Downton — the triumph of emotion over propriety — and it makes for one of the more moving non-Matthew-and-Mary scenes this season. Pair that with Matthew's paralysis, Mary's determined bedside vigil, and the Ethel-baby situation, and you have the darkest Downton episode yet. That would be true of any episode in which Matthew Crawley is declared impotent, but still. The lips are no longer stiff at Downton Abbey; it's Tears and Feelings Central.
We're willing to defend the climactic wedding scene for two reasons: First, Daisy's reluctance helps keep of some of the schmaltziness in check, and also acknowledges that yes, this deathbed-marriage plot is incredibly manipulative and messed up. No one feels great about these developments. Second, and more important, we're powerless against an ensemble Downton scene in which even the Dowager Countess starts sniffling. Maggie Smith does the heavy lifting for this entire plot line, actually — managing the doctor, bullying the vicar, cracking the necessary mid-ceremony joke so that we don't end up in All My Children territory. She played the same role at last week's concert (we are still waiting for a GIF of that eye-roll), and the wedding plays like a callback to that scene, making it more palatable by association. Also, we're not monsters. Inevitability aside, poor William! He saved Matthew's life, and he gets five or so hours with his beloved bride (who looks very cute with the flower in her hair). We'll even indulge Anna's (and Carson’s!) crying on this one. It looked real.
Read more: http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2012/01/downton-abbey-recap-season-2-episode-4.html
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