RTE

Monday 24 October 2011

Does Matthew know something we don't know

Lavinia may not be the centre of attention for too much longer

Violet please knock some sense into her

The Destroyer

I have a confession to make - I may have hexed Mr Bates. Last week, I mourned the loss of passion between Anna and her former man of mystery. Bam, a week later and he's the key suspect in his wife's murder. Not that many who knew Mrs Bates would rue her passing but still, murder is murder.
The wonderful Maria Doyle Kennedy made the most of the role and Vera is even causing trouble even in death. We're meant to believe that Bates killed her: Lord Grantham's parting words before his London trip "Don't lose your temper", the scratch on his face, returning on the same day that he left all windswept and yes.but did he? Mysterious.

I had hoped that they wouldn't drag out the other mystery of the reappearing heir and they most certainly didn't. P Gordon managed to McGuffin his way through the night before disappearing without unwinding the mystery of his claim or his bandages. He made two big boo-boos though: No one calls Robert Robert, even his wife refers to him as Lord Grantham in company.

He also underestimated how much digging the Granthams would do to investigate his claim. As for returning in the future, I think his only legacy is returning war-heroine Edith to her pre-war stance of wanton Abbey love-fool.

Does the end of Major Bryant also spell the end of Ethel's storyline? She's a feisty lass and it would be good if they can think of something new for her to do. Now that Cora has given up on her short-lived quest to help the needy, she could give Ethel a job, saying that her 'man' died in the war as did the Earl's new flirt-interest's husband (if you see where I am coming from).

What is he at with his I'm just "a foolish man who has lost his way", as we saw in next week's preview. That storyline is just Eww. Robert felt redundant during the war, has one argument with his wife over their daughter's fiancé and decides to turn his attentions to the maid. Go help Isobel with her new pet project, plan Mary's wedding, rehabilitate Matthew, anything just cop on man.
The moment of the week, not that the bookies would be taking bets but Matthew's twitch...hee-lar-ee-us.

The more heartache coming Matthew's way (shell injury, William's passing, paralysed, Lavinia's leaving, Mary's impending nuptials and the returning heir) and it was pretty clear that he would walk again. Although hopefully they'll take it a little more seriously next week, if they continue in the current vein of Matthew's intense 'Look into My' eyes and "not unless I feel it again", the next step is a Little Britain wheelchair sketch.

While Downton Abbey is enjoyable, entertaining TV, it really is soap in period costume. The under-used talented Maggie Smith is forced to wander around saying: "Gimme a line" and thankfully, she almost always gets one. This week it was: "I don't dislike him. I just don't like him. Which is quite different." Mary proved that she's her grandmother's daughter when she also spoke about her fiancé Richard and their new interiors: "Your lot buys it. My lot inherits it."

For everything to end happily ever after we need a couple of things to happen: Lavinia Swire needs a new beau (Matthew has clearly lost interest), Richard needs to disappear, Matthew and Mary need to 'fess up (although judging by the promo, the Dowager may have gazumped them) and the Earl has to stop cavorting with the maid. Okay, I added in that last one, it's just gross.

The solution to the former two could be the imminent arrival of the Spanish flu which killed more people that WWI. Drastic maybe, but this is TV (soap) drama.

Taragh Loughrey-Grant