Get excited Downton Abbey fans! The latest series finally starts back up this Sunday, and we’re ready to get back in the swing of the estate’s roaring twenties.
In so many ways, season 4 felt like a setup for the drama that was bound to rain down on the Crawley house in season 5. Mary and Tom spent most of last season getting over Matthew and Sybil — but after mourning their beloveds, they might finally be ready to cause a romantic ruckus once again in the Crawley household. With last season’s pregnancy arc, Edith gave us the promise of an exciting Crawley scandal, and with the baby now near Downton, this year it’s sure to all begin to blow up. Meanwhile, downstairs some familiar faces have moved on and made way for a maturing staff, and as Bates’ secrets start to unravel, he might finally have some explaining to do.
After watching previews and looking over promotional photos, here’s what we expect to see come Sunday as we kick off series 5 of Downton Abbey.
The Crawleys will work to rebuild Downton for the 20th century (with a reluctant Robert trudging along).
The evidence we’ve gathered from the series 5 promos and various cast interviews suggest we’re headed for a house fire in the season premiere. How much damage occurs to the Downton estate is up in the air at the moment, but we’re going to make an educated guess and assume the physical fire on the house is an overall metaphor for the Downton way of life this season.
As the show continues to push into the 20th century and the importance of the aristocracy continues to decline, we can expect the young, innovative Crawleys like Mary and Tom to continue fighting for ways to keep the estate relevant and sustainable within an evolving countryside. And though it seems likely that Lord Grantham will be reluctant to accept that the traditional estate way of life is dying, with any luck, his kids will persuade him to see reason.
Lady Mary will be indulging in some more Turkish delights.
After a couple of seasons playing the good girl, isn’t it about time our favorite British ice queen let it all go once again? It is the roaring twenties after all! And even though the series 5 promos heavily suggest that she’ll be shacking up with Lord Gilly this season, we can’t help but think that Mary’s spirited heart will be left yearning for more devilish adventures now that she’s a single woman once again.
The love triangle (quadrangle? quintangle?) can’t quite be over just yet, can it? We expect Mary’s flapper side to start flapping out this season, so we make the bold prediction that a juicy affair is headed on Mary’s horizon. Sure, Lady Mary will start off the season with a main course of Gilly, but as the episodes wear on, she’s bound to fetch herself a slice of Pig Man on the side. Because when living in a decade of decadence with so many devilishly handsome options abound, how can a girl be expected to choose?
Thomas will make a comeback.
A twisty and exciting season 3 was followed by a dreadfully dull season 4 for fan-favorite Thomas, so we can only hope that odd seasons are a good omen for our beloved butler. Will this be the year he finally finds himself a nice man who gets him to settle down and change his wicked ways? Or will this be the year his secret is finally exposed to the authorities and the witch hunt rains down on Downton? Either way, Mr. Barrow certainly has some skeletons to work through now that he’s semi out of the closet in his workplace and home — and at the very least, the promos tell us to expect Thomas to show off some heroics when the fire starts to burn.
Edith will, as always, be filled with regret.
Edith has a tendency to dwell on the “unfair” hand life has dealt her, and wallow in some serious self-imposed regret, but after watching her grow tremendously the last couple of seasons, we have to agree that when it comes to the adoption of her baby, she really has backed herself into the most awful of corners.
After leaving the country to give birth and adopt out her baby last season, we watched her do a 180 and secretly give her baby to the pig farmer who works for Downton. And though Edith dreads the shame that would come from revealing she has an illegitimate child, the promotional photos suggest she is definitely having regrets about asking the farmer and his wife to raise her child as their own. After asking the farmer for the kindest, most selfless of favors during last season’s finale, will she really have it in her to fight to get the baby back?
As a lady in the 1920s, she’s in the precarious position of having no real power for herself, and yet all the power society can afford. As a single woman, raising a child alone would submit her to social shame, and yet, if she made the choice, her status as Lord Grantham’s daughter can certainly give her the support to demand her child back from the farmer after months of him raising her.
No take backs, Edith! But in all seriousness, Edith’s storyline promises to be one of the more interesting and dramatic ones of the series, illuminating a woman’s place in society living in a decade of evolving values. And for entertainment purposes, the hailstorm of shock value Edith’s illegitimate baby will rain down on House Crawley is one we’re squirming in anticipation to behold.
Daisy is ready to move on.
From what? To who? Now that Alfred’s left Downton Abbey for good, will season 5 finally be the one where we see our favorite downstairs darling jump ship? In the 10 years or so this show has covered, we’ve gotten to see a lot of characters evolve and change, but out of everyone, Daisy has probably grown up the most within the series’ cast. She’s smartened up to the ways of the world now, and she knows that as the times change, she can’t expect to be an aristocratic servant forever, nor is she really sure she wants to be. Will this be the year she finally takes Mr. Mason up on his offer to run the farm? Whatever changes await Daisy, it will be interesting to see her take them on with her new, mature perspective.
Bates will commit a crime and/or go to prison. Again.
Honestly, the dull disaster that was Bates’ prison stint leaves us hoping the writers will know to abstain from going there again, but as it is just another day in Bates’ life, we can fully expect him to somehow get wrapped up in a felony this season. First up is the matter of Green’s death in season 4 — though it was ruled an accident, a few people, including Mary and Mrs. Hughes, seem to know otherwise, and we know that means the clock is ticking until more people find out and the police come knocking.
Once the series’ hero, Bates has spiraled into absurdity the past few years since his marriage to Anna, and though he is on occasion prone to heroics, his underhanded antics are starting to come off as just plain creepy. It would be a true twist of delight if Bates unleashed his full-on psychopath this season, but alas we doubt it. We’ll have to settle for the Downton family finding out their beloved valet truly is capable of murder — even if it was in the name of justice.
Downton Abbey season 5 premieres this Sunday, September 21, on ITV.