The Downton Abbey season 3 premiere just aired on PBS. It looks like this will be a wild and wonderful ride – check out our recap and share your thoughts on the episode below!
It’s been a long and sticky wait for American fans, but at long last, the Crawleys and co. have returned to the States in the Downton Abbey season 3 premiere! It was a wild ride, but the season looks like it will be chock full the drama Downton fans have come to love; what did you think of the season premiere?
The episode begins as Mary and Matthew prepare for their Wedding of the Century, where it seems no expense has been spared. The two are getting along remarkably well, and Matthew does not miss an opportunity to make purring sexual innuendos toward Mary which we hope she finds appealing, as we kind of don’t.
Meanwhile, Robert has made a (very) (very) bad investment in Canadian railways and has lost most of his (by which we mean Cora’s) fortune. Cora is remarkably understanding about the whole thing, even though she wasn’t consulted about any of the investments. Robert lets Mary know, and when Matthew learns that he may be the heir to Lavinia’s father’s fortune, she sees the opportunity to save Downton. But high-minded Matthew states that he has no intention of keeping the money because it, or he, or something, killed Lavinia. Matthew’s recalcitrance enrages Mary, leading to a grand old pre-wedding feud.
Another fly in the ointment is the news that Sybil and Branson will not be coming down from Dublin to the wedding. Robert still has a stick up his bum about the marriage, muttering about local gossip. Isobel and, surprisingly, Violet disagree (though they make sure not to actually agree with each other) and Tom and Sybil are sent the money to come down for the wedding. They arrive to general awkwardness, as from his clothes to his politics, everything about Tom upsets the elder Crawleys and unnerves the downstairs staff. Tom does earn a little sympathy from the family (and tempers his own mood) after an ugly prank turns his behavior quite appalling; in solidarity, Matthew appoints him best man.
Anna and Branson arrange a nick-of-time reconciliation of the about-to-be-weds through the door of Mary’s room (complete with a mostly closed-eyed kiss) the night before the wedding, and the long-awaited nuptials go down without a hitch. Mary even brings her two dads Robert and Carson nearly to tears as she comes downstairs in her very ’20s wedding gown.
Cora’s mother Martha Levinson arrives with a grand monologue, a storm of drama, and needle-sharp barb to match every one of Violet’s, but that’s about all… for now.
Anna is trying to push on without new husband Bates, who, though innocent, is stewing behind bars for the murder of his first wife, Vera. Anna dons her Miss Marple cap and sets Bates to looking through Vera’s letters for clues to her suicide. Bates does not get along with his new cellmate. It’s not that interesting.
O’Brien pushes for the hire of Alfred, her nephew, as a new footman. Carson is suspicious at his height, while everyone else is suspicious because he’s O’Brien’s nephew. Alfred joins the staff anyway, and when Thomas declines O’Brein’s requests that he help Alfie make the leap to valet, the squinty ladies’ maid starts plotting.
Edith invites on-and-off interest Sir Anthony to the wedding, making it clear that her interest in him has not waned; she invites him to sit with the family, and it’s a strange combination of kind of sweet and totally needy and awkward, so they probably suit each other very well.
Official episode title: “Episode One”
Hypable episode title: “For Love, and Maybe Money”
Downton Abbey will be back next week; PBS’ official summary says:
The fate of Downton Abbey hinges on a letter from a dead man. Edith and Sir Anthony face their own fateful moment. Mrs. Hughes confronts a crisis.