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Downton Abbey season premiere recap: Season four premiere. Matthew's death affects all of the Downton residents, from upstairs and down, and another loss -- of a certain lady's maid --...
- Episode 3
Downton Abbey season 6 premiere postmortem: Executive...
- Part Four
Meanwhile, to round out the rest of the story lines, Tom...
- Part Six
This entire season of Downton Abbey mostly feels like a...
- Part Three
Downton Abbey recap: Part Three Mary receives a surprising...
- Part Two
Downton Abbey recap: Kissing, Cousins, Kissing Cousins And...
- Part Seven
The seventh episode of Downton revolves around Mary and her...
- Episode 3
By Andrew Sims. Your favorite Edwardian drama is back! Our Downton Abbey season 4, episode 1 recap breaks down the events of the premiere, which aired Sunday, January 5 on PBS. Last...
- Overview
- Synopsis
- Plot
- References
"You have a straight forward choice before you. You must choose either death or life."
—Violet Crawley.
Episode 4.01 is the first episode of the fourth season of Downton Abbey, and the twenty-sixth episode overall.
It it the first feature-length episode of Downton Abbey, being an hour an a half long.
In this episode viewers will see Mary adjusting to her life and attempting to move on without the man she loved.
Set in February 1922, the episode opens long after Matthew's funeral. Mary and Isobel are still in mourning for him, especially Mary, who is still wearing black and is having difficulty bonding to her son, George. Violet is determined to bring Mary back to the world, even Mr Carson tells her she's letting herself be defeated. Violet suggests Mary start to take an active role in managing the estate, with Tom as her guide but Violet and Robert disagree on how best to see Mary through her grief.
Edith takes a trip to London and reunites with her editor and love interest Michael Gregson.
Below stairs, hearts seem set to be broken as Jimmy Kent finally takes an interest in Ivy Stuart. Mr Carson has an unwelcome reminder of his past and Mrs Hughes sees an opportunity to help a grief-stricken Isobel. Thomas Barrow is up to his old tricks, only this time he has the children's nanny in his sights.
February, 1922. Downton Abbey is dark and sombre, with Mary still in mourning for Matthew who has been dead six months, the grave stone just going on his grave. Due to Matthew's death and the large sum of death duties to be paid, the previous plans for improvement to the estate that Matthew and Tom had have been abandoned. Robert is trying to shield Mary from the world, whilst Tom and Cora both think that getting her involved in the running of the estate would be a good idea. Tom asks Mr. Carson for help and asks him to give Mary advice. He does so but she rejects his advice and says he is forgetting his place thinking it is suitable for him to give her advice. She later apologises to Carson for this and bursts into tears, crying on his shoulder as he hugs her.
Violet also gives Mary advice, telling her that her son George needs her. Saying that she must choose either death or life. She says that Robert is wrong to try and protect her from the world.
O'Brien leaves Downton in the middle of the night, going with Susan MacClare to India as her lady's maid. This leaves Cora without one, and both Mrs. Hughes and Anna help her out until a new one is hired, which may take some time.
Rose, feeling guilty for her mother taking O'Brien away from Cora, pays to put a card in the post office window asking for applicants for the lady's maid job, not telling anyone that she has done so. Edna Braithwaite sees the card and applies. Cora and Rose meet her in Ripon and Edna is not truthful about why she left Downton or why she couldn't come to Downton for the interview, saying it was her own decision to leave and that she looks after her sick aunt and can't get away. Rose encourages Cora and Edna gets the job. Mrs Hughes, Tom and Mr Carson are dismayed that she has again got a job there after previously being made to leave, but Carson insists they can't say anything and decides they should instead watch her closely and make sure she stays in line. Mrs Hughes nonetheless feels Edna's return sounds like a ticking bomb.
Nanny West makes an enemy of Thomas after telling him not to touch Sybbie. She later tries to give him orders and he ignores her. After she tries to tell him his place, Thomas gives a false report to Cora, telling her that Nanny West is neglecting the children and leaving them unsupervised. Cora later goes to check up on the nanny due to this report and overhears Nanny West insulting Sybbie about her parentage. Cora sacks her on the spot and tells her she must leave in the morning.
Charles Grigg sends a letter to Mr Carson as he is in Ripon Workhouse and desperate for help. Mrs Hughes goes to see him after she reads the letter that she has taken from Mr Carson's waste paper bin without his knowledge. Mr Carson refuses to help him and Mrs Hughes asks Isobel to help Grigg instead, trying to appeal to her old desire to help the less fortunate of society. She does so and it helps to bring her out of her grief and remember she can be kind and useful.
1.Downton Abbey, ITV Press Centre, 12th Sept, 2013.
2.Downton Abbey scores 10 million viewers... But it's still beaten by The X Factor, Liam O'Brien, The Independent, 23rd September, 2013.
3.Breaking News: "Downton Abbey" Season 4 Will Begin on "Masterpiece" on PBS on Sunday, January 5, 2014, the Futon Critic, 14th May, 2013, 07:10 AM.
4.'Downton Abbey' premiere breaks ratings record at CNN Entertainment
5.PBS runs Downton Abbey without commercial interruption.
6.Press Release: Downton Abbey Christmas 2012, ITV.com, Wednesday, 26 December 2012, 7:56PM
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Jan 6, 2014 · 'Downton Abbey' Recap, Season 4, Episode 1: Life After Matthew. The Grantham family has witnessed war, financial disaster and broken marriage proposals over the past three seasons, but only in the past year has the family been dealt particularly harsh blows with the deaths of Matthew Crawley and beloved sister Sybil. By Youyoung Lee, Contributor.
- Youyoung Lee
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S4.E1 ∙ Episode #4.1. Mary is still inconsolable six months after Matthew's death, Edith supports Michael going to Germany to divorce his wife, Molesley looks for a job, and there is a surprise applicant for Ms. O'Brien's job.
Watch Downton Abbey Season 4. The intersecting lives of the below-stairs staff and the aristocratic Crawley family at their Edwardian estate in the Yorkshire countryside. Episode 1 - 69 mins. Following Matthew's untimely death, Mary is struggling to come to terms with her loss. Episode 2 - 49 mins.
The fourth series of the British historical drama television series Downton Abbey broadcast from 22 September 2013 to 10 November 2013, comprising a total of eight episodes and one Christmas Special episode broadcast on 25 December 2013.
