419 replies to this topic

[TWoP Roxy]

From zap2it.com:

The Crawley family faces another test; newcomers try to fit into the close-knit circle of servants.

[A Beaverhausen]

No!!!!! Not Sybil!!!

[MichaelaRae]

Damn you, Julian Fellowes. Damn you. Oh, the crying. Sure, kill one of the few characters I have any use for anymore!

[j5cochran]

Thank God I was not spoiled on this one!

I don't know what to say. I need a box of tissues.

[stopeslite]

Gaaa!!! The ONE time that stupid doctor was right.

[pairafids]

Both doctors were less than useless when they were really needed.

[irisheyes]

Poor Sybil. :( Let's take the one decent Crawley sister, and then kill her off. Honestly, if someone had to die this season, why not Thomas? O'Brien? Bates? But, Sybil???

[MGTex]

Too stunned to say anything other than I'm stunned.

Edited by MGTex, Jan 27, 2013 @ 10:05 PM.

[nasagirl]

De-lurking for the first time in years....

HOLY COW SYBIL is DEAD!

I was spoiled for Sybil's death but not the reaction of all the characters. I loved how Mary admitted to Edith that they will probably never be close, but nonetheless shared the grief of losing their sister.

[callietwo]

Son. of. a *BITCH*. I am hating JF right now.

I can't STAND Robert anymore.. bad enough he's less than useless when it comes to the running of DA but this is just too too much. I am so glad Cora is holding it against him.

Irisheyes, the only one I want dead right now is Robert. He can go any time, now.

[hunterhunted]

The one time Dr. Clarkson's finally right and Sybil has to die because these fools decide to ignore his usually terrible advice.

[BlackieBear]

That was a tearjerker! I can't believe she just died and Lord Grantham and the doctors were just standing there arguing and doing nothing! Poor Tom, Lady Grantham and baby Sybil (that's what I'm calling her). You could tell that the staff really cared about them and it was touching that even Thomas was broken up about her death. Did Mary and Edith make up or decide just to be nice to each other at that moment?

[parisgal3]

The Carson/Violet took my breath away. Maggie Smith rules.

[stopeslite]

Reading up on it, after birth the only thing that might have helped was magnesium injections to control seizures, and I don't know if they knew about that back then. Even if they did, by that point nobody believed she had been in danger anyway, and wouldn't have let Clarkson do it even if he'd gone out and gotten some to bring back just in case.
I'm going to be quite cross if the next episode is a year or two later.

[AnalogHeart]

That just broke my heart. I knew she was one of two characters slated to move on in some way but didn't think it'd be this soon. I was in here just sobbing away. Damn. That sucked. And Cora will never forgive pompous Lord Grantham who is officially useless.

[dorakpasa]

Edith (hopefully): maybe in the future we'll get along
Mary (disdainfully): no, probably not.

Oh Sybil. The only one who thought her sisters were nice.

[MichaelaRae]

For a minute there, I actually almost LIKED Thomas. I'm sure it will pass, thankfully.

Edith (hopefully): maybe in the future we'll get along
Mary (disdainfully): no, probably not.

I actually took that as (realistically). I appreciate Mary's honesty about her view of life. They are both mourning their sister and they love one another, but that doesn't mean they will, or have to, get along and she makes no bones about it. They're too opposite in too many ways. It doesn't mean she wouldn't fight to the death to protect Edith if the chips were down. I have a brother I'm the same way with. I'd give him a kidney, and he'd do the same, but frankly we're better off seeing one another once or twice a year at best. We don't see eye to eye. It doesn't make either of us disdainful or hateful.

Edited by MichaelaRae, Jan 27, 2013 @ 10:09 PM.

[stopeslite]

I did love Mary's comment "She was the only one who thought we were both kind people" to Edith.

[wolvfbfn]

Seeing Maggie Smith, er...Violet, lose it after talking to Carson killed me. I was holding it together ok until then. Man the waterworks were flowing then.

[Historybabe]

OK, I was wrong about how I said last week how I couldn't possibly like Robert even less, because now I like him even less than last week. I feel sorry for him, but I think he's reached his nadir. Even Cora doesn't want to have anything to do with him.

Never thought I'd see Thomas crying for someone else. It's too bad that we never saw before this week how much he liked Sybil.

And why didn't anyone give poor Tom a hug? It's almost as if most of the family forgot he existed. I have to say, Allen Leech sure can cry, can't he? He and JBF were both great in this episode. I'm really sorry that Sybil is dead, as I was hoping to see more of how she was settling into being a non-aristocrat.

Not surprised Mrs. Byrd left. By today's standards she'd be wrong, but certainly not by the standards of the 1920s.

And, finally! Movement on the Bates situation! Can we PLEASE wrap that up soon?

[irisheyes]

Robert could go too.

And the Dowager Countess/Carson scene had me in tears. Once again, Maggie Smith speaks a book without saying more than a few words. Violet can stay and outlive all of their useless souls.

[Historybabe]

@irisheyes: Maggie Smith killed me as well. She's brilliant!

[quarks]

It's official. This show wants me to hate doctors AND Lord Grantham.

Sniffle.

I was spoiled for this, but the reactions of Cora and Tom were still heartbreaking. And I couldn't believe the show went back to even a moment of the Whatever, Bates, saga after that.

[Caroma]

I, was spoiled <shakes fist at indiscreet Brits in comments sections> but was affected more than I thought I'd be. They really showed her suffering and the looks that Tom had broke my heart. I thought the acting by Dockery in the "last time we three shall be together" scene was flat, but the dialogue was heartbreaking. And the Dowager Countess finally looked a million years old after she talked with Carson.

Can we send Robert down the mines with that Phillip-doctor? He was such a melodramatic pompous ass (either one) that it's a good thing they didn't have mustaches because they'd be always messed up from being twirled. St. John's ambulance started in 1887, they had phones, but they couldn't save her?

[ggo85]

In fairness to Clarkson, there probably wan't much, if anything, that could be done for the condition once it had fully manifested. The pharmacopeia was woefully inadequate until WWII -- another 25 years to go.

I knew someone was dying this ep and, as soon as I realized Sybil was giving birth, I knew it had to be her or the baby. It was interesting to see mother support Clarkson and dad support the new doc. An interesting rift going forward.

And (unspoiled) methinks the issue with Mary having a baby is Mary, not her husband. And, given what we happened, not sure I'd be as enthusiastic. Or, at least would want Clarkson to be there . . .

[JudyObscure]

Nothing ever causes Robert to doubt himself. Not losing all Cora's money, not ruining Edith's happiness, and then, even though he can't stand to hear people speak of medical problems, he takes it upon himself to decide which doctor to back. It doesn't even seem like he felt any guilt until Cora pointed it out and still he's yelling at people.

Mary is still telling Matthew when to breath and he's till apologizing to her for not asking permission first.

I'm liking the Ethel story just because it gets us out of Downton for a bit.

[peggy06]

The setup was bad, but the aftermath of Sybil's death was handled very well. It was moving. The acting, especially, was good - it seemed believable for how people might act. I felt their grief.

With one exception: Mary. Cut Matthew a break, will you? He wasn't talking to you and he didn't intend to bring it up to you or your father. Her attitude about Matthew and Downton is quite appalling, after she nagged him and nagged him to hand over the money. Better face it, Matthew, you will always come in a poor second to Downton. Or maybe a third, after Downton and then Daddy.

Really wish they hadn't set it up as two doctors disagreeing, though. As soon as Cora insisted on Dr. Clarkson being brought in, I could see there'd be a clash, and of course Clarkson would be right and the arrogant specialist wrong. (The same sort of thing happened in a Georgette Heyer novel if I recall.) I hate Robert, but wouldn't wish that second-guessing he's going to do on my worst enemy. Let alone what he's going to get from Cora - not that I can entirely blame her. Like the Dowager said, there's always an impulse to blame.

Can't shake off the sad feeling. And I was never even very interested in Sybil.

[Writer13]

I had accidentally found out that this was going to happen, and yet cried non-stop throughout the second half of the episode. Just so sad. Everyone's reactions broke my heart.

Eff you, Robert! As if he wasn't bad enough.

I'm assuming they killed her off because JBF wanted to leave (?).

Edited by Writer13, Jan 27, 2013 @ 10:17 PM.

[singtress]

Well, I have to say I saw that coming.
I was with my sister when she had a baby four months ago...and it was pretty much the same scenario. Happily, though, with modern medicine changing the result.

[Historybabe]

peggy06 wrote:

Mary. Cut Matthew a break, will you? He wasn't talking to you and he didn't intend to bring it up to you or your father. Her attitude about Matthew and Downton is quite appalling, after she nagged him and nagged him to hand over the money. Better face it, Matthew, you will always come in a poor second to Downton. Or maybe a third, after Downton and then Daddy.

ITA, all the way. First Mary wants Matthew to get involved with the running of the estate, but as soon as he uncovers incompetence she's completely defensive about it. And as you said, it's not like he was going to talk to Robert about it right then. Mary wouldn't even have known Matthew and Murray were talking about Downton if she hadn't just come upon them by chance. I'm really getting tired of her attitude toward Matthew, I wonder if he's starting to have regrets about marrying her? I would.

Edited by Historybabe, Jan 27, 2013 @ 10:21 PM.