'Downton Abbey' Recap: Season 1 Episode 3

Downton Abbey airs Sundays at 9:00 pm and is available to stream by WTTW Passport members. Recap the previous episode.
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In the Downton village square, workers are busy setting up for the annual county fair. As Bates, Gwen, and Anna are strolling through, Anna spots Mary. Once they are alone, Anna asks Mary if she has gotten past the incident with Pamuk. Mary doesn’t think she ever will.

Cut to Crawley House, where Moseley is serving tea to Isobel and Matthew. Isobel notices an angry red rash on Moseley’s hands and thinks she might know the cause. She drags Moseley to the hospital, where she browbeats a nurse into giving her some medicine.

Mrs. Patmore notices that Daisy is still downcast in wake of Pamuk’s death, and urges her to join the rest of the servants at the fair that evening. Anna has caught a bad cold and can’t join them. Mrs. Hughes asks O’Brien to fill in for her as maid to all three daughters; the two women argue.

That afternoon, Matthew is working at his law office in Ripon when he gets an unexpected visitor: Violet. After almost falling off a swivel chair, she gets to the point: Matthew must investigate how to break the entail in Mary’s favor, thereby disinheriting himself. Having been uncomfortable from the get-go with the estate going to him instead of Mary, Matthew agrees to look into it.

In the servants’ hall at Downton, we observe that Thomas and O’Brien are in cahoots against Bates, William has a major crush on Daisy, and a misguided Daisy is sweet on Thomas. William starts to ask Daisy to accompany him to the fair, but Thomas cuts him off and asks Daisy himself. (Thomas, as we know, has no personal interest in Daisy.) Bates takes in William’s hurt expression and calls Thomas out for his cruel trick. Later, Thomas openly flirts with Daisy as William painfully watches.

Branson drives Cora, Edith, and Sybil in the car as they discuss Sybil’s upcoming appointment with the dressmaker. Sybil wants a “new and exciting” frock, but it probably won’t fly with her mother and Violet, who is coming to dinner that evening.

As the servants are leaving for the fair, Carson is reconciling the wine ledger – he tells Mrs. Hughes that he thinks a few bottles are missing. At the fair, Mary runs into Matthew, who asks her if he can meet with Robert after dinner to discuss Violet’s request without her knowing about it. Mary is surprised that Violet went to him, but tells Matthew to slip in while everyone is in the drawing room and she will bring her father. They have a friendly conversation; Mary seems to be warming to Matthew.

At the fair, Mrs. Hughes meets up with an old flame – Mr. Burns, a farmer who is now a lonely widower. They compare notes, and Burns, learning that she remains single, is clearly still interested in her. They walk arm-in-arm around the fair, observed by Thomas, Daisy, Gwen, and William, who is in a foul mood after watching Thomas callously toying with Daisy’s affections. Burns asks Mrs. Hughes to consider marrying him (that was fast!). Later, Thomas spreads the word that Mrs. Hughes has a “fancy man.” And when Thomas makes snide remarks about William, Bates threatens him. Later, Thomas and O’Brien scheme, and Daisy, not the brightest bulb, is fooled into baiting William along with Thomas. Later, Mrs. Patmore subtly tries to convey to Daisy that Thomas is gay, but Daisy doesn’t understand. And Mrs. Hughes is clearly in William’s corner, despite the fact that relationships between servants are (officially) verboten.

To Break the Entail

Cut to the library where Robert and Matthew are commiserating over Violet’s request. Matthew insists that he’s done extensive research and can’t find any way to break the entail (drink!). Robert is embarrassed that Violet put Matthew on the spot, and assures him that breaking it is impossible. Matthew feels guilty that Mary is being passed over in favor of him, just because he is male. Robert is intrigued: maybe Matthew is developing feelings for Mary? But they are interrupted – Carson didn’t get the message that Matthew’s visit was supposed to be a secret and now Violet has discovered them. Oops.

Bates learns that Anna is sick in bed. He goes up to the women’s living quarters (where men are strictly forbidden to enter) to deliver her a dinner tray. She is touched by his kindness.

Matthew and Mary have remained in the library after Violet has stormed out. Robert asks Carson to leave them alone, hoping sparks will fly. Sorrowfully, Matthew explains to Mary that the entail can’t be broken (are we drunk yet?). She is resigned and a little resentful. Despite that, there is definitely some chemistry between them. Later, Robert reminds Mary that she wouldn’t have to leave Downton after marriage if she married Matthew. Mary is unsure.

The next day, Gwen excitedly shows Sybil a letter she has received – a job she applied for has requested an in-person interview, thanks to Sybil’s reference. But a few days later, the interview is cancelled when a better qualified candidate is found. Gwen is discouraged, but Sybil won’t let her give up.

While driving, Branson and Sybil discuss women’s rights, and he hands her some pamphlets, revealing that he is political and thinks she might be, too. “I won’t always be a chauffeur,” he assures her.

Violet encounters Moseley and Isobel at the hospital and, observing Moseley’s rash, Violet gleefully points out that Isobel was wrong in her diagnosis – Moseley’s rash is a result of  gardening and is easily remedied.

That evening in the drawing room, Robert endlessly crows about all of Matthew’s accomplishments helping with estate renovations, and Mary takes it badly. Cora comes upon her sobbing in her bedroom…Matthew is obviously the son Robert never had, and she knows she’s a disappointment to Cora. Cora urges her to stay on good terms with Matthew – one day she might need him.

Mrs. Hughes is clearly conflicted about Burns’s proposal, and now we learn that he proposed once before, years earlier, but she turned him down then. Carson, hearing the story, hopes that she hasn’t accepted this time. And he gets his wish; she hasn’t, because she can’t imagine leaving service.

Cut to a giddy Sybil in her bedroom, being dressed in her new outfit by Anna. Anna is thrilled and a little scandalized, and with good reason: Sybil’s new dress turns out to be bloomers that reveal her ankles! As everyone in the drawing room gapes, we spy Branson watching through the window, pleased that Sybil is defying convention (and also enjoying the view).

A day or two later, Anna and Gwen are making the bed in Pamuk’s old room while Daisy watches. She is still jittery about being there and keeps flashing back to the shadowy figures carrying the dead body into it. But she hasn’t revealed to anyone what she saw…yet. In the servants’ hall, Thomas notices Daisy’s demeanor and he and O’Brien try to pry information out of her. Watching, Anna wonders if Daisy saw what happened that night.

In Carson’s office, Thomas is replacing a key from the butler’s cabinet while trying to hide a bottle of wine in his other hand. But Bates happens to walk in, catches him, and is suspicious. 

Thomas tells O’Brien about Bates seeing him with the wine, and they scheme about how to pin something on Bates instead.

A Stained Reputation

At breakfast, Robert is somberly perusing a letter from his meddlesome sister in London, Lady Rosamund Painswick. Innocently, Mary asks about it – Robert assures her that “it’s nothing to trouble you with.” (Hint: Whenever Robert says that, it’s always something troubling.) Mary claims that she envies Rosamund – “all alone with plenty of money in a house in Eaton Square.” Harshly, Robert admonishes Mary not to say such things. (Apparently, a woman living alone is a fate worse than death.) Later, Robert tells Cora what Rosamond shared – Evelyn Napier is going to marry someone else, and Rosamond is implying that Mary had erred somehow. Robert is baffled, but Cora, sensing danger, asserts that Mary must marry soon if rumors are swirling about her reputation. And it turns out that those rumors may have come from an unlikely source: Thomas. O’Brien, detesting Mary but loyal to Cora, isn’t sure that was such a good idea. But she’ll help smear Mary’s reputation anyway. 

Sybil too has received a letter – she applied for a job on Gwen’s behalf, and the employer wants to see Gwen the following morning. They are both excited. Later, Sybil asks Robert if she can borrow a horse and cart, lying that she’s going to visit an elderly tenant on the estate.

At Crawley House, Isobel wants to arrange the “promised church visit” with Edith. Matthew is indifferent – Edith is “barking up the wrong tree.” Isobel is sympathetic. Moseley interrupts: he wants time off to help set up the annual flower show at the village hall – his father, an avid gardener, will be exhibiting his roses. There’s a prize for the best bloom in the village, but Isobel is intrigued to learn that Violet (whose gardener handles everything) wins every year. Later, Isobel tries to persuade Violet to make it a fair competition, but Violet adamantly insists that it already is, despite her unbroken track record.

Sir Anthony Strallen, a neighboring aristocrat and possible prospect for Mary, will be coming for dinner that Friday, and Cora asks Mrs. Patmore to prepare Strallen’s favorite pudding for dessert. Uncharacteristically, Mrs. Patmore refuses to make something she hasn’t tried before. Daisy offers to help, and Mrs. Patmore overreacts, shouting at her. Puzzled, Cora backs off, but Mrs. Patmore’s overreaction is extremely odd.

Sybil, driving the horse cart, meets up with Gwen out on the estate to take her to the job interview; having crept away in secret, Gwen is looking smart in one of Sybil’s suits. Gwen’s interview gets out late; later, they have to walk the horse after it throws a shoe and they both land face-down in the mud. At the house, everyone worries about Sybil; Anna covers for Gwen.

Aware that Edith is at odds with Mary, O’Brien pays her a visit, thinking that Edith might be able to pry information out of Daisy. O’Brien and Edith grill Daisy, and once alone, Daisy unburdens herself to a falsely sympathetic Edith.

At the village hall, Mr. Moseley’s roses are truly exceptional, and Isobel can’t resist crowing about it to Violet. They spar, and sparks fly between Matthew and Mary. That evening, Cora urges Mary to cultivate Strallen, in whom she is clearly not interested. But there is urgency; there are rumors circulating in London about Mary’s virtue – a speedy marriage is of the essence if she is to head them off. They discuss the incident with Pamuk, and naturally, Edith overhears it all.

At dinner, Strallen is seated between Edith and Mary – he is a nice-looking man in his fifties who is, unfortunately, a colossal bore. Edith blatantly tries to catch his interest; Mary, perversely, keeps grabbing it back. Eventually, Mary gives up and engages in a lively discussion with Matthew.

A Blind Cook

Down in the kitchen as dinner is being plated up, Mrs. Patmore somehow misses the table and drops a roast chicken on the floor where a housecat pounces on it. They dust it off and serve it anyway. Mrs. Patmore loudly blames Daisy, who had nothing to do with it. Then Mrs. Patmore puts the finishing touches on the pudding, liberally sprinkling sugar over the top. Strallen is the first to take a bite and loudly chokes on it – Mrs. Patmore has mistaken salt for sugar. Mary and Matthew share a hearty laugh behind their napkins while Edith fumes. In the drawing room while the men are at their cigars and brandy, Edith lambastes Mary for her behavior, implying that she knows about what happened with Pamuk. Mary, anxious to outdo Edith and aware that her sister is genuinely interested in Strallen, sneers that she could have “that old booby” if she wanted him. And once the men enter, Mary and Edith brazenly compete for him. But Edith doesn’t stand a chance against Mary’s megawatt charm campaign. Disgusted with both of them, Matthew strides out the door to return home. Mary watches him go from the window, knowing she has made a mistake. And she’s right: when Matthew returns home, it's clear that he had hoped something was brewing with Mary. Evidently he was mistaken.

Mrs. Patmore is devastated, weeping and still trying to blame Daisy for the mishap with the salty pudding. But nobody buys it, and Carson gently encourages her to tell him the truth, which is that her eyesight is failing. She hasn’t seen a doctor out of fear: who would want a “blind cook?”

The next day, enroute to the flower show, Anna confesses to Bates that she loves him, despite it being unladylike to say so. Bates is moved but reveals that he isn’t free – he’s not currently married, but it’s complicated. And Isobel’s crusade has had an effect – when it comes time to announce the best bloom in the village, Violet rightfully awards the prize to the elder Mr. Moseley and his roses. Also, Mary tries to apologize to Matthew, but he politely brushes her off. Edith sees it, and they say unspeakably cruel things to each other.

That night out of spite, Edith writes to the Turkish ambassador, exposing Mary’s secret.