'Downton Abbey' Recap: Season 4 Episode 7

Downton Abbey airs Thursdays at 8:00 pm and is available to stream by WTTW Passport members. Recap the previous episodes.
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Tom, Mary, and Edith are checking in on Downton’s herd of pigs after their close call. As tenant farmer and temporary custodian Tim Drewe is evidently competent, Tom suggests he take on the job permanently. Drewe is grateful for the vote of confidence and the extra income. He hopes he can repay the family for their kindness at some point. Edith is all ears.

Isobel is looking in on Violet after her illness, and we get Violet’s views on the real-life Teapot Dome Scandal. Cora’s brother Harold is implicated, which is why Robert had to go to America. Not surprisingly, Violet has never been a fan of Harold.

Cora, frazzled, hasn’t heard anything from Robert in weeks, and is knee-deep in preparations for Downton’s fast-approaching annual outdoor charity bazaar. She begs Rose for her help, quashing the girl’s attempt to arrange another secret rendezvous with Jack Ross. Since Rose won’t be able to disappear without suspicion, Ross will have to come to her.

Molesley, downcast about his demotion to footman, finds common ground with Baxter, who reveals that she has experienced some major setbacks as well. She tries to find out from Molesley what happened between Bates and Anna, but to no avail. (It should be said that Baxter is not a very good spy, and Molesley, aware that Thomas is somehow behind it, tries without success to uncover why.)

Isobel tries to interest Tom in running for an open position on the local town council; they will drive into Thirsk the following day to look for some relevant books. While there, Tom spots Rose meeting Ross in a tea shop, and notes the negative reactions of other patrons when Rose is openly affectionate. Ross, far more of a realist than she, admonishes her to tone it down. Later that evening, Tom, concerned for Rose’s safety, tells Mary what he saw. The following night, Mary attempts in vain to reason with Rose, but she is determined to marry Ross, largely to spite her mother. Later, Rose excitedly tells a stone-faced Mary that she’s engaged. Something will have to be done, and Mary plans an emergency trip to London, accompanied by Anna.

Learning that Anna will be away, Bates asks leave from Carson to take a day trip to York.

In London, Ross is not surprised to get a visit from Mary. And it’s Mary’s turn to be surprised: he has been aware of Rose’s reason for wanting to marry him, doesn’t think she can handle the challenge a mixed-race union will bring, and will not be going through with it. He and Mary part in mutual respect.

A Preposterous Plan

In the village, Tom and Isobel encounter a forthright Sarah Bunting, Tom’s seatmate at the recent political event. She turns out to be a teacher at the local school. She immediately begins challenging Tom’s beliefs, to Isobel’s amusement. Tom is marginally intrigued, and remains so when he later encounters her standing next to her broken-down car on the road. As he fixes it, he tells her his story. Sarah has nothing good to say about the wealthy and privileged, but likes what she learns about Sybil (who wouldn’t?).

Blake, still in residence at Downton along with a glum Evelyn, has further warmed up to Mary and she to him. When the nanny arrives with the children, Blake reveals himself to be very good with little George, to Mary’s surprise and pleasure. 

Ivy receives a letter from Alfred – his father has died and he’s coming to Yorkshire for the funeral. In other news, he wants to marry her, urging her to leave Downton for a job in London. As Ivy relates this to Mrs. Patmore, it’s clear that she is just not that into Alfred. She writes back, turning down his proposal. Learning of this, Daisy is furious on Alfred’s behalf – Ivy has broken his heart yet again. Everyone downstairs is dreading the blowback from his upcoming visit.

That evening, Mary mentions to Anna that Gillingham will be visiting (presumably with Green). Anna turns pale and begins to shake. Mary, no dummy, gets the truth from her and is deeply disturbed. Anna, unsure if Bates has guessed, swears her to secrecy. Mary proposes asking Gillingham not to come, or not to bring Green if he does. But she is too late to head him off. Anna will have to tolerate Green yet again, and she is afraid of what Bates will do. With good reason: downstairs at dinner, Green expounds in some detail on his upcoming trip to London as Bates glowers and Anna quakes. Later, Mary asks a reluctant Gillingham to dismiss Green without being specific about the reason.

Rosamond arrives at Downton to pitch an idea to the secretly pregnant Edith: they can take an extended trip to a foreign country so that Edith can have Gregson’s baby there. The child will then be given up for adoption and nobody will be the wiser. Edith suggests a way that she could keep the baby: the tenant farmer Drewe could pretend to adopt the infant (after all, Edith reasons, he does owe the Crawleys a favor). Rosamond thinks it’s a reckless idea. In the meantime, though, Edith needs to disappear before her pregnancy becomes obvious, so Rosamond proposes a rather preposterous plan: she wants to improve her French, she tells Cora, so she’s going to Switzerland for several months and suggests Edith come as her companion. Cora, not suspecting a thing, pronounces the whole thing splendid. But Violet, having noticed that something is off with Edith, is instantly suspicious (“Rosamond has no interest in improving her French”) and the next day at her home, she expertly drags the truth out of them. She concurs with Rosamond: to save her reputation, Edith should give up her child.

The rivalry for Mary’s attention between Gillingham, Blake, and Evelyn is on full display at dinner. 

Gillingham, no doubt with some intent, offers Blake and Evelyn a ride back to London, as their work is done. As the others head out, Gillingham breaks the news to Mary that he’s breaking off his engagement to Mabel Lane Fox. Mary, vacillating, thinks he should reconsider – she still isn’t on the market and won’t be his mistress.

Violet invites Isobel to lunch. She had already agreed to host Lord Merton (odious Larry's father and Mary’s godfather) and nobody else is available. Isobel and Merton hit it off in a big way, and we learn that Merton and his late wife were not a love match. Later in appreciation, he sends Violet and Isobel flowers. Isobel’s arrangement is much bigger, to Violet’s chagrin.

A Big Bazaar

The villagers arrive to set up the booths, games, banners, and other paraphernalia for the bazaar. Sarah Bunting is among them. Tom introduces her to Cora; Sarah, clinging to her bias about elites, is rude to her.

That day, to distance herself from Alfred’s visit, Daisy visits her father-in-law Mr. Mason, who advises Daisy to get some closure by saying proper goodbye to Alfred. Daisy arrives back in time, bearing a picnic basket of food for his journey. She hopes she and Alfred can part friends.

Once the bazaar is in full swing, Rose angrily blames Mary for Ross calling off their engagement. And to everyone’s surprise and delight, Robert suddenly arrives home from America with Thomas in tow. Thomas immediately attempts to bully Baxter; Molesley bravely intervenes.

Gillingham also unexpectedly appears with shocking news for Mary: before he could dismiss Green, the man was killed. He stumbled off a crowded London sidewalk into the street and was hit by a bus. Anna is conflicted: it happened on a day when Bates happened to be away from Downton. Later, she tries and fails to discover what Bates was really up to that day.

Blake arrives as well, lying that he was called to a nearby tenant farmer’s convention. Of course, he really came to declare himself to Mary…and just as she did with Gillingham, Mary informs him she’s not yet open for business. As Blake and Gillingham, wary of each other, depart for London together, Robert wonders what transpired between them and Mary while he was away. Nobody knows exactly, but they all wonder.