Downton Abbey Surprises: Invasions, Meltdowns and Blabbermouths

Spoiler Alert: If you are not up to date on Season 6, skip this article and read why you should watch soon.

Season 6 of Masterpiece’s Downton Abbey is full of surprises and plenty of wonderful ones that I would have voted for had Julian Fellowes invited me into his writer’s room (Note: Fellowes penned every episode of the popular historical drama, so, if you want to get technical, there is no writers’ room—only a writer’s room for Downton Abbey). From Edith’s soaring career success and potential love connection to Branson and Sybbie’s party-crashing moment (Isn’t there an etiquette rule about that sort of thing?), there were many opportunities to cheer on our favorite characters.

But there were a few surprises I would have modified and a few I would have created for last night’s episode. Here’s the list….

The Bridal Gown Fiasco: First of all, why was Mrs. Patmore, a lovely woman, but not exactly a fashionista, the only person who thought of helping Mrs. Hughes score a wedding-worthy gown before it was too late? While the Crawleys were offering up the venue, didn’t it at least cross the minds of Mary or Cora that the head housekeeper might not have the wardrobe or the cash to say “yes” to the dress? Wouldn’t that have been the perfect shower gift from Lady Mary?

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The Lady Cora Meltdown: Here’s the thing, Lady Mary’s not stupid. Every daughter on the planet knows that you can’t invade Mom’s closet without giving her a heads up. And besides, Mary could have just donated her spare sequins and feathers, and Baxter could have taken the well-intentioned Mrs. Patmore purchase and turned it into a phenomenal wedding gown for Mrs. Hughes. A few mice did it for Cinderella, and they didn’t have access to Mary’s closet or any of Baxter’s training.

The Daisy Blabbermouth Situation: Thanks to Molesley, Daisy is really advancing in her academic studies. However, good mathematics and history scores don’t guarantee success. Heads up Mr. Molesley! Daisy needs a few lessons on how to keep secrets and not offend the person who is issuing your paycheck or your father-in-law’s.

The Mr. Spratt/Mrs. Dunker Tension: It’s clear that this isn’t likely to become a repeat of the Hughes/Carson downstairs’ romance, especially with Denker dangling the prison-breaking nephew threat over Spratt’s head. But the shock value would have soared if the absolutely annoying Denker had checked out the potting shed and got hit by a shovel. Of course there’s still time for that. And Spratt kind of looks like Alfred Hitchcock, so I’m counting on someone going psycho before all of this is over.

You can binge watch all of Masterpiece’s Downton Abbey Season 6 beginning January 26. Find out more.