'Downton Abbey' Season 5: Episode 2 Recap
Last week's premiere focused on the changing times in "Downton Abbey," and this week, Lady Mary sends Anna on an embarrassing errand and she finally makes her choice between Tony and Charles.
Mary has made up her mind to be with Tony, and she plans to spend a week with him in Liverpool. Because she doesn't want to suffer any consequences, she asks Anna to go to town to buy contraceptives for her. It's an incredibly awkward experience for Anna as she has to show a wedding ring and make up stories of her poor health just to procure a single contraceptive package, and the local chemist condescendingly tells her to try abstinence instead. Because Anna couldn't say that the package was really for Lady Mary, she pretends to get riled up and says, "Suppose I was a working woman with eight children and I didn't want to have any more, wouldn't I have the right?" Though the chemist is clearly judging her, Anna manages to get the goods.
Meanwhile, Charles writes to Cora and says that he has a friend, an art historian named Simon Bricker who would like to see their Pierro della Francesca painting. The two gentlemen come to the abbey for a visit, and Charles asks Mary if she has made up her mind. When she doesn't answer, Charles says that he is upset and it's obvious that she didn't choose him. He tells Mary that he'll be happy for her if she really is truly happy, and asks if she has made her final decision.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Charles then states that Mary is no good for Tony because she's smarter than him. "You're cleverer than he is," Charles said. "That might have worked in the last century when ladies had to hide their brains behind good manners and good breeding, but not now."
Meanwhile, Simon is shamelessly flirting with Cora, and Robert is not happy about this, as he tells his wife that Simon needs to stop flirting with Isis, which is an allusion to Cora.
Edith is hiding Marigold, her child out of wedlock with Michael Gregson, at Tim and his wife's house. This week, while visiting Marigold, Tim suggests that Edith could say that she is Marigold's godmother, that way no one would suspect a thing when she gives attention and financial support to the child. Tim's wife fears that Edith might abandon Marigold when she loses interest in her.
"Downton Abbey" airs on Sundays at 9 p.m. on PBS.
