a letter from Susan Flintshire, the wine theft is resolved, Daisy learns whom to trust, an almost kiss, Branson slowly falls in love, William’s mother is ill…

Do you know about horses? I looked after the horses at my father’s farm. It was the best job in the world. Then why did you leave it?

Lesley, Jess and Sophie

14 days of downton abbey: day ten | favourite scene | 2x05

Now that’s a dinner party.

it is an ever-fixed mark that looks on tempests and is never shaken

These two frames make an especially interesting contrast to me, as we see Mary and Matthew in their earlier dance tilted to the side, so the audience gets swept up in their embrace, smiling and becoming more relaxed together, versus a Mary and Matthew in the CS who are much more restrained, their bodies further apart, their arms held out to the viewer like a barrier, or a cage. In the first dance, Mary and Matthew edge toward their feelings, but are, at first, as in the above capture, able to enjoy a sweet, nostalgic closeness. In their more-knowing second dance, Mary and Matthew are protecting themselves—from outsiders, and from one another?—but they are at the brink of overcoming their fears.