Downton Abbey Discussion continued...

[ErikNorseman]

Here!

Did you note the difference in acting between Edith and Mary at the death-scene? Mary had her usual po face on - she can't seem to change her expression - but Edith looked genuinely horrified. I thought Edith was terrific tbh - she's by far the better actress.

And I even admit that Cora was pretty good last night.

No I won't have my lovely Mary criticised. She's what she is - Edwardian eldest daughter of an earl. She looked absolutely distraught when poor Sybil was fitting and get face literally changed as the colour drained from Sybil - she backed away almost unconsciously. Don't underestimate the skill involved in acting like that. Quite brilliant. See also her froideur at Matthew discussing business with the lawyer next morning. I fear for those two.

I agree. Edith's acting is far more naturalistic. I'm not sure if the actress who plays Mary is adopting that style on purpose, in a kind of Celia Johnson tribute or if that's the only way she can act.

Froideur is all she can do though and her monotone drone is really getting to me.

Don't know how Matthew puts up with her - especially as she always takes Daddy's side.

And for what it's worth I didn't think she was being a bitch to Edith when she said "I doubt it". She just has enough self knowledge to know it won't fundamentally change their prickly relationship but she does love Edith. She clearly does. She was lovely to het before and after the wedding that wasn't and genuinely embraced her at Sybil's death bed.

sits resolutely in the I love Mary corner

She does drone.

She's posh!! Really posh people can't be bothered to speak properly!!

Edith's voice is quite lively and dear departed Sibby had a bee-yoo-tiful voice.

I do with Mary would get a decent storyline to get stuck into and cousin Matthew is a bore - but I still adore her laconic, über posh, elegant loveliness. She is a picture in those gorgeous evening gowns.

Mary is completely self obsessed, an absolute bitch to Edith, has the dreariest accent ever to match the dreariest character ever, yet deludes herself that she's feisty. Hope that even the insipid Mattew chucks her.

Just grim.

wish

Mary is about to get a baby storyline to get stuck into because all the laboured hints are there that she and Matthew together can't have DC (probably already been said - sorry, haven't read the previous 750 posts). But there's Sybil's baby girl to be adopted.

I'd be an absolute bitch to Edith in Mary's shoes. Do you remember season one?? In fact if I were Mary there would be a Crawley sister smack down.

JF doesn't seem to know what to do with m & m now they've got their happy ever after probably because there's no such thing

I did a double take when Mary said "Blimey" to Sybil at the beginning, had to rewind and check. I love Mary, she's my favourite sister, even if she can be a spiteful bit of work. I like the monotone voice for this part.

I also didn't cry, mainly because I saw that other thread before watching it, having carefully hdden this one, still feeling a bit cross about that.

I've just seen I offended somebody with my comment linking pre-eclampsia and gestational diabetes and weight. sorry to offend! I used to be a healthcare assistant on a maternity ward. NO OFFENCE was meant, but it was just taken as red there.

I had pre-eclampsia with DD and I was not - and am not - overweight.

I'm pg again and I found watching Sybil a bit terrifying tbh - but I'm just glad I don't like in the 1920s.

live, not like

I weighed the same at my booking in as I did at term, ( starting at normal bmi) and still got pre eclampsia. Your medical knowledge overwhelms meJennaLemon.

Pre-eclampsia is a risk of gestational diabetes though. And overweight women are more likely to get GD in pregnancy.

I thought pre-eclampsia was connected to an immune response to sperm or something? So it's commoner in first pregnancies (your body is adapted to the man's genetic material after that, and the risk goes down with subsequent pregnancies to the the same man), and you have the same level of risk in a pregnancy with a new partner. I'm sure I read something to that effect years ago, as I had pre-eclampsia myself with my first baby. And I didn't have gestational diabetes at all.

NHS Choices page on causes of pre-eclampsia. It looks like basically no-one knows, but there are risk factors which seem to increase the likelihood of it occurring.

diabetes put pressure on your body so it could raise your bp, but its untrue that only overweight people get pre eclampsia.

Enjoyvampireblood yes- that part of the book stays with you forever. Life was bloody cruel then. And in another part of that book Jennifer Worth dealt very explicitly and in far more detail (than the TV series) with the lives of the prostitutes in the East end of London at that time (and we're only going back 60 years here). And their plight was (and I imagine probably remains) shocking. So sad.

I love Mary too chub I just had to laugh a bit at that exchange though....!

I totally 'get' her for some reason - not because I can lay claim to the high born part, it's just one of those things.

Have softened towards Edith since series one and badly want things to go right for her now.