While not an excellent episode, it is still way above average and of higher standards than most current TV series of the 2010's. This is the beginning of a sad twist for Lady Sybil, leaving Tom heartbroken and the family in major irrevocable grief. It seems that political scandals in Tom Branson's Irish village has him in trouble and he returns to Downton for help. That camera spinning around Tom and Sybil is pretty annoying. There's also the buildup of Ethel's story involving her turn to prostitution and both Mrs. Crawley and Mrs. Hughes involvement in it as well and the reintroduction of the child's paternal grandparents. The rude Mrs. Byrd, Mrs. Crawley's housekeeper, is like a character out of a Dickens novel and the viewer will be praying for Isobel sacking her.
The Bates in prison story is stretching out far too much and given far too few scenes in each episode to create any real interest other than to see it finally reach a conclusion. A new footman is introduced which has the single housemaids a-twitter but the staff seems far too overloaded for them to really all have an interesting story. He just gives a bit more gossip and trouble stirring between O'Brien and Thomas.
The lack of humor in the episode makes this less entertaining than others up to this point, even present in episodes which ended in tragedy. Lady Violet still has a few great lines ("He looks like a footman in a musical revue") but she's more on the outside looking in rather than fully invested in the action. It's obvious that the episode had to take certain steps to get the story to the direction in which it was going so the slow bits here are ultimately forgiveable.
The Bates in prison story is stretching out far too much and given far too few scenes in each episode to create any real interest other than to see it finally reach a conclusion. A new footman is introduced which has the single housemaids a-twitter but the staff seems far too overloaded for them to really all have an interesting story. He just gives a bit more gossip and trouble stirring between O'Brien and Thomas.
The lack of humor in the episode makes this less entertaining than others up to this point, even present in episodes which ended in tragedy. Lady Violet still has a few great lines ("He looks like a footman in a musical revue") but she's more on the outside looking in rather than fully invested in the action. It's obvious that the episode had to take certain steps to get the story to the direction in which it was going so the slow bits here are ultimately forgiveable.