User Reviews

William, Lady Bellamy's son, goes off to boarding school, and Lord and Lady Bellamy go on a brief holiday. Alice, Lady Bellamy's daughter, is left in the charge of her governess, Miss Treadwell. Unfortunately for all, Miss Treadwell is also left in charge of the household, and doesn't she make her presence felt!

At first, it's small things like having her coffee in the morning room, which deeply offends Rose. She escalates to banning Thimble, Alice's dog, from the school room during lessons, then bans Alice from the kitchen. Thimble gets his revenge by eating one of her shoes. Miss Treadwell finally declares she's getting the dog put to sleep. At that point, the servants 'lose' the dog and claim he can't be found.

The Bellamys return to a rather overwrought governess who informs them the servants are plotting against her, Hudson is lying about her, Rose was rude to her, Mrs. Bridges tried to poison her, Frederick laughs at her, and Alice needs a good beating. Just then, Hudson brings in coffee and announces the dog has turned up safe and sound.

Miss Treadwell claims that's proof of it all. Unsurprisingly, the Bellamys see it as proof Miss Treadwell needs to go. They pay her off, and she goes, leaving Alice and Rose taking Thimble for a walk as the household returns to normal.

Spring, 1922, One of the best episodes from this final season of 'UD' sees the staff turning on Miss Treadwell, the Governess when she is put in charge of the whole household whilst the master and mistress are away.

Whilst undoubtedly one of the very best episodes of the series, this plot is a little at odds in two places:

Firstly; it seems inconceivable that a Governess would have been put in charge - over and above Hudson, the Butler by the Bellamy's - not least as this is now the 1920s. This may, just may have been done in Lady Marjorie's day - but not really this far into the twentieth century. The Bellamy's had already stopped dressing for dinner!

Second; it is also highly unlikely that the servants would have tolerated Miss Treadwell issuing her authority from the Morning Room and waited upon her as they do here - rewind; remember Miss Forrest!? I'm not so sure that incident and the trouble it had caused would have been forgotten - not even after ten years... Miss Forrest had not been employed in a servants capacity, and therefore had more claim on 'upstairs' yet still was not accepted - far less would have been Miss Treadwell - a mere Governess... However; for all that, this episode is extremely entertaining - if only to see the servants united against the haughty Governess, and to see her sent packing!

This episode is also notable, in that this is the very last time we ever see the children; Master William and Miss Alice.