Downton. (Page 10)

TriToy - 2013-02-12 7:56 PM

OMG DID YOU TAKE THAT?

Mary purchased working lady bits! :D

As a side note...anyone want to chime in on what procedure she had done that "fixed" everything?  I can't imagine the series would put that in there unless there was some well-known procedure in the 20s that could be done to fix a woman's fertility...anyone?

BikerGrrrl - 2013-02-12 10:36 PM

TriToy - 2013-02-12 7:56 PM

OMG DID YOU TAKE THAT?

I wish!  Pulled from elsewhere - but of course it made me get all excited that they are HERE (looks like vacationing from the facial foliage)

gynecology and its surgeries started in 1870-1880 - Dr Sims was credited with really getting that going (partly by experimenting on slaves and poor women) He traveled and taught in Europe.

I would bet either a fibroid or stenotic os  - most of the surgeries of the time were dealing with complications of childbirth but there was concern about the falling birth rate of the aristocracy and dealing with that.

I was also wondering what the procedure was that she would have had - there wasn't any elaboration of what minor surgery was done other than she should be fine now. 

I couldn't believe that Robert was somehow okay with Thomas being "twisted by nature" (to use Carson's description).  This is the same man that only wanted the doctor with the proper aristocratic credentials to look after his daughter, who didn't want his mother, wife, or daughters to be at the Crawley's home because a former prostitute worked there and it would possibly besmirch the name of Grantham, and yet he's somehow okay with homosexuality?  That just doesn't jive with his whole character to date unless it's as BikerGrrrl says and it's a convenient way to get the viewers to like him again?

My other gripe with this episode is where the heck are all these random kitchen/house help coming from?  I don't need any other characters to try and keep track of!!

Yeah, I agree that it was very out of character for Robert.  I think they had to somehow make sure Thomas got to stay....and couldn't figure out another way?  I wonder why they even had this whole situation surface right now to begin with...at first it seemed like a way to get rid of Thomas now that Bates was back...but then they didn't even do that.

The random kitchen/house staff have always been there running around in the background...we just gave them names this episode.  One of two things...they either WILL come to play as a character next season or they will just remain "extra staff in the background".  I think perhaps Cricket is such a big sport in England that maybe the producers felt like people would be upset if they pencil whipped the team...i.e. pretended to have enough players without specifying who they were?

Oh, I googled stenotic os...that actually makes a lot of sense.  Seems like something you could tell from a physical exam (because I'm guessing ultrasounds and whatnot didn't exist yet).  And I bet that until they had trouble giving birth most women at that time didn't go see a doc for regular year gyno visits, right?  So they wouldn't have seen it before.

I think it's rather interesting that this show is set during a time where large medical advances WERE made.  They were still very behind on some things (hence why lots of women including sybil were dying in childbirth still) but this is really the beginning of when medicine stopped being as much of a mystery.

The Mrs. Hughes incident sort of hit home for me.  My great-grandmother died of breast cancer when my grandmother was only 7 years old.  It really shaped her life.  My grandmother was born in 1916, so her mom would have died right about the same timeframe as this series.  There was a point where I didn't fully comprehend that they even knew what breast cancer was at that point in history.  But apparently the word was out enough for Mrs. Hughes to have noticed a lump and be concerned about it.  And the doctors knew how to figure out if it was cancer.  It turned out not to be in this case so we never got to see what (if anything) they would do if it was, but all quite fascinating actually.

Article on CNN talking about what may or may not happen in the finale.

If you have read this entire thread there are no spoilers.  They offer POSSIBILITIES and THEORIES only, no actual spoilers if you have watched all the episodes thus far this season.

Though, if you have not read this whole thread and seen "the spoiler that shall not be named" you might want to avoid the article...

Gonna pass on the article, but I have suspicions that some major, major character will be starring in their last episode.  As long as it's not the Dowager Countess, I'm ok with it.

correct. Childbirth STARTED to move to hospitals during this time and no, no regular gyno visits, no imaging....

but Dr Sims invented the speculum in the late 1800s so if a woman was not getting pregnant he could look in and see if there was something in the way and then try to fix it (which would fit Mary's description of a procedure and her need of pelvic rest)

I was actually surprised at the breast lump thing - because I did NOT think they did much back then - even mastectomy was much later IIRC

oh hell they still wore pregnancy corsets back then

Since it was not a secret that he was not coming back next season, I kept waiting for something.  I love the Matthew character and hope that they find a way to fill the gap he will be leaving.

It's a typical thing that a show jumps the shark when they bring in new unnecessary characters (think cousin Oliver on the Brady Bunch).  I hope adding Lady Rose to the Crawley family is not the start of it.

Well, they somehow have to replace the "dead" ones with new ones.  Especially many of the original characters are now married.  Need some new romances to spice up the show, I guess.  

ok call me crazy but unless they have started shooting I still think he COULD  still be on.  

The 60 Minutes episode that aired yesterday said they're shooting season 4 now. 

Maggie Smith is great. 
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50141231n

At least the creator said he'll never kill her off.

Yeah, I kept waiting...and waiting...and knew the episode kept going in too much of a "happy" direction. The ball, the over the top proclamations by LM & Matthew...at first I thought it would be a hunting accident. Glad it wasn't, at least he (and we) got to see Lady Mary have a baby. At least his sperm worked! 

OHHHHH....I did NOT like the new maid & Tom story. I'm SO glad they got rid of her. That was making me so mad. Yeah, he'd really mess up his situation if he went down that road. What a horrid maid! I honestly couldn't believe that Carson and such let her get away with her comments and the liberties she was taking.

From Marshall Ramsey, a local editorial cartoonist in Jackson, MS

That's great! I love it. Making the rounds on FB; good exposure for him!

Good to hear!  He's a local celebrity of sorts, and the paper laid him off two years ago and just pays him some chump change for a few cartoons now and then.  He just put out a book called Fried Chicken and Wine.  Maybe it'll help him sell some copies.