The Crawleys join Atticus and his family for a shooting holiday in Northumberland during Downton Abbey‘s season 5 finale “A Moorland Holiday.” Preview the Christmas Special, airing tonight at 9:00pm ET|PT on PBS Masterpiece.
In last week’s Downton Abbey, (“Episode Eight“) the preparations were on for Rose (Lily James) and Atticus’ (Matt Barber) upcoming nuptials. And while most were excited, some spirited opposition to the marriage came two (somewhat expected) sides.
The episode began with Rose and the other ladies getting things in order for her wedding in London. While there wouldn’t be a church service, she and Atticus would be married in a registry office with a blessing and reception afterwards. Rose didn’t seem to be worried about her parents’ divorce, but expressed wanting to keep the matter under wraps so it wouldn’t cast a shadow on the wedding. Also, Marigold had moved to Downton and Edith (Laura Carmichael) was really enjoying her new maternal role. With that said, from the beginning, Lord Robert (Hugh Bonneville) seemed to be suspicious of Marigold’s true identity.
After the Crawleys arrived in London, they were joined by Shrimpie (Peter Egan) and Susan (Phoebe Nicholls) and things were clearly tense between them. Rose was pleased to be reunited with her father, but her mother was being quite difficult. Susan was clearly opposed to Rose marrying Atticus and took every chance to be surly and even out-and-out rude to Lord and Lady Sinderby. Things escalated when we found out that Susan paid a prostitute to set-up unseemly photos with Atticus and had them sent to Rose. At first we thought Lord Sinderby (James Faulkner) was at fault, but Shrimpie discovered the truth and threatened to tell Rose if Susan didn’t stop meddling. Yet, at the registry’s office, Susan boldly announced that she and Shrimpie were divorcing (knowing that Lord Sinderby despised the scandal and wanted any reason to call off the wedding). However, with Lady Sinderby’s (Penny Downie) help, the ceremony continued—Rose and Atticus were happily married and celebrated. *sidenote* Rose looked so stunningly gorgeous!
Elsewhere, the London inspector investigating Mr. Green’s murder revealed he knew Green had a history of attacking women. He also called Anna (Joanne Froggatt) into Scotland Yard to stand in a police line-up. In an unexpected turn on events, towards the end of the episode, Anna was arrested for Mr. Green’s murder and taken away.
In other developments: Branson (Allen Leech) decided that he and Sibby would be moving to Boston to join his cousin after the Christmas holidays; the World War I memorial was revealed in a somber ceremony. However, there was a very uplifting turn of events at the end when Robert revealed a plaque he’d commissioned to recognize Mrs. Patmore’s (Lesley Nicol) nephew Archie (who was unfortunately shot for cowardice); and finally, Cora (Elizabeth McGovern) confirmed to Robert that Marigold was Edith’s daughter with Mr. Gregson, but he promised to keep her secret.
In tonight’s Season 5 finale (Episode Nine) “A Moorland Holiday,” written by Julian Fellowes, directed by Minkie Spiro, and guest-starring Matthew Goode (as Henry Talbot):
The Crawleys go to a shooting party at a castle in Northumberland and return to Downton for a joyful Christmas holiday. (via PBS)
Autumn of 1924. It’s grouse shooting season and Rose’s father-in-law, Lord Sinderby, has rented out Brancaster Castle in Northumberland and invited the Crawley family to a shooting party. (via IMDB)
It’s the Christmas Special and, as we already know, no one does the Christmas holidays the way Downton does! Click on the photo below to take a look at a sneak peek from the upcoming episode (scroll to the bottom of the page, “Episode 9 Scene”). The group is going out shooting and each lady is partnered with a gentleman. As they set up, Mary and Lord Sinderby have a conversation about Shrimpy joining the party. Lord Sinderby is still disappointed about Rose’s parents getting a divorce and won’t do anything to make it seem like he approves. Elsewhere, Lady Sinderby and Branson also get into a conversation where she asks him how it was to join the Crawley family:
I really like Lady Sinderby! Yet, it’s such a shame that Lord Sinderby seems to be as uptight as ever…I wonder if anything might be able to bring him around to Rose’s side?
Take a look at these photo stills from tonight’s episode, which give us a closer glimpse at Downton’s Christmas celebrations, the holiday in Northumberland, and a potential new romantic interest for Lady Mary (Henry Talbot, played by guest-star Matthew Goode):
There’s so much to look forward to in tonight’s finale—and with the Christmas Special being a full 90 minutes, we’re can surely expect some surprises. Remember to tune into PBS Masterpiece at 9:00pm ET|PT tonight for the new Downton Abbey and join me over on twitter to live tweet as we watch!