Cliffhanger Abbey: The Season Finale Recap

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We’re back for the fourth and fragmented final week of Downton Abbey. It’s now May of 1914.

Lady Sybil gets knocked down at a political rally and cuts her head. She finds the whole thing exhilarating!

Lady Grantham learns that news of Lady Mary’s indiscretion is making the rounds among high society in London. Lady Grantham is appalled, but keeps a cool head and her husband in the dark.

Miss O’Brien conspires with Evil Thomas to have Bates fired by accusing him of stealing. They sweet-talk Oopsy Daisy into co-signing their packet of lies. Bates denies stealing, but refuses to say more. Daisy’s conscience gets the better of her and she tells Carson the truth, but Bates puzzles Carson, Anna, and Mrs. Hughes by revealing that he should be fired anyway because he’d served time for thieving.

Lord Grantham sends the cook to London for eye surgery; Anna accompanies her and while there investigates Bates’ past. Turns out that Bates isn’t a bad man, but somehow decided the only way to redeem himself for bad, selfish choices in the past was to make bad, selfless choices in the present.

Lady Edith steps in again for sloppy seconds when Mary blows off the boring old neighbor. Her efforts pay off and a marriage proposal seems imminent.

Matthew Crawley and Mary spend a lot of time flirting and eventually, they kiss!  He proposes. Desspite loving him, she puts off giving him an answer until after the family vacation. During holiday, Mary learns that it was her own sister who wrote the letter betraying her. When she confronts Edith, Edith calls her a “slut.”

July arrives and the murder of the Austrian Archduke is the big news. War is on the horizon.

Lady Grantham is pregnant after 18 years! If it’s a boy, Matthew wouldn’t inherit after all. Mary refuses to give Matthew a yes or no to his proposal, driving him to hat-waving spittle-fests and declarations of love.

Miss O’Brien mistakenly believes that Lady Grantham wants to replace her and, out of spite, leaves a bar of soap on the floor; O’Brien has a change of heart but is too late – Lady Grantham slips and suffers a miscarriage.

Thomas sees the writing on the wall and arranges to be a medic should war break out.  He gives his resignation to Carson just before Carson can fire him.

With help from Sybil, Gwen is hired as a secretary.

At the Garden Party, Matthew tells Mary he’s leaving Downton Abbey to find his way back to reality. She’s devastated but finds the strength to lie to Edith’s suitor and run him off. Lord Grantham gets a telegram and announces to all that “we are at war with Germany.” Ack!

Season 2 starts filming this Spring and will air later this year.