‘Downton Abbey’ Finds a Body In the Bed
No Englishman would dream of dying in someone else's house. Especially someone they didn't even know.
The second episode of Downton Abbey’s first season is possibly the most bizarre installment in the franchise. That’s a bold claim, given that this series has.... let’s just say, a fair amount of unbelievable twists. Over the show’s six seasons, we have witnessed many things, including but not limited to: a disfigured stranger pretending to be the killed-on-the-Titanic heir Patrick Crawley, Robert having an affair with a maid, Edith getting left at the altar by a guy twice her age, and murder charges against both Bates and Anna at different points. But nothing beats the handsome Mr. Pamuk dropping dead in Lady Mary Crawley’s bed.
N o t h i n g.
Part of the reason for this is that the entire subplot is just so tonally bizarre. Sure, Lady Mary being a complete pill to Matthew and flirting with other suitors makes sense. It’s possible to even get behind the idea that she might be crushing hard on a handsome foreign dignitary. But everything else, from the uncomfortable power dynamics, blurry at best consent issues, and the straight-up character death and subsequent cover-up, feels like it’s been ported in from a different series entirely.
