Downton Abbey Recap – Isobel Gets a Proposal: Season 5 Episode 4

Downton Abbey Recap - Isobel Gets a Proposal: Season 5 Episode 4

Tonight on PBS a new episode of their popular drama Downton Abbey airs with an all new Sunday, January 25 season 5 episode 4 called “Episode 4” and we have your weekly recap below. On tonight’s episode Merton and Mary [Michelle Dockerydrop bombshells.

On last week’s episode we got to see the trials faced by Mary and Lord Gillingham, and Bates as well. Did you watch last week’s episode? If you missed it we have a full and recap right here for you.

On tonight’s episode as per say the PBS synopsis, “Witness the bombshells delivered by Merton to Isobel and Mary to Tony.”

Tonight’s Downton Abbey season 5 episode 4 is going to be great, and you won’t want to miss it. So be sure to tune in for our coverage of Downton Abbey — tonight at 9 PM EST! While you wait for our recap, hit the comments and let us know how excited you are about the new season of the Downton Abbey.

Tonight’s episode begins now – Refresh Page often to get the most current updates!

Thomas comes back to Downton and is rude as usual. He says his father is better – his cover for his job interview. Rose’s dad is in London and wants to visit Downton. Isobel asks about the Russians and she says they miss the old days and she says it’s sad how poor they are. Robert prods Tom on politics and Mary says her father sounds more and more unreasonable. They ask Violet about her old Prince lover. She brushes them off. Tom, Mary and Robert meet to talk about the housing project. Robert is stubborn as usual.

Violet and Isobel go to see the Russians on the sly from the rest of the family. Rose is there working and is shocked to see them. They go to talk to Violet’s Prince. He say he thought she’d come. She introduces Isobel. He introduces them to a Count. They sit and chat. He tells Violet she is still magnificent. Carson asks Molesley to clean silver and he agrees but is stunned to see it’s a huge pile of work.

The Prince says he heard the Princess was exiled a year earlier and he doesn’t know where she is. Isobel asks if the Foreign Office will help. He says after what he’s gone through, there’s no help. Violet agree and says accepting reality is wiser. Tom leaves Robert and Mary to walk and they spot Mrs Patmore. Mary says Shrimpy is likely divorcing Rose’s mom and that means the end of his career and social standing. Robert says he’ll bow to Susan’s will on the matter.

Bates asks Anna when she’s leaving with Mary and asks if he’s all right. She asks if the Sergeant is worrying is him. He says no and she says she’d like them all to forget about Green. Isobel asks why Violet wanted her along today. Isobel asks if she and Kuragin were attracted. She says he asked her to run off with him. She says Grantham convinced her to stay put. Mrs Patmore yells at Daisy to put away her books and get to work.

Thomas comes in and snags a spoon. Molesley says he’ll find out what he’s up to. Isobel sees Lord Merton lurking hesitantly at her door when he’s working in her garden and invites him in. He sits and says he put it off too many times. She asks him not to say something he’ll regret. He stands and says he can’t get up again if he goes to one knee. He asks her to marry him. She starts to say no but he stops her. He says he’s not saying it out of loneliness.

He says it’s a romantic proposal and that he loves her. He says he thinks he could make her happy and would like the chance to try. She’s flustered and says he surprised her. She says the love talk has flustered her and he says he means it. He asks her to think about it before refusing him. She says she’s not sure it would change her mind and agrees to think about it. He thanks her and says he’ll leave. He bows to her and goes.

Cora tells Robert that Bricker is coming back to look at more of their art. He reminds her Shrimpy is also coming this week. Edith is pouting over Marigold and Robert advises her to leave it for a few months. Cora asks Mary and Tom about the house project. Mary reminds her father he wanted to sell land when her husband died and he says he was wrong. Mary says she’s going to London to a dress show and they can talk about it later.

Baxter hears noises from Thomas’s room and he tells her to go away. He opens the door and looks horrible. She sees medical things and he looks awful. He tells her to mind her business. Looks like he’s doing heroin. Mary is seeing Tony to break up with him and Anna tells her she’s doing the right thing breaking up with him face to face. Robert asks Carson about Mrs Patmore’s mood. He admits she’s aggrieved about one thing in particular.

Isobel tells Violet about Merton’s proposal. Violet says she should turn him down right away. Isobel isn’t so sure she shouldn’t give it some time to be considered. Edith tells Robert there’s a trial in Munich about brown shirted thugs. Edith says Michael was attacked by the gang and they’re close to finding out what happened. Her dad says it’s better to know the truth but she says not knowing lets her keep hope alive. She asks him to keep this quiet until she knows more.

She says she doesn’t want Mary’s pity but he says he pities her too. Anna helps Mary get ready to go out and asks her to post a letter to Tony telling her where to meet – somewhere public so she can dump him in a neutral site. Mary talks to Rosamund and she asks about Edith. She tells her she took an interest in a farmer’s child and says she got tired of her. Mary sees Charles Blake and smiles at him. Rosamund is very interested to hear about the farmer and the child.

In the village, Edith lurks to see Marigold. Anna takes the message to Tony’s house. Charles nods at a wedding dress being modeled and gives Mary a knowing smile. A man getting his shoes shined outside Tony’s takes notice of Anna. Lane Fox is with Charles and tells him she knows Mary because she was thrown over for her. But she doesn’t seem to care. Charles asks her to dinner and she agrees. Anna is followed by the man after she leaves the message.

Edit follows Marigold and her mom home but lurks out of site. Carson asks Mrs Patmore to go see Robert. He then asks Molesley to check the table before dinner and check of the rooms for the guests. He says it’s not fair but Daisy says first footman doesn’t mean all day with your feet up. Edith knocks on the door and asks about Marigold. Her mom says she’s putting her down for a nap and shuts the door in her face. Tim comes out and says Margie thinks she’s unsettling Marigold.

Edith leaves upset. Robert tells Mrs Patmore he understands how stressful this is on her family. She reminds them that Archie volunteered and went to fight but says he had a wounded brain and was a good and decent lad and that makes him a casualty of war. She says he could have stayed at Downton until he was called. Robert says he agrees but can’t do anything for it. Mrs Patmore says that does help even if Carson can’t see it. She leaves.

Cora says Shrimpy and Bricker are on the same train and he says he wishes he knew why Bricker was coming. She says he wants to discuss the painting with her and asks why he can’t understand that he would want her opinion. Carson tells Molesley he’ll have to see to Shrimpy and Bricker and he’s bending under the workload. Charles and Mary have dinner and she reveals she’s splitting with Tony. He says he wishes he could figure Mary out and she says she wishes she could as well.

She says she’s telling Tony tomorrow and he asks why. She says she’s fond of him and says she wants him godfather of her children but not their father. He tells her she has a way to soften the blow but she’s confused. Violet tells Edith she needs to leave the past behind her and Edith asks if she’s saying to protect the family interest and walks away from her grandmother. Violet asks Shrimpy to help find Princess Kuragin.

He tells her that he and Susan are divorcing. She says she never takes sides when marriages are breaking up. Cora chats with Bricker who says he’s staying on a couple of days. Robert asks Shrimpy to come to the library and Isobel asks Tom to bring Sarah to dinner and Cora says that sounds wonderful and insists. Robert and Shrimpy talk Bombay alone in the library then move on to his marriage with Susan. He thanks him for watching Rose.

Shrimpy says divorce is the only course and Robert asks why they can’t just live apart. Shrimpy says he’s no idea the depth of their unhappiness. Thomas comes to see Baxter and she says his father was never ill and she asks if he’s the one who’s ill. He asks what it is to her. She asks if he’s treating himself now. He tells her to leave him alone. Shrimpy then goes to tell Rose about the divorce. She asks to live with him but he says she should stay at Downton.

She says she’s learning from their divorce and won’t be saddled with just any chap. She says she’ll only marry for love and he agrees. She asks him to take her side on this and not force her into a “suitable” marriage. He says he has no right to give orders on the subject of marriage. Bricker reads Cora a letter that came along with the paintings. He also flirts with her and then Robert comes in. Tony tells Mary she can’t break up with him after shagging him.

She says she can’t explain it and he asks if he’s a bad lover. She says she’s not sure they have enough in common. He says a lady wouldn’t give herself to a man without being sure she loved him enough to marry him. He refuses to accept the break up and says they’ll get through this together. Molesley comes to Carson and says he’s not sure he should be called first footman. He says it’s a lot of work. Carson says he’ll see what he can do. After Molesley leaves, he smiles.

Sarah comes over and Tom asks her to be nice to Robert. He says they’re good to him and he loves them. She says she doesn’t want him to hate them but doesn’t want him to spend his life propping a dying system. Hughes finds a London magazine and asks whose it is. Baxter says she saw Thomas with it and Hughes asks her to give it to him. She looks at it and Thomas comes up and accuses her of breaking into his room. She says he dropped it in the hall.

She says she’s sorry for what he put himself through. What the heck is he doing to himself? Is he getting anti-gay treatments? Is he sick? Is he doing drugs? Bricker and Cora chat at dinner and Violet and Robert takes note. Violet asks if Robert asks his wife’s opinion and he has to admit he rarely does. Isobel asks how Sarah’s tutoring of Daisy is going and Sarah thinks Robert doesn’t know her name. Robert wonders if Sarah is teaching her troublesome things and Sarah says to ask her himself.

He tells Carson to bring up Daisy and Mrs Patmore. Bates comes to help Anna unpack. She says she delivered a letter to Tony and went to Piccadilly. She doesn’t like something that her husband says about Piccadilly. Mrs Patmore and Daisy come upstairs. Robert asks if Daisy’s lessons are interfering with the kitchen. Mrs Patmore says the lessons aren’t interfering. Daisy says she has choices now and facts and interests that she never would have had without Sarah. Isobel says well said.

Robert lets them go and says he’s pleased to hear it. Mary says to let it go. Sarah says Robert wants to see serfs stay in their place and Robert stands and shouts that what he would really like is her to leave his house and never come back. Violet asks if Edith is still writing her column and she says they’re about the way the world is changing. Anna comes to see Hughes and Carson and she says she thinks Sarah is good for Tom.

At bedtime, Robert says he can’t stand Sarah and accuses Cora of flirting with Bricker and calls him a traveling salesman. She tells him to get out of bed on the right side tomorrow. Mary comes upstairs and finds Tom brooding. She tells him to cheer up and says he gave Granny a wonderful evening. Mrs Patmore and Daisy chat and she tells Daisy that Sarah is very unpopular upstairs. Daisy tells her to write a letter to the war office about Archie and offers to help her write it.

Daisy says she should protest and eventually things might change. Mrs Patmore agrees and says they’ll do it tomorrow. The sergeant rides to Downton the next day. He says a plainclothesman was outside Tony’s and Mrs Bates was seen outside. Hughes says she was taking a note from Mary to Tony and then he says she walked to Piccadilly. He then asks if Anna was at Downton the day he died. They confirm she was.

Isobel and Violet chat with Shrimpy about the missing Princess. He also says Susan is writing letters disavowing them for taking in Shrimpy. They are not swayed. Mary, Robert and Tom walk in the woods and talk about the fiery dinner. Robert says he feels like Tom has joined them and in now backing away. Robert says he wants to show them why he thinks they should turn down the building offer. Robert says he wants to expand without spoiling.

He says they need a better builder. He brings them to an edge of the village and says they need to build there to preserve what people love about the place. Tom and Mary agree to the wisdom of the plan.

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