Christmas wouldn’t be the same without a bit of Downton Abbey. As always a lot happens when it comes to the family and staff residing at Downton. Spoilers ahead!

No different than in any other episode of Downton Abbey, I am clueless as to where to start especially since this one was two hours long. So much happened and very little actually had to do with Christmas, but let’s get started:

• Anna is in prison now and it doesn’t look too good for her. Bates of course can’t watch her getting convicted, so he signs a confession and flees to Ireland until they’re both proven innocent. Those two seriously never get a break. Anna can’t enjoy being back at Downton without her love, but then gets surprised by Bates at Christmas, after Molesley can prove that he wasn’t in London during the time of the murder. Now, I hope that Anna doesn’t get imprisoned again, but I also still wonder who actually did it.
• Andy the footman who helped out in London now works at Downton.
• Everyone in the family (except for Mary) knows that Marygold is Edith‘s daughter. I’m so happy for her and you can visibly see that a heavy weight was lifted from her shoulders when Lord Grantham “forgave” her. Their might even have been a new love interest for her in form of the agent from York, but I am not sure.
• Speaking of love interest! Lady Mary has a new one in with the name of Henry Talbot (portrayed by the very handsome and dashing Matthew Goode). I very much approve, in fact I am jealous! She always gets the best love interests and that even though she’s still extremely mean to Edith, who’s been a lot nicer and a good person in general the past seasons.
• The feud between Spratt and Ms Denkers is hilarious!
• I am so glad that Rose and Atticus are still happy! Those two are lovely and they deserve it! Even Lord Sinderby now approves of Rose, even though I sincerely hope that it doesn’t blow up in her face one day that she helped him cover up an illegitimate child. Atticus surely won’t be too joyous when he finds out. But maybe he never will since he’s probably moving to New York with Rose sometime soon.
• Barrow was once again at his best while scheming against the Butler at York. You definitely don’t want to mess with him!
• The old Lady Grantham helped Princess Kuragin to come to Britain and therefore declined Prince Kuragin. While she still liked getting the proposition at her age, she just couldn’t go with it. We finally get the whole story between her and the Prince and that is great.
• While I am sure that Doctor Clarkson isn’t too unhappy, I feel sorry for Lord Merton because Isobel keeps refusing him. She doesn’t want to have to deal with his disapproving sons, but I think that really shouldn’t be her main concern if Merton makes her happy.
• It finally happened! I thought it never would and it was the sweetest moment ever! Carson asked Mrs Hughes to marry him! They are simply perfect for each other!
• There was a slight scare that Lord Grantham might be sick and everyone was really concerned about it, but he just has to follow a strict diet and should feel better in no time. It’s a relief, because he really is a main component of this show!
• Tom … my beloved Branson. It seems the time has come and he is actually leaving. It’s not like I don’t want him to succeed on his own, but I’ll terribly miss him, like everyone from the family will too. The most emotional moment from the episode was for me when he was in the childrens’ room and wanted to take a mental picture of everything. Edith and Mary joined him, they held hands and thought of Sybil. They were the ones supposed to grow old with her! While everyone did say their goodbyes to him, I won’t actually believe that he’s gone until he’s not at Downton anymore.

What were your thoughts about the Christmas Special? Did I miss an integral part?