'Downton Abbey' Recap: Crash and Burn

Warning: This recap for Season 6, “Episode Seven” of Downton Abbey contains spoilers.

In the Grand Love Prix between the Crawley sisters, Mary is hitting the brakes, while Edith is going full speed ahead.

OK, OK… enough with the driving puns, because this winds up being a sad episode. The entire family goes to Brooklands to watch Henry Talbot’s race, but the day turns tragic when his friend, Charlie Rogers, dies in a crash. It’s too much for Mary — memories of Matthew’s demise lead her to end the romance with Henry.

When things are going down for Mary, though, they must be going up for Edith, and she’s almost ready to take her relationship with Bertie to the next level. Almost.

Here’s what went down this week at the Abbey:

Mary and Henry

Henry invites the entire family to watch him race at Brooklands. Mary is nervous about the event, and asks Anna’s advice. The maid wonders if their lives really fit together, which leads Mary to muse that “[opposites] attract, but do they live happily ever after?”

Henry is just excited that his lady love is there to cheer him on, and desperately wants to win her and her family over. Tom’s definitely on his side. But after the race starts, and the cars zoom around the track, Mary feels like she’s “trapped in some witch’s curse.”

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And then, there’s a terrible crash. A frantic Mary, accompanied by Edith, runs to the fiery wreckage, where they learn the poor soul was Charlie Rogers. Mary looks frightened and relieved at the same time.

Later, when Henry telephones after dinner, he says the crash made him realize that he must seize the day, and he wants to know where their relationship stands. But the crash made Mary realize that they aren’t meant to be together. She breaks up with him, which is super cruel since now he’s lost his best friend and girl in one awful day.

BFF Tom chastises her. “You’re frightened of being hurt again, but let me tell you this, you will be hurt again, and so will I, because being hurt is part of being alive,” he says. “But that is no reason to give up on the man who is right for you.”

Edith and Bertie

Bertie attends the race, too, and after dinner, comforts Edith by snuggling on the couch together. “Sitting here with your arm around me, I can’t remember feeling so comfortable,” she says.

They wonder if it’s wrong to be happy after a tragedy, but like Henry, Bertie decides to seize the moment. He wants to marry Edith! He may be a penniless land agent, but he’s got plenty of love to give. She’s delighted and thrilled, but has a question — can she bring Marigold? He looks confused, but agrees.

Edith still needs time to think about his proposal, but kisses him anyway. Let’s hope she tells him the truth about Marigold next week.

Mr. Carson and Mrs. Hughes

This entire subplot has felt like it was ripped from a ‘50s-era sitcom, and finally, we get to the denouement. Fed up with Carson’s nitpicking, Mrs. Hughes decides to give him a taste of his own medicine (thanks to an idea from Mrs. Patmore). On a night when they have dinner at their cottage, she pretends her hand is injured, which means Mr. Carson has to do the cooking. He discovers it’s not so easy — he burns the potatoes, he falls asleep at the table, he’s stunned that he has to wash the dishes.

The next day, Mrs. Hughes laughs with Mrs. Patmore. “He has discovered a new respect for the role of cook and bottle washer, so I think he’ll be giving less trouble in the future.”

Men! Sigh.

Miss Baxter and Mr. Molesley

While she’s still deliberating about visiting that terrible Peter Coyle, Molesley takes his “general knowledge exam” at the same time as Daisy’s matriculation exams. He passes with flying colors, and headmaster Dawes offers him a position on the teaching staff! Go Joe!

Isobel and Lord Merton

Isobel gets an invitation to Larry Grey’s wedding to Amelia Cruikshank, which is weird, since he detests her. The Dowager Countess offers to get to the bottom of things, and visits Amelia at the Merton estate. Well, turns out her super-friendly demeanor is an act: She just doesn’t want to care for or have to hang out with Lord Merton. “You want a free nurse to take her tiresome old man off your hands,” the Dowager notes.

But what will Isobel do now? As Violet points out, it was one thing when she turned down Lord Merton to avoid a family conflict, but will she really leave him to the mercies of his selfish son and a scheming daughter-in-law?

As for the singletons:

* The Dowager Countess: Now that she’s lost the hospital battle, she sets sail for the Mediterranean without telling anyone in the family. But she does leave Robert an adorable new puppy, which he names Tiaa.

* Tom: Once again, he basically serves as Mary’s gay bestie. But could there be romance for him on the horizon in the form of Edith’s editor, Miss Edmunds?

* Mrs. Patmore: Her B&B is finally open, and she gets her first guests — a doctor and his wife — but there’s a shady-looking reporter watching the house.

* Daisy: She takes her exams, and we learn why she was being such a witch about Mr. Mason and Mrs. Patmore last week — she doesn’t want to share Mr. Mason. But Mrs. Patmore wisely tells her that love is not finite.

* Andy: His inability to read is exposed in front of everyone, but Mr. Dawes offers to teach him.

Poor Thomas moment: Not only does Mr. Carson again, and unkindly, remind him to find a new job, but his tutoring of Andy comes to an end with Mr. Dawes stepping in. When everyone else celebrates Mr. Molesley’s new gig, Thomas sits alone in the servants’ hall.

Poor Edith moment: Bertie proposes, which is great. But this Marigold thing is going to cause problems, we just know it. And it’ll probably be Mary’s doing.

Dowager Countess quip of the week: “I’m quite a tough nutcracker.” — Violet to Isobel, about “tough nut” Amelia Cruikshank

Downton Abbey airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on Masterpiece on PBS.