Warning: Spoilers included.

About the only thing missing from last night's Downton Abbey marathon was Godzilla joining the Crawleys for tea. Although given the avalanche of life-changing events: Matthew walks! A failed elopement! Death! An arrest for murder! A wedding! Thomas being...helpful! I wouldn't have been surprised to see the old skyscraper stomper slide a swiveler over to ask the dowager countess for advice on image repair. At least the old boy isn't an American.

Mary's pinched haughtiness made a grand return, but she'd better back off Carson and Anna. They are probably her greatest allies in that house - and that's including her family. Talk about biting the hands that feed you. The new-and-much-improved Mrs. Bates was brave, I thought, to buck Sir Richard's request to keep silent about his bribery attempt. Hierarchy and chain of command are everything at Downton, so it seems Anna did the right thing by reporting Sir Richard (whose resemblance to Richard Chamberlain drives me to distraction) to Carson and Mrs. Hughes first. If she'd gone straight to Mary, she would have heard about it from Carson, for sure. So poor Anna loses either way. And on a side note: isn't Joanne Froggatt lovely? I loved seeing her with her hair down in the postcoital bliss scene. Second side note: Great casting with Maria Doyle Kennedy as the rotten first Mrs. Bates. Is it just me or does she bear more than a passing resemblance to Margaret Hamilton, aka Elmira Gulch, aka the Wicked Witch of the West? Ring around the rosy/ a pocket full of spears/ thought you were pretty foxy, didn't ya, Batesy?

Sybil and Branson? Meh. Don't care. He bullied her for so long, I feel like she gave in to finally shut him up. I'm just not feeling Sybil's investment in that relationship. Sorry. Branson's a hottie, but I could be convinced to buy into Robert's wild dogs scheme.

I enjoyed, as I presume I was meant to, seeing Thomas getting his comeuppance. What I don't understand is O'Brien's devotion to this guy. We've already seen that - as much as she complains about it - O'Brien's job is everything to her. So much so that she did the Unspeakable Deed when she thought Lady Cora meant to replace her. So why does O'Brien continually speak up for this sociopath, sometimes at great personal risk? Roles reversed, he wouldn't sacrifice a strand of hair to help her. I sure hope O'Brien's motivations are a work in progress and it's not a gap in the writing.

I am still pulling for Matthew and Mary, though the former's "Debbie Downton" attitude was getting to me. Yeah, you're in a wheelchair. It sucks. But you're rich and you have people around you who care for you and will take care of you. Shut up about having a "real life" again. Are paraplegics and quadriplegics not living "real" lives? Go visit a VA, rich boy.