BWW Recap: Secrets Unfolded and Exposed on DOWNTON ABBEY

As the episode begins, Robert receives word that he must travel to America to see Cora's brother, Uncle Harold, who has made a bad oil investment and will need Robert's assistance at his Senate hearing.

As Robert's valet, Bates should undoubtedly accompany Robert on his trip to America. In a scene between Bates and Mrs. Hughes, we discover that Bates does not wish to leave Anna alone at Downton in the midst of her recent attack, and rightfully so. On the other hand, Bates feels a loyalty to Robert and feels he must perform his job.

With this information, Mrs. Hughes decides to speak with Mary about the subject. She suggests to Mary that Bates remain at Downton during Robert's trip, and have Thomas take his place. Mary tells her that she will only extend her help if Mrs. Hughes will explain why Bates would prefer not to travel; Mary suspects it as something to do with Anna, and she has been concerned about her for quite some time. Mrs. Hughes complies, and informs Mary of what has been going on with Anna and Bates.

After Mary knows the truth, she decides to ask Robert if he will take Thomas to America rather than Robert. Though Robert does not understand the purpose, Mary gets her way. Bates enters the room packed and ready to go, but Robert tells him to disregard the trip, and exits. Now alone with Mary, Bates asks what she knows, figuring she must have had some input in his staying. Mary admits that she now knows about Anna's tragic incident, and feels Bates must remain at Downton to support her.

Meanwhile, the pigs we've been hearing so much about have finally arrived at Downton, and the pig farming can begin. In a conversation between Mr. Blake, Evelyn, Tom, Edith, and Violet in the library, Mr. Blake discusses his opinions on the pig farming venture; he believes the family does not know what they are taking on.

Soon after, Robert says his goodbyes to the family, putting Rose in charge of 'fun'. Thomas has a word with Mrs. Baxter before he leaves as well; he wants her to find out why he is embarking on this trip with Robert rather than Bates. After Robert is gone, Violet begins feeling sick, and asks that a car be called to take her home.

Tom offers to drive Isobel, who had also come to Robert's farewell, back to her home. Isobel accepts, and the two have a lighthearted conversation on the drive. Isobel tells Tom of the upcoming political meeting taking place in London, and invites him to come along with her that evening. Tom accepts, for he has always been very interested in politics.

Back at the house, Edith tells Cora of her plans to go to London the following day to see if she can uncover any information regarding Michael's whereabouts. As far as she knows, he checked into a hotel in Munich, went out in the evening, and never returned. Cora feels sorry for her, but assures her Michael will return soon enough. Once Rose hears about Edith's trip to London, she begs Cora to accompany her. Cora questions her intentions, and Rose explains that she would just like to visit some friends; however, we know she must truly desire to go to London to see African-American jazz singer Jack Ross, whom she has been seeing behind the family's backs.

Downstairs, Carson informs the servants that Alfred has reached out to them, and is doing well in his chef training program at the Ritz. He also plans on visiting Downton soon, which causes a bit of a stir amongst the servants; there is still some bad blood over Alfred between Daisy and Ivy. Mrs. Patmore and Mrs. Hughes convince Carson to prevent Alfred's visit to avoid any unnecessary drama in the kitchen; Carson agrees to keep Alfred away from the house.

At breakfast the next day, the servants receive word that Robert will reach America by Monday. They all discuss what America must be like, and despite Mrs. Patmore's doubts, agree that it must be a worthwhile place to see. Anna apologizes to Bates for robbing him of his chance for such an experience, but Bates says he would genuinely rather be with her than anywhere else.

At the Dower home, Isobel arrives to visit Violet late a night, claiming she felt an urge to check in on her friend. Her instincts were correct; Violet has fallen extremely ill. Isobel hurries to call a doctor.

The doctor's verdict is not pleasant; Violet has bronchitis, which could eventually evolve into pneumonia without proper care. He advises that a nurse be hired, for Violet's needs will be quite demanding. Despite this knowledge, Isobel insists that she act as Violet's nurse until she is well again.

After hearing of Violet's illness, Cora and Mary visit the Dower house. Isobel has already started taking care of her, tending to Violet's every need. Cora and Mary offer to help her in any way they can, but Isobel remains persistent and claims to have things under control on her own. After all, she is a fully trained nurse.

Carson meets Alfred at a pub, and slyly tells him that the flu has hit Downton, and that it is probably best for him to skip his visit. He offers him a room at the pub and a drink instead, and Alfred believes his clever lie.

Back at Downton, Mary, Cora, and Tom discuss how well Isobel has been doing with Violet. However, Isobel's schedule is now too full to attend the political meeting with Tom as originally plan. Tom asks Mary and Cora to go with him, which they playfully reject. Tom still plans to go to the meeting regardless.

In London, Edith reluctantly tells Rosamund about her pregnancy. However, due to Michael's disappearance, she has decided to abort the baby; she has made an appointment for the next morning. When Rosamund asks what she will do if Michael returns, Edith states that she will never tell him of the baby.

Meanwhile, Rose is having a much grander time in the city. She meets up with Jack Ross, and to two share a romantic boat ride together. Though Jack Ross questions Rose as to where their relationship is going (since there's a great chance it will fail), the two end up kissing. Rose goes to the club with him that night, and stays out much past her curfew.

Later on, Tom attends the political meeting he's been looking forward to. The room is incredibly crowded when he gets there, but he spots one open seat next to a young woman. He asks to sit down, but the young woman says she is saving it for a friend. However, when the meeting starts and her friend has not shown up, she waves Tom over, and gestures that he could now sit down. The leader of the meeting sees this exchange unfold and pokes fun at them, but Tom takes a seat anyway. Tom chats with the young woman for a while, and a friendship appears to be budding. Maybe Tom has found his reason to stay in E ngland after all.

At the Abbey, Mr. Blake and Mary go to check on the new pigs. When they reach the farm, Blake notices that some pigs look extremely dehydrated and even on the verge of dying; the pigs had knocked over their own water trough. Mary and Blake rush to fill buckets with water in order to save the pigs, and spend the whole night tending to them. During this event, the two begin to bond and respect one another, and even share a few playful moments.

Once Mary and Blake have finished their work, it is the wee hours of the morning. Mary prepares scrambled eggs for the two of them in the kitchen, and Blake is impressed that such a privileged woman could cook anything at all.

In London, Edith, accompanied by Rosamund, travels to the doctor's office. Even after discussing her reasons for aborting the child numerous times, Edith decides to leave The Office without the procedure altering seeing a woman crying in the doctor's chair.

Despite Carson's efforts, Alfred shows up at Downton. Ivy excitedly says that she misses him being around, which obviously sparks something in Alfred. Much to the dismay of the older kitchen staff, Alfred promises that he will visit soon.

At the Dower home, Violet's health has much improved since the last time we saw her. Because she was very delirious during her sickness, she was unaware that Isobel had been the one taking care of her. When the doctor informs her of this truth, Violet is a bit surprised at Isobel's kindness towards her.

Lord Gillingham decides to pass through Downton, bringing Mr. Green, his valet and Anna's attacker, along with him. Green has dinner with the servants, and while the rest of the staff enjoys his company, Mrs. Hughes shoots him death glares.

Once Green is alone, Mrs. Hughes confronts him with incredible strength. She tells him she knows how horrific he is, and rants of her disgust for him. Green asks if Bates knows that it was he who hurt Anna, and Mrs. Hughes tells him truthfully that Bates believes it was an outsider.

As the episode closes, we see the servants having dinner. The staff reflects on the night of the party, which was also the night of Anna's incident. Mr. Green talks of how he spent the night downstairs because he did not enjoy the music of the party, there is a close up on Bates' face; he has clearly figured out that Mr. Green must be Anna's attacker, and one can only guess as to what will happen next in this heart wrenching story.

Photos courtesy of ITV

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