Entertainment
Ranking Lady Mary's Potential Loves
For all of you non-British and non law-breaking citizens (I'm looking at you, illegal streamers), it's almost time for us to be reunited with our favorite upstairs lads and downstairs lassies in the Season 4 premiere of Downton Abbey on January 5. We left off with the tragic death of first Sybil Branson, who died in childbirth, followed by the death of Matthew Crawley by milk truck. Yes, milk trucks killing people was apparently a thing in 1920's Europe. But because of the tragic loss of our protagonist's love, Mary Crawley is left with a newborn baby she appears to have no interest in, and a gaping hole in her heart. A hole which series creator Julian Fellowes will undoubtably fill with a bevy of potential suitors. But as we know, every man that Mary sleeps with, dies, to upcoming suitors, beware. And without further adieu, let's meet the men, shall we?
1. Lord Gillingham
“Gillingham is an old family friend,” Dockery told Hollywood Life. “The sisters knew him when we were growing up, and we haven’t seen him since then. A party is organized at the house, and he is invited to it. He’s just a different character.” Tom Cullen, who plays the dashing lord, is a 28-year-old Welsh actor who seems to have the best shot at winning Mary's favor.
2. Charles Blake
He's an aristocrat played by Julian Ovenden who is yet another man after Mary's heart. Coincidentally, he is working on a government project studying how large estates (like Downton) deal during the changes of post-war society. Conveniently, he is invited to stay in one of the many bedrooms of Downton.
3. Evelyn Napier
Played by actor Brendan Patricks, Napier is a keen hunter who appeared in Season 1 of the series as Pamuk's BFF. He had an interest in Mary then, but Mary was too interested in Pamuk's unearthly good looks to notice his humble friend. But once she killed Pamuk (JK, he just sort of died while they were having sex, we don't really know whose fault it was), Napier is once again a viable option for a post-Matthew fling.
4. Tom Branson
This is the obvious match, both Mary and Tom Branson are both without spouses, and both new parents. They both live in Downton Abbey and they both are already accepted as proper members of society so we know Daddy Crawley would approve. That being said, Michelle Dockery has already refused the idea of her character and Bronson becoming romantically involved. "They are very much friends. They become close because of what they've been through," she told the Mirror UK. But is a romance in the equation? No dice.
5. Jack Ross
If Lady Sybil could marry the chauffeur, certainly Lady Mary could marry a Black jazz singer, right? Eh, not so fast. Jack Ross, played by Gary Carr, will be Downton's first Black cast member. And while he's certainly an eligible bachelor, we bet his chances of ending up with a Downton gal are better suited to the likes of Rose, the young and liberal-minded niece of Cora. We already know Rose likes jazz music, sneaking off to clubs, and dating men she's not supposed to. In this way, Jack Ross seems like the perfect fit.
6. The ghost of Kemal Pamuk
Just kidding! Pamuk is too busy filming the Divergent series to fall into the arms of Lady Mary for a second time.
7. Thomas Barrow
Is he downstairs? Yes. Is he gay? Yes. Is he possibly the devil reincarnate? Yes. BUT, Thomas Barrow, played with perfect malice by Rob James-Collier, is also the most beautiful and angelic-faced under butler to ever grace Downton's downstairs, so we can only dream of a child that is half Barrow, half Crawley.
