I agree with you gilly about Lady Mary's voice - TBH I think her character is being hammed up to the point where she's become a caricature. And I do wish she would speak to Dr Clarkson about her stiff neck, I'm sure he'd be able to suggest something for it.
I actually rather expected the shocking scenes would be about poor Robert, as it has been building up to some sort of catastrophe with his health throughout this series. It would have been fun quite shocking, though, if it had been Lady Mary slipping over in the pig muck and getting trampled.
I don't think Carson quite understands what is expected of him in his role as a husband. Someone needs to have a quiet word in his shell-like and tell him that it is actually nothing like the role of a butler
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Yes, I too will miss this when it ends.