This week’s season finale (well, technically, there’s still the Christmas special) wrapped up quite a bit...but there are still some cliffhangers.

(Need to catch up? Check out our recaps of the Season 2 premiere, episode 2, episode 3, episode 4, episode 5, episode 6, and episode 7.)

Oh, and there are spoilers ahead. As well as a reminder right here that Downton Abbey Series 2/Season 2 will air in the United States beginning January 8, 2012.

[Season finale? How quickly time—and a British television series—flies!...]

Wow. That’s all I can say about this week’s episode: a big, whopping, WOW. The writers really pulled out all the stops on this one. You know I said last week’s show felt a bit flat to me? Well, this week more than made up for it!

(Need to catch up? Check out our recaps of the Season 2 premiere, episode 2, episode 3, episode 4, episode 5, and episode 6.)

[*********SPOILERS**********]

This week’s episode was nowhere near the emotional roller coaster of last week, but it definitely had some interesting moments for our beloved household.

(Need to catch up? Check out our recaps of the Season 2 premiere, episode 2, episode 3, episode 4, and episode 5.)

The episode starts a few weeks after we left off.

[Just another day at Downton Abbey...]

Fair warning! This week’s episode was really emotional. I was a bawling mess by the time it was over.

(Need to catch up? Check out our recaps of the Season 2 premiere, episode 2, episode 3, and episode 4.)

The episode started with a gruesome sequence at the front with Matthew and William getting ready to head out on an offensive with their squadron. The scene is especially poignant because the scene shows all the soldiers praying, reading letters or lovingly caressing pictures of loved ones.

**WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD.**

[This is war...]

This week’s episode had me on the edge of my seat the entire time, my stomach tied in knots and my heart thumping. Lots of intrigue and plotting, lots of innuendo and even a few, you know, actual declarations of love!

(Need to catch up? Check out our recaps of the Season 2 premiere, episode 2, and episode 3.)

*******SPOILERS BELOW*******

The Abbey is now almost completely taken over by the convalescing soldiers and the episodes starts with Mrs. Crawley showing up to start her managerial duties, only to be met by a very much in charge Cora. Seems like everything’s being handled with great efficiency by the lady of the house and Isobel is not too happy about her reduced authority. It appears that she’s not needed upstairs, so she storms downstairs, only to be told by a harried Mrs. Patmore that Lady G. has changed the luncheon schedule (and consequently the nurses’ shift schedules). The nerve! How dare Cora change Isobel’s arrangements! Of course, she confronts Cora and threatens to leave. I have to tell you, I thought Mrs. Crawley’s arguments with the Dowager were entertaining, but they’re nothing compared to the showdown with Cora!

[You could sell tickets to that dance...]

A review of Downton Abbey Season 2, episode 3, served with an extra dollop of SPOILERS. Need to catch up? Check out our Downton Abbey Season 2 premiere recap and episode 2 recap.

Well, things are certainly starting to get intense as we embark on the third episode of the season. And I’m not just talking about the war here! We have lots of drama with Anna and Bates, Sybil and Branson, Mary and Matthew, and … Ethel and Major Bryant???

[Major spoilers for Season 2, episode 3 below—this is a recap, after all...]

A review of Downton Abbey Season 2, episode 2, served with an extra dollop of SPOILERS. Need to catch up? Check out our recap of the Season 2 premiere of Downton Abbey.

This week’s episode was actually pretty dark.  We dealt more with the horrors of war, not so much on the front itself, but back home with the survivors.  While life at the Abbey goes on—more or less as usual—the world is clearly changing, and this episode focused on a lot of serious issues. 

[Click for all the gossip on this episode...]

And now it’s our turn! Finally, the second season of Downton Abbey is on the American side of the pond. We originally recapped the series when it aired in the United Kingdom, so we’re thrilled to be able to share it with our American H&H audience again.

In honor of Downton’s return, we’ll also be hosting a weekly giveaway in which you’ll have the chance to win TWO Downton Abbey books: The World of Downton Abbey by Jessica Fellowes and Below Stairs by Margaret Powell. Click here to learn more and to enter the sweepstakes!

On to the recap:

We left Downton Abbey last season with pretty much everything hanging on a cliff: Lord and Lady Crawley had just lost Baby Crawley; Mary and Matthew (the maybe/maybe not heir apparent to the Abbey) broken up; Edith’s plans of a blissful (albeit probably pretty dull) marriage to Sir Boring, er...I mean Sir Strallon thwarted by Mary; Bates kinda sorta declaring that he has feeeeelings for Anna (not to her, of course. What would be the fun of that?); Thomas quitting (and good riddance) to volunteer for the Medical Corps; and Sybil and Branson (*swoon*) holding hands. The clincher of course is that they’re all hanging off the most horrific cliff of all … the start of World War I.

[This is a recap of the first episode of Downton Abbey Season 2, so you can bet your booty there are spoilers! SPOILERS! And stiff upper lips. AND SPOILERS!...]