The Dog of Downton
I adore this little dog. I always thought his journey from Mary to Matthew and out to the war would be about Matthew staying safe. But I see he's so much more now. Mary gave him this in the first episode of S2. Many of us had been spoiled about it, and it sounded so sweet given the cynical Mary Crawley, who once snubbed her nose at the very idea of Matthew from Manchester as the next earl and a possible husband for her, was now desperate to hang onto him as much as possible, even if it were under the guise of giving him a childhood toy that could be used as a lucky charm.
Episode 7 aired and we finally (FINALLY) get to see true evidence of what Matthew feels for Mary. JF has gone out of his way to show Mary's feelings for him, almost hitting the audience over the head about it. SHE LOVES HIM. Yes, we get it. I think it's been an almost disservice to the character (though Michelle Dockery has just been knocking every scene out of the park) because it's set up a precedent when Matthew returns that love it will have to be as strong (if not more so). Matthew's S1 love for Mary was always at this level, love at first sight obviously, but then his study of her indifferent, relaxed attitude around him, allowed him to see the vulnerable woman underneath. When she's unable to answer his proposal, he's devastated because he believes her love for him was never as strong as his was and he'd been fooling himself. Shortly thereafter, he joins to fight a war, and to keep his sanity, buries those feelings of Mary, deep deep inside.
I see a lot of Matthew hate for his blindness over Mary's attentions to him. I can understand the frustrations because it would just take a few small looks in the script, a throwaway line to PROVE that Matthew isn't really over Mary. Normally I'd say that is too cliche for JF, but unfortunately we've had a lot of cliche plots in the last few episodes, so why not give me us the one we want to see most? However, in the end, Matthew can only be guilty of not seeing Mary's love since his return to DA a crippled man. Those earlier visits to DA she was playing a role around him and he assumed it to be true.
Since E5, Matthew is a man in great pain, who believes he cannot walk or ever have a meaningful relationship with a woman. The medication to relieve the pain makes him sick. He is forced to lie down for weeks and when he "recovered", he's allowed in a wheelchair (not a bicycle!) while others push him around. How he must feel, not even being able to go where he wants to without the help of another. Mary's nursing him is not that much different than her normal discussions with him. She's still matter of fact when she takes care of him. When he talks of his depression, questioning why his life was spared, her answers are by the textbook. She's careful not to say too much to him. But he knows Mary. He knows when she's not happy. He can see she's not happy with Richard. Or at least, she isn't trying to be. He can see she prefers to spend time with him over her own fiancee and I'm sure that would trouble Matthew. Why does she do this? Matthew doesn't know the real reason why. Mary is the same around him as she always has been. This devotion to him must be something else, it can't be love. And even if it were, he's in no condition to return it. At least Carlisle can give her children, and that alone could possibly make Mary happy. Happier than what he could do for her, Matthew reflects.
Only one time does she let her mask slip in an obvious way, when they are speaking about PhantomPatrick, and how much it must hurt Matthew to hear about him. Notice Matthew is not looking at her, he's sitting there absorbing the shocking news Robert is telling him. So I believe that Mary's small emotional mistake goes unnoticed yet again. Another missed opportunity. How can Matthew's feelings reappear if Mary never shows her feelings?
We do get a moment, I'm glad to say, where Matthew makes it clear he does not want Mary to get a boy's haircut. He says it so absently, I'm wondering, if he even realizes how it sounded. If we had months for Matthew to recover, I'm certain he would realize on his own that he's never loved Lavinia, and he's never stopped loving Mary. He might even notice she loves him back. But we don't have that time and Violet knows it. She has to move things along. It doesn't work actually, not what Violet had hoped, Matthew gets defensive and the guilt of how he can never return Lavinia's love like he could Mary's overtakes him. He's just not ready.
So that's where the dog comes in. It shows up just in the nick of time. (I may now call him Nick.) Imagine that dog still with Matthew. Of course he would take care of it during the war. Mary asked him to. The gesture of receiving the dog from Mary was something he wasn't expecting. And in that moment he asks Mary to watch out for Lavinia and his mother should anything happen to him (which I think he believed he would not be returning). She does and certainly Mary goes beyond anything he would have dreamed in her attentions to Lavinia. While some of this is hidden to Matthew I'm sure Lavinia has brought up how wonderful Mary has been to her throughout everything.
As far as we know, Lavinia never gives Matthew but letters and picture(s) of her. Something he can hardly tote around easily (maybe the letters but in order to give any comfort to him, they require reading which takes precious time Matthew doesn't have in battle). That dog, simply just has to sit there in his pocket. He doesn't even have to see it (like he would with Lavinia's picture). Just feeling it, the texture and shape will constantly bring back that memory of Mary giving it to him. Wanting the charm to protect him. That little dog has actually kept the Mary/Matthew relationship alive.
While many are upset with Matthew because he doesn't seem to give Mary the credit she deserves, I think the fact he kept this dog and not let it go, shows just how high regard for her he has. He's been back to the house, and is crippled for what he believes is life. He still keeps that dog. He doesn't have to, Mary is there and probably been in that room to help him in the daytime, why not give it back? Why keep it?
He not only keeps it, but it's carried back to Crawley house. Most of this can be shrugged away that it's easier to keep it then to let it go. But when his mother brings it to him, asking him directly about it, Matthew's reaction is not direct honestly. He irrationally takes it, like medicine he needs to ward off some unwanted sickness. He tells her it would be bad luck to get rid of it, and guiltily looks at Lavinia before dropping it into his pocket, again.
I'm sure this is a long rambling post of nothing. I apologize as it serves no purpose and now episode 8 is next week and only NOW do we feel like its possible Mary and Matthew MIGHT be able to TRY to bring up they SHOULD be together. It's been a long 2 months and while I know I've been disappointed in Downton Abbey for many things, I just love this dog.