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shadowkatAnother bitterly cold day - did venture out long enough to take in and pick up laundry, also drop off two sweaters to be mended. But mainly spent the day inside reading, straightening, mindlessly eating (sigh - what is it about winter and the desire to eat?), and watching tv.
TV shows?
1. Dallas - is oddly entertaining. More so than last summer. The writing's better, the direction crisper, and the actors more relaxed. Interesting. Either that, or I'm in a different frame of mind and am appreciating the mindless entertainment.
2. Dowton Abbey - as strange as this might sound? Dallas is better than Dowton right now - less cliche, less stereotypical, and less melodramatic. Plus the rich people aren't ineffectual and incompetent leeches on the middle and lower classes. Yes, it is very odd. Also moves faster. American TV is now moving at a faster clip than British TV. Maybe because we have more channels and more tv, so fickler viewers? Or rather just spoiled viewers?
Line of the week:
Matthew to Mary: Your father would have problems because it is business, which he considers mean, or middle class..unvirtuous...like me. But middle class does have its virtues.
Me: I'm trying to figure out what the virtues of the upper class are, so far not seeing any whatesoever.
Downton is as scathing a critique of the British ruling class snobbery and privelege...if there ever was one.
So that is what pre-clampsia looks like? Whoa. Painful death and possibly the most grueling and painful death scene I've seen in a while. Plus the most melodramatic, and I watch a lot of melodramas. Downton out did General Hospital and Grey's Anatomy. Kudos.
* Lord Robert Grantham's massive ego ...has resulted in his youngest daughter, Sybil's death by childbirth. To give him credit - he does acknowledge it, after his wife makes it blantant that he and his prestigious doctor are at fault. The Dowager states it is no one's fault, happens all the time. Except in this case there was a chance that it may have been prevented. Clarksville told them that Sybil was toxic from her pregnancy, required a C-section and needed to go to the hospital immediately or she'd have pre-clympsia. The Mother, Grantham's wife, who I keep wanting to call Cora for some reason, begs her husband to let Tom Bransen decide, Sybil's husband. But Tom has no idea what to do or who to believe.
The Mother is begging them to send Sybil to the hospital, but Grantham and Doctor Phil insist Sybil is safer in the house and undergoing natural child-birth, not exposing herself in a dirty public hospital.
As a result of their stupidity and massive egos, Sybil dies horrifically. Prior to her death she begs her mother to help Tom, to not let Tom take a step backward, and to fight for Tom against her father's interests - that Tom is Catholic and will want a Catholic Bapitism. She doesn't care - since she doesn't believe in God, but Tom does. Her mother at her daughter's deathbed, states that she will take care of both Tom and the baby, ensure their safety and well-being no matter what. She also kicks Lord Grantham out of her bedroom and into the dressing room. And makes it clear to him in front of everyone the next morning that he is at fault. I don't blame her. I'd have done the same thing.
*Mary is less likable this season than the last two. Taking Daddy's side far too often. Although in this episode she does have some good lines - such as the line to Edith after Sybil dies:
Mary: She was the only living person who ever thought you and I were nice people.
Edith: I don't suppose we could get on better now? Get along?
Mary: I doubt it. But for now, we can try.
Mary's not happy about Mathew pushing Daddy/Lord Grantham out of the running of Downton, but Mathew is right. Grantham is ineffectual and incompetent and has been running the estate into the ground.
* Mathew shows a bit more backbone this episode, but he still needs to stand up to Mary and his father in law. And not creep behind them. Granted he's a bit anxious over the fact that Mary isn't pregnant yet and assumes something is wrong with him. Hmm. Did they have birth control back then? Because I wouldn't put it past Mary to be making use of it. Mary does not appear to want a child right now.
*Anna finally gets the proof she needs to get Bates out. But it is not that easy. First of all the woman who inadvertently gave it to her - hates Bates and wants him to die. And there's a prisoner/guard who have it in for Bates - so if she doesn't hurry, they may kill him first. I suppose I should be worried, but I just don't care any more.
* Best bit was Thomas...the evil valet, crying over Sybil's death, because Sybil was amongst the few to ever show him kindness. And Anna, of all people, comforting Thomas and telling him it was alright. Makes Thomas weirdly likable.
* Poor Daisy is beside herself with jealousy towards Ivy, who she believes is stealing Alfred from her. Ivy meanwhile has eyes for the same guy that Thomas is making a play for.
Daisy and Thomas appear to have something in common. Rather loved what the cook told her - which was that you can't make people love you and you don't always choose who you love, it's not something within your control. Quite true. Love isn't rational or something we can control. Cook is my favorite.
* Mrs. Hughes and Mrs. Crowely are both in their own ways trying to help poor Ethel. Ethel who sold herself as a prostitute in order to feed her son, and then gave up her son, and is trying to get her life back on track. Mrs. Crowley takes her in, which results in Mrs. Bird (her cook's resignation). I think Mrs Bird thought Mrs Crowley would push Ethel to the curb in favor of her. But no. Now Carson wants to ostracize and bannish Ethel, and not help Mrs. Crowley. Mrs. Hughes disagrees and says they do nothing, maybe the problem will take care of itself, since Ethel can't cook.
Carson also wonders how they will deal with Tom Bransen now? MRs. Hughes retorts - like the kind people we are and treat him with kindness. (Thank you. Carson needs to get over his classism as well. Both Grantham and Carson are old school, stuck in old ways, resistant to change...and as a result making mistake after mistake.)
Better episode than last week.
3. Merlin - the episode Diseri
Rather enjoying this season and the actor playing Merlin has become astonishingly good in this role. The Diseri - remind me of the three Fates, also referenced in MacBeth...Crone, the Maid, the Mother - spinning their web and seeing the future, past, and present. The three-headed Goddess in Celtic mythos is maid (lover), mother (bearer and nurturer), and crone (reaper/devourer). She also represents the seasons of the earth - winter-spring, summer-fall, fall-winter. Merlin is conflicted in this episode. He's not sure which way to go, and chooses wrong - choosing the path he's been taught to choose by Uther and Guise and his own fears, as opposed to the one he should. This story is as much about Merlin's journey as it is Arthur's.
Merlin's conflicted over Mordred. We learn he can save Mordred. But he refuses to. Leaving Mordred's life in the hands of fate. Mordred had stepped in front of Arthur, saving him from the Fate's socerery. Mordred who is turning into a great Knight, worthy of Arthur. And the Dragon tells Merlin that Arthur and Mordred's fates are completely bond together, like ivy wrapped around an oak. The only way to unbound them is to kill Mordred at the first opportunity.
But here's the thing...Arthur trusts Mordred. Mordred has saved him. When they return to the sacred place, Arthur doesn't see what Merlin does. Arthur and Mordred are fighters, while Merlin is a healer. And Arthur asks the Diseri to save Mordred. The Diseri agree on one condition -that Arthur embrace the old religion and allow magic back into Camelot.
Conflicted, Arthur asks Merlin what to do. Merlin is quiet and upset. Conflicted. But he chooses not to allow magic back in Camelot, that magic has no place there now, and not to save Mordred's life. Which back-fires on him, because Mordred is saved - to kill Arthur. And Merlin has also unknowingly set the stage - for the one thing Mordred wants is for magic to be permitted again, not to have to hide who he is, and this is what Merlin wants as well.
But Merlin doesn't think it can happen now...and is afraid, so he chooses the wrong path...and realizes it too late. OR did he, wonders Guise, who counsels that he had no way of knowing which choice to make. Merlin went with his "duty" that has been ingrained, his head, over his heart, with what the Dragon advised, as opposed to what Guise advised.
Merlin has two advisors - Guise and the Dragon. And it's not always clear which makes the most sense. That's the problem with advice, at the end of the day - you are making the decision not the person giving you the advice.
Free will is a painful thing. It kills children, creates cancer, hurricanes, art, heals, provides a sunset, brings a child into the world, and makes dreams real. And yet I wonder at times...how much free will we have - so much is dependent on DNA, genetics, environment, up-bringing, education, conditioning, training, and well emotion - that is not always under our control. Yet, we always have choices. It's just hard sometimes to know what they are.
Here - Arthur seeks advice as does Merlin. He seeks it from the Diseri, he seeks it from Merlin, his servant, and he seeks it from Guise. In the end the decision regarding whether to allow magic in Camelot, to embrace the old religion, is Arthur's to make not Merlin's.
So to what degree is Merlin culpable? Or Mordred for his choices and actions? For Mordred choose to join Arthur, he choose to save him at risk of his own life, and he choose to be a Knight. And may one day choose to kill Arthur. To what degree is that Mordred's choice and what degree is that MErlin's? Or Arthur's?
People say there is no meaning or rhyme or reason to our lives...and I wonder how they can say that? The criss-crossing interweaving patterns of our lives with others lives..makes it almost impossible for us to see our own pattern. Each choice, each decision affects millions of other people's decisions...whether we see it or not. Just getting up and deciding to go outside - affects the universe. If we decide to go to the laundramat and pay the laundress to do the load - we give her extra money that day, which may in turn, cause her to be able to buy a car or pay rent. If we stay home...perhaps that won't happen. We don't know.
The statement that I read in an Atheist's blog this week - "I don't believe in a higher power because how could that power let a child die of polio, no higher power would allow that" - continues to bewilder me. Because my immediate response is well, hello, Free Will. We were given the gift of Free Will. What is it about free will that you can't understand?
Merlin asks that question - about free will. Is his life pre-determined? Is it fated? No, He has a choice. Mordred's life is based on the choices he and Arthur make as well as Mordred. If the higher power intervened, it would change the fates of many people...kill people who may have lived if that child had died, and saved people who may have died if that child had lived.
The truth is we don't know. Our perception is so limited. We can only see as far as the tip of pin. We can see no further. And I'm not sure what would happen if we could see further than that...Merlin can see further than the pin top, as a he seer he can, but he hates this power - while it makes him wise, it makes him miserable - for what do you do? Try to change the pattern or let it play out...and see if it goes another route or takes another shape instead.
TV shows?
1. Dallas - is oddly entertaining. More so than last summer. The writing's better, the direction crisper, and the actors more relaxed. Interesting. Either that, or I'm in a different frame of mind and am appreciating the mindless entertainment.
2. Dowton Abbey - as strange as this might sound? Dallas is better than Dowton right now - less cliche, less stereotypical, and less melodramatic. Plus the rich people aren't ineffectual and incompetent leeches on the middle and lower classes. Yes, it is very odd. Also moves faster. American TV is now moving at a faster clip than British TV. Maybe because we have more channels and more tv, so fickler viewers? Or rather just spoiled viewers?
Line of the week:
Matthew to Mary: Your father would have problems because it is business, which he considers mean, or middle class..unvirtuous...like me. But middle class does have its virtues.
Me: I'm trying to figure out what the virtues of the upper class are, so far not seeing any whatesoever.
Downton is as scathing a critique of the British ruling class snobbery and privelege...if there ever was one.
So that is what pre-clampsia looks like? Whoa. Painful death and possibly the most grueling and painful death scene I've seen in a while. Plus the most melodramatic, and I watch a lot of melodramas. Downton out did General Hospital and Grey's Anatomy. Kudos.
* Lord Robert Grantham's massive ego ...has resulted in his youngest daughter, Sybil's death by childbirth. To give him credit - he does acknowledge it, after his wife makes it blantant that he and his prestigious doctor are at fault. The Dowager states it is no one's fault, happens all the time. Except in this case there was a chance that it may have been prevented. Clarksville told them that Sybil was toxic from her pregnancy, required a C-section and needed to go to the hospital immediately or she'd have pre-clympsia. The Mother, Grantham's wife, who I keep wanting to call Cora for some reason, begs her husband to let Tom Bransen decide, Sybil's husband. But Tom has no idea what to do or who to believe.
The Mother is begging them to send Sybil to the hospital, but Grantham and Doctor Phil insist Sybil is safer in the house and undergoing natural child-birth, not exposing herself in a dirty public hospital.
As a result of their stupidity and massive egos, Sybil dies horrifically. Prior to her death she begs her mother to help Tom, to not let Tom take a step backward, and to fight for Tom against her father's interests - that Tom is Catholic and will want a Catholic Bapitism. She doesn't care - since she doesn't believe in God, but Tom does. Her mother at her daughter's deathbed, states that she will take care of both Tom and the baby, ensure their safety and well-being no matter what. She also kicks Lord Grantham out of her bedroom and into the dressing room. And makes it clear to him in front of everyone the next morning that he is at fault. I don't blame her. I'd have done the same thing.
*Mary is less likable this season than the last two. Taking Daddy's side far too often. Although in this episode she does have some good lines - such as the line to Edith after Sybil dies:
Mary: She was the only living person who ever thought you and I were nice people.
Edith: I don't suppose we could get on better now? Get along?
Mary: I doubt it. But for now, we can try.
Mary's not happy about Mathew pushing Daddy/Lord Grantham out of the running of Downton, but Mathew is right. Grantham is ineffectual and incompetent and has been running the estate into the ground.
* Mathew shows a bit more backbone this episode, but he still needs to stand up to Mary and his father in law. And not creep behind them. Granted he's a bit anxious over the fact that Mary isn't pregnant yet and assumes something is wrong with him. Hmm. Did they have birth control back then? Because I wouldn't put it past Mary to be making use of it. Mary does not appear to want a child right now.
*Anna finally gets the proof she needs to get Bates out. But it is not that easy. First of all the woman who inadvertently gave it to her - hates Bates and wants him to die. And there's a prisoner/guard who have it in for Bates - so if she doesn't hurry, they may kill him first. I suppose I should be worried, but I just don't care any more.
* Best bit was Thomas...the evil valet, crying over Sybil's death, because Sybil was amongst the few to ever show him kindness. And Anna, of all people, comforting Thomas and telling him it was alright. Makes Thomas weirdly likable.
* Poor Daisy is beside herself with jealousy towards Ivy, who she believes is stealing Alfred from her. Ivy meanwhile has eyes for the same guy that Thomas is making a play for.
Daisy and Thomas appear to have something in common. Rather loved what the cook told her - which was that you can't make people love you and you don't always choose who you love, it's not something within your control. Quite true. Love isn't rational or something we can control. Cook is my favorite.
* Mrs. Hughes and Mrs. Crowely are both in their own ways trying to help poor Ethel. Ethel who sold herself as a prostitute in order to feed her son, and then gave up her son, and is trying to get her life back on track. Mrs. Crowley takes her in, which results in Mrs. Bird (her cook's resignation). I think Mrs Bird thought Mrs Crowley would push Ethel to the curb in favor of her. But no. Now Carson wants to ostracize and bannish Ethel, and not help Mrs. Crowley. Mrs. Hughes disagrees and says they do nothing, maybe the problem will take care of itself, since Ethel can't cook.
Carson also wonders how they will deal with Tom Bransen now? MRs. Hughes retorts - like the kind people we are and treat him with kindness. (Thank you. Carson needs to get over his classism as well. Both Grantham and Carson are old school, stuck in old ways, resistant to change...and as a result making mistake after mistake.)
Better episode than last week.
3. Merlin - the episode Diseri
Rather enjoying this season and the actor playing Merlin has become astonishingly good in this role. The Diseri - remind me of the three Fates, also referenced in MacBeth...Crone, the Maid, the Mother - spinning their web and seeing the future, past, and present. The three-headed Goddess in Celtic mythos is maid (lover), mother (bearer and nurturer), and crone (reaper/devourer). She also represents the seasons of the earth - winter-spring, summer-fall, fall-winter. Merlin is conflicted in this episode. He's not sure which way to go, and chooses wrong - choosing the path he's been taught to choose by Uther and Guise and his own fears, as opposed to the one he should. This story is as much about Merlin's journey as it is Arthur's.
Merlin's conflicted over Mordred. We learn he can save Mordred. But he refuses to. Leaving Mordred's life in the hands of fate. Mordred had stepped in front of Arthur, saving him from the Fate's socerery. Mordred who is turning into a great Knight, worthy of Arthur. And the Dragon tells Merlin that Arthur and Mordred's fates are completely bond together, like ivy wrapped around an oak. The only way to unbound them is to kill Mordred at the first opportunity.
But here's the thing...Arthur trusts Mordred. Mordred has saved him. When they return to the sacred place, Arthur doesn't see what Merlin does. Arthur and Mordred are fighters, while Merlin is a healer. And Arthur asks the Diseri to save Mordred. The Diseri agree on one condition -that Arthur embrace the old religion and allow magic back into Camelot.
Conflicted, Arthur asks Merlin what to do. Merlin is quiet and upset. Conflicted. But he chooses not to allow magic back in Camelot, that magic has no place there now, and not to save Mordred's life. Which back-fires on him, because Mordred is saved - to kill Arthur. And Merlin has also unknowingly set the stage - for the one thing Mordred wants is for magic to be permitted again, not to have to hide who he is, and this is what Merlin wants as well.
But Merlin doesn't think it can happen now...and is afraid, so he chooses the wrong path...and realizes it too late. OR did he, wonders Guise, who counsels that he had no way of knowing which choice to make. Merlin went with his "duty" that has been ingrained, his head, over his heart, with what the Dragon advised, as opposed to what Guise advised.
Merlin has two advisors - Guise and the Dragon. And it's not always clear which makes the most sense. That's the problem with advice, at the end of the day - you are making the decision not the person giving you the advice.
Free will is a painful thing. It kills children, creates cancer, hurricanes, art, heals, provides a sunset, brings a child into the world, and makes dreams real. And yet I wonder at times...how much free will we have - so much is dependent on DNA, genetics, environment, up-bringing, education, conditioning, training, and well emotion - that is not always under our control. Yet, we always have choices. It's just hard sometimes to know what they are.
Here - Arthur seeks advice as does Merlin. He seeks it from the Diseri, he seeks it from Merlin, his servant, and he seeks it from Guise. In the end the decision regarding whether to allow magic in Camelot, to embrace the old religion, is Arthur's to make not Merlin's.
So to what degree is Merlin culpable? Or Mordred for his choices and actions? For Mordred choose to join Arthur, he choose to save him at risk of his own life, and he choose to be a Knight. And may one day choose to kill Arthur. To what degree is that Mordred's choice and what degree is that MErlin's? Or Arthur's?
People say there is no meaning or rhyme or reason to our lives...and I wonder how they can say that? The criss-crossing interweaving patterns of our lives with others lives..makes it almost impossible for us to see our own pattern. Each choice, each decision affects millions of other people's decisions...whether we see it or not. Just getting up and deciding to go outside - affects the universe. If we decide to go to the laundramat and pay the laundress to do the load - we give her extra money that day, which may in turn, cause her to be able to buy a car or pay rent. If we stay home...perhaps that won't happen. We don't know.
The statement that I read in an Atheist's blog this week - "I don't believe in a higher power because how could that power let a child die of polio, no higher power would allow that" - continues to bewilder me. Because my immediate response is well, hello, Free Will. We were given the gift of Free Will. What is it about free will that you can't understand?
Merlin asks that question - about free will. Is his life pre-determined? Is it fated? No, He has a choice. Mordred's life is based on the choices he and Arthur make as well as Mordred. If the higher power intervened, it would change the fates of many people...kill people who may have lived if that child had died, and saved people who may have died if that child had lived.
The truth is we don't know. Our perception is so limited. We can only see as far as the tip of pin. We can see no further. And I'm not sure what would happen if we could see further than that...Merlin can see further than the pin top, as a he seer he can, but he hates this power - while it makes him wise, it makes him miserable - for what do you do? Try to change the pattern or let it play out...and see if it goes another route or takes another shape instead.
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no subject
Date: 2013-02-03 09:14 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-02-03 08:12 pm (UTC)Merlin also has reached a point in which he love and duty towards Arthur comes first. I see problems ahead.
no subject
Date: 2013-02-03 10:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-02-03 02:11 pm (UTC)No, that is what eclampsia looks like. Pre-eclampsia is when you have signs (protein in urine, high blood pressure) (see wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-eclampsia) that indicate you're in danger of developing eclampsia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eclampsia) - life-threatening seizures. Dr. Clarkson correctly recognized that Sybil had pre-eclampsia and was in danger of developing eclampsia. The only treatment for pre-eclampsia that can prevent eclampsia is a caesarean. Sybil didn't have a caesarean, developed eclampsia, and died.
Except...it's complicated...I have no medical training, but my sister developed pre-eclampsia when she was pregnant with my nephew, had a caesarean, and then after the c-section developed HELLP syndrome (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HELLP_syndrome), which is also life-threatening (she spent a terrifying day in the ICU and then recovered). As I understand it, a c-section usually stops pre-eclampsia from developing into eclampsia, but not always.
And, the risk of infection from hospitalization in the days before antiobiotics was a very real one. (Just as it is now a very real danger when so many hospital-acquired infections are antibiotic-resistant.) Lord Grantham and Doctor Arrogant certainly act like jerks, but honestly, it looked to me (and again, I have no medical training) like Sybil might have died no matter what they did.
no subject
Date: 2013-02-03 08:03 pm (UTC)Lord Grantham and Doctor Arrogant certainly act like jerks, but honestly, it looked to me (and again, I have no medical training) like Sybil might have died no matter what they did.
Not sure I agree...
Everyone's bodies respond differently. And Dr. Clarksville states that while there is no guarantee she'll live if they went to the hospital - there is a "greater" chance of survival. If they do nothing and let her stay here - she will die. Add to this the fact that as Cora and others point out - Dr. Clarksville knew Sybil's medical history, he knew the family's, he wasn't an outsider. Knowledge of someone's medical history can make a difference.
So, if Sybil has pre-eclampsia (which she clearly did - certainly had all the symptoms), the only way she could survive it was via a c-section. Now, while there is a 60% chance that she could develop complications or other life-threatening conditions, she has a 40% or even possibly a 20% chance of surviving. BUT, if she does not get the c-section - 99-100% chance death.
Clarksville argued that. Cora argued it. Earl Gratham and Doctor Phil shot them down. The fact Clarksville had extensive experience with the family and their medical history and with this specific condition - plus Cora's own experience with child-birth - - and both argued for the hospital, underlines that this would have been the best course of action. Earl Grantham and Doctor Phil's argument doesn't quite hold water. It's irrelevant whether or not she "might have" died anyhow. The fact of the matter is that she definitely died and would definitely die if they did not do the c-section. By not taking the other course of action, they killed her as opposed to doing everything medically possible at the time to save her life.
no subject
Date: 2013-02-03 02:42 pm (UTC)I have to disagree about Mary. I think she has mellowed and become more likeable this season. She's still passionate about what she wants, but finally she's come to see that what she wants isn't always possible.
Makes Thomas weirdly likable.
I don't know about that. But it shows that Anna is still as likable as ever.
I think it's fair to say that this season the Earl is clueless, boardering on being a nincompoop. Yes, over all, Downton Abbey is a strange mix of glorifying the good old days and giving the class system a good and well deserved beating. ;o)
no subject
Date: 2013-02-03 07:48 pm (UTC)Really? Has the exactly the same first name as Regina's mother on Once Upon a Time, which often airs on the same night? What are the odds?