By Couch Baron | Season 4 | Episode 6 | Aired on 02.09.2014
Jimmy James tries again with Ivy (Ivy: "Go to hell," essentially), while Carson plots to head Alfred off at the train station; since he'll be arriving on the last train, he'll have to put him up at the pub. Mrs. Hughes suggests Carson tell Alfred there's flu in the house he'll want to avoid, and when he compliments her plotting ability, she cheerily replies that it's a skill all women must learn. Eh; I don't need to think about "skills" being wasted on this rubbish.
Back at the Dowager Countess's, Clarkson tells Isobel she should get some rest, but she replies she won't until the worst is over. She then asks Clarkson to give Branson a message that she won't be able to use the tickets she booked for them while the Dowager Countess babbles about no one being there. Back at the house, Cora gets the news about the Dowager Countess and suggests they go over, adding that there's no point worrying Lord Grantham about it now.
As they approach the Grantham Arms, Alfred tells Carson he's disappointed not to be able to look in, but Carson points out he can't afford to get pretend-sick and miss any of the remainder of the course when he already started late. He goes on that they'll have a drink first, "man to man," and then he'll leave Alfred "to it," whatever that may be.
Cora and Mary have stopped by, and as the lady of the house half-consciously coughs and wheezes, they wonder if Isobel really wants to bear the burden herself. But Isobel, bustling about with teas and inhalants, reminds them that she's a trained nurse, whereupon the Dowager Countess talks about how disgusting the food is, and when Isobel offers that she doesn't know what she's saying, Mary replies, "I wouldn't be too sure." Careful, Mary -- Isobel's trying to keep the Dowager Countess hydrated, and that was dry as a bone.
Back at the house, the fact that Alfred now isn't coming quickly leads to Daisy referencing Ivy's "cold and vicious heart," and Mrs. Hughes is like come on, Daisy, that's only like three-quarters deserved. She and Mrs. Patmore then whisper about how they were right to put him off, and it's hilarious how they think anyone cares about any of this other than to wish the new refrigerator would fall on all the below-stairs folk under thirty.
The Dowager Countess is now definitely not lucid (although she does say "this one talks too much; she's like a drunken vicar"), and Clarkson warns Isobel that she mustn't sleep that evening, as it's imperative she keep the Dowager Countess's temperature down. By way of answering, Isobel tells him that the family kept her close when her blood link to them was gone, and she owes them a great deal. I know, but two straight nights with no sleep? This isn't war; how can you even do that?