Lady Sybil's interest in politics and women's rights is kindled by the upcoming by-election and is the cause of major disagreement between her and Lord Grantham. Meanwhile, presumably as a result of Lady Edith's letter, rumors about Lady Mary and the "handsome Turk" intensify, reaching the ears of Carson and the Dowager herself. Violet confronts Cora, who is forced to tell her the truth, leaving Violet almost as shocked by her behavior as Mary's. Edith finds an admirer in Sir Anthony Strallan, after he is impressed by her thoughtfulness and genuine interest in him. Miss O'Brien and Thomas continue to plot against Bates, trying to frame him for the theft of a wine bottle – which in fact Thomas stole as witnessed by Bates. Thomas persuades Daisy to testify against Bates, but her conscience leads her to retract her statement. However, Bates surprises Carson, Mrs Hughes and Anna by revealing that he was once a drunkard and has been in prison for theft; Carson is unwilling to let him go, realizing that there is more to his story. Sybil makes Branson take her to Ripon under false pretenses to attend the by-election count. She is injured during a brawl when the count gets out of hand, but is rescued by Matthew as he is returning from work. Lord Grantham blames Branson but Sybil defends him. Later that night Mary and Matthew talk and reminisce, leading to them confessing their love for each other. Lord and Lady Grantham are delighted to learn that Matthew has asked Mary to marry him, but to Cora's chagrin, Mary feels she cannot accept his proposal without telling him her scandalous secret. The Dowager apologizes for her earlier harsh treatment of Cora, and they decide that if the match between Mary and Matthew does not come off, they will marry her off to some "Italian who is not too picky".
The theme in my opinion in all these episodes is the transition to the world we know today. I think they quite deliberately chose a period just before the First World War, when ostensibly this is the old world in which everything is very ordered and everyone knows their place; but in another way, it's on the brink of the modern world. These people are riding in cars and catching trains and making telephone calls and receiving telegrams; and women's rights and trade union rights are starting to disrupt the old order. It's a world that the modern audience can understand, what the watchers can relate with. They are not asking them to go to a distant planet.