‘Downton Abbey’ season 5, episode 3 spoilers: Maggie Smith’s Violet is at it again

Tonight, ITV will air the third episode of “Downton Abbey” season 5, but you don’t have to wait that long to see the Dowager Countess do some of what she does best: Make a few biting remarks, this time about the servants. (As always at this time of year, there are spoilers ahead for American readers.)

In the sneak peek below, you can see Maggie Smith’s character engage in a conversation with Lady Isobel, and it eventually turns to servants, and how a certain one was not present due to his decision to care for their ailing sister. Eventually, Violet remarks that she wished that servants were only human “on their days off,” and then has a little bit of a laugh about it.

This should ultimately be more than a little bit clear that we are looking at a joke here, but it does continue to show you Violet’s audacity and her security in her social status that she would make such a remark at that time. Even though times are changing, and she is very well aware that an estate like Downton will not have so many servants forever, she is still certain that she will continue to have some sort of servant the rest of her days.

Ultimately, we are just pleased at the moment that the Dowager has had at least something to do in almost every episode so far this season. Smith doesn’t have to be a part of the show unless she really wants to, and we feel like the past few seasons have lagged in the material department for her.

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Photo: ITV