‘Downton Abbey’ season 4 spoilers: Michelle Dockery’s Mary highlights first photo

Even though production on “Downton Abbey” season 4 has only been going for a few weeks now, ITV has already been kind enough to release the first image from the show. Sadly, it’s a rather somber one that really represents where Mary is going to be at the start of the season following the declaration that Matthew is no longer in her life.

As you can see below, Michelle Dockery’s character is clearly still in a state of mourning, as she sports a black ensemble and is seen holding her young son. This photo does serve as some proof that there will be a time jump of six months following the premiere; the child is clearly old enough to no longer by considered a newborn, and the immediate shock of what transpired should at least start to be subsiding a little bit in the estate.

So will Mary be sad for the entire season? It certainly doesn’t sound like it. As you may have read yesterday, the series has already cast two actors to be potential suitors for the character, with one in particular in Lord Gillingham being a character that could ultimately be a part of the show up until season 5. While she is not going to be interested in jumping into the dating pool right away, this will happen over the course of the season as she starts to realize that Matthew would surely not want her to be unhappy for the rest of her life.

What do you think about Dockery’s somber look here in the photo, and do you think that this does potentially set the precedent for a rather depressing series of “Downton Abbey” coming up? If you want to read some scoop about some other new “Downton Abbey” castings, you can do so by heading on over to the link here.

Photo: ITV