‘Downton Abbey’ season 5, episode 7: Tough news for Isis the dog? Also, ratings

We’ve enjoyed tracking the ratings trajectory of “Downton Abbey” this season, mostly because of how the ITV series has been in such a precarious position for the most part in terms of its future. It is still an enormous success, but it is not the titan that it was back during seasons 3 or 4 in its native country.

Per the UK TV Ratings’ Twitter account, the series last night drew 7.83 million viewers. That is around par with most recent episodes of the show, though it remains down versus last year. For the first time in really the entire season, there’s not too much to really say about this beyond what we already have. (Warning: Spoilers ahead for American readers.)

However, there is something further to report when it comes to the family’s beloved dog Isis. During last night’s sixth episode of the season (read our review here), Robert suggested that the dog is not feeling well. Could the dog pass away as a way so the show can rid itself of the name Isis? This is obviously a commonly-used name for a terrorist wing, but the show had already had the dog for years before they became a global news story.

However, there is no larger coincidence at work here. Speaking per the Independent, an ITV spokesperson notes that there is no conspiracy behind the storyline on the show, and that ISIS the group had not really become news at the time that Julian Fellowes was writing the scripts for the season. They refer to this as more of an “unfortunate coincidence” than anything.

Ultimately, we’ll just have to see where the dog’s fate goes from here. After all, Isis has been alive for a while given how often the show leaps forward in time.

We’ll have some further “Downton Abbey” news soon, but you can sign up today to get some further TV updates on all we cover via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo via ITV.)