‘Downton Abbey’ season 4, episode 4 (PBS) preview: More from Joanne Froggatt, Brendan Coyle

The Anna – Bates story on “Downton Abbey” season 4 took a significant turn on the episode of the show last week, and tonight was one that dealt largely with the aftermath of that incident. It is fair to say that this story is far from over, and next week’s episode is going to pick up and show you what happens the rest of the way.

While we’re not going to give away any major spoilers here, and we will also save some of our specific scoops until the episode itself gets closer to airing, one thing  that we will set up for you now is this question: What is the worst thing that could happen to Anna moving forward? You have to be nervous of that coming true, and she may have to rely on some friends to ensure that Bates is saved from his own worst enemy: Himself.

As for Anna’s own emotional state, it is not exactly a good one. She is still trying to figure out just what in the world she is going to do to get this out of her head, and get her relationship back to what it once was. When you remember just how protective that Bates is of her, it is both a blessing and a curse. In her mind, in this case it is a curse. There are not many other times (except for now) that she may feel that way.

This is going to be a painful road for the characters, and if there is one piece of advice we would give you, it is to be patient.