‘Downton Abbey’ season 4, episode 6 preview (PBS): Trouble for Maggie Smith?

Next week on “Downton Abbey,” the good news is that the show is not going to be forced to air against the Super Bowl … and that may be the only good news if you were hoping that things would start to become a little bit more pleasant moving forward.

One of the biggest stories coming at you next week is going to be somewhat unexpected, as you are going to see Maggie Smith’s character of Violet become very ill. Everyone is of course worried about whether or not she is going to be able to pull through, and this impacts a number of the other characters. As a viewer even, you do have a sense of dread when you watch it. There are a number of big-name actors on this show who have already left (Dan Stevens), and given the setting of this season, it would not be a stretch to find a way for the show to kill off the Dowager. Maggie Smith also may eventually have a desire to do other things, after all.

There are some more additional stories that are going to be touched on throughout this episode, as well. Edith has to make a pretty significant choice when it comes to her pregnancy, Mary has to figure out what to do with the information that she has about Jack Ross; also, there is another problem known as Charles Blake that she has to deal with. This season has been a little bit slow, but it is going to start picking up now the rest of the way.

What do you want to see on “Downton Abbey” news week? Share all of your predictions below, and also head over to the link here to see our mini-review of tonight’s episode. Also, sign up now to see some more news via our CarterMatt Newsletter.

Photo: ITV