‘Downton Abbey’ season 4, episode 1 preview: Michelle Dockery, Joanne Froggatt sneak peak

When “Downton Abbey” season 4 picks up, Lady Mary is clearly not going to be in the best place and it’s completely understandable. In the span of just a few short minutes, this woman went from being happily married with a new baby boy to a widow and single mom thanks to a frightening accident that closed the Christmas special and simultaneously ruined the holiday seasons of many.

But for her to call her young baby George an orphan? This is taking what we thought was mourning to another level. But this is what she precisely does in the new sneak peek below from Sunday’s episode, when she instructs the nanny to take the child away. Michelle Dockery is chilling in this scene, as she shows almost no real regard for the child or herself at all, and seems more interested in just wallowing in her own despair.

Luckily, there are going to be some people around who will at least try to shake her out of this funk to a certain degree, including Joanne Froggatt’s Anna. She is the one who is quick to remind the lady that George is not an orphan, and the child does at least have someone. As devastating as it may be for the baby to grow up without a father, he has a grandfather in Robert, a grandmother in Cora, and also an aunt in Edith and an uncle by marriage in Tom, who has a young child of his own. Even when you take wealth out of the equation, that is quite a bit of support.

What is your reaction to Mary’s comment in the video? If you want to see some more spoilers from the “Downton Abbey” season 4 premiere, click here if you’re looking to read the full synopsis. We’ll have even more news before the premiere airs this Sunday night in the United Kingdom on ITV.

Photo: ITV