‘Downton Abbey’ season 4, episode 2 preview: A new look for Joanne Froggatt’s Anna

As always, we start with a warning for American readers: This contains spoilers about “Downton Abbey” season 4. Stop reading now if you want to remain spoiler-free until the show premieres on PBS in January.

Now, let’s talk a little bit about Anna. What in the world is she doing here? We’ve seen some interesting looks for Joanna Froggatt’s character over the years, but this has to go down as at least one of the most surprising. For one, she looks almost like a completely different person outside of the all-familiar maid’s outfit that she wears within the Abbey. Also, why is she with Ed Speleers’ Jimmy of all people? The two look rather dapper out on the town, and they are clearly lucky to be able to have even found the time to go out and enjoy themselves. (But where is Bates?)

We spent most of the off-season for this series wondering whether or not we were going to be seeing some terrible things unfold for the Bates character following the way in which he got himself freed from prison at the end of last season; however, the rumor mill is now buzzing that Anna could be the source of more of the drama between the two this year.

What do you think Anna is doing out on the town with Jimmy, and do you think that there is any way that this could create some drama? We’ve arranged a few more details related to the show that you can check out:

1. A tease from an ITV promo that aired during “The X Factor” on Saturday.

2. A new photo of Lily James, whose Lady Rose has quite a significant story coming up.

3. One more look at Laura Carmichael, whose Edith has to make a big decision when it comes to her future.

Photo: ITV