List of Downton Abbey episodes

April 1912. Robert, Earl of Grantham, and his American-born wife, Cora, live with their three daughters—Mary, Edith, and Sybil—and domestic staff at Downton Abbey. Their way of life has existed for generations, but news arrives that threatens the future of the title and estate. Lord Grantham's first cousin, James Crawley, heir presumptive to the earldom, and his son Patrick have died aboard the RMS Titanic. An entail on the estate means that only a male heir can inherit the title and land, and Cora's considerable dowry she brought to the estate when she married Robert. The eldest daughter, Lady Mary, was engaged to Patrick to mitigate the situation, but now the land and wealth can no longer remain in the immediate family. Now a distant third cousin, whom the family have never even met, is in line to inherit everything. Violet, Lord Grantham's mother, titled the Dowager Countess, is determined to break the entail; even though Lord Grantham and his lawyer, Mr George Murray, doubt this is possible.

September 1912. Matthew Crawley, a 27-year-old solicitor and new heir to the Grantham earldom and estate, arrives at Downton Abbey with his mother, the long-widowed Isobel. He is reluctant to adapt to his new mode of life but his mother feels that they should not satisfy the family's assumptions about their class and behaviour. Matthew ridicules the prospect of marrying one of the three daughters, which Mary overhears when she visits. Violet and Lady Mary are openly hostile towards Isobel and Matthew. The families also experience some culture clash due to their differing backgrounds. Matthew astonishes cousin Violet when he declares that he intends to keep working as a solicitor. Isobel, too, is determined to hold her own against Violet and, as she trained as a nurse during the Anglo-Boer War, occupies herself with the local hospital.

March 1913. Cora is pleased when Lady Mary informs her that Evelyn Napier, son of a peer and possible suitor, will be visiting. However, he arrives with a dashing Turkish diplomat, Mr Kemal Pamuk, who is in London for the Albanian independence negotiations, and Mary is smitten. Thomas is also attracted to him but Mr Pamuk is not amused. However, he promises not to inform anyone about Thomas's indiscretion, provided he will do something in return. Edith tries to interest Matthew by offering to show him the local churches, but to her disappointment, he is more interested in the buildings than her. Bates purchases a prosthetic device to correct his limp, but this proves to be extremely painful and injurious, until Mrs Hughes discovers it and insists he dispose of it.

May 1913. A travelling fair arrives in the neighbouring village. Anna becomes sick and stays in bed for a day, visited by Mr Bates who brings her up a tray with a flower. Mrs Hughes (the housekeeper) is reunited with a former suitor, who proposes to her again; She discusses her choices in life with Mr Carson and eventually turns down the proposal after serious consideration but seems satisfied with her decision. Thomas asks Daisy to accompany him to the fair simply to annoy William, who is fond of her. Although Mr Bates physically threatens Thomas, he is unabashed and leaves with a smirk.

May 1914. Lady Sybil's interest in politics and women's rights is kindled by the upcoming by-election, and is the cause of major disagreement between her and Lord Grantham. Meanwhile, presumably as a result of Lady Edith's letter, rumours about Lady Mary and the "handsome Turk" intensify, reaching the ears of Carson and the Dowager Countess herself. Violet confronts Cora, who is forced to tell her the truth, leaving Violet almost as shocked by her behaviour as Mary's. Edith finds an admirer in Sir Anthony Strallan, after he is impressed by her thoughtfulness and genuine interest in him. Miss O'Brien and Thomas continue to plot against Bates, trying to frame him for the theft of a wine bottle - which Thomas stole as witnessed by Bates. Thomas persuades Daisy to testify against Bates, but her conscience leads her to retract her statement. However, Bates surprises Carson, Mrs Hughes and Anna by revealing that he was once a drunkard and has been in prison for theft; Carson is unwilling to let him go, realising that there is more to his story.

July–August 1914. Tensions abound following the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The family returns from London after Sybil's debutante ball but Mary stays with her aunt and has yet to give Matthew an answer. When, to everyone's great surprise, Cora discovers that she is pregnant after eighteen years and Mary's aunt, Lady Rosamund Painswick, advises her to reconsider marrying Matthew, since his situation would change completely if the baby is a boy. Mary learns from Evelyn Napier that it was Edith, not he, who originated the rumours about her and Pamuk. Through a letter to O'Brien, Carson has discovered the details of Bates's crime: while he was a soldier, he stole the regimental silver. However, Carson, Lord Grantham, and Anna realise that Bates is keeping something back. After Mrs Patmore's condition worsens, Lord Grantham sends her to London to have cataract surgery.^[3][4] Anna goes with her and discovers from Bates's mother that he took the blame for the theft on behalf of his wife, as he believed that he had ruined her life, although his mother does not agree. While convalescing, Mrs Patmore is temporarily replaced by Mrs Crawley's cook, Mrs Bird, whose cooking she fears will be preferred to her own. Mrs Patmore accordingly asks Daisy to spoil the family's meals, but her actions are discovered. Mrs Bird sympathises with Daisy's loyalty, and upon Mrs Patmore's recovery and return, Mrs Bird manages to win her over.

Matthew is angered by Mary's hesitancy following Cora's pregnancy, declaring that her decision should purely depend on whether she loves him or not. Anticipating the war, Thomas finds a non-combatant role in the Army Medical Corps with the help of Dr Clarkson. When Molesley finds Thomas trying to steal from Carson's wallet, Lord Grantham tells Carson to wait until after the upcoming charity garden party to act on it. Thomas opportunely hands in his resignation and Mary confronts Edith about revealing her scandalous secret, implying that she will exact revenge. Learning that Sir Anthony Strallan intends to propose at the garden party, Mary manipulates him into thinking Edith finds him old and boring, so he leaves suddenly without explanation. O'Brien is angry when she mistakenly believes that Cora is going to replace her and takes advantage of an opportunity to punish the Countess by leaving soap below her bath. She regrets it immediately but is unable to warn Cora, who slips, falls, and miscarries. There is further heartache when they find out the baby was a boy. O'Brien is extremely upset but the callous Thomas ridicules the staff for their sympathy for the family, and William for mourning his mother so deeply, leading to a fight between the two.

November 1916. Matthew, now an Army officer, is fighting at the Battle of the Somme. He speaks of returning to Downton during his leave, which is coming soon. However, he tells the family that he is now engaged to Miss Lavinia Swire. When Lady Mary finds out, she attempts to hide her dismay and tells the other ladies that a Sir Richard Carlisle, a newspaper mogul known more for expediency than ethics, is coming to visit. However, when alone with Anna, she breaks down at the news of Matthew's engagement. Meanwhile the servants are preparing for a benefit concert to help fund the local hospital.

However, with Bates in London attending his mother's funeral, and Thomas serving in the Army Medical Corps, the servants are hard pressed to keep Downton running. A new housemaid, Ethel, has arrived but O'Brien dislikes her and repeatedly pulls pranks on her. Bates tells Anna that he may finally get a divorce and asks her to marry him. However, these plans are short-lived when Vera Bates arrives at Downton and threatens to expose Anna's part in Lady Mary's indiscretion with Pamuk unless Bates leaves with her immediately. Mrs Hughes overhears Bates and Vera's conversation and informs Mr Carson of Vera's plot. Carson tells Lord Grantham this, and he immediately regrets how he dismissed Bates. Meanwhile, Sybil, eager to contribute to the war effort, begins training as a nurse. At her departure, Branson reveals his feelings for her. Matthew and Mary, who reconciled when he attended the fundraiser, struggle with their respective situations.

July 1917. The village hospital is not large enough to accommodate the large influx of wounded soldiers coming back from the front, so Downton is turned into a convalescent home. O'Brien is shocked that Isobel Crawley seems to be giving most of the orders while Cora is relegated to the background and suggests that Thomas might be able to aid her from his position at the hospital.

Mid-1918: Lord Grantham receives some shocking news from the front; both Matthew and William have been wounded in France. Unfortunately, William has sustained serious damage to his lungs and will not recover, prompting him to ask Daisy to marry him before he dies. Meanwhile, Matthew has suffered a serious spinal-cord injury and is paralysed from the waist down. He is told that he will never walk again or father children. Lavinia insists that this changes nothing and that she only wants to care for him. However, Matthew tells her to forget him and sends her away, while Mary attempts to nurse him back to health. A new maid, Jane, is hired by Carson and Mrs Hughes, despite her being a war widow with a child. Mrs Hughes has also been secretly helping Ethel and her baby as Ethel's lover, Major Bryant, has ignored her pleas.

November 1918: A Canadian officer, badly disfigured by burns, asks to be brought to Downton, claiming a relation to the family. Lord Grantham agrees, assuming he is some distant relation sharing common ancestry, but he stuns everyone by declaring that he is Patrick Crawley, the supposedly deceased heir. His story is that he survived the Titanic disaster but suffered from amnesia so he was unable to identify himself and lived as a Canadian until a wartime experience restored his memory. Most at Downton vehemently deny that possibility even though he recounts many details that only Patrick is likely to have known. However, Edith believes him, growing attached to him as he claims that he was always in love with her, rather than Mary. But, Lord Grantham's investigation casts doubt on the Canadian officer's claim, revealing that Patrick Crawley had a friend who emigrated to Canada. This leads to the burned soldier's sudden departure; he leaves behind a note for Edith that is deliberately ambiguous as to his identity.

1919: As the residents try to return to normal life following the armistice, Matthew begins to be able to feel his legs. One day, seeing Lavinia drop a heavy tray, he suddenly gets up from his chair. Major Clarkson admits that he knew of this possibility from another physician but was sceptical about it and did not want to raise false hopes. Matthew announces that he and Lavinia intend to be married soon. Violet informs him that Mary is still in love with him, but Matthew feels obliged to marry Lavinia since she was prepared to sacrifice her life for him. Meanwhile, Richard Carlisle distresses Anna by asking her to spy on Mary and his behaviour leads Carson to reject his offer of employment.

April 1919: As preparations are under way for Matthew and Lavinia's wedding, Lady Sybil's expressed wish to marry Branson shocks and horrifies her parents. Lord Grantham is strongly opposed to the idea but his threats of social disgrace and disinheritance do not dissuade Sybil. Grantham attempts to bribe Branson, but Branson's intentions are sincere, and he refuses. Lady Grantham, Carson, and Lavinia are taken ill by the Spanish flu. Thomas' black market venture was a spectacular failure, leaving him penniless and without a job, but Carson's illness gives him a chance to become useful in the house. Matthew finds himself alone with Mary and tells her what Violet said to him. Both acknowledge that they cannot marry, as it would be terribly cruel to Lavinia. However, they kiss just as Lavinia is coming down the stairs. When her illness delays the wedding, Lavinia tells Matthew that she heard and saw everything. She feels they should end their engagement but Matthew refuses. Fearing that Lavinia's illness might bring together Matthew and Mary, Richard Carlisle comes to Downton Abbey.

December 1919 and January 1920. The household is bustling with all the Christmas preparations. Mr Bates is convicted of the murder of his ex-wife Vera despite testimony from Lord Grantham. Towards the end of the episode his death sentence is commuted to life imprisonment. Also the relationship between Matthew and Lady Mary takes another twist. She jilts her fiancé, Sir Richard Carlisle, despite his threatening to reveal her dark secret regarding Kemal Pamuk through his media connections and newspapers.

March 1920. Cora's mother, Martha Levinson, sweeps into Downton for Matthew and Mary's wedding, aggravating the Dowager Countess (among others) with her critical and "revolutionary" American way of seeing things. Lord Grantham learns that his massive investment of Cora's fortune in the Grand Trunk Railway has failed, leaving the estate near bankruptcy. Salvation is possible, as Matthew is entitled to inherit a large amount of money from Lavinia's father, but his scruples will not let him keep the money, feeling it a betrayal to Lavinia and her father since he believes her father died thinking he loved Lavinia; whereas Lavinia knew of his love for Mary just before she died.

September 1921.^[64] The Crawley family heads north, to Duneagle Castle in Scotland, the ancestral home of the MacClare family, to visit Lady Rose and her warring parents, Susan and Hugh ("Shrimpy"). Bates, Anna, Molesley, and O'Brien also make the trip. Gregson, the man who hired Lady Edith on at the newspaper, tells her that he is going to be in Scotland as well. After Edith informs her family of this Mary and Matthew disagree about Gregson's motives. Gregson later declares his feelings for Edith and hopes to find an ally in Matthew. Shrimpy tells Lord Grantham that he will have to sell his estate because he did not modernise it like Downton and now the money is all gone. Tom remains at Downton with one-year-old Sybil. The staff looks forward to the approaching country fair, and Carson struggles to keep them concentrating on work.

February 1922. Six months on, a distraught Lady Mary mourns Matthew, and feels little motherly love for baby George, now one year old. Lord Grantham and Branson dispute the management of the estate and struggle to pay death duties. Miss O'Brien suddenly leaves to serve Lady Flintshire, on her way to India. Needing a maid in a hurry, Cora hires former maid Edna, who has trained as a ladies' maid, on the strength of the reference which Tom persuaded Mrs Hughes to give her; Carson and Mrs Hughes see trouble ahead, and warn Tom to keep his distance.

Summer 1923. The Grantham household move to their London residence for Rose's coming-out as a debutante and presentation at court, bringing most of the servants. They are joined by Cora's brother Harold Levinson and their mother Martha, visiting from the United States, much to Violet's displeasure, and by Lord Gillingham and Mr Blake, both still courting Mary, and mutually antagonistic. Tom and under-butler Thomas initially remain at Downton. Tom has a chance meeting with school-teacher Sarah Bunting, who asks him to show her around Downton Abbey. When they go to the upstairs gallery to better view the hall, Thomas sees them. Later, in London, still resenting that he has to serve Tom, he tattles to Lord Grantham, slyly insinuating that he took a woman to a bedroom, but Tom simply tells the truth. At a party, Rose's indiscretion leads to card-sharp Mr Sampson stealing a letter from the Prince of Wales to his mistress, Freda Dudley Ward from her handbag. Rose tells Lord Grantham, who mobilises the family to get it back, and prevent scandal. He invites Sampson to a poker party, and asks Bates if he knows a forger who could fake a note from Sampson to his building's porter granting admission to his flat. Bates says he does, but forges the note himself, and Mary, Rose, and Charles Blake search his flat, but can't find the letter.

Early 1924: Both Robert and Carson are upset by the election of a Labour government (22 January 1924). The villagers want to build a war memorial, and ask Carson to head the committee; he accepts, on condition they make Robert the patron. Lady Edith still has not heard from Gregson, and is upset by not being able to take part in the life of her daughter, being raised by a tenant farmer's family. Tom Branson has become closer to school-teacher Sarah Bunting, which displeases Robert, who feels she is beneath Tom. Daisy, thinking herself stupid, and wanting to better herself buys books on mathematics, to Carson's disapproval. Jimmy is being pestered by a previous employer, the exuberant Lady Anstruther, who once took a shine to him. Lord Merton pursues Isobel, who is not interested; Violet tries to interfere to get them together.

Early 1924: The staff at Downton clean up after the fire. Jimmy departs Downton, leaving Molesley as the only footman. Thomas reveals Miss Baxter's crime to Molesley; the two friends talk, and Baxter confirms everything, but does not reveal the reason for her theft. She has not told the Countess that either, leaving Cora undecided as to whether to dismiss her. Suave upper-class art historian Simon Bricker (Richard E. Grant) arrives to view a picture, and flirts with Cora; Robert is more worried that the bounder has made friends with his dog. He is accompanied by Charles Blake, who admits defeat to Mary, and concedes that she prefers Tony Gillingham. There is disagreement over whether the war memorial should be a simple cross on the village green, proposed by Robert, or a garden of remembrance on the cricket pitch, the choice of Carson; after an encounter with a village woman and her son, Carson concedes that a cross in the village would be best. Mary asks an embarrassed Anna to buy her birth control from the chemist, and goes to Liverpool for her tryst with Gillingham. Farmer Mr Drewe encourages Edith to see more of her daughter and suggests Edith become the child's patroness, a sort of second godmother, but his wife is not pleased at her interference.

May 1924: Sergeant Willis reveals that a witness overheard Green talking to someone on the pavement just before the road accident, and that he had also told his fellow-servants that he had been badly treated at Downton, and had taken a dislike to Bates. Willis interviews Bates, and seems satisfied with his answers, though Anna is still worried that more may come out. Violet's butler sees Mary and Gillingham leaving the hotel in Liverpool; he tells Violet, who invents an excuse for their having been staying there together, but later interviews Mary, and makes clear her disapproval; Mary stands up to her. Miss Baxter tells Cora she was forced to steal jewellery from her former employer by an abusive and manipulating male servant, and is allowed to stay at Downton.

May 1924: Violet takes Isobel to visit the Russian aristocrats, living in poverty, and later tells her that she did have a romantic interlude when she was in Russia. Tom and Mary push the housing development, but Robert decides to reject it as too big, and to plan a smaller project. Rose's father, Lord Flintshire (Shrimpy) visits, to announce that he and his wife are getting divorced. Edith asks him to try to find out what has happened to Michael, who apparently got involved with Nazi thugs. Lord Merton tells Isobel he truly loves her, and asks for her hand; taken aback, she says she needs time to think about it.

1924: Inspector Vyner of Scotland Yard interviews Mary and Anna about Mr Green, and appears to be suspicious of their answers. He presses Mary about Anna's reaction to the news of Green's death, and warns Anna not to "go away". Mrs Patmore inherits some money, and decides to buy a cottage to rent out. Lady Rosamund visits, and goes to the farm with Edith to see her daughter. This is the last straw for Mrs Drewe, who tells her husband to forbid further contact. Violet interferes some more, and gets the whole story from Rosamund; together they tell Edith the best thing to do is take the child to France. Sarah Bunting gets a new job, and moves away; Tom remains at Downton. Bates is concerned over the matter concerning his wife and the police. He reassures her that nothing bad will ever again happen to her and vows to keep her safe.

1924: A distraught Edith learns that Michael's body has been found; he died during Hitler's Beer Hall Putsch (8–9 November 1923). She inherits the publishing company, and takes the drastic action of removing her daughter from the Drewes and leaving Downton. The police visit again, in response to an anonymous letter, and interview Miss Baxter; forced by a threat to be returned to prison, she admits her suspicions about Bates and Green but says that she cannot swear to it. Bates accidentally discovers Mary's contraceptive and book in the cottage amongst Anna's things, and misunderstands her reasons for having them; he later accuses her of not wanting to bear his child because she believes he is a murderer. He explains that he'd known about Green from the moment he returned to Downton, but did not travel to London on the days of Green's death, and did not kill him. He purchased a ticket from York to London, but did not board the train because he realised if he saw Green he would have certainly killed him, and would have been hanged for the crime. Unable to put Anna through any more trauma, he had changed his mind and spent the day in York. The unused train ticket would have provided enough vital evidence that he had never travelled, but it had been burned by Mary, who believed she was helping him. Anna is relieved to hear the truth, and she and Bates reconcile.

1924: Rose introduces her new good friend Atticus Aldridge, whom she met buying cakes for the Russians, and his parents Lord and Lady Sinderby, to the family. Isobel announces she is to marry Lord Merton; later Violet tells Mary she has never been jealous that Isobel will outrank her, but is sad at losing a companion. Rosalind and Violet get ready to tell Edith's secret to Cora, but Mrs Drewe beats them to it. Cora is upset that they kept the news of her granddaughter from her, and goes with Rosamund to find Edith in London, where she suggests that Edith return home and pretend to adopt Marigold because Mrs Drewe can't cope with so many children. Edith reluctantly agrees, as do the family, with many misgivings. Tony Gillingham insists to Charles Blake that Mary still really wants him; Charles arranges for him and Mary to kiss in public, in front of Tony and Mabel, to end it. Tony at last accepts he's out of the running; Charles is going abroad for some months, so is also out. Baxter overhears Mrs Hughes asking Mary about the train ticket, and informs Bates she saw it, and can swear that it was unused, but Bates is hostile to her for talking to the police in the first place – even though she tries to explain that she was in an adverse position with the police herself.

1924: Everyone is in London for the wedding, but the atmosphere is awkward; Rose's parents Lord and Lady Flintshire disapprove because Atticus is Jewish, and Atticus's father does not approve of Rose because she is not Jewish and his son is marrying outside the faith. Atticus's mother loves Rose and does approve. Lady Flintshire is especially antagonistic and unpleasant to everyone, including her husband, whom she intends to divorce. She goes as far as trying to sabotage the wedding with staged photographs of Atticus with a prostitute, whose advances he actually refused. Inspector Vyner calls Anna to take part in an identity parade at Scotland Yard, and it is at first unclear whether she has been picked out by a witness.

September and December, 1924. Lord and Lady Sinderby invite the Granthams to the country estate they have hired for driven grouse shooting; their snobbish butler Stowell (Alun Armstrong) resents serving Tom and tries to ignore him. He is also rude to the other servants, who conspire to take revenge. When Thomas is insulted by an irate Lord Sinderby at the dinner table, he learns a dangerous secret from a tipsy Stowell, and arranges for his lordship's former lover and illegitimate child to arrive. Rose defuses the situation, earning her father-in-law's gratitude and respect. The Dowager Countess reunites Prince Kuragin and his estranged wife, and negotiates the continuing sparring between Spratt and Denker. Carson and Mrs Hughes search for a B&B to run together, but Mrs Hughes reveals she has no money and can't retire, because she has to pay for her mentally disabled younger sister Becky to be cared for; Carson reveals he has bought a property in both their names. He then proposes marriage to Mrs Hughes, and she accepts. Isobel declines Lord Merton's earlier marriage proposal, not wanting to come between him and his sons.