Hat Trick.



Magnate with magnetism.  Actor Iain Glen.

We didn't need Euclid to tell us that Sir Richard Carlyle was brought on the scene at Downton Abbey to complete a triangle between Mary and Matthew.  Of course, initially I expected Mary to marry the newspaper magnate, not realizing that Season Two plot complications were to be little kitten tangles, introduced only to dissolve in the next episode or even before the end of the same episode.  Amnesia, anyone?  Still, when Sir Richard smoothed his hair last night and said, "You've seen the last of me," I felt a bit like the Dowager Countess, who replied, "Is that a promise?"

And then today I see this photo posted by New York Magazine in their recap, and all I can say is: Reader, I long for the return of Sir Richard Carlyle.  Lose the fussy Edwardian high hats and frock coats and the snaky Murdochian menace, and this guy can give Matthew a run for his money.  Vive le triangle!

Here's the link to the New York recap:
 http://www.vulture.com/2012/02/downton-abbey-recap-season-2-episode-7.html

And here's a link to a New York Times interview with creator Julian Fellowes:  http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/julian-fellowes-overcomes-his-scruples-and-looks-back-at-season-2-of-downton-abbey/?src=me&ref=general