Episode 1

It is April 1912, and news arrives of the sinking of the Titanic with the loss of Downton's heir James and his son Patrick. The Dowager Countess Violet hopes that the title and estate will pass on to the current Earl Robert's oldest daughter Mary, who was in line to marry Patrick. But Robert, whose wife Cora's money is intimately tied up in the estate, decides not to name Mary his heir, and after deciding that a distant cousin is set to inherit instead, invites the young man to Downton. Meanwhile, new valet John Bates is given a hard time by the staff as an old war injury threatens his job at the stately home.