How Long to Watch “Downton Abbey”?

The acclaimed period drama returns for a second series. It is now 1916 and the family and servants are preparing the house for a benefits concert in aid of the local hospital. New housemaid Ethel has replaced Gwen but she soon has everyone's backs up - and O'Brien plays a cruel trick on her. Robert is now Lord Lieutenant of the County but is disappointed by not being at the front. William and Branson are accosted by a group of women and presented with white feathers for not being in uniform. Matthew is in France and surprises everyone when he returns on leave with his new fiancee. Sybil hopes to help the war effort by enrolling as a nurse. When Bates's wife appears, it becomes clear that her motive is blackmail - and Anna is left distraught. Violet admits that she asked Dr Clarkson to keep William and Molesley out of the army. Back in the trenches Matthew runs into Thomas. But Thomas is traumatised by his experiences and resorts to desperate measures to get his ticket back to Downton.