Hello bratface - I'm late to this show and discussion but better late than never... What a feast for the eyes! What a cast! Julian Fellowes has not disappointed! While I binged a bit at first, I've been going slower and savoring it now that I have only 3 more episodes to go in Season 3.

@merryapril said:

Hello bratface - I'm late to this show and discussion but better late than never... What a feast for the eyes! What a cast! Julian Fellowes has not disappointed! While I binged a bit at first, I've been going slower and savoring it now that I have only 3 more episodes to go in Season 3.

I'm waiting for the end of season 3 (August 10), then I will subscribe to HBO for one month & binge the season (& maybe some other things). Glad you are enjoying it. Although I have read some things about season 3 & I'm not happy about what I've read about the tension between George & Bertha. I normally do not mind spoilers, but have avoided reading the episode descriptions this time around.

I love historical dramas, even when they're basically soap operas like this. It's amusing and informative to learn via an entertainment that such famous names like Vanderbilt, Rockefeller, Flagler, Morgan, etc., etc. were considered nouveau riche and sometimes had to push their way into NYC's high society because - according to THE Mrs. Astor - their vast wealth was earned, not inherited like descendants of the early Dutch settlers (although go figure -- the Vanderbilts were of Dutch ancestry and their fortune was made earlier).

The Brooklyn Bridge episode was very interesting -- it prompted me to read about its history and I didn't know that the Cincinnati Roebling bridge which preceded it was built by John Roebling whose son (John was dead by then) Washington built the suspension bridge to Brooklyn. Imagine having to ferry back and forth to Brooklyn before then!

IKWYM about tension between George and Bertha, who are very loosely based on the Vanderbilts. Fellowes has made us root for this ambitious couple so we'd hate to see them divorce.