TV Week TV Week

By Jacqueline Cutler © Zap2it

Last season’s cliffhanger of “Downton Abbey” left people around the world shocked, angry and eager for the next installment.

Season 4 finally returns Sunday, Jan. 5, on PBS (check local listings). It picks up six months after Matthew (Dan Stevens) was killed in a car crash, immediately after his wife, Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery), gave birth to their son, George.

Mary is bereft in a way that only those utterly in love can be heartbroken. Wan, thin and brittle, she has little interest in her baby and none in anything else as she floats about in exquisite black dresses.

“She is now a widow and a mom,” Dockery says. “There have been so many parts of her character I have played over the three years. She started out as a spoiled young aristocrat. The incident with the young Turkish aristocrat quite wobbled Mary.

“She became flawed and a little more humbled,” Dockery continues, referring to the Turkish diplomat dying in her bed. “In the second series, Matthew was bringing out her softness. There has been such a palette of things to play.

“In the third, she was happily married and becoming more domesticated, planning for a future,” Dockery continues. “Now it’s a whole other journey this series. I have enjoyed Series 4. It’s about recovery for her. It’s