It’s time to pour your tea and put on your finest frock, darlings, because Season 5 of “Downton Abbey” will finally be airing in the States in less than a month! The latest mishaps and misfortunes of the manor will begin on Sunday, Janruary 4, at 9 pm, and this season seems to full of as much drama as ever! Let's break it down (WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILERS!)...

This will be the season of Edith:

At the end of last season, the perpetually unlucky (and single) Lady Edith (Laura Carmichael) became even more melancholy after she got pregnant (out of wedlock!). Without her baby daddy (who is off in Germany... or so he says), Edith’s aunt convinced her to give the baby up for adoption. But Edith being Edith, she decided to not give the baby away entirely. She brought the baby back in secret, and gave it to the local Drewe family. To make it even more scandalous, she told the family that she knew the mother of the child, who is now sadly dead, and has to visit her daughter in secret. Of course, since this is “Downton Abbey”, this plan will all work out beautifully. To make matters worse for Edith, her sister, Lady Mary, is being even meaner to her than usual. Poor, poor Edith, she never seems to catch a break!

Thomas is still looking for somebody to love:

The delightfully crooked Thomas, who is equally loved for his villanious moments as well as his heroic ones, will not find love this season, despite his attempts to. In order to be historically accurate, Rob James-Collier (who plays Thomas) and Alistair Bruce, the historic consultant on the show, noted that, during this time period, it would have been nearly impossible for a gay man to have a relationship. Even though this is unfortunately true, it makes me a bit sad -- Thomas deserves some love too!

There will be no romance between Mr. Carson and Ms. Hughes:

My sincere apologies for shippers of Mr. Carson (Jim Carter) and Ms. Hughes (Phyillis Logan) --  What would their celebrity couple name be? Cughes? Harson?) -- but there will strictly be no amorous moments between the butler and the head housekeeper. The two will remain good friends, nothing more. As Bruce pointed out, Mr. Carson and Ms. Hughes would have given up any chance of a family or marriage when they went into service. Still, this doesn’t mean that the two can’t bicker like an old married couple, and that's perhaps just as fun to watch!

Lady Mary is getting into trouble again

Oh, Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery), you saucy minx. It appears that Lady Mary will pick one of her suitors (you’ll have to watch to find out who!) and ends up taking one as her lover! Talk about having your cake and eating it too -- I’m sure that news will sit well with her father. In pictures released from the season, Mary is seen kissing her lover at a hotel. Oh my, Lady Mary! That’s bound to cause some scandal.

Tom Branson’s love life continues to sizzle... or does it fizzle?

Everyone’s favorite Irish bachelor (played by Allen Leech) at Downton appears to be getting some love from his previous interest, Sarah Bunting. The two are often seen in the village canoodling without a chaperone. However, in certain scenes, Ms. Bunting seems to be quite upset with Mr. Branson. Where could this development lead? (I’m hoping they break up... I know a cute American that they could cast as Branson’s next love interest *AHEM*…)

Those are just a few of the glimpses into the next season of "Downton Abbey". How excited are you for it to come back?

In the meantime, enjoy these YH Studio interviews with castmembers James-Collier, Brendan Coyle (Bates), and Elizabeth McGovern (Cora Crawley)!

(Photo via WENN)

- Sarah Osman, YH Staff