Downton Abbey: The Finale

Book Cover A message from Sally: “Please talk about Downton Abbey. I just saw the season finale and am about to faint. And I’m not even wearing a corset. Must. Discuss.”

Well, I can’t write about my own reaction yet because I know of SO many people who haven’t seen it yet who taped it on their DVRs. LIKE ME. Heh. So how about this: Downton Abbey folks, this is your comment thread. Spoilers aloud. Spoilers also allowed. BUT if you haven’t seen it, DO NOT READ the comments! I’ll even take down the “Recent Comment” section in the sidebar for today so as to avoid spoiling it. But if you saw the finale last night, what’d you think? Are you still breathing? Did you faint? Are you ready for what should be another season?

And dude, how many of you will fly to the UK if they get it first before the US? We can charter a “Downtown Abbey” flight and go watch in a bar, like a sporting event only with extra cravats.

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Random Musings

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  1. Sally says:

    @Anne

    I know! I thought the same thing, but since Pamuk’s death was never attributed to Thomas, so I figured it was just a ‘le petite mort’ that ended up more ‘grand’. LOL Maybe that’s a story line that will be picked up later because the Turkish government thread is still very much in play.

    While I do want Mary and Matthew to get together on some level, I think she’d make his life miserable. He deserves someone less manipulative and treacherous.

    And as far as happy endings go, the housemaid wanting to be a secretary got one.

  2. Beth says:

    My love for PBS grows more and more each day.


  3. Trish Olsen says:

    Another author is Elizabeth Thirkell, her series begins I believe in the early 30’s and follows the people of Baretshire (sp?) the imaginary county of Trollope (The Pallisers) in a series of novels into the 50’s, a great look at the changes that take place in English society over that period. The wartime novels are great.

    Glad someone else mentioned the silliness of so few servants for such a great house. In one of Thirkell’s novels I counted 9 servants for a upper middle class household consisting of a middle aged widow and her two grown children, one of whom was only there on weekends. And this was during the depression.

  4. Dayle says:

    Ditto the Kate Morton book.

    Although it’s set in modern times, the British TV series Monarch of the Glen also explores the difficulty of the upper class dealing with a crumbling estate. Less of the “downstairs” aspect of this, though. Julian Fellowes actually has a supporting role in the series.

    Just stop watching after Series 4 (or maybe 5, depending on your constitution); it all goes pear-shaped and downhill from there, largely due to a shake-up in the cast. (The problem with British TV series is that they don’t follow schedules like ours do, and when a “season” ends, they don’t necessarily know if there will be a next one. So some actors wander off, and then the writers have to frantically make up some explanation, some more believable than others. But this is a discussion for another day!)

    Monarch of the Glen is based on a series of books, which I haven’t yet read, so I can’t recommend them one way or the other.

  5. sinead says:

    I am obviously in the minority here:  I thought the ending of Downton Abbey was perfect.  One last moment in time before the world changed for each and every one of the people at that beautiful carefree garden party.  Most of the men will die, the women will find themselves handling responsibilities they never imagined, the aristocracy (and the entire country) will lose an entire generation and new possibilities will abound—economically and socially—for all those who survive the war.  The series ended exactly at the end of an era.  Perfect.

  6. Christina says:

    Am a bit late to the party with this one – just finished watching it and LOVED it! =D

    My favourite character is actually Mary – she’s easily the most complex of them all, and though she comes off as shallow and proud with no substance to start with, I really warmed to her in the scene with Pamuk, where you can see just how sheltered and naive she really is. I don’t think she’s a bad person – just someone who’s used to not being taken seriously or indeed taking herself seriously, someone with actually rather little self-esteem as her life is largely subject to external expectations. Her telling William about his mother was a genuine act of kindness, however tactless, and her affection for Carson also shows that for all her faults she does see the servants as people. (Edith is another matter – felt really bad for her when Mary put off her suitor, although what she did with the letter was appalling first.)

    I really like her and Matthew together precisely because it’s the difficult option, unlike the more obvious (on the surface) choice of him and Sybil (who IMO while admirable is just too perfect). M&M are both restless in subtle ways, him gently coming to accept his new place in society, and her vaguely resisting her own fate (but without a definite ideology to anchor her like Sybil). They’re uneasy with the society they live in, but not enough to step right out of it: thinkers perhaps but not doers. And they have such a spark. Would really love them to have a HEA, when they’ve both (especially Mary) grown up a lot.

    (Re: other ships, would love to see Sybil and Branson. She’s got the guts to step right out of her designated sphere, and I would love to see her principles put to the test, and see her genuinely stand firm despite the consequences. Would make her a much more interesting character – but think we’re going to be seeing a lot more of her in future anyway with the Suffragette movement, which is awesome. Would REALLY hate it if Branson were dispensed with after causing drama, and Sybil and Matthew make it to the endgame together, as if to say that in the end the most virtuous from the start will end up succeeding AND inheriting.)

    Realised I’ve just gone at this from a shippy POV only, when there is so much more also to be said about the rest of the story. Think I just have the ships on my mind at the moment though! =D

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