Downton Abbey - The Final Series — Page 2

Thank you! I guess I did see it all.

SPOILERS FOLLOW:

I really enjoyed the episode on the whole. The scene with Mary and Violet was just beautiful. Edith losing the love of her life YET AGAIN was a bit tiresome, but I assume he'll be a big part of the Christmas episode. I wanted Mrs. Pattmore to get with Mr. Mason. Maybe that's in the finale, too. Mary getting her happy ending after being such a raging bitch the entire episode pissed me off. I still can't get over that. Maybe we are supposed to be left with the knowledge that Edith's happiness is her daughter (thought why she would take off to London so often without her is beyond me.)

It would, but it's also a period situation. I can't fathom seeing your children for an hour a day. Little Marigold is in the nursery with a nanny and has no parents. It's just so bizarre.

I just watched the finale last night. I really enjoyed it. I felt the whole episode was people putting Mary in her place. Edith's confrontation with Mary was fantastic. Even though Mary got her man at the end, Edith has so much more. She has her child, a flat in London, and her own newspaper. And possibly, depending on the christmas episode she will be a Marquess.

And it didn't help that you saw the Thomas situation coming three episodes ago.

^Thanks for the link. :|

For those who didn't watch this months ago, did you catch the first episode last night? It went on past 10:00 so obviously not edited. I thought it was really slow. I hope it picks up. For a show that goes the extra mile for period accuracy, I have a question. When the new young butler was asked who the girl was (who was trying to blackmail Mary) he responded with the words "search me". Is this an expression that would have been used in 1925 England? I know that's being picky, but when you have an advisor on set who even questions placement of hands, I found that expression questionable.

I have been in the minority for a while, but I find the plotting lazy and consistently unfocused, with too many of the critical scenes off-camera and too many of the slice-of-life museum-ready tableau vivants filmed instead. Last season we learned something critical about a major character -- off-camera efforts to medically alter homosexual desire -- in a casually dropped conversation (imagine if we'd been shown even a whiff of his dire, tragic actions? What drama, eclipsed for more serving of tea and lip-pursing.) The stories meander into talk-about, and we are stuck with one of the dullest characters -- Mary -- played by one of the dullest actors on the planet. Ms. Dockery. Why she's adored is beyond me. She loses her husband, they parade one handsome suitor after another past her, and the drama -- and sweat, and guts -- are ridiculously absent. The show eschews eroticism, often romance, too. And it seems uncomfortable with genuine, sustained contention, odd for a drama. Even Dame Maggie is now close to self-parody, in itself not a bad thing, but no substitution for something to play. Fellowes has said he doesn't want to reduce the show to "soap opera" -- but if only he dared. Or knew how. It's beautiful, it's got a great era and issues, and it's watchable. But as storytelling, it's weak tea.

Updated On: 1/5/16 at 08:07 AM

I've avoided this thread until now, as I'm holding fast to my desire to avoid spoilers - but decided to peek at these most recent posts which I (correctly) assumed would involve conversation about the debut of the last season in the US.

Auggie, you make very good points and have articulated something which I've long felt but haven't been able to put into words. Although I personally think Michelle Dockery is wonderful, her character is tiresome and - other than when Mary was truly in love with Matthew - a bore. I also agree about many of the plot points and the way that storylines are either painfully prolonged or swiftly swept aside. It's frustrating.

All that said, it's still a show that I love and more works for me than doesn't. I will miss it terribly when it's gone, but am glad that it will (hopefully) go out on top. It's time. The show has become more about the period and the overall depiction of that time and place than it has about the plot, so I think this final season is where we should leave them.

I've been Team Edith for a very long time. While her character was biting in season 1, I've loved her journey and her strength in the face of constant rejection and dismissal. Hers is one of the storylines that I'm most hopeful for, and looking forward to, in this last season.

As an aside, I was at a PBS event with the cast and Julian Fellowes in early December for a preview screening of the first episode, followed by Q&A with the cast and artistic team. Julian Fellowes was asked a number of times about certain storylines - including the constant troubles for Edith - and he answered with almost glib comments about how some people just don't have good things happen to them in life... So, I hold my breath a bit to see where the story goes.

Updated On: 1/5/16 at 10:26 AM

Good to see Anna smile again.

I watch on Amazon Prime, so I got the finale a few weeks ago. All I'll say is that is was a very satisfying ending to a wonderful series.

^Right! Not together to wedding in 5 seconds?! Too fast.
And the Dowager going on about love, so out of character.

I've been trying to "Keep Calm And Carry On" but I just dvr'd Sunday's episode. Tag is so right on Thomas, the 5 second wedding, the dowager...I don't want to spoil anything but it's a little disappointing to have DA end in such a hurried manner, that's all I'll say for now about DA. I'm hoping the last episode will not be a big let down. I know he probably thought that Thomas' incident was keeping with the times back then but I hope a different attitude of strength will prevail. However I did enjoy E.v.M., that was long overdue.

Juilian Fellowes has certainly written better seasons and should have had, as someone mentioned, several writers to assist him when needed. Here's hoping his new Gilded Age on NBC will amount to something special too. (I'm just cautiously hearing ...NBC...Here's the new Downton Gilded Age!...nbc)

Having watched the series when it ran in the UK, without spoilers, I will say I found the final Christmas special overall... satisfying. Not brilliant, but... I did think this season was mildly better overall than the past few though it did get off to a very slow start.

I dunno if I agree with Horsey--I can think of many UK shows that have just had one writer and have been brilliant. I'm not sure it's too much to ask for 8 episodes a year from the same writer. But Fellowes does have some major issues--Auggie said it well when he mentioned how Fellowes' insistence that he's not doing soap opera actually harms the show, as well as how often key moments are played up off stage. This season also does particularly suffer from a problem with a lot of long running dramas (especially, sorry Fellowes', soap operas) in that it's very hard to keep a lot of the characters on screen and interacting for so long. Thomas being a key example. (Lily James should be thankful that she was too busy filming War and Peace and other works to come back for more than a few cameos as Rose). And of course there was the Mary problem--I like Matthew Goode an awful lot, but after we already had the weird musical chairs relationship between her and Tom Cullen and her and Julian Ovendon which, like an annoyingly large number of Downton stories ultimately was resolved with a non ending.