“All’s well that end’s
well”, “everything comes out in
the wash”, and “they all lived happily ever after” describe the grand finale of Downton Abbey, the wildly popular British period drama about life in one of
England’s grand country houses.
Charles Dickens would have been
proud. Coincidences, meddling, and the triumph of goodness all contributed to
the final episode with the hopes and aspirations of almost every character coming
to fruition.
I was hooked on Downton from the
very first episode. The acting,
the set, the costumes (could there have been more beautiful dresses than the
ones on display in the finale?), the character development, the social
commentary, and even the incredible plot twists that occasionally tried my
patience, kept me engaged.
Dame Maggie Smith’s character, Violet the Dowager Countess, had me laughing with her flawless delivery of hilarious,
usually biting, and frequently wise one-liners. (As someone prone to over-thinking, I heartedly agreed with
her when she said, “In my experience, second thoughts are vastly over-rated”.)
But I appreciated Downton for
other reasons, too. I could relate to the characters and their struggles. Even
though my modern day middle class lifestyle bears no resemblance to the
upstairs/downstairs lifestyle that was the series’ lifeblood, themes of change
and transformation united us.
It was easy to empathize with
Carson, the butler, who was suspicious of the telephone, or with Mrs. Patmore,
the cook who was afraid of an electric mixer because I was once hesitant to
accept new technology. In 1995, when we bought our first home computer, I
resisted my children’s pleas to sign up for the Internet. I felt like the
Dowager Countess when she quipped, “First electricity. Now telephones. Sometimes I feel as if I were living in
an H.G. Wells novel.”
It was difficult, too, for the characters
of Downton to adapt to changing social and moral norms. After the Great War, the idyllic and
idle existence of the privileged crumbled beneath the aspirations of a
generation that fought in the trenches and kept the home fires burning. Like
the great houses slated for demolition, a way of life was coming to an end. Dissatisfied with the roles thrust upon
them by an accident of birth, servants like Daisy looked to education to change
her lot, while Ladies Mary and Edith challenged conventions to become
successful businesswomen.
As the familiar gave way to new
possibilities, the interior struggles reshaped characters from the inside
out. Over six seasons, the
characters grew, becoming a little more holy, as they came to grips with their
imperfections and unhappiness.
Haughty Lady Mary became less selfish, mean-spirited Barrow grew in
kindness, and “Poor Little Me” Lady Edith discovered her self-worth. Character transformation kept me
watching Downton Abbey religiously on a Sunday night.
Religion, though, was curiously
absent from Downton, except for a few notable exceptions. Alastair Bruce, historical expert for
the series, said in an interview with The
Telegraph, that the executives wanted to keep religion out of it; “Everyone
panics when you try to do anything religious on the telly.”
Still, religious traditions and
morality played a role in the lives of the characters. Values, such as decency,
kindness, loyalty, kinship, and concern for others, called forth the best from
characters as they struggled to overcome their pettiness. And Christian
rituals, even when undertaken out of a sense of tradition rather than faith,
marked life’s rites of passage.
Baptism celebrated birth, Christian burial accompanied death, and
wedding ceremonies united lovers.
Prayer too made an occasional appearance. With an honesty and poignancy
that echoes the reality of prayer, Lady Mary knelt to pray for Matthew (whom
she eventually marries after much plot wrangling). “Dear Lord, I don’t pretend
to have much credit with you. I’m not even sure that you’re there. But if you
are, and if I’ve ever done anything good, I beg you to keep him safe.”
In Downton Abbey’s final season,
characters embraced the winds of change; even Carson began to come around,
wistfully admitting, “The world is a different place from the way it was.” But it was Violet, the Dowager
Countess, who once again hit the nail on the head. “It makes me smile, the way
we drink every year to what the future may bring.”
While the future is uncertain,
change is inevitable. Downton
Abbey wrapped that theme up beautifully in the form of good entertainment.
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