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"Downton Abbey" Season Finale Doesn't Disappoint

Kelly Williams |
February 17, 2012 | 8:30 a.m. PST

Staff Contributor

"Downton Abbey" airs Sundays on PBS (PBS)
"Downton Abbey" airs Sundays on PBS (PBS)
They say the first step is admitting you have a problem. 

While I’ve tried to deny it, it’s clear I have an addiction. And my drug of choice is “Downton Abbey.” The British period drama finished the American debut of its second season Sunday night to impressive ratings. 

It’s clear I’m not alone in my British television indulgence. Since the series premiered on ITV in Britain nearly 4.2 million people have tuned in and the popular show has garnered several awards including 6 Emmys and a Golden Globe for Best Drama Series. The PBS masterpiece classic program crossed the pond after a wildly successful run in Britain, feeding my addiction every Sunday one hour at a time. It seems the highbrow and wannabe highbrow set have picked their poison and taken to “Downton Abbey.” Akin to the early 2000’s water cooler buzz surrounding HBO’s Sunday night tentpole, “The Sopranos,” the residents of Downton Abbey have attracted quite the reputation. A loyal following spurred themed viewing parties and tumblr sites —my personal favorite mashes scenes from the series with Beyoncé lyrics — as if drinking the British television Kool-Aid will go down smoother with like-minded addicts. 

In the U.S., watching Downton comes the distinction of watching PBS programming, while in Britain, Downton serves as dramatic anchor for the ITV channel, a cesspool of reality programming. Even “Saturday Night Live” commented on the U.S. Downton fever, qualifying the series as a “fancy Entourage.”  

Creator Julian Fellowes wrapped up the Christmas present of the two-hour season finale with a perfectly tied bow. I nearly overdosed on the two-hour television fix that was almost too satisfying to handle.

Though set at the turn of 1920, Sunday's two-hour episode channeled issues that have plagued the British media during the past year and a half. Hugh Bonneville's Earl of Grantham continually commented on the fortune that his family's scandals had not been reported. "Why do the papers leave you alone?" someone asks the Lord. 

As season two progressed, we learned Lady Mary agrees to marry Sir Richard Carlise in exchange for protection from her scandal going public in the press. Fellowes toys with the audience all season, not only keeping Lady Mary and Matthew Crawley apart, but also exposing the moral sentiment of the period. A marriage of practicality and unhappiness was of far more importance than family defamation. The bedrock of Downton, as well as the English aristocracy, lay in reputation.

At times, the writing veered off course and commented less on the drama and more on the present day. The weakest subplot in which the Grantham family and household staff run through the woods “Blair Witch” style looking for Lord Grantham’s lost dog–seemed distractingly unnecessary and tedious.

For the most part, the episode stuck with the formula that’s kept audiences coming back. The quick witted one liners from dowager countess Dame Maggie Smith steal the show and propel the narrative along in a jam packed two hours. Sir Richard tells to the dowager that he’ll be leaving Downton in the morning and doubts he’ll see her again. “You promise?” answers Smith.

We begin on Christmas Day 1919 complete with a Grantham family game of charades played upstairs and servants planchette downstairs. Twenty minutes later we’ve reached New Year’s Day. In a regular episode, a lot would happen in a two-week period, but Fellowes marches along, focusing on the trial of the valet Mr. Bates. Luckily, much of the American audience can ignore the British historical inaccuracies, but both viewing audiences note the unlikelihood of a trial held over the holidays. Moreover, amidst the trial, the Crawleys serve their own Christmas lunch and New Year's Eve dinner, in order to allow the servants to enjoy their own seasonal celebrations. I did a double take and wondered if my TV had switched over to “Mary Poppins” when the servants hosted the Servants' Ball and found dance partners with their employers. The Dowager Countess doing a waltz with Thomas the sinister footman? Please, it’s 1919. Cora Grantham would have likely invited WWI invalids back into her house than lock arms with Mr. Carson. Fellowes speaks more to 2012 than 1919 through this idealized festivity.

When Bates is found guilty and the judge puts on his black cap and sends him to hang by the neck, Lord Grantham begins a tireless campaign to absolve his valet, eventually reducing the punishment to a life sentence in prison.

Despite the historical follies, the snowy background of the Berkshires provided Christmas and courtroom drama. Fellowes kept me wondering about the fate of Mr. Bates while yearning to snap back to the love triangle drama of Lady Mary. When Matthew finally gets down on one knee and proposes to Lady Mary with the snow perfectly falling in the background, we are shamelessly satisfied. The couple finally comes together but Fellowes delivery shoved them a little too close in my face. Sprinkled within the drama of Mr. Bates and Lady Mary, we learn Lady Sybil is pregnant in Ireland and Lady Edith will marry anyone who calls her “lovely,” may he be crippled or not. Ouch. Nevertheless, the sharp writing and acting typical of “Downton Abbey” delivers a Christmas themed treat.

All major cast members are set to return, with the addition of Shirley MacLaine as Cora Grantham’s mother. Lady Mary will cross the pond and wait out the onslaught of scandalous British press in MacLaine’s New York City world. No plot stories have leaked, but ardent Downton enthusiasts believe Fellowes will engage in a battle of the one-liners between Smith and MacLaine. 

They say the first step is admitting you have a problem. Maybe I’ll recover from my “Downton” withdrawal by the time season three premieres.

Reach writer Kelly Williams here



 

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