Dame Maggie Smith (left) is the Dowager Countess of Grantham, and Michelle Dockery plays Lady Mary in "Downton Abbey." Season 3 premieres at 8 p.m. Sunday on PBS, channel 11. CARNIVAL FILM & TELEVISION LIMITED/Masterpiece
In honor of the season 3 premiere of “Downton Abbey” airing Sunday on PBS, I’ve compiled a list of 10 favorite moments from the series thus far.
Obviously, this list could’ve been populated entirely with Dowager Countess quotes and the highlights of the Anna-Bates romance, but I did try to keep these moments diverse. I also wish there were some way to incorporate O’Brien’s scheming, because she deserves some kind of award for how subtly and successfully she manipulates Lady Cora.
Alert: Spoilers ahead.Does not compute S1E2When Matthew Crawley talks about having time for the upkeep of the estate after his day job, we get one of the most iconic lines from the Dowager Countess and the series: “What is a weekend?”
Molesley has a purpose S1E2After some words of wisdom from Lord Grantham, Matthew lets another dude dress him, and somehow it’s one of the most touching scenes of the series.
Dead in bed S1E3We see a rude awakening as a hand is pressed over Anna’s face. The death of Kamal Pamuk is pretty dark, but nothing beats the moments when the girls have to face the logistics of keeping its true cause hidden.
Go for Carson S1E7The old-school butler shoos his staff for marveling at the newly installed telephone, only to get a bit silly as he practices how he’ll answer. When he realizes there’s a woman on the other end, he sputters, she apparently belittles, and he hangs up after a shouted “Well, I daresay a lot of the things you say sound stupid to other people!”
Like a hole in the hand S2E1Thomas and Matthew have tea in the trenches. Then Thomas flicks a lighter so as to get shot through the hand. He thanks God for the injury that will get him out of the war, but he should really have thanked the attentive German soldier for not giving him time to change his mind.
Bates’ proposal to Anna S2E3When this finally happened, even Anna wasn’t sure it was really a request for her hand in marriage. “I’d give you a smack if I didn’t want to kiss you so badly,” has got to be one of the best “yes” answers to a popped question ever on TV.
Saved by the soldiers S2E4Matthew and William have been missing in action long enough for Lady Mary to be worried, but she still agrees to sing at a benefit concert at Downton. Now, Michelle Dockery may have many talents, but her singing voice leaves a little to be desired. Thankfully, Mary was saved when the boys show up during her terrible song, and Matthew turns it into a passable duet. (Yeah, the sigh of release as we all realize the boys are OK is also memorable.)
Hanky panky S2E7Lord Grantham takes a shine to the new housemaid Jane, and all she gets out of it are a couple snogs (and her son’s education paid for by the guilty earl). Lady Cora later apologizes for the recent neglecting of her husband, but I think it’s a lame cover for an out-of-character dalliance. Still, it was pretty memorable to see the earl as a person instead of a figurehead.
Someone special S2 Christmas specialYeah, Daisy was only married to William for a couple hours and it was a sham, but when her father-in-law asks her to be a child to him after William’s death, she realized being special to someone was pretty awesome. And I cried.
Mary wears the pants S2 Christmas specialWhen the engagement finally happens, it’s lovely and touching, and then Lady Mary reminds us why she’s been such a hard sell to suitors: “I won’t give you an answer unless you get down on your knee and do it properly.”
