Why I'm done with Downton Abbey. Spoilers ahead.
Published: 1/28/2013 10:00 AM
Last Modified: 1/28/2013 9:27 AM
I found Downton on Netflix shortly after it's US release, because I have a thing for international movies and drama. I could tell from the opening sequence that Downton was special, and this series would be huge.
I've sat through two riveting seasons of amazing storytelling and drama, and up till yesterday was giving the series leniency to tell its stories before I made any comment about it for this season.
Last night changed all of that.
I felt bad for poor frumpy Edith (whose actress is smoking when she's out of her Downton frump make up), but was a little happy that at least the middle child would find some kind of life outside the walls of the machismo-run castle. However of course this season her hopes are dashed once again when Robert decides to get all up in her business and ruin the wedding.
This is a testament to the writers. Very few shows on US television can do in a season what Downton achieves in a single episode.
That said, this season seems to be more about tragedy that anything else. The whole 'who's got the money' thing is a bit overplayed since there are no real consequences to Robert squandering the fortune. I'd love to seem them all squirm a bit for at least half the season. Lavinia's fortune seems legit as that kind of thing did in fact happen during those times, however I wish they would have played out that bit of drama more than a two-episode turnaround before the offer was made.
None of the above issues are cause for someone who is a history buff (and nerd) like me to turn from it.
However, last night was.
Last night Sybil gave birth to a baby. Of course we see Robert interfering again with the whole process by throwing his own doctor into the mix, who apparently was trained at the London School of Medical Idiots.
Maybe Robert found the village idiot and gave him a title. Who knows?
So we see the family doctor fight with Mr. Prancy Doctor, and honestly I did not expect Sybil to die. She was one of my favorite (and hottest) characters on the show. She was the pretty young one with the progressive ideals. She was a driving force in the first two seasons whose absence was remarkably missed when she married Branson and took off with him.
This character was great, and one of the few human characters modern audiences could connect with.
Then she died.
But not a quiet death like Lavinia, oh no. We had to see her writhe and pound her head and scream and make the most horrific sounds for what seemed like eternity before she contorted and died.
Seriously, what the heck.
We've already seen to much craziness this year that seems to be sheer shock-drama that the understated nature of the series seems to be changing.
That, and I am incredibly mad that they killed Sybil.
Kudos, writers. It's tough to get a reaction from me, and you got it.
That said, if I do watch Downton Abbey on TV again, it will not be on a Sunday night. (DVR, you guys.) I've gone through the rest of the episodes for the season and know about an equally horrible death at the end of the season.
So if you were as shocked as I was last night, get ready. Things are about to get more intense than ever before in the Downton Estate. What happens to the baby? What happens to Mr. Bates? Stay tuned to find out.
What were your thoughts on last night's episode?
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Written by
Michael Dambold
Scene Writer
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