If I try to create a well-written, thoughtful "analysis" of Downton Abbey, my standards will be too high for me to ever write anything. So I started writing this post by trying to dedicate it to gossip about the most recent episode (S:2-E:1). But then it accidentally turned into "everything I ever wanted to say about Downton Abbey."
So this post will be about everything I ever wanted to say about Downton Abbey, and will include reflections about S:2-E:1.
If you haven't watched series one, and this latest episode, FYI: spoilers.
That Time That I Discovered Downton Abbey
I just completed a search in my own blog, and am disappointed to discover that I never said anything (not one thing!) about how "Downton Abbey rulz and you should all watch it, etc." Downton Abbey first came to my notice via Jennifer Ehle's tweets. (Yes, I follow the actor who portrayed Elizabeth Bennet in the renown 1995 BBC miniseries version of Pride and Prejudice; she is neat.) My response went something like this: "'Downton Abbey,' eh? That sounds English-y! I bet I'd like it!" It was no longer airing on PBS, but I discovered the entire first series was streaming on Netflix. So I sat on my bed and watched S:1, E:1 on my laptop. Then I watched E:2. MB came in the room and watched parts of E:3 and E:4 with me and I tried to remind him of the time when he visited Minneapolis and we saw Gosford Park at the Lagoon Theater. Then I started E:5. Then MB fell asleep. Then I finished E:6...and um, E:7. Then I was heartbroken to discover that I had reached the end of Series 1 and would have to suffer for TEN EXCRUCIATING MONTHS before Series 2 would air on PBS. Suffer, I tell you!
Anyway, all that stuff happened on 20 February 2011.
So last night was the much-anticipated first episode of the second series!
And here's what I where I want to begin the discussion: I don't agree with the hatred for Lady Mary. (Oh, it's out there! Just Google "I hate Lady Mary!") I've always loved her. If Lady Mary is a bitch, then hoorah for bitches! There's a difference between being a bitch and being evil. If you want evil, then Mrs. Bates, newly arrived on the scene, is the perfection of evil. When she referred to Mr. Bates as "my Bates-es," I felt seriously icky inside.
Anyway, so on that note, let's start with...
Mary and Matthew
Mrs. Hughes spoke the sentiment of many in this episode when she criticized Lady Mary to Mr. Carson: "She refused him when she thought he'd have nothing, and when he was heir again, she wanted him back." But this is a simplistic take on the whims of Lady Mary. Her first fiance, cousin to her and the heir presumptive to the Earldom of Grantham, dies in the sinking of the Titanic, and not only does she not mourn him, it's trying for her to even adorn herself with the draperies of mourning (ie. wear black). This breeds resentment in her sister, Lady Edith, who is said to have loved Lady Mary's fiancee/their cousin. But why should Lady Mary act as if she's devastated to lose a fiancee who she didn't love? And why should not Mary enter into an engagement that is entirely engineered by her family, which had probably been planned since the time that it became (presumably) clear that Lord (Robert) and Lady Grantham (Cora) would not have any more children? Even Robert and Cora discuss the fact that they were not in love when they married, but then later happily became so. The story offers no indication that Edith's love for her cousin was requited, and that Mary was viciously keeping them apart out of selfish reasons, or even that Mary knew about it.
When Mary meets the new heir presumptive, Matthew Crawley, she behaves snobbishly and is generally unwelcoming. It's immature, but not altogether unexpected behavior toward the person who shall displace her in wealth and position, just because he was born with a penis. Who wouldn't feel pissed off about that? She later acknowledges to Matthew, how wrong it was of her to behave that way. (When has that little brat Edith ever admitted she was wrong for doing anything?!) Matthew certainly didn't deserve it, and for a long time feels ambivalent toward the prospect of inheriting the mighty estate and title, even to the degree that he behaves somewhat disrespectfully toward members of the establishment, upstairs and downstairs. Maybe it was his rebellious spirit - one that eventually grows into a sort of admiration for his future responsibility - that appeals to Mary, who has always worried that she doesn't want or love the things, the life, and people that "normal ladies" want and love, when she realizes she's falling in love with him. Mary, who fears deep down that she is perverse and therefore, unlovable. Who makes best friends with the head butler and her lady's maid, rather than her own sister.
It is devastating for Matthew to feel like he's been handled like a puppet by the family at Downton, to realize that Mary, who he loves, would hesitate to marry him when it appears that he may not inherit the estate after all. Which brings me back to Mrs. Hughes' complaint about Mary. For a woman whose first engagement was engineered with the purpose of opportunity and keeping the wealth and the title in the family, who was released from the prospect of marrying a man she did not love, when he died, it ought to be natural that considering Matthew, who she actually loves, in light of only his personal wealth and comparably meager solicitor position, may cause Mary to hesitate. Did she really love Matthew, or was she just complying with her family's wishes when she agreed to marry him? Could she truly separate herself from the notion of becoming the mistress of Downton Abbey after years of her family planning for her to do so? It wasn't that she didn't want Matthew when she thought he might not be the heir after all. Considering the puppetry that they'd both experienced, and which she had been experiencing all her life, Mary was as she said she was: confused.
This is what makes good drama. Mary's feelings of confusion and hesitation are natural, as are Matthew's subsequent feelings of humiliation and betrayal. To reject his love, based on money and a title, even if he knows that she loves him and even if he knows that it's not entirely her fault, is unacceptable. To wrest control of his life in this form from the Downton family, Matthew breaks it off with Mary for good at the end of the first series. Which of course, makes for a second series filled with luscious, aching longing!
*rubs hands together in anticipation*
With that, finally I come to the other of Mary's sins: sabotaging Edith's likely engagement to Sir Anthony. Mary is supposedly a mega-bitch for "ruining Edith's chance at happiness," but it was in response to Edith's work in spreading the rumor of Kemal Pamuk's death in Mary's boudoir, effectively ruining Mary's own chances of marrying advantageously. (Not that revenge is "okay.") Yet all I hear about on the 'net is how Mary is horrible for doing this! Or in other words, for sabotaging Edith's chance at marrying an old man who doesn't even respect or love Edith enough to ask her in person if she said the things about him that Mary implies. Of happiness, that situation does not bespeak! It was wrong of Mary, but at the same time, it was also a (very) wrong way to do a right thing.
Edith
But seriously, poor Edith! The lesser shining star, the invisible middle child! She tries, but everything she does comes off as not quite right. She wants to play the desirable, elegant lady, but is swiftly overthrown by the very least of Mary's efforts. She wants to be independent and revolutionary (in her own way, by learning to drive and working on a nearby farm) like their younger sister Sybil, but instead becomes carried away by an inappropriate romance with a married farmer, and is effectively banned from the farm. When Mr. Carson collapses from what appears to be a heart attack, and Edith behaves by distressing over her ruined gown, it is very difficult for feel sympathy for Edith. I hope series two will bring some better opportunities for growth for Edith. Or at least an even juicier storyline. (A married farmer, Edith!)
Sybil
Their younger sister Sybil can be a little boring, because she has yet to display any kind of human deficiencies. Still, it's fun to see the changes in politics and women's rights taking place in that era, through her character. While Mary feels stifled by the role she's expected to play, Sybil easily embraces changes brought not just by society, but by the war. Of course she'd want to take nursing training in order to work at the local hospital for injured soldiers! I loved the scene where Cora, spying on her daughter in the kitchen with Mr. Carson, is brought to tears with pride and happiness for her daughter, while Mr. Carson frets about the inappropriateness of the situation. Oh, and please tell me that Sybil eventually gets with Branson, the hot, revolutionary chauffer! (JK. Don't tell me that yet. No spoilers!) (Oh, but it must happen! Go Sybil!)
Baddies
Aside from the appearance of Mrs. Bates, series two brings back the downstairs baddies from series one: Thomas the footman, now a soldier experiencing the horrors of trench warfare in France, and O'Brien, Cora's lady's maid and engineer of the bathtub-soap miscarriage. Ugh, at the end of series one, when O'Brien leaves the bathroom, after positioning that bar of soap, and looks in the mirror and says "Sarah O'Brien, this is not you," all I could think was "Yes it is, you miserable asshole! This is what you've become!" She feebly attempts to warn her lady, but the damage has been done. Not sure if I've quite forgiven Downton Abbey for Lady Cora's miscarriage.
The affection that O'Brien and Thomas have for each other has mystified me, as the characters are not particularly demonstrative. Especially Thomas, who pretty much constantly looks like a bastard. But it shouldn't, as the actions of each character can best be explained by the following philosophy: "My utter self-loathing can only be expressed by the sadistic enjoyment I feel in causing tumult and misery in other people's lives." (It reminds me of Mad Men's Betty, when she manipulated her married friend into having an affair with a mutual male friend. It seemed pointless until you consider that fucking with other people was her only option for taking a break from hating herself and her life.) No wonder Thomas and O'Brien feel a sense of camaraderie and even friendship. I am frustrated that Cora continues to love and rely on O'Brien so much, and that O'Brien doesn't seem so remorseful anymore about causing another woman's miscarriage. Not that she would go around crying into her apron constantly, but perhaps that she would be a little less of a manipulative ho-bag? Instead she seems to be up to her old games, starting with eavesdropping on Isobel and Sybil's conversation about nursing training. On the other hand, S:2-E:1 presented another side of O'Brien, when she demonstrates compassion for Robert's shellshocked new valet, Lang. (Damn you, Downton Abbey! Don't complicate my feelings of distaste for O'Brien!)
Similarly, Thomas shows a softer side of himself as well, in caring for the officer who has been blinded, at the local hospital, and then weeping unabashedly when the latter commits suicide. Still, Thomas will behave despicably, starting with purposely getting his hand blown off, in order to get out of the trenches (I thought soldiers were brought to trial for that sort of thing?), and then sniping maliciously at Downton's current staff, and about Downton's absent staff. And why is it that a family that was ready to sack him at the end of series one, for accusing Mr. Bates of the theft of wine perpetrated by himself, is making such efforts to secure him in a position at an officer's hospital? Are they suffering from amnesia?! Anyway, Thomas, you continue to suck so much, you're almost as evil as Mrs. Bates. Which brings me to...
Mr. Bates and Anna
Oh, for exquisite sadness! I just want to cuddle both of them and tell them that everything will be alright. (Everything will be alright, right?! It has to!)
Mrs. Patmore
She's so much fun when she's not slowly going blind, am I right? (Heehee, go ahead and feed leftover crepes to the dogs rather than give them to the saucy new maid, if you think it's right!) It's too bad about her nephew, though.
Lady Violet, Dowager Countess vs. Isobel Crawley
Still delightful and hilarious.
Sir Richard Carlisle
Ugh, Mary. Don't marry him! He's perfectly horrid.
Lavinia Swire
Matthew's shiny new fiancee. Mary decided not to tell Matthew she loves him, for Lavinia's sake. Interesting, there. Either she is being magnanimous, in a self-serving martyr sort of way, or she perceived that Lavinia and Matthew's love for each other is pure, and doesn't want to complicate it, or embarrass herself.
And Finally...
The First World War
It's bringing change! And not just by replacing footmen with maids in the dining room and inspiring chauffers to propose to ladies! Real sacrifices are being made, people! Lady Mary wore the SAME dinner gown in one episode! Also, apparently Downton is going to be turned into a convalescent home.
Exciting things are underway.
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