Downton Abbey Christmas Special
Ok, so I finally had chance to watch it last night and I was definitely not happy with the ending - but I’ll come to that later.
Firstly, I just want to say that as a whole, I quite liked the Christmas special. It was nowhere near as perfect as the last, and I wasn’t too keen on setting it in summer, but for the most part, it was good.
So here are my thoughts and it does contain spoilers for the last series and Christmas special.
I liked seeing Isobel and Clarkson’s growing friendship - I’ve been semi shipping them from the start nearly and hope this storyline continues in the next series to some degree. It was also lovely to see Isobel being given a decent storyline for a change. That storyline brought a nice smile to my face.
I like the downstairs storylines a lot too - them wanting to slack off and Carson having to keep them in line. And Mrs Patmore’s brief storyline of romance was sweet too - and satisfactorily resolved as well. Nice to see her have more to do. I wouldn’t have minded seeing more of the Daisy, Alfred and Ivy though - they were sadly underused I thought. Oh and Molesley getting drunk was well funny, but I do wish he’d get a storyline where he comes out on the right side at some point.
I liked the Jimmy/Thomas storyline too. It was nice to see Thomas being selfless for a change and them finally clearing the air was nice at the end. I don’t want a romance there, that would seem odd, but I do hope Thomas gets a proper love story soon.
The upstairs storyline was a bit boring tbh and Violet didn’t get many one liners at all really. The new family were ok, but they were given far too much screen time considering we’ve only just met them. I quite like Rose, but I’m not sure I want her to become a major character next series.
The Branson/Maid storyline was ok tbh. The maid was a bit annoying and I’m glad she left, but it was nice to see the character development in Branson the story created. And I’m very thankful he didn’t show any romantic interest in her really.
Don’t get me started on Edith though. I mean talk about out of the frying pan and into the fire! Can’t she have a decent love interest for once! Urgh, so not looking forward to the “mistress” storyline next series, it’s just seems out of character for Edith and I cannot get behind it at all. I’m glad Matthew wasn’t ok with it and I hope Edith sees sense! She deserves better than being some creepy editor’s mistress!!
Now, onto the biggee! Mary and Matthew! GAH!!! It still hurts. I really liked them this episode and they were soooooo adorable when the baby was born. But then they had to go and ruin all the happiness with Matthew’s car crash! It wasn’t even that well done tbh - felt very clunky and poorly edited. I am glad they let Matthew see the baby first though - it would have been even worse if he’d died on the way to the hospital. At least he got to see his son and mother and Mary again. He died knowing they were safe and that the future of Downton was secure. That is something at least.
But it brings me onto something else - the future of Downton Abbey! I will watch the next series, but it just won’t be the same. I’ve always liked the show and nearly all the characters, but it was the Mary/Matthew story that got me hooked. I’ve never shipped a couple so much before and it made me join all these fandom type sites and make videos and graphics and write fanfiction… It really did take over my life to some extent. And now it is completely and utterly over! Mary and Matthew are no more! I don’t even know if I can watch my old Downton Abbey DVDs anymore, knowing what happens to them in the end. It is just so, so sad! It kinda makes me feel like the last couple of years of my life, all that time I was obsessively shipping these two, was wasted. They did get together, but after everything they’ve been through, it was just for far too short a time! At least I can consol myself with the knowledge that they did still love each other at the end, and the baby does help. At least Mary has this part of Matthew and at least, as horrible as it sounds, Downton is still safe.
But the show just won’t be the same and as a Mary and Matthew shipper, I feel very hard done to. It’s not just the way it all ended, but the last series for them was far from the best. It was all set up so brilliantly in the wedding in episode 1, they were fun and flirty and sweet and teasing without being soppy. Then, in the rest of the series, it felt like Fellowes didn’t really know what to do with them. They did become a bit soppy, which felt a bit out of character for them both. And where was the fun teasing, the longing/knowing looks? Where was all that crackling chemistry they had in series 1 and 2 which helped make the show so popular? It was still there in odd moments, but there just wasn’t enough! It was nice to see Matthew take a more central storyline and start to fulfil his duty of heir and brining in his modern ways, but why did Mary’s story arc have to suffer? I wanted more Mary and Matthew just being happy and fun and teasing each other! I wonder now if Fellowes didn’t really try with Mary/Matthew in series 3, knowing what would have to happen…
And now we won’t get to see them anymore at all - there won’t be any fun teasing arguments over the baby, no disagreements or tension over the running of the estate. Lady Mary will never become the Countess of Grantham! It’s just such a sad ending for what once was such an inspirational and fun and entertaining and down right addictive ship. The show has basically just killed one of the most popular romances in recent TV history! Mary and Matthew just deserved so much more!
And now I’m at a loss as to what to do! As I’ve never shipped a couple so much before, I don’t know quite what to do with myself now. I’m trying to consol myself with the fact that it was only because of the actor leaving that it even happened, that Fellowes intended a very different story for them. That makes it easier to imagine a relatively canonical world where they are still together and living happily ever after with their son. But it’s not enough and what do I do with all those videos I made, all the fanfics I never finished for them? Can I even rewatch my Downton Abbey DVDs knowing what happens???
Which brings me onto another topic - the question of why they did have to make this happen? I know some people are laying a lot of hate at Dan Stevens and Fellowes, but I can’t really hate either. I mean, ok, I wish Dan had decided to stay so they never would have had to kill of Matthew, but it is his job and he had the right to leave. And because of this, they were left with the very difficult problem of how to kill him off. And I do think they HAD to kill him off, he simply never would have left Mary and Downton for a prolonged period otherwise.
And the manner of his death was so horrific too - dying in a car crash just after he’d seen his new born baby - and in the Christmas special no less. But really, how else do you kill off a healthy, thirty something year old male? And if Dan Stevens wanted to leave, he wanted to leave - keeping his death for the next series wouldn’t have really made it much easier I don’t think. Matthew would still be dead either way - and Mary/Matthew no more!
So, in a way, as awful as it is, I can’t really blame anyone for what happened. I do think Dan Stevens has shot himself in the foot for leaving, and in such a manner, but that’s beside the point.
The thing is though, I now just wished there was no series 4! At the time they announced it, I was pretty darn happy about a 4th series. The rumours of Dan Stevens leaving were just rumours so I wasn’t really worried he’d actually leave. I thought we’d have just one more series where Mary and Matthew would be given more decent storylines and a chance to regain some of that wonderful chemistry and teasing banter they had before. But now I’ve seen the Christmas special, it’s all just ruined. Mary and Matthew are simply no more and that’s the most painful part! There won’t be any chance to redeem the ship, to see them live happily ever after. I will never get to see them become the Earl and Countess of Grantham - in the show itself or in canon fanfiction!
So now I just wish there wasn’t another series! Then they wouldn’t have had to kill off Matthew at all! They could have ended the Christmas special on a happy note, with all the family gathered around the new born baby and safe in the knowledge Downton Abbey and their futures are safe for another generation.
They wouldn’t have had to waste parts of the Christmas special introducing new characters and plot lines, which I think will prove mediocre at best, down right irritating in some case (coughEdithCough).
They could have ended the show on a big high and left everyone happy and it all very satisfactory for us viewers. And Mary and Matthew and my obsessive shipper heart safe!!!!
But no, the powers that be - the only ones I really do blame for all this - decided to make another series despite knowing that one of the most central characters and one half of the main romantic couple would have to be killed off. Without Matthew, there will be such a massive hole in the storylines and everything it felt like Downton Abbey was trying to set up in series 1. The legacy of what he did is still there, but it just won’t be the same. We won’t get to see Mary fulfil her destiny as the Countess of Grantham and helping Matthew to run the estate. Instead we’ll have to watch her raise their child alone and no doubt her heart will harden up again and all her wonderful character development will be wasted! And whilst I do hate the idea of Mary being forever alone, I definitely could not stomach a new romantic storyline for her - especially not with Tom Branson!!
And with two major characters grieving the death of their loved ones, two babies only having one parent and the whole family in an even bigger state of shock and mourning, where on earth is the story going to go?
I will watch it, but I have to say, I’m not very confident there’ll be able to fix this mess. Matthew was just too much of a main character and, with his death, the show will just never be the same again. It already feels like it’s gone too far off its main story arc in series 1.
Really, I just wish now, though I know it’s pointless, that they’d just decided to NOT have another series and end the show on a high in the Christmas special.
I just feel like the last two years I’ve obsessed about Downton Abbey and Mary/Matthew, have been for nothing. I’m not done with the show yet, but my interest had definitely been significantly lost!
A small, almost sacriligious part of me sort of wishes they'd've found another actor to play Matthew back at the very start, someone who wouldn't just abandon ship like that. It feels weird saying that, because Dan Stevens really does have such excellent chemistry with Michelle Dockery and plays Matthew so well. But then, we wouldn't have had Matthew's untimely death. Though would I have still loved Matthew and Mary/Matthew as much?
My biggest question though really, is what did happen to Fellowes after series 1? Then it was amazing!! Now I'm just disappointed I ever cared so much about it all.
But then, in their glory days, Mary and Matthew were a ship to behold - they were beautiful!
Firstly, I just want to say that as a whole, I quite liked the Christmas special. It was nowhere near as perfect as the last, and I wasn’t too keen on setting it in summer, but for the most part, it was good.
So here are my thoughts and it does contain spoilers for the last series and Christmas special.
I liked seeing Isobel and Clarkson’s growing friendship - I’ve been semi shipping them from the start nearly and hope this storyline continues in the next series to some degree. It was also lovely to see Isobel being given a decent storyline for a change. That storyline brought a nice smile to my face.
I like the downstairs storylines a lot too - them wanting to slack off and Carson having to keep them in line. And Mrs Patmore’s brief storyline of romance was sweet too - and satisfactorily resolved as well. Nice to see her have more to do. I wouldn’t have minded seeing more of the Daisy, Alfred and Ivy though - they were sadly underused I thought. Oh and Molesley getting drunk was well funny, but I do wish he’d get a storyline where he comes out on the right side at some point.
I liked the Jimmy/Thomas storyline too. It was nice to see Thomas being selfless for a change and them finally clearing the air was nice at the end. I don’t want a romance there, that would seem odd, but I do hope Thomas gets a proper love story soon.
The upstairs storyline was a bit boring tbh and Violet didn’t get many one liners at all really. The new family were ok, but they were given far too much screen time considering we’ve only just met them. I quite like Rose, but I’m not sure I want her to become a major character next series.
The Branson/Maid storyline was ok tbh. The maid was a bit annoying and I’m glad she left, but it was nice to see the character development in Branson the story created. And I’m very thankful he didn’t show any romantic interest in her really.
Don’t get me started on Edith though. I mean talk about out of the frying pan and into the fire! Can’t she have a decent love interest for once! Urgh, so not looking forward to the “mistress” storyline next series, it’s just seems out of character for Edith and I cannot get behind it at all. I’m glad Matthew wasn’t ok with it and I hope Edith sees sense! She deserves better than being some creepy editor’s mistress!!
Now, onto the biggee! Mary and Matthew! GAH!!! It still hurts. I really liked them this episode and they were soooooo adorable when the baby was born. But then they had to go and ruin all the happiness with Matthew’s car crash! It wasn’t even that well done tbh - felt very clunky and poorly edited. I am glad they let Matthew see the baby first though - it would have been even worse if he’d died on the way to the hospital. At least he got to see his son and mother and Mary again. He died knowing they were safe and that the future of Downton was secure. That is something at least.
But it brings me onto something else - the future of Downton Abbey! I will watch the next series, but it just won’t be the same. I’ve always liked the show and nearly all the characters, but it was the Mary/Matthew story that got me hooked. I’ve never shipped a couple so much before and it made me join all these fandom type sites and make videos and graphics and write fanfiction… It really did take over my life to some extent. And now it is completely and utterly over! Mary and Matthew are no more! I don’t even know if I can watch my old Downton Abbey DVDs anymore, knowing what happens to them in the end. It is just so, so sad! It kinda makes me feel like the last couple of years of my life, all that time I was obsessively shipping these two, was wasted. They did get together, but after everything they’ve been through, it was just for far too short a time! At least I can consol myself with the knowledge that they did still love each other at the end, and the baby does help. At least Mary has this part of Matthew and at least, as horrible as it sounds, Downton is still safe.
But the show just won’t be the same and as a Mary and Matthew shipper, I feel very hard done to. It’s not just the way it all ended, but the last series for them was far from the best. It was all set up so brilliantly in the wedding in episode 1, they were fun and flirty and sweet and teasing without being soppy. Then, in the rest of the series, it felt like Fellowes didn’t really know what to do with them. They did become a bit soppy, which felt a bit out of character for them both. And where was the fun teasing, the longing/knowing looks? Where was all that crackling chemistry they had in series 1 and 2 which helped make the show so popular? It was still there in odd moments, but there just wasn’t enough! It was nice to see Matthew take a more central storyline and start to fulfil his duty of heir and brining in his modern ways, but why did Mary’s story arc have to suffer? I wanted more Mary and Matthew just being happy and fun and teasing each other! I wonder now if Fellowes didn’t really try with Mary/Matthew in series 3, knowing what would have to happen…
And now we won’t get to see them anymore at all - there won’t be any fun teasing arguments over the baby, no disagreements or tension over the running of the estate. Lady Mary will never become the Countess of Grantham! It’s just such a sad ending for what once was such an inspirational and fun and entertaining and down right addictive ship. The show has basically just killed one of the most popular romances in recent TV history! Mary and Matthew just deserved so much more!
And now I’m at a loss as to what to do! As I’ve never shipped a couple so much before, I don’t know quite what to do with myself now. I’m trying to consol myself with the fact that it was only because of the actor leaving that it even happened, that Fellowes intended a very different story for them. That makes it easier to imagine a relatively canonical world where they are still together and living happily ever after with their son. But it’s not enough and what do I do with all those videos I made, all the fanfics I never finished for them? Can I even rewatch my Downton Abbey DVDs knowing what happens???
Which brings me onto another topic - the question of why they did have to make this happen? I know some people are laying a lot of hate at Dan Stevens and Fellowes, but I can’t really hate either. I mean, ok, I wish Dan had decided to stay so they never would have had to kill of Matthew, but it is his job and he had the right to leave. And because of this, they were left with the very difficult problem of how to kill him off. And I do think they HAD to kill him off, he simply never would have left Mary and Downton for a prolonged period otherwise.
And the manner of his death was so horrific too - dying in a car crash just after he’d seen his new born baby - and in the Christmas special no less. But really, how else do you kill off a healthy, thirty something year old male? And if Dan Stevens wanted to leave, he wanted to leave - keeping his death for the next series wouldn’t have really made it much easier I don’t think. Matthew would still be dead either way - and Mary/Matthew no more!
So, in a way, as awful as it is, I can’t really blame anyone for what happened. I do think Dan Stevens has shot himself in the foot for leaving, and in such a manner, but that’s beside the point.
The thing is though, I now just wished there was no series 4! At the time they announced it, I was pretty darn happy about a 4th series. The rumours of Dan Stevens leaving were just rumours so I wasn’t really worried he’d actually leave. I thought we’d have just one more series where Mary and Matthew would be given more decent storylines and a chance to regain some of that wonderful chemistry and teasing banter they had before. But now I’ve seen the Christmas special, it’s all just ruined. Mary and Matthew are simply no more and that’s the most painful part! There won’t be any chance to redeem the ship, to see them live happily ever after. I will never get to see them become the Earl and Countess of Grantham - in the show itself or in canon fanfiction!
So now I just wish there wasn’t another series! Then they wouldn’t have had to kill off Matthew at all! They could have ended the Christmas special on a happy note, with all the family gathered around the new born baby and safe in the knowledge Downton Abbey and their futures are safe for another generation.
They wouldn’t have had to waste parts of the Christmas special introducing new characters and plot lines, which I think will prove mediocre at best, down right irritating in some case (coughEdithCough).
They could have ended the show on a big high and left everyone happy and it all very satisfactory for us viewers. And Mary and Matthew and my obsessive shipper heart safe!!!!
But no, the powers that be - the only ones I really do blame for all this - decided to make another series despite knowing that one of the most central characters and one half of the main romantic couple would have to be killed off. Without Matthew, there will be such a massive hole in the storylines and everything it felt like Downton Abbey was trying to set up in series 1. The legacy of what he did is still there, but it just won’t be the same. We won’t get to see Mary fulfil her destiny as the Countess of Grantham and helping Matthew to run the estate. Instead we’ll have to watch her raise their child alone and no doubt her heart will harden up again and all her wonderful character development will be wasted! And whilst I do hate the idea of Mary being forever alone, I definitely could not stomach a new romantic storyline for her - especially not with Tom Branson!!
And with two major characters grieving the death of their loved ones, two babies only having one parent and the whole family in an even bigger state of shock and mourning, where on earth is the story going to go?
I will watch it, but I have to say, I’m not very confident there’ll be able to fix this mess. Matthew was just too much of a main character and, with his death, the show will just never be the same again. It already feels like it’s gone too far off its main story arc in series 1.
Really, I just wish now, though I know it’s pointless, that they’d just decided to NOT have another series and end the show on a high in the Christmas special.
I just feel like the last two years I’ve obsessed about Downton Abbey and Mary/Matthew, have been for nothing. I’m not done with the show yet, but my interest had definitely been significantly lost!
A small, almost sacriligious part of me sort of wishes they'd've found another actor to play Matthew back at the very start, someone who wouldn't just abandon ship like that. It feels weird saying that, because Dan Stevens really does have such excellent chemistry with Michelle Dockery and plays Matthew so well. But then, we wouldn't have had Matthew's untimely death. Though would I have still loved Matthew and Mary/Matthew as much?
My biggest question though really, is what did happen to Fellowes after series 1? Then it was amazing!! Now I'm just disappointed I ever cared so much about it all.
But then, in their glory days, Mary and Matthew were a ship to behold - they were beautiful!