A "How M/M via DS Non-Ironically Ruined My Life Abbreviated 28 Day" Meme
Here's the next few parts to eolivet meme for Downton Abbey, Mary and Matthew and the actor Dan Stevens.
Days 6 to 12 are under the cut and will contain spoilers:
Day 6 - Most memorable Matthew scene in S2.
This is a hard one, as there were so many great ones for Matthew in series 2. To try and get away from the Mary/Matthew stuff in most of my answers, I'm going to go for the end of episode 5, when Matthew is in hospital thinking he'll never walk again or have children and Isobel comes into the room.
I love that scene so much because it is just so emotionally heartbreaking and so wonderfully acted by all. It follows a very sad/angsty Mary/Matthew scene, where Matthew talks to Mary about how pathetic and awful he feels and that no one would ever want him now, and Mary says her famous, "on any terms" line - pretending she's talking about Lavinia, when really she's talking about herself.
But that's all M/M related, so lets get back to the scene after. So Matthew is in a VERY bad place and his mother comes in, who he hasn't seen for a while, and he just says "mother" and GOSH! That line speaks so much! He's so glad to see her and it's like he's a little boy again, just wanting his mother and it's so emotional and amazingly acted by all. It really shows how much everything that's happened to him has affected him and just how terrible he feels. And Isobel's face, where she tries to stay strong for him (and knows the reason why Mary was there), is just so hearbreaking!
I can't really put into words all the emotion in that scene and that one word, but it is so very moving! I'm always been a big fan of the the Matthew/Isobel relationship and this line almost makes up for how little we saw of them interacting in series 2. But they are very close and have supported each other for a long time I think. Yet here, Matthew wants nothing more than to just see his mother again and it moved me more than anything in that very emotionally draining and heartbreaking episode.
Day 7 - Your hopes and dreams for Matthew and Mary's S3 relationship, prior to S3 airing.
Fun, flirty banter. Teasing and playing games with each other. Petite arguments that ended in lots of happy make up scenes. Lots of secret smiles and catching each other eyes across dinner. Lots of fun sexual tension where they both can't wait to get home. Interesting discussions where we see them just talk. Sitting on that bench and just being happy together!
Ok, not to just advertise my fanfics here, but basically how I wrote them in my two married M/M fanfics - The Unexpected Visitor and It's the Thought That Counts. Where they play games with each other, mostly instigated by Mary, but Matthew loves joining in. Where they are all aloof with each other just to build up that sizzling chemistry. Them just teasing each other and using their brilliant wit to excellent use!
"If you like a good argument, we should see more of each other"
I know a lot had changed since then, but seriously, where did it all go wrong in series 3? There was SO MUCH POTENTIAL! Built up over 2 series and a Christmas special. The actors spark off each other so well and have such amazing chemistry. They could have been an epic married couple who were lots of fun. What on earth happened? Don't get me wrong, I still loved them in series 3, but they were verging on soppy too much and seemed to spend so much time just arguing in a bad way.
Where was all the fun, happy flirty teasing we'd seen glimpses of for the past few series? That's what I wanted, and it seemed to be set up so well and promised in the first episode with the wedding. But then, it was like JF suddenly didn't know what to do with them - he turned them soppy when they should have been fun. And I don't buy the excuse that they needed to make them happy because of what was to come - they could have been fun/flirty happy, not soppy happy!
And part of me wonders whether I should blame Dan Stevens a bit too, as I do wonder if he maybe just didn't bother putting in the effort this series to make them shine!
I think this is what bothers me most about Matthew's death - that we never will see them like that. (That and the fact that Matthew never will be Earl now, which makes his part in the story seem almost pointless...)
I think if series 3 had been more like that for them, I would be more okay with it. But it was like they were wasted in series 3 and now we'll never get to see them again to make up for it. As someone who's shipped M/M since day one nearly, series 3 just wasn't the payback we deserved!
Day 8 - When did you first take seriously the idea of Dan Stevens leaving the show?
I'd stayed out of the Downton Abbey fandom a lot last year, as I wanted to avoid spoilers. So it wasn't until people outside the fandom I knew watched it started mentioning it that I got worried. Up until then, the odd rumour I'd heard I'd dismissed straight away. Surely Dan Stevens wouldn't leave such a famous and popular show that would set up his career for life? Surely that would be shooting himself in the foot...
So it was only later, after series 3, when I started to take the rumours a little more seriously. But even then, I couldn't understand why he'd leave. So I was just thinking it was the papers and hoping that they weren't true. It wasn't until the Christmas special itself that I actually properly took the rumours seriously!
Day 9 - Most memorable Matthew scene in S3.
This is a hard one again, but for like the opposite reason to series 2. There just weren't that many great ones! I remember thinking at the time it was because they just hadn't given Matthew much to work with, but now I think it may also have been a bit of a lack of effort on Dan Stevens part...
I'm going to have to go with his conversation with the doctor in episode 5. Where Matthew is worried about his abiliity to father a child. Because it was so, so funny! Matthew was suitably awkward, yet still perservering (read stubborn). The doctor was all calm and collected and it was a great moment for Matthew to show his actual character - something a bit lacking for him in series 3.
Day 10 - Favorite Matthew and Mary scene of S3.
Their wedding. Because it was everything I'd hoped Mary and Matthew as a married couple would be. I loved Mary going to the church with the people in Downton waving at her as she passed and all the bunting and things around the villiage - it really was a big occasion - the future Earl and Countess of Grantham (SOB!)
And I loved Mary entering the church and Matthew turning round to look at her and their lovely smiles. But more than anything, my favourite part was their little chat -Matthew saying he was worried she wouldn't show up and Mary saying she was glad, for she'd hate to be unpredictable.
I loved that so, so much, Because it was fun, flirty and NOT SOPPY! Matthew not entirely sure what to make of her, Mary remaining aloof, even when she's about to get married to the love of her life who she very nearly never go to marry! Them teasing each other and sharing that sweet little smirk. That was the fun, flirty banter I so, so wanted to see for them in series 3. We had it brilliantly then and I got so excited for them as a couple. But then, well, see answer to day 7 above!
And I agree that we didn't need to see them say the vowes or actually GET married. That little intro to their married life was enough.
Day 11 - How long did you hold out hope that Dan Stevens would sign for S4?
Til the bitter end! Even when we saw him lying in the grass with his eyes open and the blood flowing, I still hoped a little he'd survive. It was only when I read that article afterwards that I knew he was not coming back.
But this, for me, is tied a lot to my answer to Day 8.
Day 12 - Most memorable Dan Stevens quote about Downton.
I don't have one I'm afraid. What with staying away from the fandom, I've missed a lot of his interviews and things. But I think what resonates with me most of all is the difference between what he was like in interviews for series 2 compared to series 3. I just thinking something pretty big must have happened for things to change so drastically.
Days 6 to 12 are under the cut and will contain spoilers:
Day 6 - Most memorable Matthew scene in S2.
This is a hard one, as there were so many great ones for Matthew in series 2. To try and get away from the Mary/Matthew stuff in most of my answers, I'm going to go for the end of episode 5, when Matthew is in hospital thinking he'll never walk again or have children and Isobel comes into the room.
I love that scene so much because it is just so emotionally heartbreaking and so wonderfully acted by all. It follows a very sad/angsty Mary/Matthew scene, where Matthew talks to Mary about how pathetic and awful he feels and that no one would ever want him now, and Mary says her famous, "on any terms" line - pretending she's talking about Lavinia, when really she's talking about herself.
But that's all M/M related, so lets get back to the scene after. So Matthew is in a VERY bad place and his mother comes in, who he hasn't seen for a while, and he just says "mother" and GOSH! That line speaks so much! He's so glad to see her and it's like he's a little boy again, just wanting his mother and it's so emotional and amazingly acted by all. It really shows how much everything that's happened to him has affected him and just how terrible he feels. And Isobel's face, where she tries to stay strong for him (and knows the reason why Mary was there), is just so hearbreaking!
I can't really put into words all the emotion in that scene and that one word, but it is so very moving! I'm always been a big fan of the the Matthew/Isobel relationship and this line almost makes up for how little we saw of them interacting in series 2. But they are very close and have supported each other for a long time I think. Yet here, Matthew wants nothing more than to just see his mother again and it moved me more than anything in that very emotionally draining and heartbreaking episode.
Day 7 - Your hopes and dreams for Matthew and Mary's S3 relationship, prior to S3 airing.
Fun, flirty banter. Teasing and playing games with each other. Petite arguments that ended in lots of happy make up scenes. Lots of secret smiles and catching each other eyes across dinner. Lots of fun sexual tension where they both can't wait to get home. Interesting discussions where we see them just talk. Sitting on that bench and just being happy together!
Ok, not to just advertise my fanfics here, but basically how I wrote them in my two married M/M fanfics - The Unexpected Visitor and It's the Thought That Counts. Where they play games with each other, mostly instigated by Mary, but Matthew loves joining in. Where they are all aloof with each other just to build up that sizzling chemistry. Them just teasing each other and using their brilliant wit to excellent use!
"If you like a good argument, we should see more of each other"
I know a lot had changed since then, but seriously, where did it all go wrong in series 3? There was SO MUCH POTENTIAL! Built up over 2 series and a Christmas special. The actors spark off each other so well and have such amazing chemistry. They could have been an epic married couple who were lots of fun. What on earth happened? Don't get me wrong, I still loved them in series 3, but they were verging on soppy too much and seemed to spend so much time just arguing in a bad way.
Where was all the fun, happy flirty teasing we'd seen glimpses of for the past few series? That's what I wanted, and it seemed to be set up so well and promised in the first episode with the wedding. But then, it was like JF suddenly didn't know what to do with them - he turned them soppy when they should have been fun. And I don't buy the excuse that they needed to make them happy because of what was to come - they could have been fun/flirty happy, not soppy happy!
And part of me wonders whether I should blame Dan Stevens a bit too, as I do wonder if he maybe just didn't bother putting in the effort this series to make them shine!
I think this is what bothers me most about Matthew's death - that we never will see them like that. (That and the fact that Matthew never will be Earl now, which makes his part in the story seem almost pointless...)
I think if series 3 had been more like that for them, I would be more okay with it. But it was like they were wasted in series 3 and now we'll never get to see them again to make up for it. As someone who's shipped M/M since day one nearly, series 3 just wasn't the payback we deserved!
Day 8 - When did you first take seriously the idea of Dan Stevens leaving the show?
I'd stayed out of the Downton Abbey fandom a lot last year, as I wanted to avoid spoilers. So it wasn't until people outside the fandom I knew watched it started mentioning it that I got worried. Up until then, the odd rumour I'd heard I'd dismissed straight away. Surely Dan Stevens wouldn't leave such a famous and popular show that would set up his career for life? Surely that would be shooting himself in the foot...
So it was only later, after series 3, when I started to take the rumours a little more seriously. But even then, I couldn't understand why he'd leave. So I was just thinking it was the papers and hoping that they weren't true. It wasn't until the Christmas special itself that I actually properly took the rumours seriously!
Day 9 - Most memorable Matthew scene in S3.
This is a hard one again, but for like the opposite reason to series 2. There just weren't that many great ones! I remember thinking at the time it was because they just hadn't given Matthew much to work with, but now I think it may also have been a bit of a lack of effort on Dan Stevens part...
I'm going to have to go with his conversation with the doctor in episode 5. Where Matthew is worried about his abiliity to father a child. Because it was so, so funny! Matthew was suitably awkward, yet still perservering (read stubborn). The doctor was all calm and collected and it was a great moment for Matthew to show his actual character - something a bit lacking for him in series 3.
Day 10 - Favorite Matthew and Mary scene of S3.
Their wedding. Because it was everything I'd hoped Mary and Matthew as a married couple would be. I loved Mary going to the church with the people in Downton waving at her as she passed and all the bunting and things around the villiage - it really was a big occasion - the future Earl and Countess of Grantham (SOB!)
And I loved Mary entering the church and Matthew turning round to look at her and their lovely smiles. But more than anything, my favourite part was their little chat -Matthew saying he was worried she wouldn't show up and Mary saying she was glad, for she'd hate to be unpredictable.
I loved that so, so much, Because it was fun, flirty and NOT SOPPY! Matthew not entirely sure what to make of her, Mary remaining aloof, even when she's about to get married to the love of her life who she very nearly never go to marry! Them teasing each other and sharing that sweet little smirk. That was the fun, flirty banter I so, so wanted to see for them in series 3. We had it brilliantly then and I got so excited for them as a couple. But then, well, see answer to day 7 above!
And I agree that we didn't need to see them say the vowes or actually GET married. That little intro to their married life was enough.
Day 11 - How long did you hold out hope that Dan Stevens would sign for S4?
Til the bitter end! Even when we saw him lying in the grass with his eyes open and the blood flowing, I still hoped a little he'd survive. It was only when I read that article afterwards that I knew he was not coming back.
But this, for me, is tied a lot to my answer to Day 8.
Day 12 - Most memorable Dan Stevens quote about Downton.
I don't have one I'm afraid. What with staying away from the fandom, I've missed a lot of his interviews and things. But I think what resonates with me most of all is the difference between what he was like in interviews for series 2 compared to series 3. I just thinking something pretty big must have happened for things to change so drastically.