How M/M via DS Non-Ironically Ruined My Life Meme: I Don't Have Time for This BS

[shanghaiedinla]

“It is a very monopoli[z]ing job."

[Downton Abbey S3/S4 Spoilers Ahead]

Day 12 - Most memorable Dan Stevens quote about Downton.

[Readers: Check out the last paragraph of eolivet's response to Day 12 of this meme. She is one seriously funny gal

Comments

[eolivet]

OMG. My friend, this is genius. :D

o I will not go on about how tone deaf and entitled and arrogant and whiny and out of touch it sounds to call a job that most of the world would give their eye teeth for -- yet still leaves nearly half the year for recreation should he choose -- "monopolizing."

THIS, THIS, THIS!!!! What's genius about this is you're not attacking the fact that he didn't stay on Downton, but what he said when he left. It's something that I sometimes think people don't understand: It's not JUST the fact that he left, but HOW HE LEFT.

So, no -- we don't have a right to control him or his life or his "family" decisions, blah blah. In the same vein, HE could've controlled the words he used as he left. And to insinuate Downton was some big BURDEN to him is REALLY insulting to most of his fans who have full-time jobs and lead the busy life you lead. Aww, poor baby -- the big bad TV show is taking away all your fwee time.

I really just want to quote every last thing in your post, but this is particularly revealing:

And

[shanghaiedinla]

Aww ... Glad it brightened your morning. ;-)

It's not JUST the fact that he left, but HOW HE LEFT.

Exactly. We'll get into this down the road with "what he could have done differently," but there have been many good models in TV history about how to do a departure the right way ... and he didn't follow any of them. George Clooney -- who was a much, much, much bigger star when he left ER -- is a great example. For that matter, JBF (much closer to home) is another good example. Just keep it simple, don't talk too much, when you do talk say nice things, be ambiguous (NOT untruthful) ... voila! Doesn't seem like someone who's Cambridge-educated should have difficulty comprehending this ...

REALLY insulting to most of his fans who have full-time jobs and lead the busy life you leadNot sure if you saw ... but in response I did add an ETA to my post. Actually, much of this isn't my life either, but I chose it because it is a life that so many people DO have (it's representative of the lives of many viewers at home on Sunday evenings). And

[eolivet]

The one where he's talking about how his children "just fit in" to his life? Ugh. As a parent, that grosses me out and suggests to me that he didn't really want the eldest one, but there she is. Which isn't to say he doesn't love his children, I don't think he's a monster. But he clearly doesn't prioritize them the way parents who PLAN for their children do. And I say this being a "whoops" baby myself.

Your children don't have to be (and shouldn't be) the gravitational center of one's entire world, but to speak of them like an afterthought to your career...it's just horrid.

And his wife apparently enables this behavior.

[shanghaiedinla]

Yes, that is the one.

[anonymous]

Everything he said was so disingenuous and strange. I'm convinced that he left to save his marriage but couldn't say so in interviews so he just word vomited.

[shanghaiedinla]

It's quite possible. Not a lot about what he said or did makes much sense. (Tune in to Days 24-25 when we'll tackle this very topic.)

Thanks for commenting.