“War has a way of distinguishing between the things that matter and the things that don’t.” (Matthew)
Well, we’re back. The year is 1916 and we’re in the middle of the first World War. The stakes are high but still everything has its usual casual charm in Downton Abbey’s second season.
“Sometimes I feel as if I were living in an H.G. Wells novel.” (Violet)
For an episode spending so much time on introducing a telephone and with a very predictable cliffhanger, I was surprised to not see two and two put together. It appears that, in case of war breakout, the good old telegraph is still the way to go. Downton Abbey finished off its spectacular season with a bang followed by a very predictable non-existent cliffhanger. Jeez, it’s 1914, we all know the war was coming.
“Sybil is entitled to her opinions.”
“No. She isn’t until she is married, then her husband will tell her what her opinions are.” (Lady Crawley and Violet)
For an upstairs-downstairs type show, this episode of Downton Abbey spent a lot of time with the layers’ seperate quarrels. On the one hand, there was the Sybill-conflict; on the other the whole questionable affair with Mr. Bates and the wine. Let’s have a closer look, shall we?
“She thinks when you put a toy down it will still be sitting there when you want to play with it again.” (Robert)
In its fifth week, Downton Abbey either starts working on wrapping things up or on opening them up even further. Whereas, on a character level, certain characters have reached a new stage in their development towards wholesomeness, others are evolving towards the dark side. And what’s been hinted for a while has now become abundantly clear: Mary and Edith are both grade-A bitches.
“If she’s got a boyfriend, I’m a giraffe.” (O’Brian)
Now who doesn’t like the fair? I sure as hell don’t – today fairs are synonym for teenage kids drinking breezers and barfing on the bumper carts. But back when life was different, fairs were different, too. They filled some of the abbey’s inhabitants with childlike glee and showed us a further instance of how (and why) the old upstairs-downstairs system is falling apart.
“I’m not being ridiculous. No Englishman would *dream* of dying in someone else’s house – especially somebody they didn’t even know.” (Violet)
Well that was surely strange. Who would have ever thought people would die in a British costume drama? And that after causing that much intrigue? Downton Abbey is turning into quite the curious little thing.
“What’s a weekend?” (Violet)
This week focused on a battle that’s been as old as the industrial revolution: city versus country. As Matthew, the rightful heir to the fortune, arrived at the abbey, this conflict was unfolded in a typical – but very charming – matter. And where, at first, Matthew didn’t want a butler, he quickly learned that not everything revolves around him.
“No one wants to kiss a girl in black.” (Violet)
I’m always hesitant to try a period piece. While they might be nice to look at, there’s usually an overflow of dialogue and not nearly enough action to keep things going. I don’t mean I want to see explosions – I just want the damn actors to move around now and again. At a first glance, itv’s upstairs-downstairs-based period drama Downton Abbey might pull that off. One reason: telling an upstairs-downstairs story usually involves taking stairs.