Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.

This really is a full service blog.

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

People are complicated. Love is not.

An almost top 10,000 blog!

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.

Republicans don’t trust women.

They think we are photo bombing their nice little lives.

There are consequences to being an arrogant, sullen prick.

“Can i answer the question? No you can not!”

Bad news for Ron DeSantis is great news for America.

But frankly mr. cole, I’ll be happier when you get back to telling us to go fuck ourselves.

Prediction: the GOP will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

Usually wrong but never in doubt

Republicans do not pay their debts.

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

No one could have predicted…

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Downton Abbey Series Finale Thread

Downton Abbey Series Finale Thread

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dogbum_abbey

And so we must bid farewell to the furry posterior of the yellow lab Isis, preserved in the opening sequence of the show even after her character was killed off, possibly because of unfortunate associations with her name. Or maybe because she was about 200 in dog years, so she had to die.

Any predictions? I have none, but here are my hopes:

Lady Mary and Henry Talbot make each other’s lives a living hell forever and ever.

Lady Edith returns to London, heartbroken about being jilted yet again. One night when she and her (female) editor are working late, they get drunk and start a torrid love affair. When Bertie Pelham comes crawling back, Lady Edith sends him packing with a tart, “Sod off, wanker!”

It comes out that Spratt and the Dowager Countess were co-authors of the lonely hearts column at Lady Edith’s magazine.

Mrs. Patmore and Mr. Mason marry, and Mrs. Patmore gets to discover the “mysteries of life” for herself at last. They adopt Andy the footman as their son, thinking Daisy will marry Andy and work the land. But Daisy leaves Yorkshire to lead an anti-monarchist land reform movement. Andy marries a village girl, and Mrs. Patmore scolds, cajoles and bosses that poor woman around for the rest of her life.

Bates, Anna and their infant son are all three implicated in a murder. While there isn’t sufficient evidence to arrest them, all three are periodically questioned by agents of Scotland Yard until the outbreak of World War II.

Molesley and Baxter marry and move to the village. Molesley eventually becomes headmaster of the village school. Baxter becomes a famous true crime novelist under a pseudonym, basing her stories on the monsters she’s known in real life.

Mrs. Hughes learns to control Carson through gentle terror, and via her deft application of these skills ushers in a Golden Age of Happiness downstairs, which includes the hire of a smashingly handsome gay footman to replace Moseley.

The new footman falls for Barrow, who is transformed by domestic happiness. Barrow eventually becomes the new Carson, as devoted to Master George as the original Carson was, inexplicably, to Lady Mary.

I’m not sure what happens to Tom, Denker, Lady Cora or his Lordship. What do you think?

Reader Interactions

93Comments

  1. 1.

    lamh36

    Another Dem debate…had no idea, not watching anyway.

    I just got back home from dropping Maddie off back at home.

    Now I remember that my lil sister (the youngest, pregnant one) will be coming into town and she wants to stay with me…

    So I just got rid of a hyper ass 5 year old and now, I’m gonna have hormonal pregnant woman in my home again for the entire week…Pray for me

  2. 2.

    Mnemosyne

    I keep telling you guys that the cultural moment is wrong for Trump to win this year. Here’s my new data point: “Zootopia” made over $70 million this weekend alone, and the damn thing is a (barely) veiled allegory about bigotry.

    Trump’s fans may be scary, but the culture has left them behind. We can win this if we don’t chicken out.

  6. 6.

    Elizabelle

    NYTimes reader suggested that Bates and Anna welcome a son, Norman, move to America, take up innkeeping …

  15. 15.

    dantanna

    Upton Downton, at least that’s what I’ve been calling it.

    I don’t watch it but Mrs. Tanna watches it all the time. She bought some tea branded with the butlers from the series, called Butler’s Pantry Blend. It is actually very good.

  18. 18.

    Botsplainer, Cryptofascist Tool of the Oppressor Class

    Am watching a nice set of documentaries on Netflix on missing art. The episode now is about a number of missing Faberge eggs.

    I was doing some tasks and was surprised at how good my recollection was of Russian nobility. Got Maria Federovna in a glance.

  19. 19.

    Ruckus

    @MomSense:
    Yup, the culture has moved on.
    There are a fair number of people who don’t know that, and a smaller but vocal number whose business is to make sure no one finds out.

  20. 20.

    oldster

    Yeah, what *is* the story with Tom? He has been so saintly recently, in working for the benefit of everyone else.

    Is it a British thing, that instead of a Magical Negro they have a Magical Irishman?

  21. 21.

    Tripod

    Michelle Dockery does not look good. This must have been a miserable shoot for her.

  23. 23.

    laura

    I was gifted with scones this morning after the getaway to San Jose to see the Sharks lose to the Cannucks.
    I shared Downton with my last maternal aunt who helped me prepare to address mother’s dementia and get a care plan cobbled together. Aunt Margie died November 2013, and mom’s in hospice and transitioning from life. I’m fixing the kettle, making a plate of the scones and plan to have a teary little time of it.
    I hope it’s as hokey as I need it to be.
    The first episode was the day after Gabby Gifford was gunned down at her regular Congress Person on the corner. What seemed surreal at the time is sadly commonplace.

  32. 32.

    Tehanu

    @Mnemosyne:

    From your keyboard to God’s screen. Here’s hoping!

    As for Downton, I mostly just want Edith to be happy! I do like Betty’s ideas.

    In real life, Michelle Dockery’s fiance died of cancer recently. The show must go on and all that, but it’s tough.

  39. 39.

    geg6

    I am recording this, so not reading comments for fear of spoilers. But al I want is for Edith to be happy. Hopefully, without a man and making a smashing success as a magazine publisher, becoming vastly more wealthy and powerful than Lady Mary.

  42. 42.

    PurpleGirl

    I hope that they paid the current Lord Carnavon a sufficient fee for using Highclere Castle that the family is able to keep the castle in good repair for many years. I know that in the past 10 years or so they had to do extensive repairs to the facade and the roof. (And if any of you recognize the Carnavon name, yes, this is the same family as the Lord Carnavon who sponsored the Egyptian digs that found the tomb of Tutankamun.)

  43. 43.

    Just Good Sense

    Flash forward to 1961 and his lordship, now 85 or so, is goaded by another member of his club into betting what remains of his fortune that a little rock-n-roll combo from Liverpool is about to transform popular music and society itself. And the name of that band…is Gerry and the Pacemakers.

  44. 44.

    gogol's wife

    It was sweet. So glad about Thomas. And Violet got the last word.

    But I would have liked to see the Isobel wedding.

  45. 45.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @PurpleGirl: There was a PBS series on British great houses not that long ago and Highclere was one of the featured houses. The current Lord Canavon indicated that Downton has been great for the house. Aside from the fees, it has spurred tourist visits.

  47. 47.

    gogol's wife

    @rikyrah:

    I adore Spratt! I bought the DVD of Vanity Fair just because he’s in it as Jos Sedley. (And Nathaniel Parker as Rawdon Crawley.) Haven’t watched it yet.

  49. 49.

    PurpleGirl

    @PurpleGirl: spelling correction: Tutankhamen

    ETA: Spelling Eygptian names form memory is not good and I’ve been interested in Ancient Eygpt since childhood.

  58. 58.

    debbie

    @PurpleGirl:

    If you watch Globe Trekker, they’ve done a two-part series on the history of English houses. I’ve only seen the first one so far, but it was wonderful.

  59. 59.

    J.D. Rhoades

    I just want to wander around for a bit in those libraries. Downton’s, for one, but good lord did you see the one at Brancaster? And you know they don’t even know half of what they have…

  60. 60.

    PurpleGirl

    Okay, I have a two shelves of books about Ancient Egypt. The previous spelling came a booklet about the Amarna Period published by the Brooklyn Museum. However the Metropolitan Museum of Art had the name spelled Tutankhamun in their catalogue of items they sell copies of at the Museum.

  62. 62.

    Mike J

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    There was a PBS series on British great houses not that long ago and Highclere was one of the featured houses.

    It’s available on amazon prime.

  64. 64.

    Mike J

    sarah jeong ‏@sarahjeong 3h3 hours ago
    More people voted in a poll asking what Hogwarts house @Snowden belongs to, than in the Nebraska Democratic Caucus

  65. 65.

    pseudonymous in nc

    @J.D. Rhoades:

    you know they don’t even know half of what they have…

    And probably won’t make a huge effort to find out, because that might expose slightly dodgy provenance for certain acquisitions somewhere along the way.

    I don’t know if it’s shown in the US, but Salvage Hunters is an interesting watch, especially when Drew Pritchard visits a country pile where inevitably there’s an nth-generation aristocratic gent with odd fashion sense and a few tics, a highly capable wife who runs the whole show and does the negotiating on bits for sale, and perhaps an elder daughter who wants to keep things from falling to bits but isn’t quite sure how to deal with mummy and daddy.

  69. 69.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    @Omnes Omnibus: One can’t trust Tweets from a dead guy? Zooks.

    :-)

    I’m not a big fan of the show. I watched a few times, but couldn’t get into it.

    Thanks.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  71. 71.

    Mnemosyne

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    A lot of Americans assume the British folks they see on their teevee or movie screens are much more upper-class than they actually are, in part because Americans rarely hear truly upper-class British accents. Fellowes’ father was born in Canada and became a British diplomat. Fellowes may have had a posh and privileged childhood, but in the UK that’s not the same as being an aristocrat.

    People also get confused because (a) Fellowes’ wife actually IS an aristocrat (grandniece of an earl) and (b) he was granted a life peerage, which is more like an extra-fancy knighthood since he cannot pass it along to his son like a real aristocrat could.

  72. 72.

    gogol's wife

    @SFAW:

    I’m aware of that, I liked him a lot, it was just a little joke to show that I shared the commenter’s love of Vega$. Too soon?

  73. 73.

    Elizabelle

    Lady Mary: That bitch whelped in my bed! Bad Isis Tiaa Bates!

    LOL re Betty’s predictions. At least one came true.

    ETA: Maybe more, when they get around to the movie.

  74. 74.

    Germy

    @J.D. Rhoades:

    Spratt cracks me up

    He looks like a live action version of an animated Disney character.

    You’re right! Like he’d be playing a teacup or something.

    I liked the strained relationship between Spratt and Denker. She still has the upper hand, though. She knows he was harboring a fugitive.

    One thing I don’t understand. Why do they call Mrs. Patmore “Mrs.” if she’s never… ahem… known the mysteries of life? Is it a British thing to call all women Mrs.?

    Baby Bates was born in the same bed the Turk died in. I expected the constable to come and scoop up the infant on suspicion of theft or murder.

    Mrs. Hughs and Mr. Carson were finally on a first-name basis. Saucy!

    I missed the part where Daisy passed all her exams and left service. Did I doze off?

  75. 75.

    Germy

    The Dowager’s line, when she learns the evil son and wife get the house: “Let them wallow in it.”

  76. 76.

    gogol's wife

    @Germy:

    I gather older female servants were given the title “Mrs.” as a courtesy. “Mrs. Hughes” was also unmarried.

    I like the fact that in the final episode, Lady Mary had to undress Anna. Very nice little touch by Fellowes.

  77. 77.

    gogol's wife

    @Germy:

    You might have dozed off — there was a five-second scene in the previous episode where the schoolmaster came to the kitchen and told her about the exams. But she hasn’t left service yet.

  78. 78.

    Germy

    @gogol’s wife: So Mary’s husband will open a car dealership in that quaint, beautiful town. Fast forward twenty years and there are traffic jams everywhere, and some 100-year-old homes are torn down to make room for a new motorway.

  79. 79.

    Germy

    From a NY Times review of the last episode, a Dowager quote about Denker and Spratt:
    But I must particularly salute her arresting comparison of Denker to Salome, “dancing rings around Spratt’s Herod.”

  81. 81.

    Germy

    I read the actress who played Denker used to work for Brian Epstein in the 1960s (The Beatles manager)
    Imagine the stories she can tell!

  82. 82.

    rikyrah

    Loved the finale of Downtown Abbey.

    Edith is happy :)

    She got the man, the money, the business and her baby.

    YEAH!!!

    Isobel will be married and in love in these twilight years.

    Mrs. Patmore is gonna hook up with Mr. Mason..only a matter of time.

    She set Daisy and Andy straight!

    Cora is going to shine in her own right.

    And, Mr. Carson can begin the next phase of his life, with his loving wife, and knowing that Downton is in good hands.

    Barrow seems to be developing with George the same relationship that Mary had with Carson.

    All in all, I’m happy with the finale.

  83. 83.

    Germy

    @rikyrah: I was very glad to see Mr. Molesley get to do something with his education other than serving tea. One of the sweetest moments of the series was when he got the opportunity to take a test and prove what he’d learned over the years.

    He was one of the low-key heroes of the show; going around with Bates’ photo to all the taverns, finding his alibi.

  84. 84.

    gogol's wife

    @rikyrah:

    I like that she re-encountered Bertie while living her independent London life, and then he turns out to be the Marquess so she has her cake and eats it too!

  86. 86.

    gogol's wife

    @Germy:

    And remember when he was reduced to doing road work?

    The one thing that didn’t happen that I was hoping for was what someone on the NYTimes blog suggested, that Violet went to the South of France and reconnected with Prince Kuragin, whose wife had died of spleen, and that he would reappear with his hair washed for the finale to whisk her away.

  88. 88.

    Betsy

    @Germy: Mrs. is the abbreviation for Mistress and Mistress is the feminine form of Mister, the standard honorific. Mistress can be an honorific for any non-gentle woman of standing. Because Mrs. Patmore is “older,” and acts as basically the chef for a great household, she gets a bit of special treatment. Using “Miss” as an honorific in her case, though technically applicable, would understate her importance and the respect due her for her role and age.

  89. 89.

    Betsy

    (Missed my chance to edit — improved comment follows)

    @Germy: Mrs. is the abbreviation for Mistress and Mistress is the feminine form of Mister, the standard honorific for male commoners. Mistress can be an honorific for any non-gentle (common) woman of standing.

    Because Mrs. Patmore is “older,” and acts as basically the chef for a great household, she gets a bit of special treatment. Using “Miss” as an honorific in her case, though technically applicable, would understate her importance and the respect due her for her role and age.

    Interesting fact: The abbreviation “Ms.” is not an invention of the 20th century, and it does “stand for something.” It was an earlier abbreviation for Mistress. (h/t Judith Martin)

  91. 91.

    gogol's wife

    @father pussbucket:

    LOL

    @Germy:

    The people on the Times blog think it was just an excuse to get Peter Egan back for another appearance. I guess Rade Sherbedgia (no time to look for hacheks) didn’t rate.

  92. 92.

    maryQ

    I’m torn between my need for intellectually fulfilling TV drama where the writers are not afraid to go there, and my emotional need to see Anna and Bates and Mary and Edith and Cora and Robert and Violet and Isobel and Tom and Mrs. Hughes and Daisy and Mrs. Patmore happy. But, then, if I were really torn, I would have stopped following this fancy soap opera some time in season 1. The parts that fascinated me-the decline of the aristocracy and the rise of the Labor government, crumbling of the land uses system and the social and economic damage it did to the country, the clash of middle class values with a dying system, these were all just little sprinkles on the sickly-sweet cake of a costume drama with likable characters in a romantic setting. I always felt a little guilty, and a little shallow, for liking it so much.

  93. 93.

    SFAW

    @gogol’s wife:

    Well, it’s be 13-14 years, so it’s probably not too soon. It was just that the comment struck me funny. (Not ha-ha funny.) Not a big deal, either way.

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