Downton Abbey

Downton Abbey

When Downton Abbey first premiered on Masterpiece Theater a couple of years ago, my mom and I were ecstatic for a new drama to look forward to every Sunday night. The first season was only seven episodes long and my mom and I made sure to watch every week. She wasn't very pleased with it and quite honestly I wasn't either. It is in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the most critically acclaimed English-language television show but I still feel like something was missing. The second season aired this year and I watched all of the episodes online since my roommate and I don't have a TV.



The first season took place between the years 1912 and 1914. The story follows the aristocratic family, the Crawleys, and their staff of servants. The Earl of Grantham, Robert, and his wife, Cora, have three daughters, Mary, Edith, and Sybil and since the women in the family are not legally allowed to inherit property the house and money, when Robert would pass it would go to the heir, a distant cousin Patrick. Patrick and Mary were engaged and that way the family would be well cared for. Unfortunately, Patrick was on the Titanic and the Crawleys were without an heir. They eventually found one in Matthew Crawley, a third cousin. This starts a "are they or aren't they?" between Mary and Matthew. While the family was dealing with that, the staff had issues with servants stealing and new help adjusting to their new jobs.

The second season was during World War II and many of the residences of Downton Abbey were fighting in the war or volunteering in the hospitals. The daughters earned a little more independence in society and in their house. Relationships began to heat up and a love triangle was apparent in this season. The third season has been renewed and is set to air in September of this year.

Despite watching all the episodes, I am not particularly fond of any of the characters. Even the ones that I am 'supposed' to like, I just can't seem to feel for them or like their personality. The character who I liked watching the most was the Right Honorable Violet Crowley, Countess of Grantham played by Maggie Smith. She was the funniest character on the show and had the best zingers.

Well the best zingers in early 20th century at least.

The show is pretty compelling though. I was always intrigued with Mary and Matthew's story and the stories of some of the more unsavory characters working as servants. Normally, I always root for the 'good' guy but for some reason I found myself liking the manipulative help a bit more. Every episode ended in a cliffhanger and kept me wanting more. I would definitely recommended this series even though I didn't like it as much as some other Masterpiece Theater shows.