Downton Abbey

[Karrit]

Regarding Patrick, what a ridiculous storyline. Was Patrick Canadian to begin with? Because his accent being Canadian would be a huge clue if he was British, right? I mean, I am an American, and have lived in London for eight years. My accent is no closer to sounding British than when I first moved here. And surely Mary, who was engaged to him could do a couple of reminisces, like "remember when we kissed under the apple tree?" and see how he answers. I agree with Sugarhigh, it was something that should have unfolded gradually through the season or not even been included. I do wonder if Patrick will be back because that was a very muddled end(?) to the story.

The whole Sybil/Branson story has missed out on its potential, because of stupid side tracking story lines like Patrick. And for heaven sakes, just let Bates and Anna get married, and move on to other characters. The whole Mary/Matthew/Lavinia thing is getting interesting. I would like to see what Lavinia thinks of Mary and Matthew.

And the Daisy storyline is starting to wear thin. After feeling sympathetic for her last week, now I am feeling irritated. I get that she doesn't want the widow's pension. Good for her. Don't take it. And yes, everyone knows you didn't love William, but you did a nice thing, move on. No need to torture yourself for the rest of the series.

[kateln]

Yeah....this was a dull episode. Oh well, maybe next week's will be better (I hope...)

[xyzzy]

It's odd that some story threads barely last an entire episode while others just drag on and on and on. It makes the pacing weird.

[iClaudia]

The best part of the Patrick storyline was the actor who played him. He played his scenes with near perfect ambiguity so they could have (and still could) gone in either direction.

And the Daisy storyline is starting to wear thin. After feeling sympathetic for her last week, now I am feeling irritated. I get that she doesn't want the widow's pension. Good for her. Don't take it. And yes, everyone knows you didn't love William, but you did a nice thing, move on. No need to torture yourself for the rest of the series.

Seriously. It was an act of compassion. Maybe if another, serious suitor was in the mix or if we could see how her newfound status is impacting her life, it would be less irritating.

[angelaudie]

Ok, I just want to know if I'm crazy for wondering the following (spoilers obviously):

Maybe this is just me trying to make Lavina interesting (seriously the wet face rag in my bathroom has more personality than Lavina) but was I the only one who thought something was off about Carlisle, the guy that blackmailed her, bringing her back? I don't know about you but I wouldn't get into the car of the guy that blackmailed me and threatened to ruin my family not even in the name of being reuniting the dude I claim to love to the point of death (though she certainly didn't up much of a fight to stay with him). It just makes me wonder if perhaps (a) Carlisle played the blackmail card again to get her to return, or (b) Carlisle told her Mary may make a move for Matthew and Lavina returned out of pettiness instead of love. Of course, with my luck Lavina is truly stupid enough to hitch a ride with the guy that blackmails people for a living.

[Deleted]

I like your theory on Lavinia and Carlisle, angelaudie, but with the way the season's been going I doubt Fellowes thought through Lavinia's motivations as much as all that. I feel like, with the possible exception of Edith, none of the characters have experienced any growth this season. They keep doing and saying the same thing over and over again: Lavinia just wants to be with Matthew (hence her reason for coming with Carlisle; Branson just wants to be with Sybil; Sybil doesn't know what the hell she wants; Daisy feels guilty about William; Anna and Bates want to be together but stuff gets in the way, and so on. I really, really hope that the final two episodes (and the Christmas special) go a long way in making these characters interesting again and their motivations dynamic.

[Augustus]

The grand finale...

I'm not really sure what to think, beside the already mentioned soapy factor of season 2. The Spanish Flu, Lavinia taking a very sudden turn for the worse and dying just 'in time' to set Matthew 'free' after she told him that he clearly should be with Mary.

Finally a happy ending for Mr Bates and Anna, they finally tied the knot, except at the last moment, nope, not a chance!

I was a bit confused at what Jane's role was, as a reminder for Lord Grantham who he was before? Or because he was ignored and felt like he was left behind when the war started?

And Sybil and Branson finally got resolved. At least they can now 'run off' to get married.

Series 2 really had a good start, until Fellowes obviously noticed that some characters didn't have a real story arc whatsoever. The result, too many storylines at once. The one interesting arc got resolved in a single episode, the lingering backbone of Mary & Matthew needed some hurdles, same with Mr Bates & Anna.

Well series 3 has been ordered by ITV and I hope he'll have it streamlined, because it was a bit of a mess.

Though I doubt it'd stop me from watching, because the setting is simply luscious.

[iClaudia]

My take on the Jane storyline is that after the war, everyone had started to move on and were set on returning to their normal lives. Lord Grantham's head was still in the war, partially due to his past experience and partially due to the situation with Matthew. He became enamored of a woman who, due to the fact that she had lost her husband and was now a single mother, also could not completely let go of the war and return to her normal life. By letting go of each other, they both had to let of the wartime experience and move on with their lives. I think Hugh Bonneville did a great job and turned what could have played as a typical infidelity plot with more depth.

I enjoyed the finale, even though the season was soapy and bit uneven. I like that Mary and Matthew's road isn't completely clear due to lingering feelings of guilt, remorse and shame. I really felt for Edith during her scene with the Dowager Countess. I hope (Faux?)Patrick returns. I wonder if part of the problem with Anna & Bates was Brendan Coyle's availability. He wasn't in this season much at all. The trajectory of the Anna/Bates plot was predictable but hopefully the resolution to the remaining mystery isn't.

[Deleted]

I also liked the finale; it went a long way toward making me feel better about the wildly uneven season. Violet was in top form ("Don't be defeatist, dear, it's so middle class"), Sybil and Branson got a happy ending, Anna/Bates got some resolution (before the final season, anyway). And I even liked the way Fellowes handled Lavina's death. She could've been a bitchy character that everyone would hate, but I like that she was actually a very good woman whom Matthew really loved, just not in the same way as he loves Mary.

I have very high hopes for the Christmas special and season 3. It will be interesting to see if Mary and Carlisle are married by the time of the special (which I believe is set at Christmas 1919, so 7-8 months after the finale episode). And season 3 will be set over 18 months in 1920-21, which should cut down on all the annoying time jumps. If Edith doesn't become a badass flapper/writer in the next series with an adorable love interest to boot, I'll be sincerely annoyed.

[Augustus]

Personally I thought the Christmas Special was much better than some of series 2 episodes.

And well, we finally have the answer to Mary & Matthew: will they or won't they?A yes! I have to admit, I'm more or less glad the trial didn't go as expected with the guilty verdict. Though totally befitting the Anna-Bates arc, but at least not as predictable as "OMG! I can feel my legs again!!"

I guess now we know what the main story lines will be for series 3. The rough road ahead of the wedding, now with Carlisle being the jilted suitor, the continuing Anna-Bates arc and Sybill being pregnant.

I also thought Daisy's story was nicely done, this whole guilt trip of hers was wearing thin after a while. And O'Brien finally got to show her more humane side again.

Oh yes, and how could I forget? Dame Maggie, as always, simply steals every scene she's in. Her "You promise?" definitely made me laugh.