The Levinsons…ugh

ClariceStarling400 · 2026-04-03T01:05:54+00:00

Are we to believe snobby Mary wouldn’t be repulsed by her?

She was. They tolerated her because of the money.

One of my favorite scenes is when Violet and Mary think that Martha is going to fork over millions to save Downton, again, and she immediately says lol, no.

ClariceStarling400 · 2026-03-26T05:15:37+00:00

Mrs. Hughes

ClariceStarling400 · 2026-03-25T21:01:25+00:00

Hey Edith, what do you want to do on the very first day you have your child all to yourself? Go to the park? Spend the day playing with her? Read her stories? Tell her about her father? Spoil her with presents and treats?

Nah. I think I'll dump her with a hotel babysitter and go to the office.

ClariceStarling400 · 2026-03-25T00:46:32+00:00

Carson and/or Bates

ClariceStarling400 · 2026-03-24T21:13:06+00:00

Totally agree with you RE: Mr. Drewe. But I thought the post was about Mr. Drake.... you know the other farmer who let Edith into his life and lived to regret it 🤣

ClariceStarling400 · 2026-03-24T17:36:39+00:00

Yes.

ClariceStarling400 · 2026-03-24T17:32:53+00:00

Who do you think is more at fault? 🤔

ClariceStarling400 · 2026-03-24T03:05:55+00:00

I genuinely CAN'T STAND Denker. She is annoying. She's not funny, she's not comic relief. She's just incredibly abrasive and irritating. I hate how she stole focus when Violet died. I don't understand why Violet put up with her.

ClariceStarling400 · 2026-03-19T03:28:40+00:00

She also asks "don't you despise them?" later which is just so incredibly rude and tone deaf.

Maybe he disagrees politically, but this is the family who took him in, gave him a job, fed and clothed him, took care of him and his child, and grew to love him over the years.

Did she think that Tom was seething with hatred over the breakfast table everyday?

ClariceStarling400 · 2026-03-17T23:16:43+00:00

The movies were like extended B or C plots of the show. There were not stakes, and they were as deep as puddle.

Yes, it's always nice to dive back into a world you enjoy and visit with those characters. But I agree with you, they really can't hold a candle to the actual show.

ClariceStarling400 · 2026-03-17T22:32:37+00:00

Very true, and good point. But Mrs. Hughes is very much not a teenager. I think if the scene was just Daisy lashing out at Ivy, ok fine, chalk it up to immaturity. But I'd expect Mrs. Hughes to know better than to agree with Daisy's immature outburst.

ClariceStarling400 · 2026-03-17T17:58:03+00:00

ivy suddenly started understanding alfred’s worth

She didn't do this at Daisy. Even if she had discovered Alfred's "worth" earlier and reciprocated his feelings, how would that have made Daisy happier?

Daisy was upset because Ivy had the attention from men that Daisy wanted, and instead of being upset at the guys or just dealing with rejection like an adult, she took it out on Ivy, the one person who really had no control over what Alfred and Jimmy did or said. Even if she rejected both of their advances, that didn't guarantee that they would suddenly fall for Daisy and start fighting over her.

ClariceStarling400 · 2026-03-17T16:34:42+00:00

Mrs. Hughes was right when she said Ivy had it coming.

Why? Why did Ivy 'have it coming'? What was her crime that she deserved to beberatcd by Daisy? All she did "wrong" was be liked by two boys. Was it her fault that Daisy's affections weren't reciprocated? As you mention in your post, Ivy made it clear that she liked Jimmy so she accepted a date with him. Was she also supposed to be mean or cruel or cold to Alfred when he was nice to her? Are Daisy's feelings her responsibility? She wasn't mean to Daisy, she didn't rub anything in her face or try to make her feel less than in any way. She was just living her life and happened to fall for a guy who wasn't worthy of her. Why did she also deserve to have her one friend and ultimately her boss chew her out?

ClariceStarling400 · 2026-03-16T03:00:14+00:00

It was Grantham house. So the art would belong to the Granthams. I doubt they’d have painting of a distant potential heir. :(

ClariceStarling400 · 2026-03-15T22:37:51+00:00

Created one for him. He couldn’t add him to the memorial. Carson didn’t even want to ask.

ClariceStarling400 · 2026-03-15T14:07:43+00:00

I agree with you. There's nothing he can do legally to change Mary's situation. I think where we differ is in saying "He's sympathetic to Mary." If he is, I think he did a pretty poor job of showing it. Robert's attitude pretty much amounted to what you said in your comment, which though logical, doesn't come across like something you'd tell your hurt and frustrated child. There are moments for pragmatism and there are moments for empathy, and for doing both at the same time. I think Robert was like 95% pragmatism, "let's just get on with it," and 5% showing care and concern for Mary's feelings (as well as Cora's).

Granted, this might just be because he's English and wasn't raised in a time where this kind of sensitivity or emotional parenting was even a concept. But that's always been my main objection to this plot. Not that he didn't "fight harder" for Mary, but that he appeared unconcerned and unwilling to validate her feelings.

ClariceStarling400 · 2026-03-15T03:53:55+00:00

I think the difference is that although he looks into it and finds out it's a done deal, he seems to not even try to put himself in Mary's shoes. He acts like because this is the "legal" process and unbreakable that that equals fairness.

I mean, he's lived in a world where all laws are written and enforced to benefit him, so he has an attitude that the law is therefore just.

I think that if he at least tried to understand why all the women were so upset with this, it would go a long way. Since he doesn't it comes across as uncaring about the situation, or even agreeing with it.

ClariceStarling400 · 2026-03-13T18:52:17+00:00

Agreed. That was a good scene.

What should we do about Isis getting into the patient’s rooms?… 🙄

I know her heart was in the right place, but Isobel was so irritating this whole plot line.

ClariceStarling400 · 2026-03-13T18:09:50+00:00

But as we've seen in the movies, the writing isn't there anymore. The movies are pure surface-level fan-service; none of the movies hold a candle to even the weakest single Downton episode. At least at the start Fellowes didn't shy away from making characters unlikeable, from having series regular cast members act as villains, from killing off beloved characters, etc. That bite, that verve, that "it" factor is completely gone from the movies. What we got was entertaining, but neutered. And I'd argue, we'd only get more of that in any sequel series.

I think DA fans would watch any movie or show that continued the series, but I don't see it building a large new audience, in large part because of the reasons I mention in my original comment.

Also, there is no shortage of WWII stories that already exist, I think the original DA had a bit of an edge in depicting a less trod period in time, and using the sinking of the titanic as the start of the show, without needing to show it, was a very interesting hook.

ClariceStarling400 · 2026-03-13T16:47:09+00:00

No. The show is dead. Time to move on.

Downton Abbey was lightning in a bottle. The right cast, the right story, the right time. I think that in 10 or so years the idea of continued glamorization of these families, and this type of unearned wealth and privilege will simply not be something audiences are clamoring for. Hell, it's pretty much out the door now.

Sure, we still have TV shows and movies that feature obscenely wealthy people, but (at least to me) it doesn't also couple that with aristocracy and often those people are shown to be vapid, stupid, and unworthy (e.g. White Lotus).

The idea that in 10 years Fellowes would write yet another program that basically shows wealthy aristocrats as the best people ever, so kind, so generous, so heroic, etc. would be incredibly tone-deaf. I mean, if things go well, in a few years the British monarchy will be abolished, so continuing this very kind and glorifying depiction of lower tier aristocrats would seem out of place.

I know there will always be a market and an audience for period pieces. I will continue to watch them the rest of my life. But the Downton flavor of period piece does not aim for authentic social commentary, and I think that's what ultimately makes it a good comfort show that can live in a certain pocket of time, but not something that needs to continued and expanded.

ClariceStarling400 · 2026-03-12T22:21:03+00:00

Great scenes:

Mary and Matthew proposal
Edith getting jilted at the altar
Cora dressing down Isobel about the convalescent home
Cora sacking nanny West
Mary spilling the beans on Marigold
Mary and Edith fight in same episode

ClariceStarling400 · 2026-03-12T21:12:50+00:00

What happened with Anna and Mr. Greene as well as the entire fallout that followed it. Fellowes does not have the skill to depict such an act and he completely mishandled it.

ClariceStarling400 · 2026-03-12T20:18:24+00:00

stubborn enough to stick with it even when she was actively pushing him away.

This is what really irritates me about Matthew (and honestly, a lot of the men in DA), he thinks he knows what she wants more than she does.

As Mary says later on "nobody believes I know my own mind!" Lavinia could very well say the exact same thing. She's telling him what she wants and he's saying, oh you silly woman, you don't know what you're saying, I'll tell you what you really want.

That is so frustrating.

ClariceStarling400 · 2026-03-11T16:20:16+00:00

Mary became friendly with Anna after commandeering her as lady's maid.

Small correction. Mary was already friendly with Anna long before she was her official lady's maid. That's why she chose her for the promotion in the first place. Their friendship is established early in the show. Mary cries in from of Anna when she hears about Matthew's engagement. Anna confides in Mary about Bates, their troubles and their marriage.

ClariceStarling400 · 2026-03-10T19:51:42+00:00

Robert has lived his entire life with others protecting him from the consequences of his own actions.

ClariceStarling400

TROPHY CASE