Downton addicts rejoice! We got the finale we were hoping for. It was cinematic, dramatic and beautifully acted. The final scene of the show's Season 2, with Mary and Matthew proclaiming their love amid the falling snow, is one of the most romantic love scenes I've ever seen on television. Everything fit together beautifully. It was great escapist yet intelligent fare at a time when the real world has gone mad. Bravo to series creator Julian Fellowes and the entire Downton cast!
Among those reviews that have sung Downton's praises this season, there's been several grouchy pieces dismissing the show as nothing more than a dressed up soap opera, to which I say: what's your point? Of course Downton Abbey is a soap opera--if by that you mean a drama set in a fantastical place with multiple characters whose lives intersect in dramatic and sometimes over- the- top ways and whose love lives pale in comparison to those of mere mortals.The difference is that Downton is a brilliant and satisfying soap opera. Many episodes, this one in particular, could function as a stand-alone movie. Fellowes' nimble handling of story and character development set against what is surely the most lush cinematography on television has made watching the show a transporting experience.
Much has been made about why Downton is so popular here in the United States. Why are six million people tuning into a show about British aristocrats and their servants at the twilight of the British empire? What is it about his lordship's benevolent interactions with his servants that makes us care? How can Americans, in the age of Jersey Shore and other hit reality-show vulgarities, find a show sexy that waited six episodes in to give viewers the first kiss between its most attractive characters? Maybe the answer is that culturally we're not going to hell in a handbasket after all. There are enough of us that actually want to watch something that is good -- well written, well acted with some history lessons sprinkled in. (Admit it, you feel smarter just watching this show!) There's just so much of watching idiots make fools of themselves that we can take.
And, of course, we tell ourselves that Downton Abbey brings us back to a simpler time when the world's problems were not as overwhelming as they are now. But, on that score, we are dead wrong. Think back to that quaint battle scene where Matthew and William are gravely injured at the front. Twenty thousand men were killed on the first day at the battle of the Somme. The Spanish flu, which mainly struck the already decimated population of young people after the war, was the most destructive pandemic of all time, killing 250,000 in Britain.And women had no rights at all (Well, now that you mention it, the more things change, the more they stay the same).
How can a show about a world of inherited privilege be so popular when our real lives are filled with stories of Occupy protesters and a presidential race where one party's front runner happily admits he doesn't worry about the poor? Sure, the lavish sets and costumes help, but I believe our attraction to Downton lies in its appeal as a fable of sorts -- a fairy tale where handsome princes come to the rescue and women are worth fighting for, instead of our own time when everywhere we look goodness does not win out, and bad people don't pay for their sins -- they get paid more to sell their stories.
The sum of Downton's appeal can be found in the season's final scene. Matthew and Mary, the show's hero and heroine, are together at last and all is right with the world. I actually screamed when I knew Matthew was going to propose. (My husband, who has become used to my devotion to the series, left the house when it came on so I could enjoy a good cry in peace.)
Never looking more gorgeous than they both did at that moment, the couple stand together in their evening finery as the snow falls lightly around them. (There's a reason Ralph Lauren sent his models down the runway last week to the strains of Downton's soundtrack.) Matthew, having finally overcome his guilt over Lavinia's death, asks Mary if she will stay at Downton rather than run off to America to wait out the period of scandal that is sure to hit once Sir Richard, her scorned ex-fiance, puts the story of Mr. Pamuk dying in her bed in all the papers he owns. Matthew's request to have her stay at Downton surprises Mary because when she told Matthew of her ill-fated night of passion with Pamuk earlier, he seemed so hurt. ("Was it love?" he asks sounding close to tears. No, she tells him, it was lust! "I am impure!" Mary cries, having hurt the man she loves.)
Mary, my favorite Grantham daughter, who has grown much more worldly and weary through the season, says they've had their chance and lost it. "We carry more baggage than the porters at King's Crossing," she says—and then asks "You've forgiven me?" No, says Matthew pausing for effect. "I don't believe you need my forgiveness." Then, the big payoff: "You've lived your life and I've lived mine and now it's time we lived them together." Mary so wants to let herself believe what she's hearing, but says, "Don't take me there unless you're sure."
Matthew, who just last week -- and earlier in the episode -- was committed to living a life of misery that he thought he justly deserved, having caused Lavinia to die of a broken heart (helped along by the Spanish flu, of course)--has had his own change of heart. He tells Mary he now believes Lavinia would not have wanted him to be sad. So he says,"Then will you?" Mary, to her infinite credit, doesn't let being the fallen woman of Downton get in the way of being proposed to properly. "I won't answer unless you kneel down and ask me." A smiling Matthew now knows the "uppity minx" (the housekeeper Mrs. Hughes' apt description of Mary) is back, having broken free of the dastardly Sir Richard, and is ready to give him her heart. "Lady Mary Crawley, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?" Of course she tells him yes and the couple joyfully embrace as the camera cuts away to a shot of Downton Abbey standing majestically in the snow with a few lights left on. beckoning the faithful to return next season.
So what can we look forward to next season? A beautiful wedding for Matthew and Mary that will either kick off or end that season. I can't wait for the costumes for that! More gorgeous cinematography (yes, please), more great lines delivered by Maggie Smith, fresh plotting by the dastardly servants Thomas and O'Brien and more harrumphing from Carson the butler. We can hardly wait.
Diane Clehane is a "New York Times" best-selling author and journalist who has richly detailed the lives of some of the world’s most intriguing people in books, magazines, online and on television. A well-respected expert on Britain's royal family, she wrote the international best seller "Diana: The Secrets of Her Style." She has written for "The New York Times," "The New York Post," VanityFair.com, "Variety," "People," "The Daily Beast" and "The Huffington Post." She is also a highly regarded online columnist and is Lookonline.com's entertainment editor. Diane’s wildly popular “Lunch” column for mediabistro.com chronicling the weekly goings-on at Michael’s, a hot spot for the hotshots of publishing, entertainment and fashion, is a must read for the media elite, fashionistas and boldfaced names. For more behind the scenes dish on "Downton Abbey" and to read Diane's Royal Watch blog chronicling the British royal family, visitwww.dianeclehane.com.
