Downton Abbey Season 5 Finale

I'm a bit reluctant about writing this post. Finale! How imposing! And so I am retreating to more familiar and comfortable ground and will be composing this much as I would an email to Mom. As that was the catalyst for the blog, I think it is a fitting way to finish my reviews of this season of Downton Abbey. 

But before I do that, I want to say Thank You! to all of you who have read my posts, given me feedback, and been so encouraging. Choosing to write this blog was much more challenging, time consuming, and intense than I realized it would be at the outset. It was also a great joy. To combine my love of writing with my interest in Downton was a pleasure, but sharing that with my friends (and making new friends in that process!) was such a treat. So again I say, thank you.

On to the review!

Mom,

To be honest, I didn't like this episode nearly as much as I did others during the season, particularly episodes 5-7. The sweetness of it all just got to be too much for me, and at the end I felt much the same way that I do after a real holiday season, glutted up to my eyeballs with desserts and in need of a month of fasting. Or at least a No-Candy January. If the episode had been of regular length, the balance of dramatic tension and moments of happy fulfillment would have been much more equal. But once the Christmas party started the episode began to unravel, much like Robert's ability to think coherently, bless him. I'm not surprised to find that inebriation only magnifies the good qualities of Robert, and makes him into a friendlier and more expansive version of his most jovial self. Not that I would recommend he remain in a state of liquor. I love him best when he is stone cold sober. 

The one thing that struck me the most during the episode and has stayed with me throughout the day is....those shockingly green brocaded walls in the dining room of Brancaster Castle! When contrasted with the medieval exterior (I would not have been surprised to see King Arthur and his knights charging out of the gates), the interior is fantastically, staggeringly luxe and opulent. Did you see the chandelier in the library? And the paneling in the stairwell? Who lives in a place like that?! And what's more, who rents a place like that just to have somewhere they can go and shoot at birds?!!? Lord Sinderby, that's who, the man who practices adultery but eschews divorce, the man who only recognizes the worth of his daughter-in-law after she prevents ruination and despair from raining down upon his bald head. Lovely Rose, sprung from thorns, what a clever heroine you were! And how much you truly love your husband and dear mother-in-law, else you would have had no reason to prevent the truth from having it's way. 

It was kind of delicious to see Thomas slip so easily back into his role as sneaker and schemer, at the behest of the Mistress of Mischief, Lady Mary, and aided by the silent but deadly Baxter. What an intriguing trio! What devilry might they wreak next season? 

I was bored by Anna's predicament for the first seven episodes this season, irritated when the writers took the lazy way out and threw her into jail in episode eight, and so I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised when she and Bates had the exact same conversation in jail that they had when he was incarcerated. And did you notice that neither Bates nor Anna has ever denied murdering Vera and Mr. Green, respectively?? At least not that I can recall. These are two of my favorite characters! Why, oh why can't the writers do something interesting with them?? If they give her a limp next season, I'm throwing in the towel. (I laughed out loud at Thomas' comment regarding Mr. Bates willingness to cut off his arm in order to help Anna. Wobbly at both ends. Ha!)

How lovely was Edith? Motherhood has made her bloom. She is content, easy-going, playful, confident. It's been a long time coming. Her moment with Robert was both sweet and awkward, which was perfect considering their relational history. I think now that both Robert and Cora will view their middle daughter with more respect and admiration, and hopefully give more expressions of love. That's all Edith ever really needed. She needed to feel, not just know, that she was loved. 

The costumes were gorgeous. Almost overwhelmingly so. How much more lavish and beautiful can these women get? But the men had the upper hand in their shooting tweeds. I think all men should forsake camouflage in favor of tweed. It is far more gentleman-like and refined. Play clothes with style.  And the drabness of those clothes mingled with the mist and heather of the outdoor scenes was a welcome respite for my eyes before plunging into the next round of evening wear. (Good grief, Mary's beaded evening gown!! As she said herself at the fashion show, "Oh yummy!") 

There were some wonderful juxtapositions during this episode. The echo of a gun shot becoming the ring of prison gates. The grand attire and bad manners of the dinner at Brancaster against the simplicity and friendliness round the kitchen table at Downton. And, for the 437th time, Edith's maternal instinct beside Mary's....well, what exactly does Mary feel for George?? 

Apparently Mary and Edith have a supernatural power that can only be employed through the use of piano music and song. Whenever we have seen these two in duet, lost men have come home. First Matthew and William in Season Two, now Bates during the Christmas party. Nice, but cheesy. I infinitely preferred the former moment. The latter was merely a pale echo.

One moment that I will not deride the writers for cashing in on was the use of the Christmas party as the setting for Carson's proposal to Mrs. Hughes. I think I felt much like Mrs. Hughes. I wanted it to happen, but I didn't necessarily expect that it would. And I love that instead of becoming even more stiff and formal in his moment of declaration and request, Carson became just like any other lover beseeching the hand of his beloved. Oh! The sweetness. But did she really have to call him a booby? I'm not ready for them to have terms of endearment yet. Let's at least drink the glasses of punch first. 

I feel sorry for Isobel and Lord Merton. They genuinely care for each other, but those wicked sons would never let them be happy. So in the end I think she made the right choice. There's always hope for Dr. Clarkson! Granny certainly thinks so. I would really like to see more of him in Season Six. Even though he can be a bit cranky, he's familiar and comforting, and his little mustache is just so cute! 

I do not feel sorry for Prince Kuragin. If he had channeled his intensely passionate nature into his marriage, I seriously doubt that his meeting with his wife after 5 years of separation would've been as bitter and cold as it was. What an awful evening that must have been for all of them! Granny was a little bit pathetic (blasphemy, I know!) in her solicitude on behalf of Princess Irina. But she certainly owed that woman an apology! I'm glad that Granny and Isobel can continue their amusing friendship unhindered by romantic attachments on either side.

I know there was much more to this episode, but these are the things that chiefly struck me.  Well, one more thing. If Mary manages to catch another man just by wearing gorgeous clothes, looking superior, and being rude, I'm going to throw up a little bit in my mouth. It's Edith's turn. Let her have a chance at a real relationship with a man who isn't encumbered by facial bandages, a sling, or an insane wife. Sheesh!

-Ashley