This is an overview of where the major characters were left at the end of the Christmas special/finale, with some background, although I did not dig very deeply into the entire season’s archs.
Rose married Atticus with a lot of pointless inter-family drama. They are moving to America because Atticus got a job in New York. When it comes to their families, I want to be optimistic and hope they won’t be too involved in the final season. However, there are two noteworthy points that could come into play: 1) Thomas pressured Atticus’s parents’ grumpy butler Stowell into sharing Lord Sinderby's secrets. Thomas knowing scandalous secrets = never a good thing. 2) Rose saved the day at a family party when her father-in-law’s mistress and illegitimate child showed up to cause trouble. Robert and Mary end up being in on it and promised Sinderby to keep it a secret.
As a character, Rose provided a young and interesting young girl to stir up drama for the family. Now that she’s married and moving away, I’m curious to see how big of a part she will play in the final season. A pregnancy, maybe? At any rate, I will always remember the awesome outfits she got to wear; there were a lot of them.
Tom Branson is soon to leave for Boston to be involved in his cousin’s car business. I assume he will already be gone in the beginning of season 6, although rumor has it he will be back for a few episodes by the season’s end. I adore Branson - I always have, always will. He’s come a long way: he started off in an angsty rebellious phase and ended up in a matured, quieter, family duty-minded place in life. Although I do feel he has been underused in recent seasons, I very much enjoy his and Mary’s relationship. I always enjoy in-law-sibling dynamics and this one played out in an entertaining way. Even he and Edith ended up with a sweet bond, with some of his parting words to her being an encouragement to get into the publishing business. I love that he has been there for the family time after time, in the absence of any other sons, even after how badly they treated him in the beginning. I think he particularly stands out as the consummate gentleman and ultimate nice guy in the midst of a family who is constantly backstabbing and bickering. When re-watching the finale of season 5, I straight up cried when he, Mary, and Edith had a moment in the nursery to say goodbye and remember Sybil. I will miss him terribly and look forward to seeing if/when/how he returns.
Mary’s ex-boyfriend/lover Tony Gillingham ended up engaged and settled with his long time girlfriend. I’m glad Mary didn’t end up with him; he was pretty boring IMO. In the season finale, she told Carson, “I feel as if our household is breaking up. But that’s what happens I suppose. People grow up and move away and things change.” Her life changed soon after when they went away to Atticus’s parents’ castle. For their shooting party she was paired with newcomer and friend-of-somebody-or-rather’s-friend Henry Talbot (the handsome and epically smooth Matthew Goode), whom she gives a characteristically hard time, because she’s Mary and she can. She makes it clear that she’s a widow and he is genuinely sympathetic. They have several witty conversations and part ways with “maybes” of meeting in the future, and there is mention made that he is big car guy. I have to think that this is some kind of strange ironic symbolism of their future relationship because, you know, Matthew died in a car and whatnot..?! Also, I assume her son (George) is still alive but we rarely see him, so you never know.
Fresh off the whole deal with Cora hanging out with the guy with the painting/Robert blowing up like he isn’t a huge hypocrite/but then they reconciled, Lord Grantham is having medical issues that turn out to be an ulcer, so he needs to go on a diet. I don’t even remember what Cora did this season, I just know every time she opens her mouth I always find myself saying the same thing I’ve been saying for years...why is Elizabeth McGovern such a terrible actress and why did they cast her in this show???
Edith freaks out when Robert tells her he knows that her beloved Marigold is actually her daughter, but he promises to accept and love her no matter what. Tom also tells Edith he figured out the truth in the most kind and gentle Branson-like way possible (why is he so awesome?). They all agree that Mary probably hasn’t caught on, because, as Edith puts it, she is completely uninterested in her life. She mentions she likes living in London and, as I said earlier, Branson encouraged her to go back to running her dead lover’s [you gotta love the drama of this show amirite?] publishing business. She also has several flirty interactions with Atticus’s friend Bertie Pelham who, from what I understand, is a land agent. Not much about his character was explained, but it seemed like they were setting it up for this to go somewhere.
Isobel got a marriage proposal from Lord “Dickie” Merton but ended up telling him no because his sons expressed anger at the match. Lady Violet told her, “Dr. Clarkson will be delighted.” Hah.
The Dowager Countess (Violet) got a proposal from an old friend named Count Kuragin, who had an estranged and missing wife. However, his wife was found, so she shut him down, telling him that regardless of what she wants, it’s “how it must be.” She also dealt with an ongoing conflict between her lady’s maid Denker and her (always good for a chuckle) butler Spratt.
Anna and Bates. Ai yi yi. Their entire storyline for the last 3 (4?) seasons is so old and tired that I want to scream. I understand they wanted to address the topic of rape for that time period, but these actors are capable of so much more than the back-and-forth, “I’m in jail, you’re in jail” rigamarole. It’s a complete waste of air time because we’re all tuning out. In case you need caught up: Anna got arrested for being identified as being with Mr. Green moments before he died. Murray (the family’s grim and increasingly busy lawyer) told them the case was pretty strong, so naturally Bates sacrificed himself by confessing to the crime and Anna got released.
The closer-and-closer-to-being-a-real-couple Moseley and Baxter took it upon themselves to prove Bate’s innocence. They played detective and ended up tracking down the pub he had been in to establish an alibi, so once again Bates and Anna are home together right back where they started. *facepalm.*
Overall, Daisy had a fairly uneventful season. She took some lessons from the town teacher (who is Branson’s kind of ex-girlfriend). She had some big dreams about her life and where she could go, especially when they stayed in London (she looked for some jobs). She eventually decided she is staying at the Abbey and should maybe give up on her life and settle where she is because “nothing will ever change or happen to me.” Ms. Patmore and Ms. Hughes encourage her to go back to her studies. Ms. Patmore, by the way, also had a pretty slow season. She spent most of it mourning her nephew who deserted the army and got shot, and worrying whether or not he would get a proper memorial. Thanks to Lord Grantham, he did. Again, a wasted character and plot line. What did that accomplish for her? Borrringg.
In London, Thomas for whatever personal weird reasons looked after an up-and-coming footman named Andy, and ended up rescuing him from a gambling scheme in which he was mixed up. Carson announced that they were hiring new footmen and Thomas recommended Andy, and we saw in the finale that he did get hired. At this point I’m unsure if Andy will turn out to be gay or is a new love interest for Daisy, because they did have a few flirty (though brief) moments.
Carson and Ms. Hughes navigated through the family and staff’s drama as per usual. They discussed properties and real estate ventures to invest in together, and their relationship got deeper when she confessed that she couldn’t do it because she has no savings, as all her earnings go towards care for her disabled sister. He naturally loves her all the better for it. He ended up buying a house and proposing to her at long last.
I foresee this last season mostly containing a grand combination of characters marrying each other and having babies, which, for the record, I am totally okay with. We’ve got Baxter and Mosley, Isobel and Dr. Clarkson, a single Daisy, and I really am curious to see if poor, foolish Edith will get a happy ending. A few more specific predictions: I think (and to be honest, hope) that Mary ends up with this new guy Henry, that Anna will get pregnant (she deserves some happiness, no?) and that Branson will come back in the end married to some spunky American girl who Sybil would have been BFF with. After six years of this show, I already know I will be irritated with whatever happens with Thomas and Mr. Bates. However, and hear me out on this, even if the majority of the plot lines are terrible, I think it will be worth tuning in to see Carson and Ms. Hughes [fun fact you probably forgot: their first names are Charles and Elise] plan and have a wedding.
I hope this helped you get caught up and excited for the new season. Hard to believe it’s been a whole year since we tuned in and heard the masterpiece theater theme song, huh?
I plan on posting my recaps and comments within a day or two of airtime, but no promises. ;-)
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