Downton Abbey
Downton Abbey Season Five Finale Filled With Heartwarming Moments As Dame Maggie Smith Says Season Six Will Be Her Last!
Courtesy/PBS
If you watched the season five finale of Downton Abbey on PBS Masterpiece on Sunday, you saw the 90 minute drama deliver tender and heartwarming drama to the melt the heart of someone who may be as cold as ice!
Within the season finale, Anna (Joanne Froggatt) came home from prison , Mary (Michelle Dockery) found what looks to be her new love, Branson (Allen Leech) said his goodbyes as he was moving to Boston and taking little Sibby with him, Lord Sinderby (James Faulkner) was knocked down several pegs, and the seniors were lucky and unlucky in love as Carson (Jim Carson) and Mrs. Hughes (Phyllis Logan) finally decided to marry each other in a major hankie moment, while Lady Violet, the Dowager Countess (Dame Maggie Smith) and Isobel Crawley (Penolope Wilton) came to the conclusion that they were better off alone then remarrying or rekindling romance with their suitors at this point in the their lives.
Courtesy/PBS
However at the Christmas party, when Branson asked Mary and Edith (Laura Carmichael) to join hands with him one last time to remember his wife and their sister Sybil, tears flowed from Branson and probably the rest of the “Downton” viewing audience, as this was to potentially be his final time with the family before starting his life anew in Boston.
As for Lady Mary, she definitely was impressed by handsome and aloof gent, Henry Talbot (Matthew Goode) who had several prickly encounters and exchanges with her … enough to perk her up! As he was leaving “Downton”, Mary asked if she will see him again to which he replied, that perhaps they would as he drove away in a very expensive car that he clearly made a point of letting Mary know he owned, and that perked up Mary once again! True love?
At the end of the season finale, it was Bates (Brendan Coyle) and Anna who had the final heartwarming moments. Bates cast suspicion on himself once again for the murder of Mr. Greene to help free Anna from jail for the murder! To do so, he took off from “Downton”. However in a clever move, Mr. Molesley (Kevin Doyle) and Baxter (Raquel Cassidy) proved by taking a picture of Bates and going bar to bar in York, that Bates was not near the scene of the crime that killed Anna’s rapist Mr. Greene! At the Christmas gathering, Bates surprised Anna, and the two were finally reunited for a moment in time, as they secretly left the party for some private time together.
Courtesy/PBS
On Monday, news broke that Dame Maggie Smith, in an interview with the Times of London, noted that season six of Downton Abbey will be her last, and that she was not sure the series could even continue after this next season. Smith commented, “They say this is the last one, and I can’t see how it could go on. I mean, (my character) certainly can’t keep going. To my knowledge, I must be 110 by now. We’re in to the late 1920s.”
Smith did say completing the series would be very difficult for her: “When you’re not working it’s scary, and when you are working it’s scary, because you don’t know if you’ve got the energy to get through the day. But the bleakness of not doing it, and missing out on the friendships that you make, is too much to bear.”
So, what did you think of the season five finale of Downton Abbey? Which moment tugged at your heartstrings the most? What did you think about the comments of Maggie Smith? Do you think its time for “Downton” to take its final bow with season six? Share your thoughts below!
I want it to last forever. But realistically couldn’t it go thru the 1930’s?
So let me get this straight? This show airs only ten episodes from January to March of every year?
Ugh. Glad I don’t watch. I would die waiting.
That’s just the way of British programming, Leo. There are many shows which even shoot on a staggered year schedule….meaning that we don’t see new shows on an annual basis. It’s the trade-off of getting quality over quantity. I’d rather wait for something worth watching than to just put an allotted number of completed episodes in the can according to contract. But yes, the wait can be excruciating!
Loved every minute. Read an article today where Maggie Smith said she didn’t mean she was leaving the show after next season. She said if there is a 7th season she will be part of it. I certainly hope so since she is one of my favorites. I wish this show could continue forever. I can’t put my finger on why exactly but it’s my favorite show of all time.
It was a wonderful season finale. I was reduced to tears on several occasions. The scene between Mary, Edith and Tom remembering Sybil blew me away. I so hope Tom isn’t gone for good. His down to earth tenderness and honesty are such important parts of the family. Allen Leech is terrific in the role.
Everyone delivered first rate performances throughout the 90 minutes. I cannot imagine Downton Abbey without the Dowager Countess; but, I do appreciate Maggie Smith’s concern about the character’s age. I’d like to see the series continue at least until the start of the Great Depression. That was a pivotal point in modern history.
I found the most emotional moment was Tom, Edith & Mary, in their children’s room, remembering Sybil.
Edith and her father sharing the truth about Marigold was very gratifying.
Mary’s extreme snobbishness with an intermittent smattering of humanity towards others is getting annoying rather than interesting or amusing.
All of it. The show makes me sorry when the hour is over. The characters are so likable you root for them all. Bates and Anna, Carson and Hughes. The family upstairs orthe working class, all are worth watching again. Wish I could say the same about the US soaps . Maggie Smith is a joy, and makes you wonder what years it will be when it returns. Great job. I guess when one writer has the power and knows the characters so well. You can’t go wrong.
The Brits know how to do it best…i wish our soaps were produced and written by them…i love Coronation Street…its mulitgeneration which appeals to all ages, character driven realistic stories about everday life, the dead stay dead and the children age normally-you dont see a five year old one month who turns 18 the next, and there are no long lost children some woman had forgotten she had given birth to!!!
Exactly, Janet!!!!! I cannot disagree with any of the sentiments you have expressed. Julian Fellowes is indeed an incredible writer who handles his characters with love and care…and it certainly shows!!!! It’s no wonder so many of us voice dismay at the plot-point driven drivel we witness on daytime after watching this consistently superb series year after year!
I’m hoping Lady Edith found a potential boyfriend in the estate agent at Brancaster. After all, there is an opening for an estate agent at Downton.
You could be right. I will really miss Tom. who knows maybe JF will have the characters travel over here, and NOT allow the American soaps to sneak in. A whole year to wait. Tom thinks they have snobs over there, Wait till he gets to America and hears Irish need not apply. I love the show and no matter what is on here in the US I watch this show first.
I enjoyed the moment between father and daughter when he acknowledged he Knew Marigold was his grandchild (out of wedlock in the 1920s!) and it was
a-l-r-i-g-h-t……Edith is one of my favorite characters!
In a statement from her sons as shared by Smith’s publicist, Clair Dobbs: “It is with great sadness we have to announce the death of Dame Maggie Smith. She passed away peacefully in hospital early this morning, Friday 27th September. An intensely private person, she was with friends and family at the end, She leaves two sons and five loving grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the wonderful staff at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital for their care and unstinting kindness during her final days.”
In 1979, Dame Maggie was awarded a second Academy Award, this time for Best Supporting Actress, for her performance in Neil Simon’s California Suite. She has also received British Academy Film Awards for her work, including for her roles in 1985’s A Room with a View and 1987’s The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne.
Photo: JPI
Smith was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1990, and from then on was widely known as “Dame Maggie Smith” Audiences got to see the widely-acclaimed actress in the US and the UK, once again when she took on the role of Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham in Downton Abbey. The acclaimed period drama about the British aristocracy ran for six seasons, 2010-2015 in the UK and into the beginning of 2016 in the US. She received three Primetime Emmy Awards for the role, and returned to reprise the part for the Downton Abbey 2019 feature-length film.
Photo: BBC
Several of Smith’s Downton Abbey co-stars have shared their grief, including Michelle Dockery (ex-Lady Mary Crawley) who expressed,”There was no one quite like Maggie. I feel tremendously lucky to have known such a maverick. She will be deeply missed and my thoughts are with her family.”
Hugh Bonneville (ex-Robert Crawley) who played Smith’s on-screen son in the series, wrote, “Anyone who ever shared a scene with Maggie will attest to her sharp eye, sharp wit and formidable talent. She was a true legend of her generation and thankfully will live on in so many magnificent screen performances. My condolences to her boys and wider family.”
Throughout her life, Smith was married twice. Once to Robert Stephens, and later to playwright Beverley Cross, from 1975 until his death in 1998. She is survived by her two sons, Toby and Chris.
Share your remembrances and your condolences for the great Dame Maggie Smith via the comment section below.
So many of us loved the soap opera that was Downton Abbey when it aired on PBS and ITV for six seasons. Then, a few years later in 2019, the highly-awaited Downton Abbey movie hit movie theatres near you.
Now comes word from Focus Features that a big-screen sequel is in the works and is slated for release this Christmas in December of 2021.
In a social media announcement, the film company shared: “We’re thrilled to announce that Julian Fellowes and the entire Downton cast are back for #DowntonAbbey2, with Hugh Dancy, Laura Haddock, Nathalie Baye and Dominic West joining! See the film in theaters this Christmas.”
While, of course, no plot has been teased or given away, Fellowes will write the screenplay, with Simon Curtis (My Week with Marilyn) set to direct.
“There’s no place like home for the holidays, and we can’t imagine a better gift than getting to reunite with Julian, (producer) Gareth Neame and the entire Downton family in 2021 to bring the Crawleys back home for their fans,” said Focus Features chairman Peter Kujawsk in a statement.
So, excited to see your favorites and some potential new ones in the all-new Downton Abbey Movie later this year? Comment below.
Finally, Downton Abbey fans get a preview of the upcoming motion picture that is set for release in theatres on September 20th.
What we know is that the The film is set in 1927 and the plot revolves around the King and Queen of England coming to the estate for a visit and so … the Crawleys must prepare their arrival. In fact, they have to bring back Mr. Carson to help!
Featured in the trailer are series stars, who are also back for the film: Hugh Bonneville, Laura Carmichael, Michelle Dockery, Matthew Goode, Joanne Froggatt, Jim Carter and Maggie Smith.
Series creator Julian Fellowes wrote the script and Michael Engler will serve as director. Engler directed the two-hours series finale.
As fans know, Downton Abbey ran on PBS Masterpiece for six seasons here in the U.S.
Check out the trailer, and then let us know if you are excited to see the movie? Comment below.
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