Does anybody still remember Downton Abbey? The show that had the whole world in a chokehold between 2010 and 2016. The mania behind that show was real! I was there for it all. So, starting on New Year's Day, I've begun a much overdue rewatch of Downton Abbey. I finished season 1 last week and I'm going through season 2 now. And after a decade the show still holds up.
I wrote a post a few years ago about how memorable 2012 was and a main reason was the media and film at the time. Some great content was coming out, but the little show across the pond about a rich family in England and their servants had gained rapid momentum in the states and there was no slowing down. For me, Downton is a comfort watch. The characters are so well written and relatable, you can really feel for them and their own personal stories. Here's my thoughts regarding season 1:
- Mary for all her arrogance and bluster was so kind to the servants. Every single one of them.
- Thomas is still the worst. The way her parades around the servant's hall with his nose in the air, looking down on people, still grates on my nerves. The worst thing about Thomas is that he wasn't as smart as he thought he was and yet got away with everything.
- After all these years I still love Matthew.
- Cora and Robert are the best and the sweetest!
- Violet and Isobel's arguing never gets old.
- Daisy is so annoying.
- Branson said he wasn't always going to be a chauffeur...oh buddy...
- I had forgotten how openly Robert was about his disdain of O'Brian. Seriously somebody in that household needed to give their opinion.
- Robert's grieving when Cora miscarried their son...still breaks my heart.
- Anna and Bates were wonderful from the very beginning.
- Sybil was always a cool character, but I also think people favored her because she's considered the prettiest of the girls.
- Meanwhile Edith is terrible (some of the times) but also get a fair share of hate because she was the ugly sister and so the looks and the attitude were compatible. If pretty Sybil was the scheming mean one, I think people would still love her maybe even admire her; if Edith was the rebellious feminist, she may have been a fan favorite and the "looks don't matter," would come into play. However, if you're both mean and ugly, you're automatically the villain.
- For as great as this show is I will never forgive Julien Fellowes for continuing with the ugly middle sister trope. As the middle child and the middle sister, I could definitely under Edith's loneliness and longing to belong but making her the least attractive was just too stereotyped.
My early blogging days were definitely filled with Downton Abbey love including my random confessions that I posted through the years. It was also Downton Abbey that inspired me to make little fan videos which I loved doing! I made quite a few, but over the years most have been taken down and I can't post them. Thankfully, I can still post these two.
"Where" by Lisabeth Scott (Mary & Matthew)
"May It Be" by Enya (Anna & Bates)
Does anyone else love Downton Abbey?
I've also been thinking of rewatching Downton Abbey because I'm missing Maggie Smith. <3 Watching it for the "first" time was a very distinct experience for me because I'd seen bits and pieces when my mom and older sister had watched it (so I basically knew every character death. And yet got attached to all of them....) so when it was my turn I remember explaining a lot of it to my little sister, but all of that knowledge was from my mom. XD
ReplyDeleteI struggle with liking Mary, but your point about her being so kind to the servants! So true! I don't know why I didn't notice that.
Hey, fellow middle sister! *high five* Interesting perspective on Edith...for my part, the dynamics have always felt a little off because in my experience while parts of Sybil's personality are very much youngest sibling (rebel XD), her relationship with her sisters feels like she's the middle child? And Edith feels like the youngest? I guess the most realistic dynamic between 3 sisters I've seen is in Encanto. At the same time, Robert and Cora talking about what each of their daughters will become influenced me greatly and that's pretty much exactly my family. The stereotype I know is how in fairytales the youngest is the "good" one while the older two were the "bad" siblings, haha
I LOVE all the fan art and collages here. The Clue one is too, too real!
"Where" is one of my favorite songs so I greatly enjoyed your fan video ^_^
I saw the latter half of season 1 before I saw season 2. So when the 1st season ended, I was going crazy!
DeleteMy perspective on Mary is different now that I'm older. She was in a very difficult position and unfortunately took her frustrations out on Edith who really had no ally or anyone fighting for her.
*high five back* Yah! for middle sisters! I can understand your perspective on Edith. She may have qualities of the youngest because she's so underestimated by everyone around her. Oftentimes stories about sisters are so overdramatized and unrealistic. I have 5 sisters, and we rarely fight at all. My brothers were always the drama queens and causing problems.
I was hard to choose what I wanted to post because there's so much fanart. I may do one of these posts for each season!
Thank you! "Where" was the first video I made.
Oh oh oh I love Downton! ☺️
ReplyDeleteIt's still so wonderful!
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