r/DowntonAbbey

I'm finishing my second re-watch of Downton Abbey (just the tv show, haven't gotten to the movies yet) and I'm still not a fan of Mary.

You might have seen another post I made with a poll about her suitors, which made me realize she had quite a few men who were head over heels for her, even though to me it didn't seem like they actually knew her (yet were so quick to propose). This got me thinking about what do men see in Mary ?

She's beautiful, no doubt about that, comes from a good family, can conduct herself in society, but she's also cold, kinda obnoxious, so mean (especially to her sister) and kinda full of herself. Or at least that's how I see her.

To me her appearance is attractive but not her personality. But then again they didn't really know each other, so may be what they knew was enough to "love" her ?

What's your opinion on the matter ?

Every time I re-watch the series, Henry's introduction and entire existence gets weirder. Can this guy even hold a normal conversation? It's like JF directed Matthew Goode to talk like an emotionless robot who is programmed to mention cars 1000 times per day.

Henry doesn't have a single meaningful conversation with Mary - which makes sense because they have zero chemistry and zero shared interests. They are practically strangers when Tom decides that Mary should get over herself and just marry the guy. Mary, who had rejected Gillingham because they didn't have enough in common and it's super important to her, goes along with it and marries Henry, with whom she has even less in common.

The whole thing is written like a fan fiction where Tom falls in love with a race car driver and Mary volunteers to be the pretend-wife, so Tom and Henry can make sweet love in their garage.

"I have a lot of money."
"Have I mentioned that I have a lot of money?"
"It's nothing money won't fix."
"I can pay you more money than you make here."
"Could I pay you to spy on Lady Mary?"
"I'd like to pay you for your story."
"I'm rich man, and I made it all myself."

Edit: I was just trying to point out how relentless Fellowes is about portraying Carlisle as obnoxiously proud of his money.

I found an old poll asking "who's the most attractive male in the show", made by u/Maskalito six years ago, and I was surprised by the votes as well as the comments.

I thought I'd do it again to see what's the current situation, though I changed it to just Mary's suitors (order they appeared in).

I'll leave my own opinion in the comments so it's no biased and don't hesitate to tell us who you find most attractive in the whole show 😀

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We all know that but I'm doing a rewatch and really analyzed it this time. It does everything you need an introduction to a show to do and more.

It starts with the telegraph clicking, which is interesting and tells you that this is a show set in the time of the telegraph.

Then there's the sudden train whistle and the cut to a steam train, as the iconic music begins. And again, you understand that you're in a different time, a time with telegraphs and steam trains.

You see Bates on the train, looking out the window, you can see it's early morning, and then the sound of the telegraph comes through and the telegraph operator is getting a message and now you know that something has happened, but you don't know what.

Then, as the music swells to a finish, you get your first sight of the house, and the title comes up on the screen.

You see "April 1912"on the screen and Daisy walks along the corridor, knocking on the maids' door to wake them. If you know history, you might guess what the telegram says by the date, but maybe not.

And then you get a flurry of activity as the house wakes up, but what's so incredible about it is the way you get a quick and natural introduction to the entire staff. Who they are, what they do. Daisy with her buckets of wood and tinder, Mrs. Patmore bustling around the kitchen, Mr. Carson taking charge of William, who is told to get the board ready to iron the papers, the maids cleaning the rooms, Thomas with a tray cleaning up glasses from the night before and sniping about William, Mrs. Hughes giving directions for the day. Boom, just like that, you have the downstairs sorted out.

You see the difference between the servant's areas and the family's. Daisy is afraid to turn the lights on, nice touch. And then you see the upstairs family, starting with Mary languidly getting up and touching a bell, which results in the downstairs jumping to take care of the important people.

Everything is quick but organized and controlled. It's such a fantastic depiction of what it must have been like for people in service.

What I love about it is the focus on the downstairs. Throughout that first scene, the family is largely absent and what we see is the flurry of work that goes into what is essentially getting them breakfast. Then the music becomes calm and we see Robert descend the stairs like a conquering hero, and you then meet the family.

It's one of my favorite episodes of the entire series and largely because of that fantastic opening scene.

I assume they were there for comic relief considering the overall lack of much story propelling the series to its end but wow, I’d forgotten just not compelling they were, given how much time was given to them! lol

Lady Mary and Anna had a bond like no other. I think Anna would have been one of the last Lady Mary would cut, even if it became unrealistic to keep her on.

That being said, when did ladies maids stop being a job? Lady Edith doesn't have one, even though she out ranks Lady Mary. I'm an American, so I tried Google. However, I think American Google doesn't understand my question, because I keep finding things about ladies-in-waiting and how that is often an unpaid positions.

mary spending a week in sin with tony to make sure she doesnt end up divorced only to end up divorced is the funniest thing to happen

literally she could have made something with either charles or tony, tbh. and even if things turned sour, both charles and tony had the capital to live separate lives which is a WHOLE lot better than being humiliated and kicked out of a party because you're divorced.