Downton Abbey - Am I Missing Something?

[Samurai8472]

Speaking of Edith. Did the casting crew go back in time and pluck an actress from 1914 to play Edith?

They really got the look down.

auntiehill wrote:

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And, please, Maggie Smith doing what she does best--steal scenes left and right. I love her.

"Grandma was right"

"Can someone write that down?"

[T'Bonz]

Allyn Gibson wrote:

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That line was great! My immediate thought was, "No wonder you lost the entire family fortune on lousy railroad investments."

Me too. I laughed out loud when I heard him say that and turned to my husband and said, "Did you hear that? Charles Ponzi! What a dunderhead!"

Also Team Edith. Bored with Mary. She's not very nice anyhow.

[cardinal biggles]

Allyn Gibson wrote:

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I'm a straight male, and I love it. It's soppy and stupid and hits the romantic buttons pretty hard.

Also, I love an underdog, so I'm Team Edith.

Another straight male Downton fan here. It's soapy, but it's historical soapy with a lot of awesome performances (I especially love watching Maggie Smith and Penelope Wilton butt heads).

[auntiehill]

The Dowager Countess has some GREAT scenes:

[Nerys Myk]

Count me on Team Edith as well. I was pissed off when Lord Grantham torpedoed her marriage. Edith must take after the Granthams though, since her sisters look like their mother. ( Some good casting there.)

[Gov Kodos]

auntiehill wrote:

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I didn't care much for it at first, but later, really enjoyed how the storylines mirror a little of what was going on historically and frankly, what REALLY hooked me was the cast of characters. I love all the subtle intrigue both among the servants and the family, the tiny details in what is said and what isn't said.

And, please, Maggie Smith doing what she does best--steal scenes left and right. I love her.

I am COMPLETELY Team Edith. I know what it's like to be the "ugly sister" so I completely sympathize with her.

Maggie Smith and Shirley MacLaine squaring off had some hysterical moments. Edith is a great character, whom I hope will grow to see what a harpy Mary is.

[propita]

I'm 50 and love it. My husband teared up with Sybil. I didn't. What is up with that? I did feel....don't want to spoil.

Loving the show. And Sybbie? That is is super cute!

"Lies" is such an unmusical word. --Violet Crawley (The Dowager Countess)

[Kosh Naranek]

I was sucked in by the actor's performance.

Maggie Smith is gold, per the usual.


I also love Mrs Patmore and Mrs. Hughes. Hughes line to Carson about not worshipping them had me on the floor.

It is soapy, but the actors sell it, from devious Thomas to sweet Sybil.

[Kirby]

I only started watching last month, and I can't explain why I love this show so much, but I just do. It has some flaws, but there is something about it that just completely draws me in. We streamed season 1 on Netflix, and just received the 1st disk of season 2. We're also recording season 3 so we can catch up. I'm trying to stay spoiler free, but that isn't working out so well.

[RoJoHen]

Soap operas have a way of sucking you in. Downton Abbey was tricky about it, though. You don't even realize you're watching a soap opera until halfway through the first season, and by then it's too late.

[J.T.B.]

Gov Kodos wrote:

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Edith is a great character, whom I hope will grow to see what a harpy Mary is.

She's certainly more fun to watch than Mary; Laura Carmichael tells volumes with her face while Michelle Dockery has about three expressions: arch, self-satisfied and cross. Edith did pull a nasty trick on her sister in S1, though. Of the sisters, Sybil is the only one I'd rank alongside Anna or Mrs. Hughes.

RoJoHen wrote:

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Soap operas have a way of sucking you in. Downton Abbey was tricky about it, though. You don't even realize you're watching a soap opera until halfway through the first season, and by then it's too late.

Pretty much my experience, yep.

Justin

[Garak]

The show is just good fun, I enjoy watching it.

Team Isis.

[Serial thread killer]

Garak wrote:

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The show is just good fun, I enjoy watching it.

Team Isis.

Everyone is team Isis.

[Allyn Gibson]

J.T.B. wrote:

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She's certainly more fun to watch than Mary; Laura Carmichael tells volumes with her face while Michelle Dockery has about three expressions: arch, self-satisfied and cross. Edith did pull a nasty trick on her sister in S1, though. Of the sisters, Sybil is the only one I'd rank alongside Anna or Mrs. Hughes.

I know people who say they can never, ever root for Edith because she wrote the Turkish ambassador about how poor Kemal died.

The things I point out -- That was seven years ago (in the chronology of the series), Edith was 19 at the time, and 19 year-olds do rash, immature things for pointless reasons. That's not to excuse her behavior, just to point out that we've all done rash and stupid things when we were 19 that years later we wish we hadn't.

For me, the difference between Mary and Edith can be summed up in two scenes from this season:

On Edith's wedding day, Mary offers a one day truce in their hostilities. (Which, to be frank, don't seem particularly hostile any more.) Edith accepts the one day truce.

On the day Sybil dies, Edith offers Mary a permanent cessation of hostilities. Mary rejects it outright.

Edith is flawed. She's not the dutiful elder child, nor is she the rebellious younger child. She doesn't have a role in the family. She's not quite sure what her role in life is. She often behaves as if she were starved for affection. But she also recognizes that she's done mean and horrible things -- and she wants to stop doing them.

[J.T.B.]

^ Sure, I like Edith and root for her. I just like Anna, Mrs Hughes, Mrs Patmore, Sybil, Daisy and Isobel better.