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Okay, so I have a bit more to say about Downton Abbey. :D First off, I don't think the Christmas special is on YouTube. I was thinking there were only 7 episodes in S2 and I saw something about 2.08, which I assumed was the Christmas one, but I guess it isn't.
I will endeavor not to speculate and say things like "I wonder," because I know some of you have seen the 2nd series and I'm waiting.
- I've been fond of Hugh Bonneville since he played Maria's goofy husband in Mansfield Park and I love his Earl of Grantham. I love his devotion to Bates and his affection for his wife and daughters. And I love that he's not really a snob, just a part of the system who believes that everyone has their role to play.
- Mary is, I think, my favorite character. Maybe the most flawed character in the history of television, and I love her for it. She is so HORRIBLE to Edith, and it's part of why the rumors about she and the Turk have spread.
- Oh man, Mary and Matthew. MARY AND MATTHEW! Just the way they LOOK at each other!
- Speaking of Matthew ... guh. I love how he ends up embracing some parts of life on the estate, even though he thinks them ridiculous at first. (This includes Mary, of course. :P)
- Love Sybil and her women's libbing ways. LOL at her pants!frock. And helping the maid get a job as a secretary was so awesome of her.
- Poor Edith! She actually had a really nice (though older) gentleman interested in her - and she was interested in him - and Mary had to go and ruin it. I'm not saying she didn't have *something* coming to her for blabbing to the Turkish ambassador, but she didn't deserve THAT.
-Harriet Jones, Prime Minister Isobel Crawley is awesome, if a tad officious. Her battles with Violet are wonderful.
- Almost immediately after I sort of complained that Violet was all one-liners and haughty disdain, she became more complex. I thought "Put that in your pipe and smoke it" was a bit much, even for her, but Carson's barely concealed chuckle makes that moment gold.
- It took a while for Carson to grow on me, but he definitely did. LOVE his practicing on the telephone! Do people really ship him with Mrs. Hughes? I get the impression many people do, but I don't get that at all.
- Bates. BATES. He'd be my favorite, but he's FAR too perfect. I love his relationship with Anna, and she's rather perfect for him, being outspoken enough to stand up for him when he's too proud to do it for himself.
- It took one episode for O'Brien to go from Most Loathed Character to One of My Favorites. I felt SO BAD for her thinking Cora and Violet were talking (right in front of her, no less!) about replacing her, and it makes total sense why she would think that, because Cora and Robert WERE talking about trying to get rid of her and Thomas. And then she made one simple gesture to put Cora in harm's way, and she'd barely had a chance to regret it before it was too late to take it back.
- And it seems O'Brien and Thomas have reversed positions. Now O'Brien is the one acting out of self-preservation and Thomas is the one just being mean. Good on William for pummeling him, and LOL that no one interfered that much. And seriously? Thomas going into the medical service? Worst. Idea. Ever.
- Love Mrs. Patmore and her long-suffering right hand, Daisy. Especially the little scene where Patmore tries to tell Daisy that Thomas is not the man for her. Too right.
- I love that there are loads of characters who surprise you. That's a key element in television shows that I really love (*blows kisses to The Wire*) and it's one of the main things (other than the light-my-screen-on-fire chemistry between Matthew and Mary) that made me fall in love with the show.
- I also like how they deal with the passage of time. There are usually several months between episodes, which lets them deal with a lot more of the historical background.
- Anything I missed that you guys want to dish about? I could dish for DAYS!
COME ON, JANUARY 8!
I will endeavor not to speculate and say things like "I wonder," because I know some of you have seen the 2nd series and I'm waiting.
- I've been fond of Hugh Bonneville since he played Maria's goofy husband in Mansfield Park and I love his Earl of Grantham. I love his devotion to Bates and his affection for his wife and daughters. And I love that he's not really a snob, just a part of the system who believes that everyone has their role to play.
- Mary is, I think, my favorite character. Maybe the most flawed character in the history of television, and I love her for it. She is so HORRIBLE to Edith, and it's part of why the rumors about she and the Turk have spread.
- Oh man, Mary and Matthew. MARY AND MATTHEW! Just the way they LOOK at each other!
- Speaking of Matthew ... guh. I love how he ends up embracing some parts of life on the estate, even though he thinks them ridiculous at first. (This includes Mary, of course. :P)
- Love Sybil and her women's libbing ways. LOL at her pants!frock. And helping the maid get a job as a secretary was so awesome of her.
- Poor Edith! She actually had a really nice (though older) gentleman interested in her - and she was interested in him - and Mary had to go and ruin it. I'm not saying she didn't have *something* coming to her for blabbing to the Turkish ambassador, but she didn't deserve THAT.
-
- Almost immediately after I sort of complained that Violet was all one-liners and haughty disdain, she became more complex. I thought "Put that in your pipe and smoke it" was a bit much, even for her, but Carson's barely concealed chuckle makes that moment gold.
- It took a while for Carson to grow on me, but he definitely did. LOVE his practicing on the telephone! Do people really ship him with Mrs. Hughes? I get the impression many people do, but I don't get that at all.
- Bates. BATES. He'd be my favorite, but he's FAR too perfect. I love his relationship with Anna, and she's rather perfect for him, being outspoken enough to stand up for him when he's too proud to do it for himself.
- It took one episode for O'Brien to go from Most Loathed Character to One of My Favorites. I felt SO BAD for her thinking Cora and Violet were talking (right in front of her, no less!) about replacing her, and it makes total sense why she would think that, because Cora and Robert WERE talking about trying to get rid of her and Thomas. And then she made one simple gesture to put Cora in harm's way, and she'd barely had a chance to regret it before it was too late to take it back.
- And it seems O'Brien and Thomas have reversed positions. Now O'Brien is the one acting out of self-preservation and Thomas is the one just being mean. Good on William for pummeling him, and LOL that no one interfered that much. And seriously? Thomas going into the medical service? Worst. Idea. Ever.
- Love Mrs. Patmore and her long-suffering right hand, Daisy. Especially the little scene where Patmore tries to tell Daisy that Thomas is not the man for her. Too right.
- I love that there are loads of characters who surprise you. That's a key element in television shows that I really love (*blows kisses to The Wire*) and it's one of the main things (other than the light-my-screen-on-fire chemistry between Matthew and Mary) that made me fall in love with the show.
- I also like how they deal with the passage of time. There are usually several months between episodes, which lets them deal with a lot more of the historical background.
- Anything I missed that you guys want to dish about? I could dish for DAYS!
COME ON, JANUARY 8!
enthralled