Downton Abbey (TV Series) Christmas at Downton Abbey (2011) User Reviews

brilliant stuff

[hazel_jeffs · 9/10 · 27 December 2011]

i know an awful lot of people hate Downton, my dad and an awful lot of my friends included, but i love it a kind of indecent amount and the Christmas special absolutely made my heart sing. The absolute trick of loving the show, as most Downton lovers probably know, is that its absolutely meant to be fun- you don't have to believe it would or could happen you just have to take the whole thing as a bit of a mini and extremely pretty pantomime where you can boo and throw crisps at the screen every time Carsile comes on, cheer at Sybil and Branson ,enjoy the genuinely heartfelt moments,take bets on the crazy storyline and basically have a lovely time. with all that taken into account i adored the Christmas special, it was festive enough with the snow in the proposal and gray skies at the shoot but also added to the storyline instead of doing the doctor who thing and creating a little "one off" as i had feared. It wasn't too depressing but was absolutely a roller-coaster ride of emotions (forgive the cliché) I think scenes including daisy and William's father, as well as, surprisingly, the proposal itself, seemed genuine and really well acted.it was nice to see everyone have a dance at the servants ball and the Mathew/Richard fight had me actually jumping up and down. of course there were a couple of sticky moments in the script, as there generally is,and the bates storyline seemed a bit detached from everything else and it didn't seem like fellowes couldn't decide how much Sybil/branson stuff should be mentioned but the happiness the (in main) fairytale ending supplied was immense and as always it was beautifully shot, so no complaints from me and i think it was amazing Christmas day entertainment.

The Roaring 1920s Begin

[jpismyname · 10/10 · 23 December 2017]

The Crawleys celebrate Christmas and welcome 1920 but not everything is joyful as it seems. An innocent Bates is sentenced to death for the murder of his wife. Richard Carlisle acts possessive towards Lady Mary. Daisy is burdened with her guilt of lying that she loved William. Lady Edith seems like she is not lucky in love as she is turned down by Sir Anthony Strallam.

Downton Abbey, as always, never failed to impress me. Joanne Froggatt's performance is exceptional. Maggie Smith is amazing as always.

The episode ends with a "happy ending", but is it?

So Well Done In Every Way!

[Hitchcoc · 10/10 · 7 August 2020]

So many shows throw aside their quality when they do holiday episodes. I thought this would happen here. However, it turns out to be one of the best, iif not the best, episodes so far. We have Carlisle (Iain Glenn at his best) being a bigger ass than ever, pushing Mary around and threatening her. He has the deep dark secret. I appreciated that some people finally opened up in this episode and started to move on. We were introduced to a couple of other new characters that provide a subplot. Daisy has an epiphany. It's time for her to have some focus. Of course, Matthew and Mary continue to remain at arm's length through most of the episode. And Bates gets some "good" news, setting up the third season. I'm seeing this series for the second time and I am as captivated by it as I was in its infancy.

Boy does Isabel know Lady Violet!

[mark.waltz · 10/10 · 7 February 2020]

"It's a nutcracker, To crack your nuts!", Mrs. Crawley tells Lady Grantham when she presents her with her Christmas present. For two years, she's put up with Lady Violet's acid tongue, and now she's had the opportunity to pay her back deliciously. It's a sad Christmas however as Bates is in prison for the supposed murder of his nasty ex-wife who haunts him from the grave just after he's shared his honeymoon bed with his loving new wife Anna. There's still joy over the holidays as both the family and the staff play games (separately of course), and the shadow of the past isn't as dark as the presence of Aunt Rosamund and Richard Carlisle, a fiancee that Mary needs to dump any way she can. Somehow Thomas has managed to worm his way back on staff (surprise surprise), and he's anchoring for the position of Robert's personal valet. There's also Rosamund's ladies maid (Marigold) who has a dark presence, but not as dark as O'Brien who along with Thomas engages the downstairs staff with a Ouija board. Anna is determined to stand by her new husband no matter what it takes, and this will not end well when he goes on trial.

Then there's the introduction of Sir Anthony Strallan who will be the next man Edith will fall for, an aging aristocrat injured in the war, but all poor Edith wants is her man alive and breathing. That's not an attack on Edith's character. She's put up with ill treatment from older sister Mary all of her life so her self esteem is very low yet she's retained a sense of kindness and a lack of snobbery, something that Mary could learn a little bit about even though she is completely loyal to Anna and treats her nearly as an equal. As New Year's 1920 arrives ("Downton Abbey" 100 years ago!), Lady Grantham reflects on the past decade and wonders what it will bring. The previous episode ended with her telling Robert that in spite of his past, Tom Branson had promise, and with any luck, they'll be able to reshape his future. News of Sybil's pregnancy arrives although Sybil and Tom do not make an appearance. Daisy is visited by her father-in-law who has come to think of her as a daughter, but Daisy still feels not right for not having really loved William. This episode has a lot of dramatic twists, but it also shows a lot of hope as the world strives for peace but faces other obstacles.

This show is very well done, Wish shows could be as good as Downton Abbey

[moviesfilmsreviewsinc · 10/10 · 14 May 2022]

In this episode, Christmas 1919 is somewhat subdued by Mr. Bates' uncertain fate, and Richard disapproves of the family's casual traditions; downstairs, Mrs. Hughes is skeptical when the servants unearth a Ouija board and begin attempting to contact the dead. Robert shoots down the idea of promoting Thomas should the worst come to pass for Bates, and Daisy begins to reconsider her role when Miss Shore, Lady Rosamund's maid, suggests that she deserves better. Edith reunites with Sir Anthony Strallan, whose war injury prevents him from joining in the annual shooting party, and she carefully words her answers to his inquiries about Sybil's quiet marriage. Anna visits Mr. Bates, who gently cautions her to prepare for his potential conviction and execution; Robert is less than thrilled to learn that the newly married Sybil is pregnant with a "Fenian" child. As New Year's Eve approaches, Miss O'Brien advises Thomas to rebuild Robert's trust in him via a useful deed, and Violet worries that Edith may become Strallan's "nursemaid" after all. Matthew returns from London, where his would-be father-in-law Mr. Swire has just died, and the family rings in 1920 together. Miss Shore reports that Lord Hepworth, who has joined the Crawley celebrations as Rosamund's guest, has urged her to promote him to her mistress. During the shoot, Mary confides to Matthew that she's growing tired of the humorless Richard. Daisy again frets about her "dishonest" wartime marriage when Mr. Mason pays her a visit; Sir Anthony seems to agree with Violet when he gently tells Edith that he's too old for her, though Edith refuses to accept it. Richard grows increasingly jealous of Matthew's ongoing bond with Mary and tries to convince her to set a wedding date, while elsewhere Violet frankly confronts Lord Hepworth about his obvious interest in Rosamund's fortune. Cora firmly tells Robert to make his peace with Sybil and Tom's marriage, as she plans to have a close bond with her first grandchild, and Anna and Daisy are bewildered when the Ouija board offers up a strange message: "may they be happy." At the exact same time, Matthew finds Mary on the grounds and, assuring her that they are ready to leave Lavinia, Mr. Pamuk and Richard in the past, formally proposes to her. As snow falls on them, she ecstatically accepts.

Aristocrats and their shooting

[Shiryu05 · 8/10 · 21 September 2020]

Of sentients. Love the show but it really highlights what we already understand of the aristocracy - nò respect for life other than own circles. We see this in the day to day goings on of the current European and Middle Eastern aristocratic circles where wasting of innocent life (via hunting) is just another "tradition". Absolutely disgusted by there constant cruelty to animals referenced numerous times throughout the show - from Mary Crawley's remark that were her horse lame, she still wouldn't get down to the need to constantly organize shoots. What an absolutely wasteful existence!

Lady Rosamund seems a pointless character

[TheFearmakers · 6/10 · 20 May 2022]

I can't be the only one who thinks Samantha Bond as Lady Rosamund Painswick is a weak character, has never been built up, fleshed out or used beyond secondary conversations with Maggie Smith, and suddenly she's the focal point alongside the much more important and central love triangle with Mary, the true star of the show... needed more of her and less of the rest, including the help doing a seance for seemingly no reason.