Downton Abbey – Season Two

A belated review from The Movie Snob.

Downton Abbey – Season Two  (B).  Season one of Downton Abbey ended with the outbreak of World War I; season two opens in 1916, in the thick of that conflict, and it ends in 1919.  I won’t commit any spoilers here (even though I’m so far behind the times that it would probably be safe to do so).  Let’s just say that season two seemed even more soap-operatic to me than season one did.  Heir-apparent Matthew Crawley (Dan Stevens, A Walk Among the Tombstones) is mostly off at the western front, but back home he has gotten engaged to someone other than Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery, Hanna).  Noble valet John Bates is still trying to be rid of his viperish wife so he can be with his true love, the sweet and lovable Anna.  What’s-his-name, the politically radical Irish chauffeur, is still in love with Lady Sybil.  And life at Downtown Abbey is turned upside down when it becomes a convalescent home for wounded soldiers.  Some excessively soapy touches slightly diminished my enjoyment of the season, but all in all I still liked it very well.  On to season three!

Downton Abbey

This one gets Mom Under Cover’s seal of approval.

Downton Abbey — Grade A+

If you missed this PBS Masterpiece Theater mini-series last year, it isn’t too late–you can find the first season easily.  The second season wraps up Sunday (2-19) but is also available on DVD.  Lord Grantham (Hugh Bonneville, Paddington), Lady Grantham (Elizabeth McGovern, She’s Having a Baby), the Dowager Countess, i.e., Lord Grantham’s mother (Maggie Smith, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel) along with the three Grantham daughters—each searching for a beau—and a bevy of maids and footmen make this Upstairs–Downstairs saga a delight!  McGovern plays a wealthy American whose fortune allows the Earl of Grantham to keep his vast estate and continue leading the life of the very privileged in Victorian England.  Though it is an arranged marriage, it is a tender and true one.  We meet the family before WWI when the priority is to marry off the eldest daughter (Lady Mary, played very well by Michelle Dockery, Non-Stop).  The second season takes place during the first world war—and Downton and society will never be quite the same.

If you enjoyed Merchant Ivory productions (Remains of the Day) and some of the recent PBS Masterpiece offerings, you will quickly become enthralled.  The third season is currently in production and rumor has it that Shirley Maclaine will play Lady Grantham’s mother and an interesting foil to Maggie Smith, who, as you would imagine is brilliant in her role as the matriarch.  As with similar well done period productions, the costumes are lovely, the set rings true (the “upstairs” portions are filmed at Highclere Castle and the “downstairs” scenes are in a studio) and the characters are accessible yet authentic.  A definite must see!