Downton Abbey is Back!

(image: PBS)

In a couple of days Downton Abbey will be back for its fourth season! I have been an avid watcher of Downton Abbey since almost the beginning. Flashback to December 2011…it was a few days after Christmas & I was feeling a bit melancholy because the holidays were over. My daughter was asleep, so I was relaxing in front of the TV, switching channels trying to find something to watch. I landed on my local PBS station that was showing a marathon of the first season of Downton Abbey. I had missed the original airing earlier in the year & had been kicking myself for it, especially after reading the great reviews in various entertainment magazines. So I was thrilled that PBS was airing a repeat viewing. I happily binge watched the entire first season!! The period costumes, English accents, upstairs/downstairs drama – I became so immersed into the Downton Abbey world during that marathon viewing. I couldn’t wait until the second season started!

I really love the dynamic between the three sisters. Their personalities couldn’t be any more different! I like Lady Sybil the best out of all the sisters. She was a compassionate, hard-working nurse and really the most relatable (I felt) of the sisters. Her storyline came to a sudden end when she died shortly after giving birth. Lady Edith will hopefully come into her own this season, now that she has found her true calling as a newspaper writer (although her family has poked fun at her career choice in typical royal fashion). Last, but not least is Lady Mary. I must confess that I didn’t like her very much in Season 1 or even during most of Season 2. I found her haughty, trading on her beauty & position in the royal family to get by in life. I started to like Lady Mary once her relationship with Matthew developed & she started to show her vulnerable side. It will be interesting to see how her character grows this season, after Matthew’s tragic death.

Now we can’t forget the downstairs folks! Miss O’Brien is the one that most people love to hate. Her snarkiness & constant plotting against the other servants keep me entertained. You can tell that the character is a hit in pop culture when even her BANGS have a Twitter account!

My personal favorites of the staff have got to be Mrs. Patmore & Mrs. Hughes. In my opinion, they are the heart & soul of the downstairs folks. When Mrs. Patmore is not giving cooking orders to Daisy, then you’ll see her advising Daisy on matters of the heart. One of the most touching moments of last season was when Mrs. Hughes consoled Thomas after he confided in her about his actions that would forever change how others would view him.

(image: The Hollywood Reporter)

However my favorite character in the entire show has got to be the Dowager Countess. Week after week, her one-liners steal the show! Before I saw a single episode of Downton Abbey, I only knew of Maggie Smith as the nun from Sister Act & the Professor from the Harry Potter movies. She truly embodies the character of Dowager Countess & I can see why she consistently wins awards for her television performance. The way she delivers those zingers….this role was tailor-made for her!

So tell me Downton Abbey fans, are you Team Upstairs or Team Downstairs? Are you rooting for Mary to find love again? Sound off in the comments below & don’t forget to watch the season premiere this Sunday night on PBS!

Disclosure: No compensation was received for this post. I’m a huge fan of the show & just really wanted to blog about it! 🙂 All opinions are my own.