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Yes, they did that well. A very enjoyable finale, overall. I was a teensy bit tearful, as well.
I want the wardrobe and a lady's maid to get in and out - and take care - of those clothes. And those wonderful hats. So many of those costumes could be worn today - if one was very thin and lived in NY/London and similar cosmopolitan cities - and was a very rich lady who lunched.
Oh, well......*sigh*...
I will watch again and again just to admire the clothes.....
As a guy, I feel the same way about those vintage automobiles!
I so thoroughly enjoyed the show last night, but I almost dreaded watching it. It would make it final - and real, and I just wasn't ready to accept that, but being that it was simply a show that I have watched faithfully and adored for so long, how could I NOT have watched?
As always, I loved the storyline(s), and they were rather predictable to me last night. Carson's failing health was surprising, but glad it would not be fatal. I was surprised that Isobel admitted her love for Lord Merton and actually married him - despite his illness - which happily was not so bad after all...
I was so proud of Edith for taking the high road and just putting it out there. What a fine lady she has grown into - and her future MIL will no doubt be a pain in the arse, but I think Edith will do fine with her. She looked so very lovely on her wedding day. All in all, I just am so happy that everything ended so well with everyone. Really, nobody got a bad bit of news - and considering all the possibilities and how it could have gone wrong for any one of them, how very lucky they all were. Only in a make-believe world.....
The only time I actually cried was when Bates and Anna were with their new son - so long awaited and so lovingly held by his mother. That got to me...
It ended beautifully, and although I am so sad to see it go, I am positive that PBS will have other goodies to delight me.
I still have Poldark to look forward to, and various others. DA will no doubt forever be my favored though....sigh....
Oh my. I was teary-eyed last evening watching. I don't care that it was a feel-good everybody does well at the end finale, or that it went fast and everything wrapped up so neatly, or that it isn't 100% historically accurate. I thought it was done well and I loved all the happiness at the end.
It took my breath away seeing Edith's castle and her story ended just so great. True to her character she does the right thing and for once it doesn't backfire. I couldn't have been happier for her. Though, I did think for one minute just how lonely Marigold might be there without all her playmates. Except that I see Edith as very hands-on and that's surely better than a nursery with nannies.
It was sad how bad Thomas' new job was, how cold that guy was. Thomas sure was trying hard there and I'm glad they made his character likable and it's great he got to come back. It was time for Carson step down as he is still stuck in a time warp, and they get to stay there and he gets a pension, I'm sure that's not usual for those times.
Thought Edith and Mary's relationship at the end was appropriate, a quiet truce, not hugs and kisses.
Ironic that Anna got undressed by Mary and ended up in her bed... payback finally for all she does for Mary, and the happy prospect that the baby will share the nursery.
Isobel and Spratt! I think Denker got put in her place! Just every little detail wrapped up nicely.
Oh, the little puppy, we all know how they are unpredictable, run around and get into everything, probably would have knocked a camera over if they hadn't carried him around so much!
Anyway, I don't need to go on and on, you all watched it too. I am going to miss this series. For some reason I couldn't get into Indian Summers, I think it was the accents because so many doctors around here have that accent and I lost my first husband to illness and his dr. was Indian... I just think DA was the best thing on TV for a long time and I will miss it. I do understand why they wrapped it up now, the depression was a totally different time and then the war, I think everything would have changed and it would have become a very different show.
The best wrap up was when Lord G. acknowledged that times were changing and the more flexible they became the better chance they had to surviving. And singing Auld Lang Sine was a great ending too. Wow. sigh...
Loved this ending. Especially Edith and Mary coming to a friendly understanding. Happy endings all around (with the exception of Carson/Barrow) felt right.
As usual the clothes were fantastic. However I was a bit disappointed in Edith's wedding dress. I was anxious to see it because the other dresses were always so fabulous but didn't find it attractive.
Bertie had such a fear of his mother. The mom they brought on screen was a very reasonable person. Goes with the happy ending but didn't fit the ogre they had made her out to be.
Loved, loved, loved the handling of Lord Merton's family by Violet and Isobel.
I don't really think Barrow has the maturity to become head butler. Nor do I think the family would have put someone who tried to commit suicide into the leadership position. I really think the writer blew this one.
Daisy as usual was distasteful. I can't see what Peter would see in her so I thought this was a blown story line also. I think it would have been better if she developed a crush on him but he rebuffed her giving her immature personality and spiteful ways as a reason and had that be the cause of her personality turn around. Up till now she has behaved so spitefully and unpleasantly that I didn't buy the supposed attraction.
Hands down for me the really one and only thing I was the happiest about was the very touching evolution of Barrow. It was the best and the actor did it well.
The rest of it? Really, it was pretty predictable. I already knew Bertie was coming back. The strict, morally high road, tight-arse mother of Bertie coming around to everyone else in such a short period of time was ridiculous but who cares at this point. Overall, it was enjoyable.
Now, on to whatever else Masterpiece has to offer us.
It is kind of amusing how a show that started out to show the downfall of an era in an age of change ended up showing pretty people in pretty clothes in pretty houses getting happy endings, but whatever. It was fun while it lasted.
I agree with everyone who said the finale was a bit rushed. Did the producers wake up one morning and ask themselves: How much can we cram into 100 minutes of television?
The highlights for me were Lily James returning as Rose, and Violet and Isobel rescuing Dickie Merten. And Edith's wedding dress was absolutely breathtaking.
I cracked up when Shrimpie referred to Cora's mother as "redoubtable". Perfect! Too bad Shirley MacLaine couldn't return for the show ... but that would have been one more thing to cram in, and it was the Crawleys' moment.
I don't think Thomas deserved a happy ending - his epiphanies were the most rushed part of the finale. Given his extensive slate of crimes and misdemeanors, he should have taken the first half of the season to realize what a lout he had been, and the second to earn the trust and respect of his co-workers, nevermind his employers.
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Originally Posted by Regina14
I don't know how Mary can cope without Carson around to validate almost everything she does....
LOL - that will probably be his full-time job now.
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Originally Posted by Regina14
So Rose, after a whole year or two of marriage, is qualified to advise Earl Robert on his relationship with Cora? Seems a bit presumptuous, not because he's an Earl, but because he's been married for over 30 years.
She certainly is qualified to advise him on how to be a 20th Century husband - which he became the instant he saw Cora interacting with the community at the hospital meeting.
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Originally Posted by nightbird47
I think Bertie is going to be very happy that he doesn't have to see mama every day. I'm not sure I buy her little speech, and just didn't see that she wasn't going to be able to get in the way.
Yes, her "reassurances" seemed a little arched, didn't they?
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Originally Posted by kayanne
I enjoyed the hints about what will happen with Tom. I thought those parts were rather cute and clever, because obviously there wasn't time for a full-blown relationship to develop for Tom.
He'd have had plenty of time if he hadn't spent so much time playing matchmaker for Mary and Henry.
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Originally Posted by Grandstander
And Tom's triumph? He is becoming a used car salesman. They could have cooked up something better for him than that.
He should have run for local political office, or something similar ... but instead, he tottered after Mary in praise of Henry.
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Originally Posted by CFoulke
I was surprised that Isobel admitted her love for Lord Merton and actually married him - despite his illness - which happily was not so bad after all...
I really would have loved to have seen their wedding.
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Originally Posted by fleetiebelle
It is kind of amusing how a show that started out to show the downfall of an era in an age of change ended up showing pretty people in pretty clothes in pretty houses getting happy endings, but whatever. It was fun while it lasted.
To me, the show went reasonably far in showing how World War I changed the world. Women in careers, aristocracy losing their estates and rethinking their roles in their communities, servants finding new opportunities. the broadening of society. Did it go as far as it could have? Probably not, otherwise Edith would have found a new life in London as a businesswoman instead of marrying a guy with a title.
RE:Tom
He should have run for local political office, or something similar ... but instead, he tottered after Mary in praise of Henry.
I am left wondering if the actor who plays Tom didn't do something to pizz off Julian Fellowes, and Tom's reduction to "also there" status in the final season was the revenge. Maybe the producers were angry that he showed up fat when all he had to do was stay in shape for one more season.
While I was happy to see the return of Rose because she was a delightful character, they handed her a fairly pivotal scene, leading Lord Grantham to the hospital where he could see Cora doing well in her own element. That was something that could have been handled by Tom, he could have been the one giving Robert the lesson about his wife. That would have given Tom a more vital function on the show, but instead Fellowes went to the trouble of re-introducing Rose for this task.
I think Tom was on someone powerful's Ugly List for some reason or another.
In retrospect, they also didn't make much use of Bates all season aside from his reacting to Anna. He didn't even have many lines at all in the final. At least they didn't end the series with him getting arrested again, for the 4th time, and once more for a crime he did not commit.
She certainly is qualified to advise him on how to be a 20th Century husband - which he became the instant he saw Cora interacting with the community at the hospital meeting.
Agreed. This was perfectly in keeping with Rose's character. I thought it was inspired of her to take Robert to the meeting so he could see his wife in action first hand. And to Robert's credit, that's all it took.
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Originally Posted by Ohiogirl81
Yes, her "reassurances" seemed a little arched, didn't they?
I don't for a minute believe she will go away quietly. But I think Edith has proven she's up to the match.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ohiogirl81
He should have run for local political office, or something similar ... but instead, he tottered after Mary in praise of Henry.
I have a hard time believing Mary is going to be happy in her marriage. I know Henry and Tom have high hopes of growing the business into the future, but really, Fellowes couldn't have made him something better than a used car salesman? What a colossal come down for Lady Mary. I actually feel a bit sorry for her, and I say that as someone who is not a fan of hers.
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