Downton Abbey Part III
Am I the only person who doesn't like Mary Crawley? Are we supposed to like her? How are we supposed to feel about her?
Like her father, she is concerned about the state of the estate, and will do what is necessary to "keep it in the family." Like her mother the American, she is blunt and says what she thinks (but is she lying to Carlisle?).
At the same time, she is just plain mean. She was mean to Carson and to Anna, so she has a grating sense of entitlement that everyone acknowledges (especially Mrs. Hughes). I don't want her to end up with poor Matthew, no matter how she feels about him.
I think one of the problems the series has the season is that it has become more plot-driven than character- driven. We were introduced to great characters in believable contexts, and this season the characters are doing atypical and illogical, out-of-character things to move a plot along and get more "drama" and emotion without it seeming realistic or necessary. Yes, some of them are changing and showing their better (or worse) sides, such as O'Brien with the soldier who had PTSD (shell shock in the old days). And Thomas has realized his place in the world. But I'm not sure everyone is making sense. If nothing else, the plot is just going too fast (and we are not realizing that eight years have passed.)
Some people on the discussion boards post (like IMDB.com) post very witty comments, such as "what I've learned from Downton Abbey"--"the Spanish flu either made one very ill or very horny." I enjoy reading those, but some people are very critical of the plot and character inconsistencies. It does seem that the writers were under pressure to keep an audience (due, I am sure, to the excessive costs of production) so they added some things that haven't been totally thought through.
But I am still hooked, and watched it a second time last night (until Person of Interest came on).
Thoughts?
Like her father, she is concerned about the state of the estate, and will do what is necessary to "keep it in the family." Like her mother the American, she is blunt and says what she thinks (but is she lying to Carlisle?).
At the same time, she is just plain mean. She was mean to Carson and to Anna, so she has a grating sense of entitlement that everyone acknowledges (especially Mrs. Hughes). I don't want her to end up with poor Matthew, no matter how she feels about him.
I think one of the problems the series has the season is that it has become more plot-driven than character- driven. We were introduced to great characters in believable contexts, and this season the characters are doing atypical and illogical, out-of-character things to move a plot along and get more "drama" and emotion without it seeming realistic or necessary. Yes, some of them are changing and showing their better (or worse) sides, such as O'Brien with the soldier who had PTSD (shell shock in the old days). And Thomas has realized his place in the world. But I'm not sure everyone is making sense. If nothing else, the plot is just going too fast (and we are not realizing that eight years have passed.)
Some people on the discussion boards post (like IMDB.com) post very witty comments, such as "what I've learned from Downton Abbey"--"the Spanish flu either made one very ill or very horny." I enjoy reading those, but some people are very critical of the plot and character inconsistencies. It does seem that the writers were under pressure to keep an audience (due, I am sure, to the excessive costs of production) so they added some things that haven't been totally thought through.
But I am still hooked, and watched it a second time last night (until Person of Interest came on).
Thoughts?
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