Downton Abbey which has quickly become one of the most beloved series on television, decided to up the ante last night. It was a risky undertaking, but will it eventually pay off? SPOILERS UPCOMING!
We’re about to get into the spoilery part, so if you haven’t watched last night’s episode, now would be a good time to stop reading.
One thing you have to realize about American television vs. British television is the latter’s ability to not shy away from doing the unthinkable. While American television will let a plot-line or a bunch of characters linger on for numerous seasons — British television with their shorter seasons will definitely pull the plug on someone if they think ultimately it will take the story into a new and different direction. In addition, the stories can also get downright melancholy for that same reason. We’re not saying that’s an altogether bad thing, and it doesn’t always work for the best. See the latest season of Being Human UK for more evidence of that, but sometimes you have to respect the ability to take a risk in place of the rampant homogenization we sometimes see on this side of the pond.
Yes, American television can be just a little too in sync to what audiences ultimately want, or what they think we want. We’ve seen time and again, in order to keep their ratings, the two most likely couples will get together, the villain will have a change of heart, the hero will become needlessly complicated, and everyone will stay in their pre-determined two dimensional boxes. Which is why the shows that reach beyond the cookie cutter mold seem to get the most accolades, and when a shocking thing happens, like Ned Stark losing his head at the end of the first season of Game of Thrones — the viewing public initially reels, but then decides that it did actually make for a better show.
Will we think this about the untimely and frankly gut-wrenching death of Lady Sybil on last night’s episode of Downton Abbey? Well, we’d like to think that her death certainly won’t be in vain. Not negating the time period, wherein a hundred years ago, women did actually die in childbirth much more frequently. It should also be brought up that deaths after childbirth till this day can still be attributed to eclampsia of which Lady Sybil succumbed, so it’s not that the death itself was far-fetched. It was the bold move of killing off one of the more revered characters on the show. One that even Lady Mary and Lady Edith admitted to when Mary says to Edith after the death, “We’ve lost one of the few people who did not dislike us both.” Sybil was the light touch and bit of romance and enduring positivity on the show. Where Mary could be cold and perfunctory, and Edith could be maudlin and full of jealousy, Sybil was the free spirit, the whimsy, and the Godly Good that held the three together. Her marriage was full of passion and steely love, and her pregnancy was seen to be something of a uniter between the rigid Granthams and the newly accepted fiery Tom Branson, her husband and formerly Downton chauffeur. In essence, the birth was set up to be a bright spot on an otherwise forlorn season of Downton Abbey full of heartbreak (Edith’s) miscommunication and tumult (Mary’s and Matthew’s), financial downfall (Robert’s) a cancer scare (Mrs. Hughes’), the ongoing investigation into the former valet’s wife’s death (Ana and Bates) and all around mishegoss going on downstairs with the rest of the staff.
The moment of death was so sudden that it did actually take the viewer by surprise. After this ongoing debate about which physician was right about Sybil’s condition — the family physician, Clarkson, insisting that she was suffering from eclampsia, to which the nobleman doctor Sir Phillip disagreed inserting that Sybil suffered from typical birth ailments — to Robert’s heavy-handed decision-making which didn’t take Branson into consideration and diminished the thoughts of his wife. In the end, we watched immobile in the post-delivery as Sybil seized, turned blue, and died as both doctors could do nothing, and the family, rendered shocked and stunned, witnessed the whole sad scene with mouths agape. The excellent acting done by Jessica Brown Findlay (Sybil), Elizabeth McGovern (Cora) and Allen Leech (Tom Branson) should be noted. And we were angry at the show for doing this to us! Yes, yes, we were.
But! We also concede that sometimes things don’t always need to be wrapped up in a pretty bow where everything works out with sated but exhausted new parents and a squalling infant. Sometimes the opposite happens (Yipes! Fingies clutches her own baby bump). And if we really think about the premise of the show — it’s about the humanity of these two groups of people — the wealthy and those who serve them. Lest we forget about Mary’s disgrace with Mr. Pamuk, or the sad, but also well-acted death of footman, William, and Daisy’s conflict thereafter? These are the times when the show does its best bits of acting work. It’s not always in the tidy things like Matthew’s miraculous healing with regard to his “bruised spine” which felt a little cheap, or the dastardly and keenly “soap operatic” literal soap-created slip and fall that led Cora to a miscarriage. Such over-the-top if not a bit heavy-handed plot devices, eh?
What we sometimes have to remember, and British television is great at reminding us, is that everyone is vulnerable, no one is beyond the touch of the failings and ailments of a long gone century, and that mixed in with the sweet — the finding of love, the weddings, the finding purpose, the sass and frill — a little rain will also fall. And this season we’ve seen a spate of heavy downpour. But it means that we are no longer distracted by pretty frocks, quaint phrases like “having luncheon,” or traveling jauntily by vehicle instead of horse and carriage. To be vernacular — “sh** has gotten real.” And that at times can make for a more interesting study.
But good gracious, somebody better send Clarkson to give the Dowager Countess a check-up every now and then. Not sure what the response would be to losing Maggie Smith to a nasty bone infection or something. Our heads could explode before we find calmer purchase and see how it could take the show in a totally new direction. (No, Downton. Don’t do this.)
But we admit to wanting to know what will happen next week with Branson and his lone baby, how the house will adjust to Sybil’s death, and if there will be some light at the end of this deep, dark tunnel. A baby for Mary and Matthew perhaps! A new love for Edith! Or barring that a cool writing gig! A catfight between Daisy and the new kitchen maid?! So we’ve not given up hope yet. Downton we’ll stick by you.
Image: Flickr
