After six seasons, 20 shady characters, and countless miseries delivered via note, will there finally be some happiness at Downton Abbey? Will Edith marry Bertie? Will we ever learn the whereabouts of Mrs. Hughes’s sister? And will Thomas finally get some damn job stability?
Vulture Downton Abbey recapper Jen Chaney will be right here to hold your hand through every minute of the two-hour series finale. Join our live-blog of the series finale of Downton, starting tonight at 9 p.m. EST.
Jen Chaney: On a personal note, I want to say it’s been so much fun writing about this show. And it’s been fun watching the last episode with you tonight. Thanks again, everyone. If you still need to deal with your Downton feelings, you can find me on Twitter @chaneyj.
Jen Chaney: “Here’s the link to the recap, as promised.
Jen Chaney: Thank you! It was fun.
Jen Chaney: No one died! I don’t know if that’s disappointing or not, but honestly, I did not think that would happen. With the exception of the “Matthew bites it” Christmas episode, they generally have been among the happier installments. I knew they wouldn’t end on a somber note.
Aliza: Thanks for this Jen! You guys were great company!!!
Jen Chaney: A preview of my recap, which will go live momentarily: while the finale was predictable and some of the storylines felt excessively rushed, it was filled with so much joy that I really couldn’t quibble with it.
Jen Chaney: Thank you all for coming to the live blog tonight. I’ll stick around for a bit in case anyone needs to process.
Jen Chaney: Wish we were watching this at Christmas, like the British did.
Jen Chaney: Not to spoil or anything, but if you haven’t cried yet, this is probably when it will happen.
Jen Chaney: Here comes another conversation about how times are changing, and also that summarizes everything we just watched.
Jen Chaney: Poor Carson. Now, time for a conversation about how times are changing.
Jen Chaney: No, she’s, like, 60 and still a virgin.
Aliza: Is it weird that I want Ms. Patmore to get laid so badly?
Jen Chaney: Mary is undressing Anna: the tables have turned.
Jen Chaney: Hewwow, Mistew Bawwow.
Jen Chaney: Ah-yep!
Jen Chaney: Robert’s come a long way, baby.
Jen Chaney: That’s a lot of adverbs: soberly, advisedly…
Jen Chaney: Yeah, basically.
Jen Chaney: “I want Edith’s wedding to be lovely. And yet part of me wishes it also could go like this.
Fred: So happy ever after for everyone except Dr Clarkson?
Jen Chaney: Tom is so going to hit that later.
Jen Chaney: Sorry, Daisy haters. She looks adorable with that bob.
Jen Chaney: “What Daisy looked like just now with that cap on her head: Article Link
Jen Chaney: Pretty sure Daisy isn’t going to look like Jennifer Lawrence in Joy when she finishes cutting her hair.
Jen Chaney: Maggie Smith is fantastic right here.
Jen Chaney: And Mary got a heart!
Jen Chaney: “This will probably only be funny to people from the DC area, but after watching this, I couldn’t stop singing the Eastern Motors jingle, but replacing the name Eastern Motors with Branson Motors. Link
Guest: What a lovely last episode. Cora got a brain from the Wizard.
Jen Chaney: He had anemia, it just wasn’t the pernicious kind. Misdiagnosis.
Jen Chaney: That’s pretty typical, though.
RAH: So Lord Merton was being poisoned?
Guest: Loose ends are getting tied up way too fast in this episode.
Jen Chaney: So obvious, right? You could actually see the light bulb turn on above Robert’s head.
amy7769: Bring Barrow Back!!!
Jen Chaney: Shrimpy’s in the HOUSE.
Jen Chaney: How many damn meetings does Cora have? I mean, I support her hard work, but can’t she Skype in? She can do that with a hair dryer, right?
Jen Chaney: I will neither confirm nor deny this.
Jen Chaney: Spratt cracks himself up.
Guest: Please tell me Julian F’s not such a hack as to do the cycle of life thing with the Bates baby arriving as Carson conks out.
Jen Chaney: Strong Daisy hate in this chat.
RAH: So Daisy is going to be unlikeable forever and ever
Jen Chaney: Rose is back!
Jen Chaney: Good question. I think it sounded funny and probably ended up in the script because that won out over believability. I know: that never happens on Downton Abbey!
Guest: How would Mrs. Patmore know about Becky Sharp? She really doesn’t strike me as a serious reader.
Jen Chaney: Keepin’ it classy…
Ginger: A tie with a bathrobe…
Jen Chaney: Fortunately I was already blinded by the wallpaper.
Jen Chaney: “Larry, as my son, I love you. But so help me God, you’re a total ass.”
Guest: Lord Merton, please, I’m losing my eyesight looking at that robe.
Jen Chaney: Amelia always looks she’s wearing a discarded set of floral drapes.
Jen Chaney: Bertie’s mother is not quite the monster she was portrayed to be, apparently.
Jen Chaney: Three families could live underneath that dining room table.
Jen Chaney: “Me reacting to everything thing Denker says: Link
Jen Chaney: Maybe?
Jen Chaney: Mr. Mason: “Please allow me to mention a young man’s muscles, Daisy, while the drool drips from your mouth as you gaze at Andy sweating and hammering nails into things.”
Aliza: Is there ANY chance I stop hating Daisy before this ends??
Jen Chaney: “”You’d better begin.”” Really important conversation is about to begin and… CUT AWAY. Classic Downton Abbey.”
Jen Chaney: This is probably the first big cry moment. “Goodbye, Mistew Bawwow.” I mean, come on.
Jen Chaney: [INSERT JOKE HERE ABOUT THE PHRASE ‘YOU’LL BE GLAD TO SEE THE BACK OF ME’]
Jen Chaney: “How could it possibly not get out?” On the contrary, Edith, Isobel still has NO CLUE about Marigold.
Jen Chaney: Oh, I’m so sorry. I won’t say what happens, but I will tell you to hang in there, with the show and with your family.
Aliza: I am losing at this Carson storyline… with Parkinsons in my family it hits too close
Jen Chaney: “The Amelia Grey Mysteries,” coming this fall to PBS.
Jen Chaney: Well, Carson and Anna. And Henry and Matthew. She’s not ALWAYS the worst. Her bad moments just make us forget the good.
Fred: Carson is the only person Mary ever shows concern for. He makes her human.
Jen Chaney: Mary’s headband game: so strong right now.
Jen Chaney: We’re here for you. It will be okay no matter what happens.
Jen Chaney: Ha, ha!
Guest: Oh Jesus, here goes Carson. Hold me.
Jen Chaney: I think he’s giddy that Edith is marrying into all this.
Guest: Robert’s acting a bit like a parvenu, quite giddy in the presence of his “betters.” Surprising.
Jen Chaney: So the Pelhams live in a modest little abode, don’t they?
Jen Chaney: Not yet, no.
Guest: Do we know where Barrow’s going to work?
Jen Chaney: “FWIW, here’s the list of things I hoped to see in this finale, which I swear I wrote before watching: link
Jen Chaney: It’s worked for six seasons, why stop now?
Guest: Is Elizabeth McGovern physically capable of delivering a line with her head upright?
Jen Chaney: “This is your second child who’s hardly had a day’s happiness in the last 10 years.” One of the best lines in this episode.
Jen Chaney: Robert is beside himself. Be-SIDE.
Jen Chaney: I told y’all to have tissues ready.
Guest: “The only thing I’m not ready for is a life without you.” Sob.
Jen Chaney: When he says, “I’ve done a very bad job”: God, that was a great line delivery.
Jen Chaney: Mary did something behind Edith’s back for good, instead of evil. Crazy, isn’t it?
Jen Chaney: It’s Bertie, the man Edith was supposed to marry.
Guest: who’s that guy?
Jen Chaney: The Ritz … doesn’t Alfred work there?
Jen Chaney: “I don’t know if you’re a good or a bad thing, Mr. Barrow.” Join the club, Mrs. Patmore.
Jen Chaney: In this episode, really. I like that they get along so well.
Jen Chaney: Holy crap, it’s a hair dryer. Back away from it. BACK AWAY FROM IT!
Fred: When did henry and edith become such confidants?
Jen Chaney: His kindness has a certain appeal, yes.
Guest: Lord Merton’s a sexy devil in his gaunt way.
Jen Chaney: The word pernicious is alarming as well.
Fred: Sore tongue? Uh oh.
Jen Chaney: “I should like to have been married to you.” Aw, Lord Merton. Bless him.
Jen Chaney: “Only Andrew stands between me and Armageddon.” I like the way Carson keeps things in perspective and never hyperbolizes about his circumstances.
Jen Chaney: “Don’t be mysterious. It’s the last resort of people with no secrets.” DRINK!
Jen Chaney: But that hat, though.
Guest: Mary’s such a condescending twit … even to her grandmother.
Jen Chaney: Sure there has. That one just now, for example. ;-)
Guest: Has there ever been a scene filmed in a car that didn’t result in a crash!?!?!
Jen Chaney: Ha.
Jen Chaney: I love how delighted Henry is by Spratt’s column. Just love it.
Ginger: Don’t drive too fast!
Jen Chaney: Yes, since he started writing the column. Definitely. But when he’s with Denker, forget it.
Jen Chaney: The way that mop hits the table after Edith comments on Spratt’s columns about “keeping a husband happy” is a perfectly timed rim shot.
Jen Chaney: “Oh good. It’s Denker and Spratt. – Something no person has said, ever”
Jen Chaney: Not going to say… you’ll find out in due time.
Ginger: Oh no….foreshadowing? Carson will be ill?
Jen Chaney: “Never let tenderness be a bar to a bit of snooping.” For those who are drinking every time the Dowager says something quotable, that should have been your first sip.
Jen Chaney: “It seems to have taken all the fun out of driving.” Yeah, fatal car crashes will do that.
Jen Chaney: I hate hearing Edith use the word spinster. On the other hand, I love watching Henry Talbot broodingly smoke a cigarette.
Jen Chaney: Isobel: the only person who hasn’t figured out who Marigold really is.
Jen Chaney: It’s starting! Hope your tea cups and/or wine glasses are full!
Jen Chaney: For the record: yes, I have seen the finale. I watched three days ago so I could file the recap, which will go live after the broadcast ends, in a timely manner. I will not, however, spoil a single moment for any of you.
Jen Chaney: I understand, Ginger. Glad you’re here to experience all the feelings among friends.
Jen Chaney: The blog is officially live and the finale starts in mere seconds. I don’t want this to be a one-sided conversation, by the way, so by all means, share your thoughts here as well. I’ll also be sharing some of the more choice tweets I see as the finale unfolds. The Downton goodbye begins now.
