Downton Abbey Christmas Special Review

Downton abbey Christmas special was
somewhat disappointing compared to last year’s Christmas special, now bear in
mind I am saying this as a massive fan of the programme but I wouldn't say I
thought the programme was bad just lacking. 

               Of
course the end of the programme was horrible with Matthews death (now I do know
that it was Dan Stevens fault for not wanting to stay on for a fourth series
but) I felt that killing him off was an obvious and depressing end to a Christmas
special that was a complete contrast to his storyline last year of him
proposing to Mary, I felt that his death lacked emotion and was anti-climactic
as it was obvious what was going to happen, it lacked integrity. I am however,
anxious to see how Mary will cope next series with a new baby and the death of
her newlywed husband I think it could be interesting to see how she handles the
pressures and it wouldn’t surprise me if she gets closer to Tom Branson because
he has obviously just gone through the same thing with Lady Sybil.

               Personally
I felt that having another new parent die so soon after the birth of their
first child was too repetitive, when it was first done with Lady Sybil it showed
great emotion and heartbreak, however I think that Matthews death was
predictable and unemotional which is unfair considering Matthew is such a
brilliant character and one that will be sorely missed, I wish that they had
thought of another way that he could have left the show, but still left it open
if he ever wished to return. I think that the Downton writers missed what could
have been an even more heart-wrenching exit than Lady Sybil's but copped out
and used a plot that had already been used earlier in the same series. 

               Despite
all of this I wouldn't want you to believe that I didn't enjoy the episode
because I defiantly did I was just upset because I didn't like that they had
finally given complete happiness to Mary only to have everything taken away
from her 5 minutes later, I wish that they could had given her at least another
series of happiness. 

               I
think that due to the death of Matthew, series four will result in Edith coming
into her own and not so much walking in her older sisters footsteps which could
be interesting if done correctly. I think she will defiantly develop her
new relationship with the journalist and hopefully she will find the happiness
she so sorely craves. 

               I
also believe that Rose will become a more poignant character and to this, I’m
not sure how I feel, I think that the writers are trying to find someone now to
fill the huge void that Lady Sybil and Matthew will cause, and I’m not entirely
certain Rose is the right way to go about this. 


               I
felt that the way the writers showed the staff of Downton was done really well
and I especially enjoyed Mrs Patmore’s brief swing with romance. 

               All
in all, I am very intreged to see how the family deal with Matthews death, how
Rose will fit into the show, Edith’s new found confidence and of course, Mr and
Mrs Bates relationship blooming as ever.