Saying Goodbye to Downton Abbey
Sunday evening I was a mess. I couldn't stop the tears. I was so sad that my favorite television series, maybe of all time, was coming to an end. It was almost time for the final episode of Downton Abbey.
From the first scandal to the last reconciliation the show has truly been a Masterpiece. Though I didn't begin watching it six years ago at its start, I caught on soon after and binge-watched the first season in one day. I can still recall sitting in my recliner with my cats drinking hot tea and feeling the cramps of not moving much for ten hours. I was instantly hooked.
From the very first episode I was drawn into the story line of the Crawley family, and their downstairs team. I've encouraged many friends to watch the show, but found it difficult each time to adequately weight my reasons. I struggle, because all aspects of this show are creatively brilliant.
If you've ever worked on a video project of any kind, you soon discover that their is much more going on behind the scenes before you simply point a camera and hit record. The creators and producers of Downton Abbey went to incredible lengths to make sure this series was presented just right.
The writing, the setting, the cast, the crew, all of it always fired on all cylinders. It's so well done that I've probably seen every episode of the first five seasons three times. The dialogue is incredibly strong and witty. It's a show that you want to invest all of your energy in. I looked forward to each Sunday sitting down and falling through time into the dramas of the Crawley family.
They've had highs and lows and forbidden love affairs. They've fought with each other and reconciled. They've lived and died in a beautiful setting that they once thought they had lost. The beauty of it all is they love each other. So much of the show is rooted in emotion. Ironically it is often withheld. Many things went unsaid in British society at that time, and if you don't pay close attention to the show you miss what is left unsaid.