Downton Abbey Made a Whole Hard Girl Cry

Help! I finally finished Downton Abbey and I don't know what to do with my life now.

I remember when Ayo recommended this series for me to watch. I heard the title and honestly didn't feel anything. I watched the first few scenes, and the first thought that came to my mind was, "Um. Yeah. I've seen what I needed to see, but this isn't for me." And I think I gave up there and then and went back to my Brooklyn 99, which is also an awesome show by the way, and one you should definitely watch. But this story isn't Brooklyn 99's story. It's Downton Abbey's.

Ayo and I spoke some more and he gave me a pretty detailed summary of the events that would unfold in Downton Abbey and now, I thought, "Hm. All these interesting things inside this series? Fine, I'll try again!"

And I did. And now I've finished watching it and I still haven't recovered.

The series is set between 1912 and 1926 in Yorkshire. It chronicles the experiences of the aristocratic family, the Crawleys, and how their lives entwined with their servants and maids repeatedly. The series took me through an intense journey of class struggle, the war and its effects, love, strife, jealousy, hatred, death, growth, family, and of course, happiness.

I watched as the characters in the show grew from being nasty children to being adults. It's just like Thomas Barrow said towards the end of the show, "I came here a child. Now, I leave a man." That quote stayed with me because it wasn't just him. All the characters went through steady growth and transformation.

Daisy. Daisy remains one of my favourite characters. I think the producers of the show knew she would be a fan fave and that's why she was one of the first characters we heard and saw on the show. A kitchen maid with no family or friends grows from being an ignorant helpless maid to becoming an independent, educated, smart woman. She transforms slowly yet surely and blossoms right before our very eyes. I remember thinking she was pretty gullible at the beginning with her crushing on Thomas and always doing his bidding, but I saw as she got over that and grew. It was so beautiful.

Then there's Old Lady Grantham, the Dowager Countess. This woman has trouble. She brought trouble with her to every scene and she always gave you something to look forward to. She is calm, collected, and poised. She exudes elegance and she gives it to you like it is. Hot. No time to waste. Her quotes remain legendary and you know what stood out for me more? How she could be looking at you with a firm smile planted on her face and she could be dishing out the hottest of insults- that smile unwavering. It was epic!

Then we have Matthew Crawley. He shouldn't have died. In my opinion, his death was absolutely unnecessary. But it is what it is, I guess. If you know me, you'd know I love spoilers. Especially if it involves the death of my favourite character. By knowing the end from the beginning, I can prepare myself for what's to come and not be so hurt by it when it happens. But you see Matthew's death? A certain someone forgot to tell me. Or he told me and I forgot to remember. Either ways, his death wrecked me. But I had to move on. For the family.

His love story with Mary was so beautiful. He saw beyond her bitchy nature and he loved her truly.

Then Mary, Edith, and Sybil. Sybil was my favourite naturally, and of course, I think her death was also unnecessary. She was selfless and passionate, a lady well ahead of her times. She attended political meetings while her sisters spent all day shopping for more gowns. Yes, she reminded me of Eloise in Bridgerton. I knew she was going to die before I watched it, so it didn't particularly wreck me. But it still hurt me. Especially when you think of the circumstances surrounding her death.

Her father chose the words of a sophisticated doctor who hardly knew the family over the words of a doctor who knew the family inside out. And that sophisticated doctor's pride killed Sybil when she really did not have to die.

Anyways, more tears for us.

Then there's Mary and Edith. To be candid, I couldn't stand them at first. They were just acting like a couple of spoiled brats and it was annoying to see. But life showed them pepper small and soon enough, they made up.

I remember watching where Mary spilt Edith's secret at breakfast and feeling this intense hatred for her. I wanted to knock her head from where I sat crouched on my sofa, streaming the show on my phone. But I couldn't. So, I went to rant in Ayo's DM instead.

One thing I couldn't help but notice as the plot unfolded was that the writers of the show knew what they were doing. They exposed a character's flaws to you so openly and unashamedly that for the life of you, you can't stand one more scene of that character's face. Then they show you what the character is like underneath all of that bitchinesss and they show you what drives her irritating actions, and you find yourself saying, "Oh. She really isn't so bad."

I started suspecting the makers of the show when it happened to Thomas. I hated Thomas. Everyone hated Thomas and Miss O'Brien. But for reasons unbeknown to us, we find ourselves pitying Thomas and rooting for him. Yes, we were rooting for the man that made Mr. Bates' life a living hell. That Thomas. I wouldn't go as far as to say I liked his character or I was crushing on him like some babes I saw on Tiktok. I mean of all the characters to crush on, you chose Thomas. Really!?

I was so happy that things turned out well for Edith after all the suffering she had suffered. It seemed only reasonable that life'd compensate her by making her outrank the rest of her family. But one thing the show showed me (Hmm. Is that why they call them shows? Because they show??) is how she also grew and transformed from the jealous bitter sister who would go as far as tarnishing her sister's image just to be petty, to a brilliant virtuous publisher, who prioritised honesty and integrity.

Then there's Mr. Bates and Anna. I remember telling Ayo that I couldn't understand how someone's life could be so full of suffering. Mr. Bates suffered. Omooo. He suffered. And everyone felt it when he did. It wasn't just the servants and maids. Even Lord Grantham and his family were in pain when Mr. Bates was being unjustly punished. That's another beautiful thing about the series. Yes. There was a clear class distinction within the home, but it was still obvious that at their very core, they were all a part of a big family and they were united on all fronts.

There were other characters like Mr. Carson, whose eyebrows and ridiculous notions always made me laugh, and Mrs. Hughes and Mrs. Patmore, and Mr. Molesley, amongst many others.

These characters brought tears to my eyes, and had me rewatching multiple scenes, sprawling on the floor in laughter. These characters taught me. They stayed with me and held my hands through the days of work stress and exhaustion. I knew I always had them to turn to.

But now, I'm done with the series and I don't know what to do with my life. Send HELP!

Oh. A special shout out to Ayo for his stellar movie recommendations. Hehe.