Surprise TV Show: Dowton Abbey

Hey everyone! This was the post that came in second for my two polls, which means my Phantom post will probably come out Friday. We'll see how life treats me this week. 

Now, I called it a surprise, so I'm sorry if I disappoint everyone. But the surprise show is....

Downton Abbey!!!

Yes, I know this show came out a long time ago. Do I care? No. Moving on, my grandma was bugging my family. She was all like "Y'all gotta watch this show! I know you'll love it!" (She's from Arkansas so she and my grandpa have accents, cool right?!) And we were all like "Okay, okay, we'll give it a try." That 'try' turned into an obsession. We watch it in every minute of our free time. We checked out the full season of Dowton and we could only have it for one week. So we watched whole seasons in one week! We just completed season 3, so onto season 4 and then we'll be all caught up! Well we haven't finished season 3, yet, we have like half of it to go. But we're planning on watching it tonight. This is a period drama set in the early 1900's. It's a drama, and I mean DRAMA with some romance and peril. So, you can see why I love it. 

WARNING: Spoilers will be posted so if you've not seen any or anything season past 1 or 2, abandon this post now! If you had no desire to watch this show, then, you can read on. 

So first things first. I want to talk about the theme song of Dowton Abbey. It's so beautiful! I mean, that's the best way to describe it!

Now, over the characters! 

I'll try to get everything straight: 

Robert Crawley (known as Lord Grantham): owner of Dowton Abbey

Cora Crawley (Lady Grantham): Wife of Robert

Mary Crawley: Eldest daughter of Robert and Cora

Edith Crawley: Second Eldest daughter of Robert and Cora

Sybil Crawley: Youngest daughter of Robert and Cora 

Matthew Crawley: Heir to Dowton Abbey

Isobel Crawley: Matthew's mother

Violet Crawley (Dowager Countess of Grantham): Robert's mother

Tom Branson: Husband of Sybil Crawley/ previously a chauffeur 

Mr. Carson: Butler

Mrs. Hughes: Top house-keeper in charge of all the female staff

Miss O'Brien: Cora's ladies-maid

Mr. John Bates: Roebrt's valet

Anna Smith (now Bates): Head housemaid/ now Mary's ladies-maid

William Mason: Second Footman

Thomas Barrow: Previously first footmen, then valet, then under valet

Mrs. Patmore: Cook

Daisy: Head kitchen maid

This is pretty much the main characters of Dowton Abbey. Dowton Abbey starts in April 1912 when the sinking of the Titanic played out. And it goes on, throughout the years. Now, PBS had previously had a "House" show, where you can go back in time to live in other periods of history. See my sister's article. There was one called "Manor House" and I'm so glad I watched it before I watched Dowton. Everything made perfect sense. The ranking, the way that the upper class lived, everything. It revolves around Downton and anything else that the show runs into. Such as World War I. 

Now, my favorite time to name out the characters that I do and don't like. Yay! I won't spend too much time telling why I love them! 

Favorites: 

Carson: I love Mr. Carson. He takes control of situations, makes sure everything is in order, and he is especially close to Mary and the family. 

Mrs. Hughes: She always keep the ladies under control, or at least she tries! I don't think I could do her or Carson's jobs. It would be too hard. She's sweet and not too judgmental. 

Mr. Bates: Awww, I love Mr. Bates. He so sweet and kind! 

Anna: She's your usual sweet face who cares for everyone, who doesn't get into trouble and yeah. 

Matthew: Matthew, Matthew, Matthew! Who couldn't love Matthew! He's sweet and kind, especially to Mary. They start off on bad terms, though, let me tell you! But they end up getting married! So sweet! But I always have this thought in my head: WHY DID YOU KILL HIM OFF!!! Well, it's more like WHY DID YOU WANT TO LEAVE THE SHOW, DAN STEVENS? We were all heartbroken. 

Mary: I love Mary. Sure, she has a lot of crying scenes and questioning her and Matthew's relationship scenes, but I love her anyways. 

Violet: She is hilarious! She always has the best comebacks! She is a person of class and sass. 

Branson: I know he's called Tom now, but to me he looks like a Branson. He is Irish and was married to the late Sybil Crawley. They had a little girl, in which he named Sybil, after her mother. He is a bit of  a rebel when it comes to politics. Therefore Robert is not in any way, fond of him. But that doesn't mean that I'm not fond of him!

But my all time favorite person has to be: 

Yes, it's William Mason!! I love William. No, I don't care if he was only in two seasons, so don't bother reminding me! William was the second footman who was madly in love with Daisy. He liked her for forever and she didn't like him back. In season two, he went off to war with Matthew and saved his life by stepping in front of Matthew when a bomb went off. He had damage to his lungs and couldn't recover. Therefore he sacrificed his life to save Matthew. He married Daisy only hours before he passed away in his sleep. You see, the very first scene that showed William, I knew there was something good about him. I was like 'That's my favorite character right there, as long as he doesn't do anything stupid later on.' And guess what; He doesn't. He is soft, sweet, caring, and often lets himself be pushed around by Thomas. He also *cough seriously handsome. So, he will forever be one of my favorite characters of Downton. Jimmy and Alfred the new footmen don't even compare. I wish he never would have fallen in love Daisy. He deserved so much better than her. For her not really loving William and kind of leading him on, I. Don't. Like. Her. I would snatch him up in a second. Why? Well everything I said about him above, and he plays piano (supposedly he asked the directors if he could play in the show and he did) and he is just awesome. Oh, I want to list some of my favorite quotes of William: 

"By 'eck it were worth it, if I get to hold your hand." - To Daisy as he is slowly dying. 

"You know I'm dying.

I'm dying, Daisy.

I'm not going to make it." To Daisy again as he is dying.

"We'd have married if I got through it, and spent our

 whole lives together." Still the same as the two above. 

"Pinch me. I am your dream come true." William when he comes donned in his uniform to Daisy.

"Are we engaged? Because if we are, I know I can tackle whatever may come!" When Daisy "accepts" his proposal. 

"It's the thought of you that keeps me going." To Daisy. (Aaawwwww)

"I am a real soldier thank you very much. Now come and give me a kiss." To Daisy.

"Won't you let a Tommie kiss his sweetheart, Mrs. Patmore, when he's off to fight the Hun?" To Mrs. Patmore. 

Now, for the characters who get on my nerves: 

Cora: I mean she acts so fake! Her voice drives me insane and she's always living on a happy fantasy cloud. Overall, I love her, but every time I hear her voice I cringe. 

Miss O'Brien: Arg! She made Cora lose her baby! I was so mad at her for that! She was always up to no good with Thomas until this accident. Since then, she's cooled down. 

Thomas: Oh, yuck. I. Do. Not. Like. Thomas. He's a jerk. Best way to put it. He's also got issues, that I won't mention on here. He's often planning a dirty evil scheme to play out on the staff and he's deceitful and yeah. I don't like him at all.

Daisy: She's dumber than a box of rocks. Sorry, but not really. She kinda broke my heart when she stated to everyone that she doesn't really love William, when he loves her so much.  

Edith: She's just kinda mean, man crazy and yeah. She dates older men and yeah. She's got issues. But her getting jilted at the altar of her wedding was really sad. No one deserves that. 

I love this time period. Where women dressed modestly, men went everywhere in suits and ties and were classy. Now we live in a world with, just, no class or modesty. I wish everyone could look how far we've fallen. Why can't we go back to the classy times in history? Really, people! Now, to cheer myself up, here are some pictures of Thomas Howes (William) and Sophie McShera (Daisy) 

Left To Right:
William, Thomas, Branson

P. S., PLEASE watch this fan video of William and Daisy: Downton Abbey William and Daisy. I ran into this on accident. I was looking for some awesome William clips, and I ran into this. "Holland Road" is the song by Mumford And Sons. It's the perfect song when you're in a depressed mood. Why? Because it's sad and depressing, so it goes along with your mood. I love this song now. The video itself was sad. When it states "As the moon hung proud and bright" is the saddest part. To inform everyone, when that line appears, Matthew is the one the camera zooms in on, William is lying on top of him. Just to clear that up. Oh, and when it says "And I was sorry for what I'd done", where Diasy watches as they carry William on a stretcher into a room. Please watch! Even if you haven't seen it or don't even care to, WATCH IT!!

Have You Seen Or Wanted To Watch Dowton Abbey? How Do You Feel About It And Who Are Your Favorite Characters?