Downton Abbey the Movie
It’s been a hot minute since we’ve seen any of our favourite characters from Downton Abbey, four years to be exact. Most of the characters upstairs and down got a happy ending in the snowy Christmas finale, but it’s clear creator Julian Fellowes left an opening for a reunion…
Was Isis Downton’s most loveable character?
Lord Grantham is surrounded by women on Downton Abbey, but Isis was the cuddliest, most loyal and least complicated of them all. Each episode of Downton opens with Isis’ behind, tail wagging her way toward the manor. She is the audience’s best friend.
Downton’s Most Memorable Moments
After four seasons of Downton Abbey, we’ve learned to expect the unexpected. Or to paraphrase Downton’s creator Julian Fellowes: some shows are born to shock, and some have shock thrust upon them. From Lady Cora’s dastardly slip on the soap to Lady Mary’s memorable first time…
The Cinderella Story of Lady Edith
Imagine if your own mother said this about you: “Be kind to her, she has so few advantages.” That’s exactly what Lady Cora said about her daughter Edith. Laura Carmichael plays Lady Edith on Downton Abbey, the classic middle sister: boring, undervalued and overlooked. In the early days of Downton, Edith is always eclipsed by her sisters: charismatic Lady Mary and the pretty and daring...
Julian Fellowes Weighs In
What does the creator of Downton Abbey, Julian Fellowes, have to say about some weighty issues of late, like the rape of Anna, the end of Downton Abbey and historical inaccuracies. And rumours abound that Season 5 of Downton Abbey may be the last…
Why Matthew had to die
Shock and awe surrounded the death of Matthew Crawley at the end of Season Three. At Downton Abbey Online, we certainly got our fair share of sad and angry letters. We gently reminded viewers that sometimes actors determine the plot of television shows, as was the case with the death of Matthew Crawley…
Something about Lady Mary…
Lord Grantham might be in charge of Downton Abbey, but Lady Mary runs the show. Michelle Dockery plays the classic English beauty Lady Mary, part ruthless, part elegant and all woman in a time when the fairer sex were second class citizens…
Mrs Patmore Quotes
Mrs Patmore gives the Dowager a run for her money when it comes to one liners concerning love and life. Daisy is usually Mrs Patmore’s object of scorn, but no one downstairs is safe from Mrs Patmore’s tongue… Or her cooking for that matter.
Most Recent Articles
Julian Fellowes Weighs In
What does the creator of Downton Abbey, Julian Fellowes, have to say about some weighty issues of late, like the rape of Anna, the end of Downton Abbey and historical inaccuracies…
Why Matthew had to die
Farewell Dan Stevens...
Shock and awe surrounded the death of Matthew Crawley at the end of Season Three. At Downton Abbey Online, we certainly got our fair share of sad and angry letters. We gently reminded viewers that sometimes actors determine the plot of television shows, as was the case with the death of Matthew Crawley. The actor who played Matthew Crawley, Dan Stevens, wanted to leave the show and there was nothing Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes could do about it except write him out of the show.
Julian Fellowes explains that in America, it’s quite common for an actor to sign onto a series for five to seven years. In England, you can only sign an actor like Dan Stevens up for three years. Thanks to the success of Downton Abbey, Dan Stevens was offered opportunities too good to refuse and wanted out. Fellowes harbours no ill will against Stevens, remembering he did something very similar during his early theatre days in London.
But why was Matthew’s death so grisly?
If a servant actor wants to leave the show, Fellowes writes the script to include a job offer in Dublin or India, in the case of nasty O’Brien. But if a family actor wants to leave Downton Abbey’s cast, their exit must be final or it’s simply not believable. A family member like Matthew wouldn’t leave Downton for any other reason except death. And because Dan Steven’s exit in real life was final, there needed to be no doubt among viewers that he would return. Hence, the grisly final death scene.
Season 4 of Downton Abbey opens six months after Matthew’s death, after the shock wears off. Presumably, nobody really wants to see Mary grieve for an entire season. And halfway through the first episode, Mary changes out of her black clothes and feels some degree of closure. Mary decides to live without Matthew Crawley, and so do we…
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Mrs Patmore Quotes
Mrs Patmore rocking the dark glasses after her surgery
After food lands on the floor of the kitchen…
“What the eye doesn’t see the heart won’t grieve over”
To Daisy
“Listen to me and take those kidneys up to the servery before I knock you down and serve your brains as fritters.”
“Daisy, I said you could go for a drink of water, not a trip up the Nile”
Daisy: “I was only trying to help”
Mrs. Patmore: “Judas was only trying to help, when he brought the Roman soldiers to the garden”
“You’re always dozy but tonight you’d make Sleeping Beauty look alert.”
Mrs Patmore's zingers usually land in Daisy's direction
Catching Daisy dancing with William…
“Daisy, stop that silly nonsense before you put your joints out”
When Daisy goes on strike and reminds Mrs. Patmore of her rights…
“Oh dear, have you swallowed a dictionary?”
Daisy goes on strike
Daisy: “The chimney is not drawing properly, the oven is not hot enough”
Mrs Patmore: “It’s a poor workman who blames his tools”
O’Brien: “Can I borrow some baking soda?”
Mrs Patmore: “Borrow? Are you planning to give it back?”
On food rationing after the war…
“Talk about making a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. I wish I had a sow’s ear. It would be better than this brisket”
“The Lord tempers the wind to the shorn lamb”
The sinking of the Titanic…
“Nothing in life is sure”
About Thomas being nice after the war to get his job back…
“It’s wonderful what fear can do to the human spirit”
“We never associate the word helpful with you”
Best. Quote. Ever.
On Daisy marrying William…
“It’s too late for second thoughts now, Missy. You don’t have to marry him when it comes to it, but you can’t let him go to war with a broken heart, or he won’t come back.”
“You don’t have to be Shakespeare, just say nice things”
The telephone…
“It sounds like the cry of the banshee… I wouldn’t touch it with a 10 foot pole”
General comments by Mrs Patmore…
“William’s got more to say than a parliamentary candidate”
“You know the trouble with you lot is that you’re all in love with the wrong people”
“Anyone who has use of their limbs can make a salmon mousse”
Counselling Mrs. Hughes…
“If you must pay money, better to a doctor than an undertaker”
To Molesley about Sybil…
“Of course she married beneath her. And who are you, the Habsburg Archduke?”
Daisy doesn't get why Thomas just isn't into her...
Mrs Patmore: “Perhaps Thomas has done and seen more than is good for him. He’s not a lady’s man.”
Daisy: “Well isn’t it a blessed relief.”
“How can you choose today of all days to complain about your lot. I expect Mr. Bates would rather be wondering about how to keep a roast chicken warm than sitting in a lonely cell facing his maker.”
Mrs Patmore: “I’m never sure about Americans and offal”
Mrs. Patmore: Nothing’s as changeable as a young man’s heart. Take hope and warning from that.
Mrs. Patmore: Chilled soup should be an exquisite mouthful not a bucket of slop.
Mrs. Patmore: I’ll have no swear words in here, thank you very much. Unless I’m doing the swearing.
Mrs. Patmore: Sometimes you can spend too long on a one sided love.
Mrs. Patmore: I like that Rudolph Valentino. He makes me shiver all over.
Carson: What a very disturbing thought.
Mrs. Patmore: You don’t understand. Before too long, her ladyship could run the kitchen with a woman from the village. What with these toasters and mixers and the such, we’d be out of a job.
Mrs Patmore (about Alfred breaking Daisy’s heart): I do grudge him the tears and the heartbreak that will flavour my puddings for weeks to come.
Mrs. Patmore: Mr Carson, all women need someone to show a bit of interest every now and then. Preferably in a manner that’s not entirely proper.
Mrs. Patmore: You’re a very optimistic generation, I’ll say that.
Mrs Patmore (to Lady Rose): If the family is like sardines my Lady, the staff are like maggots
Read MoreAbout Me
It was love at first sight from the moment we laid eyes on that little costume drama from across the pond. At Downton Abbey Online, we marvel at the big and the small dramas, upstairs and down. Please drop us a line if there's something you'd like to see included on the site.