Downton: Revisited - Season 1 Episode 1

I get it, because it's a train. . .

I had forgotten that the Pilot for Downton started with a train, not the familiar opening credits that we all know and love. It is a fine example of a Narative credit. We see the snowball that starts the avalanche, the telegraph carrying the information of Messrs John and Patrick Crawley (whom we never see, or do we?) dying in the frigid waters of the North Atlantic.

Another curiosity is that the first human that we ever see on screen is Mr. John Bates. Many times in television the program's Lead is the first character on screen. Is this the Bates show? No, but he is definitely a favorite character of mine.

Anyways the opening sequence continues in glorious fashion. The rising of the servants, them going about their daily toil to prepare the house. It is geniusly shot with handheld (probably Steady) camera work following the "downstairs" characters about. It is one of the few times in the series that we ever have a scene that is basically just people going about their work. This serves two purposes, portraying Downton as it was before we get to know her, and explaining to the audience (who may or may not be familiar) with the typical hard life of household staff, especially in contrast to the relative ease of their employers.

Time off?

The pilot's pacing is also very smart, starting off with a bang of conflict. Many time period dramas languish in celebrating the good times before introducing conflict. This may work better in novelization, but it proves to be boring television. The Titanic sinking and the notice of death telegraph to Lord Grantham is the very beginning of the show, brilliantly establishing a timeframe and starting our drama.

Julian Fellows likes to be cute, but I'm sure he's trying to be clever. There is a lot of expositional dialogue about eccentricities of the era, that would be quite common at the time. This dialogue is excellent for us in the modern period to look back and be amused by, but I'm not sure how many conversations about the fear of electricity or the "vapors" that it creates in rooms are necessary. Still anything from Maggie Smith is amazing, so I'll let it slide.

Another funny point of retrospective is how well the characters are established from the very beginning of the show. Bates is congenial and hard working, Anna is charismatic and full of love, Carson dedicated, and O'Brien nasty. There is no doubt that O'Brien is an antagonist. It is actually hard to understand why Lady Grantham keeps her around as a servant when no one likes O'Brien from the very beginning of the show.

the answer is, Yes m'lord.

Interestingly, the first time we see Lord Grantham, he is not wearing his country attire, but something much more city appropriate. We rarely see him dressed like this, as the vast majority of the show takes place at Downton, and therefore requires a more "casual" dress, most of the time.

Robert's character is immediately set up as sympathetic. A member of the aristocracy, yes, but an Aristocrat who cares about the "poor devils below decks" who didn't make it off the Titanic. This is a very specific and big deal in the show. Robert is the atypical aristocrat. He is aware of the world around him, cares for everyone in his family and his family's employ, and is generally affable all around. Even still, we will see plenty of examples in the future of Robert's disconnect from the reality of a changing World and the death of his lifestyle. A great example of this is his finding it curious that his cousin was a doctor and that his now heir is a lawyer. Whereas before the heirs had and always had been the Gentry.

That is part of what makes this show better than other period dramas. Most are static. They act as a portrait of a time period and celebrate its perfections without drawing attention to its flaws. Downton starts at the eve of massive social change. Robert may believe that his lifestyle is certain, but we know it is not. Mary is a prime example of someone who recognizes this ending and fights to survive in a new era.

Speaking of Mary, she is definitely the nasty sibling to begin with. We see her and Edith fight and Sybil keeping the peace. SYBIL!! I missed you. Your death was terrible and tragic. Oddly Sybil is the most modern of all the "Upstairs" characters, the one we modern viewers share the most values with, and the most progressive of her family.  Mary's coldness is further personified by her lack of caring for the death of her cousin/soon to be fiancé, and the casual nature of how she does not want to be in "full mourning" clothes. Edith's love of Patrick is evident, and nicely sets up the future narrative of the "casualty of war" Patrick.

next paragraph Willy

 The drama continues with so much exposition about the Entail and the Heir to the Title.  We definitely need this exposition since it is the key focus of the conflict. It is also something quite foreign in modern time, so it benefits from its exposition. Apparently much of this was edited out of the initial American PBS release. Whoever the distributor is decided that Americans were either not culturally aware enough or too stupid to understand Aristocratic Inheritance. Yet cutting this plot line completely removes core conflict of the series. I don't even understand how you would remove it.

Fortunately for me, I first saw this show before it aired on PBS on Netflix Instant. I had watched Little Dorrit or The Forsyte Saga and the Netflix suggestorama put Downton at the top. It had five stars, so why not? Like most of the World, I was hooked from the start.

Back to the review. Bates' Cane is almost a character unto itself. Again challenging our modern sensitivities of the "differently abled", since Bates walks with a cane they all assume that he can't do his job and that he is a cripple. For the Thirty and Younger crowd this is a very foreign concept (myself in that crowd), but for people older than 30, you probably remember the core belief that the "handicapped" couldn't have standard jobs. Yet another prime example of how we live in a better world  now.

Bates and Anna's relationship is foreshadowed from the moment they meet. This is a pretty standard trope of the genre, but they are also two of the most sympathetic characters, so shipping them is very easy and satisfying in the end.

Another great character moment is Carson's "Our Family" line. This is the true base of Carson. Everything we see him do throughout the series blooms from this line. It lets us understand him from the first moment. It doesn't feel "expositiony" and is very well done. Not that Carson doesn't deserve all the character development that he does receive, but knowing him from the first moment is nice.

A Real Heiress with a Future Prime Minister

Yet another anecdote of interest is Robert's shame for pursuing Cora for her money. He did fall in love with her, but that wasn't until after he had left for War. This is a very true to life concept from this era.  The key example of the "American Aristocracy" is Consuelo Vanderbilt.  She is the daughter of Willie K. Vanderbilt, himself the Grandson of "The Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt. Consuelo's mother was Alva Vanderbilt, one of the Queens of Newport Society. Alva dominated Consuelo's early life, arranging her marriage to Charles Spencer-Churchill (yes, related to that Churchill), 9th Duke of Marlborough. Consuelo Vanderbilt's dowry was used to restore Blenheim Palace and replenish its furnishings and library, as many of the original contents had been sold over the course of the 19th century. 

This may be the example that Julian Fellows used to base young Robert. Consuelo's relationship, however, was much different from Robert & Cora, ending with Consuelo's divorce.

One thing that Downton fails at communicating well is the passage of time. We move from the funeral & family in mourning almost directly to months later when Philip, Duke of Crowborough arrives. There is no sense that THAT much time has passed. It might as well be the next day. Downton has a habit of this, weeks and weeks pass in individual episodes, yet you wouldn't really know it. 

Anyways, upon Philip's arrival it is evident that Mary finds him attractive, as she is a dedicated social climber, but their differences soon emerge. Phillip is the typical Aristocrat of the era, who sees himself above others, as is shown with his "exploration" of the service quarters. This also is in direct alignment with the reveal of Thomas' homosexuality. Which is, at this point in time, very much illegal, and unlike our modern ridiculous sodomy laws, is enforced. The Duke is also in parallel with Robert as a character. He needs to wed an heiress. He requires money, and the only way to get it is to marry it. Had Mary been the heir, then this match would be in both their favors, but unfortunately for them, and fortunately for us, the great conflict continues. 

 

Sinn Fein rolls hard

Side note, the actor who played The Duke is Charlie Cox, who returned to American Screens as the amazing character of Owen Sleater in Boardwalk Empire.  He is a total badass. One of many Downton actors that continue to have great careers. 

The episodes concludes introducing Mathew and Mrs. Crawley. MATHEW!!!!! While the most recent season of Downton introduced us to a few noble young male characters, Mathew is still the best. We see him having breakfast with his mother, which I'm sure is probably a scene my mother concocted in her brain of her and I one day. My mother definitely appreciated the Mother/Son relationships of this period, specifically of the upper Middle and Upper classes. 

Well, that sure was much longer than I expected to write. Most likely the following blogs will be shorter since the Pilot sets up everything. Two seasons worth of plots begin right here. It is pretty masterful in its creation and Julian Fellows plays a long game. I wonder how many more seasons are planned. They could conclude in one, but I have a feeling it could go two or three, especially with how short the seasons are! There is also talk about a Prequel show about Young Robert and Cora. This could be interesting. Much of the first season could be of a more brash, perhaps not as likeable Robert in New York. Full episodes could be set in Newport, I'm sure the historic homes there would love to be featured! Then Robert is off to war & Cora runs Downton fighting with the Dowager Countess all the time. I think it could be cool. 

But next up, Episode Two!