WORST Storylines.. - Downton Abbey (2011) Discussion

[–] LiteraryLadyofLothlorien 8 years ago

Mary and her identikit suitors. Anything with the Bates's after Series 1.

To you, Baldrick, the Renaissance was just something that happened to other people, wasn't it?

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[–] Moonlighty 8 years ago

Are you saying you DIDNT like one of the Bateses constantly accused of murdering someone?! But they had such great story payoffs!

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Consider the daffodil. And while you're doing that I'll be over here looking through your stuff.

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[–] tomcervo 8 years ago

JF has a thing for murder. This is a pretty good series he did before:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_Fellowes_Investigates:_A_Most_Mysterious_Murder
But not everyone has that thing, and after the first murder trial it got to be too much.

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[–] Moonlighty 8 years ago

I'm guessing JF thinks dramatic=murder no matter how unlikely it is to happen at an English country estate.

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Consider the daffodil. And while you're doing that I'll be over here looking through your stuff.

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[–] debbieblackman17 8 years ago

Sarah Bunting. Too annoying

Tony Gillingham. It would have been better if they had just stuck with Charles Blake instead of Mary having a couple of suitors or moved straight onto Henry so we could have seen more of their relationship before they married

Robert's "fling" with Jane. Too out of character

Turning Tom. - who was one of the best characters with the best developement - into somebody who was just simply there and didn't even get a proper ending

And I was bitterly disappointed that we never had a chance to see the Bates baby falsely accused of murder and make it a hat trick

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[–] tomcervo 8 years ago

Robert's "fling" with Jane. Too out of character

If she'd been closer in class to him, a middle class women much like Isobel, working with Robert in a committee or local activity--organizing land girls or a charity--it would have been more realistic, and she'd have been a genuine threat, instead bit o' downstairs fluff.
And a waste of Jane Campion, who's brilliant in Home Fires.

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[–] rulz1000 8 years ago

"Robert's "fling" with Jane. Too out of character"
I think it's very much into character. Not the romantic fluff, but the attraction, was not only felt but also acted upon by many aristocratic men. Besides, he was never really crazy about Cora, was he?

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[–] chiluvr1228 8 years ago

I think it's very much into character. Not the romantic fluff, but the attraction, was not only felt but also acted upon by many aristocratic men. Besides, he was never really crazy about Cora, was he?

In one of the episodes it was mentioned that he wasn't in love with Cora when they first married but that he did fall in love with her within a few years. He was crazy about Cora but he was feeling neglected there for awhile and flirted and kissed Jane but stopped himself before it went any further. It's one of the things I loved about Robert. He was a man of principle, something we don't see very much anymore.

"Vulgarity is no substitute for wit".

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[–] rulz1000 8 years ago

I think the S2 Bates storyline, the first time he was accused of murder, the trial etc, was very entertaining. Then we got into the prison stuff and everything went downhill.

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[–] byq 8 years ago

Mary and Henry
the hospital saga
the S6 blackmail
the whole 6th series
Mary and her train of suitors
Carson and Hughes' domestic problems
Rose
Anything having to do with the Bateses after the Mr.'s release from jail
Edna
I can come up with many more if I sit down to think.

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[–] allamericanmix 8 years ago

Agree with all of the above. Although there were parts of Season 6 I did like/enjoy.

My additions to the list:

- the "Fake Patrick"/ Peter Gordon (Canadian soldier) storyline

- Edith/Drewes Season 5 angst. If Edith told Cora up front about her pregnancy, we might have been saved from this one.

- the Season 3 - 2nd go around - of Edith & Sir Anthony. So cringe worthy how Edith pursued him. I realize JF "needed" the jilting to reboot Edith's character with JBF (Sybil) leaving, BUT it was SO weird to watch Edith's desperation.

- the Ivy/Daisy/Alfred/Jimmy love "quadrangle". Chewed up a lot of time & seemed to go on forever.

- "Brothgate" and the time given on some of the Denker/Spratt quibbling. Although I did love the "Bananas" scene between Laura & Edith with the Spratt/Agony Aunt reveal.

- 2 seasons (S4 & S5) of Tom's "who am I?" and "stay or leave" quandary. Then he's back by S6E3 and just to play Cupid for Mary & Henry.

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[–] cataylorc 8 years ago

"- "Brothgate" and the time given on some of the Denker/Spratt quibbling. Although I did love the "Bananas" scene between Laura & Edith with the Spratt/Agony Aunt reveal."

Ha Ha!!! "Brothgate" very good! I agree. The original story "Downton Abbey" was told by S3. All the subsequent offerings, moved further and further away from this narrative, until the Abbey itself had been rendered redundant. Series/Season 6, could have been held in a council house in "Knotty Ash" for all the relevance the great pile had by this point.

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[–] Moonlighty 8 years ago

- the "Fake Patrick"/ Peter Gordon (Canadian soldier) storyline

Ha ha it was hilarious how badly that storyline was conceived then quickly dropped and never spoke of again. The amount of "what was the deal with that story?" threads shows how poorly executed it was. It was too outlandish even for this show, the show seemed to realize it, then no one ever mentioned it on the show again like they also wanted to pretend it didn't happen.

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Consider the daffodil. And while you're doing that I'll be over here looking through your stuff.

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[–] tomcervo 8 years ago

You know, if they left it ambiguous, with just the suggestion and no more, and Edith alone wondering, it might have been better.
But instead they call yet another family meeting so everyone can talk about it, saying exactly what you expect them to say.
The Corleones didn't have so many family meetings . . .

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[–] Moonlighty 8 years ago

There's a fine line between ambiguous and confusing. I think if it seems to have a point in developing the characters, the ambiguity would have been fine. The family seemed pretty reasonable to want to do some investigation instead of blindly believing a stranger. It's not like Mary wondering if Matthew wasn't the heir lead to a rift in their relationship. Did we learn Edith is too easily trusting? No news there.

It turned out mostly to be a "well that went no where, wait what was the deal with that?" Rather than something more meaningful to where it wasn't important if he was or wasn't the real heir, but what story lines it developed, which here was basically none.

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Consider the daffodil. And while you're doing that I'll be over here looking through your stuff.

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[–] SuCue 8 years ago

Surely there would have been a groom, stablehands, head gardener and staff, and probably a gamekeeper? Seems very odd for a country estate that we never saw the outside staff. Well I guess except for the brief tale of Pegg, who took care of the dowager's garden.

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[–] SuCue 8 years ago

Sorry I meant the above to be a new topic. Don't know how it ended up here.

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[–] byq 8 years ago

Fellowes writes in one of his script commentaries that he would have liked to include more servants, especially outdoor ones, but it would have made the cast of characters much too big and unwieldy. We do catch glimpses of gardeners, grooms, gamekeepers and beaters and the like but as it was there was an overabundance of characters, so I think his decision was right.

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[–] 8 years ago

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[–] acoach-34687 8 years ago

Regarding "Robert's "fling" with Jane. Too out of character."

They had to put in a storyline like that or how would he ever be able to forgive Edith having Marigold or Mary for her indiscretions? He would have been even farther out of character.

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[–] Ltay328 8 years ago

Or show him how stupid he was being about Simon Bricker.

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[–] Ltay328 8 years ago

Tom and his "who am I" dilemma.
The whole hospital at Downton story/Matthew can't walk/ can't have children.

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[–] Garfieldthakat 8 years ago

Too many! As the show went on it became clear it was wearing down and should have brought in a new writer or something.

I couldn't stand Spratt and Denker. I liked the reveal of Spratt's job but I didn't understand why we were supposed to care about these two bickering.

The Bates criminal storylines got old.

I didn't care for how Barrow's constant demotion/promotions/fired/re-hired nonsense went on. As a character I found him interesting but I found the job movement a bit unbelievable, especially considering the era.

I wanted to take Robert by the collar and shake him for the fling with Jane.

Mary's train of suitors. It was difficult for me to tell Blake and Gillingham apart sometimes.

Edna. Miss Bunting. Tom was less interesting once Sybil died.

The show tended to drag stories out for far too long or recycle too many plotlines.

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[–] ContessaTredieci 8 years ago

** I didn't care for how Barrow's constant demotion/promotions/fired/re-hired nonsense went on. As a character I found him interesting but I found the job movement a bit unbelievable, especially considering the era. **

I couldn't stand how trusted Barrow was. Such a lying snake in the grass and the Uppers so accepted his word.

**I wanted to take Robert by the collar and shake him for the fling with Jane.**

I didn't like the fling either, and felt it came too soon in the series. But I thought that they didn't expect the series to last as long as it did so they had to throw that in.

**Edna. Miss Bunting. Tom was less interesting once Sybil died.**

Agree that Tom was less interesting. It seemed like they didn't know what storyline to write for him. One foot in each world. The fire he had as chauffeur & initially with Sybil seemed to disappear after she died. He just became a resident in the manor house.

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[–] dizexpat 8 years ago

It was difficult for me to tell Blake and Gillingham apart sometimes.

You mean they weren't played by the same person?

I really thought they hired twins for the roles.

Mice work in mysterious ways.
No, dear. That's God.

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[–] Thermalmom 8 years ago

Edith marrying Bertie. Too, too much of a fairy tale.

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[–] Furienna (3350) 8 years ago

Really? Because I would rather say that Rose and Atticus was too much of a fairy-tale. And even they were forced to deal with her dispicable mother and his dispicable father.

And I loved everything about Edith and Bertie. They were two underdogs, who finally met each other and could find their happiness together. Sure, maybe it was a bit too much that Bertie suddenly became a marquis. But I guess that JF wanted Edith to finally beat nasty Mary. And I guess that some times, a title and an estate could go to a distant cousin (just like Matthew suddenly became Robert's heir after Patrick's death).

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