Whether you like her or not, Mary is the most interesting character of this show!
Everyone else seems to be somewhat uni-dimensional, Mary is the most complicated ...
Does anyone agree?
Mary is definitely one of the most interesting characters of the show that is also the reason why Mary is one of the most loved Downton Abbey character (definitely more popular than Edith, all the polls show that). Downton Abbey is about Mary. Fortunately, most viewers can appreciate Mary and do not overdramatise everything they see on tv
Against stupidity, the gods themselves contend in vain- Friedrich Schiller
Whether you like her or not, Mary is the most interesting character of this show!
Everyone else seems to be somewhat uni-dimensional, Mary is the most complicated ...
Great explication
shareYears ago I saw a brilliant serial, The Price. Peter Barksworth was an English businessman who'd married a proud Anglo-Irish beauty played by Harriet Walter. The story admiringly told by her friends and neighbors is of the young man who was mad for her and whom she set tasks for to amuse herself. One of them was to jump an impossible fence; he tried anyway and broke his neck.
(At a crisis in the story Barksworth faces that set and tells them I won't make that jump.)
Mary always expects you to make that jump.
No, not particularly. I think she is a bit too predictable, especially during her suitors pursuits (that became boring) I know I would have still watched the show without a Mary in it. There are many interesting characters.
shareI would not have minded a show called "Downstairs at Downton Abbey." The downstairs people were infinitely more interesting. The show could have revolved around them and only peripherally how they dealt with the twits upstairs.
The tug of war over the hospital? Boring
Edith's travails? Boring
Mary's endless trail of interchangeable suitors? Double boring.
Cora? Boring
Robert? Pompous and boring.
Tom? Mary's hag and boring.
Violet was the only upstairs character I enjoyed watching. The rest-scuttle them all.
Years ago I saw a brilliant serial, The Price. Peter Barksworth was an English businessman who'd married a proud Anglo-Irish beauty played by Harriet Walter. The story admiringly told by her friends and neighbors is of the young man who was mad for her and whom she set tasks for to amuse herself. One of them was to jump an impossible fence; he tried anyway and broke his neck.
(At a crisis in the story Barksworth faces that set and tells them I won't make that jump.)
Mary always expects you to make that jump.
Interesting analogy, I've never heard of the Price. I'm intrigued. You Brits are so good at the miniseries.
It even has a Downton Abbey connection as the wonderful Harriet Walter appeared in both.
shareBULLOCKS!
shareThat's a matter of opinion.
shareNo. In general, I find the downstairs characters more interesting. The Dowager is by far my favourite of the upstairs characters. Mary, like most of the younger upstairs characters, is a bit unbeilevable. They don't ring true at all for young people of their class and era.
shareI think she's usually pretty interesting, and I love that she was bitchy, got called out for it, then thought about why she was lashing out. Not just "she's a bitch being bitchy" and everyone just lives with it. That being said, her endless suitor story lines were just so boring, but I think Michelle Dockery is a very captivating actress and even in boring stories, she does have an "it" quality where you pay attention to her.
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Consider the daffodil. And while you're doing that I'll be over here looking through your stuff.
I think Mary Crawley and Thomas Barrow are tied for most interesting character. I can't quite choose. Anyway, I enjoyed all her suitor storylines!
shareThomas was Mary's downstairs counterpart. Both were proud, smart, sneaky, ambitious characters capable of great kindness or shocking cruelty. That's what made them the most interesting characters in my opinion. You never knew which side of them would win out in an given situation. I think after Thomas' suicide attempt, they finally realized just how similar they were. And of course, both were just younger versions of Violet.
shareTotally agree, i think that it was pretty direct that message about Thomas being the downstairs "Mary". The problem that i had with Mary and for that reason i found the character boring, is that her main story in the last 3 seasons was her love life; it would have been great to see that more of her ambitious side managing Downton or in relation with other people regarding that aspect.
As Thomas is Mary counterpart i think that Molesley was Edith counterpart also, if we remember in season 1-3 both of them were petty, always overlooked and bullied (Molesley by Carson and Edith by Mary). And again, both of them found happiness away of Downton´s walls because their real skills were in another side (Edith with the magazine and Molesley teaching); finally both them changed with traumatic events, Edith with the war and being jilted and Molesley with being unemployed after Matthew´s death.
But i also think that Mary is very Robert alike, they seems to be strong and strongheaded but in the other hand they also need the emotional support of a lot of people and unravel when things dont go in their ways, in Mary´s case she also needs the support or validation of Anna, Tom, Violet and both of her parents, and in Robert: Cora, Bates and Violet.
And Edith is like Cora, both of them are intelligent enough, overlooked by her relatives (Cora by Robert and Edith by the rest of the family) and with little support they do a lot (Cora with the hospital and Edith with the magazine or helping the soldiers); and in the end both of finally stood up against Violet (Cora) and against Mary (Edith).
Yes, Thomas was Mary's counterpart. Molesley was the downstairs Edith, both lovable losers who finally grabbed the brass ring. Mrs. Patmore was the downstairs Violet, witty and opinionated. Carson was Robert's counterpart, stuck in the past and unable to move on while Mrs. Hughes was like Cora, practical and kind.
shareGreat analogy, you guys! Mary/Thomas and Edith/Molesley are particularly similar to each other.
And I agree that it would have been nice to see more of Mary working on preserving Downton, and less on her flirting with her host of suitors. Nevertheless though, it was made clear that her work was very important to her. And as long as she was alive to fight for it, Downton would be still running. That is the Mary, whom I can like and even admire. Mary has been described as a counterpart to Scarlett O'Hara from "Gone with the wind": the bitchy and attractive older sister, who nevertheless will do everything to save the family estate. Edith would then be the counterpart of Suellen O'Hara: the bitter and jealous middle sister, who has to fight to step out of her dominant sister's shadow.
Intelligence and purity.
Edith would then be the counterpart of Suellen O'Hara: the bitter and jealous middle sister, who has to fight to step out of her dominant sister's shadow.Good catch--because like Edith, she's "saved" from marrying the dull, older man (Frank Kennedy) and marries the "hardluck case", but ultimately much more worthy Will Benteen--who also has a bit of Tom in him: he's always speaking truth to Scarlet, who respects him more than any other man in the book.
And if we change genres and genders, I have just came up with yet another analogue: Alan and Charlie Harper on the sitcom "2 ½ men". Alan is "the Edith": the hapless younger sibling, who seems to be cursed with bad luck. Charlie is "the Mary": the luckier and more popular older sibling, who is not above being mean to his brother in a childish way even when they're adults.
Intelligence and purity.
Absolutely.
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