I watched episode one from season four of Downton Abbey last night (I know! If I was truly a dedicated fan I would be all caught up by now; still better late than never), and I must say I'm pleasantly pleased with the direction the show appears to be headed. Of course, I suspect some twists and turns to come along this journey, but at the start of this season I must offer an apology to Julian Fellows (spoiler alert for those who have not seen the show up to this point, you may not want to continue reading). After the tragic passing of Matthew at the close of season three I seriously had my doubts regarding Fellows and his intelligence. "How on earth could you kill off such a sweet and essential character such as Matthew?!"
I was left with a sense of loathing and curiosity with the direction the next season would head, which as you can tell was enough to bring me back for another look. I think it a masterful move to not begin season four directly after the death of Matthew. Dropping your audience into such a scene of emotional wreckage would have been a tough introduction to any potential new viewers and would mainly have only connected with dedicated followers of the show. By extending the show to begin six months after the accident not only do you introduce an element of mystique regarding the past episodes (and encourage new viewers to go back before diving in any further), but Julian is also validating the closure his dedicated audience has arrived at since the end of last season. Kudos to him for his good sense.
The show still has the tantalizingly intriguing element of back-stabbing relationship dynamics within the characters at Downton to leave the audience taking sides and cheering on certain characters. Carson definitely comes across as a crotchety old-fogey but he has a heart of gold! I'm cheering Mary on and appreciate Branson more and more.
No comments:
Post a Comment