It’s only been a few days since the Downton Abbey Christmas special aired in the U.K. but reactions to the episode have rippled rapidly across the Internet, with everyone from cast to press to fans announcing their take on Downton‘s decisions. Serious spoilers below.
The Downton Abbey Christmas special brought with it many subtle changes for the Crawleys and co., but the topic on everyone’s lips is the shocking (or, depending on where you stand, distinctly telegraphed) death of Matthew Crawley in the episode’s final moments. Though rumors of Stevens’ departure have been bubbling for months, the magnitude of Matthew’s death is unprecedented even for the soapy drama, and responses to the event have been vast and varied.
Dan Stevens himself spoke to The Telegraph about his departure from the show which made him famous, a decision he admitted was “difficult.”
“I wanted a chance to do other things,” Stevens said, describing the eight-episode series of Downton Abbey as “a very monopolising job. So there is a strange sense of liberation at the same time as great sadness.” As much as he will not miss the difficulties of filming in Highclere Castle’s opulent dining room, Stevens says that his departure “was very emotional… because those guys are like family.”
His ultimate decision not to return to Downton was apparently made in February, at the conclusion of his (and the rest of the cast’s) first contracts with the show. “It felt like a good time to take stock,” Stevens said, and his “desire for freedom” in his acting opportunities ultimately settled the matter.
“I am very, very fond of the show and always will be,” Stevens added – though his departure seems to mean that some fans do not feel the same. Many Hypable readers, for example, reacted with distress to the ending, expressing shock, anger and sadness at the events of the Christmas special.
“Downtown almost ruined Christmas with that ending… now what is there to look forward too[?]” reader dacreme wondered, a sentiment shared by several others. Commenter Matt Smith, meanwhile, was reduced to guttural rage. “Naaaarrrrggghh!!! F-bomb! F-bomb! F-bomb! What the hell!” he wrote.
Reader Nicole made a different observation, noting “It didn’t matter how Matthew left in the end. Downton without Mary and Matthew in partnership is no longer fun.” Anna S. took a similarly character-based view. “After Sybil, I barely cared,” she declared. “Now this and I just have stopped caring completely.”
And Disgruntled of Farnborough took a kindred view. “So glad we didn’t watch it on Christmas Day,” he wrote. “What a pity this wonderful series has gone down the route of a second-rate soap… Let’s face it, no one wants to be made to feel like this on Christmas Day. Julian Fellowes should have been more responsible and professional and ended the whole thing after Series 3.”
Other Hypable readers felt more positively about the episode, however. Lena enjoyed the “focus on characters like Mrs Patmore, O’Brien and Isobel,” and found the special “a nicely paced break,” while commenter Liz felt the episode suffered due to showrunner Julian Fellowes’ writing, instead of Dan Stevens’ decision.
Our own staff writer Tariq wrote “I’m absolutely going to miss Matthew but I’m really, really looking forward to seeing how all the relationships change next year.”
Those relationships may serve as a rallying cry for ITV as the dust settles in the new year. Response to the Christmas special has been so vehement that the network released a statement explaining their creative decisions.
“Fans have enjoyed what has become a solid and loving marriage [between Matthew and Mary],” the statement reads. “It is for this reason that the producers decided Matthew and Mary could not simply be estranged or parted, resulting in his untimely and tragic death at the end of the Christmas episode.”
“In the next series,” it continues, “Alongside all the usual drama, comedy and romance involving the much loved cast of characters, viewers will see Mary adjusting to her life and attempting to move on without the man she loved.”
The statement also confirms that actress Michelle Dockery will return as Mary for Downton Abbey‘s fourth series, which is set to air in the autumn of 2013.
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