After many a very smart and insightful person recommend I "get into" Downton Abbey, I finally dusted off the old Netflix queue and sat down to watch and episode or two. Well, as you might imagine, today I rounded out the season premier of Season 2 and thus, will be caught up after viewing episode 2 tonight or tomorrow. A well spent weekend I'd say!
And really...
Why is this show so completely excellent? Is it because it's a Jane Austen novel strung out into a television series? Yes. There could be something to that. Though you are privy to my deepest darkest English majoring secret, aren't you? I've not read one sentence of the famed Ms. Austen and it has nothing to do with anything but I just plain haven't. Put that in your pipe and smoke it. What's more, I really enjoy the book-to-movie adaptations of her works, particularly (and very well ahead of - gasp gasp - the excruciating 6-8 zillion hour BBC Pride and Prejudice) Sense and Sensibility. So even though it seems that I somewhat fall short in the Austen-reading and even more shamefully, employ the phrase "why read it when I've seen the movie a million times" when asked if I'm ever GOING to read an Austen, I AM watching and adoring and slightly obsessing over Downton Abbey. And that means SOMETHING doesn't it? Sure it does.
7 comments:
Fancy that, I just started this series.
My personal favorite Jane Austen book, and film, is Persuasion. Good stuff.
And I must say, I've been reading Jane Eyre and loving it, too. Something about that era is so enchanting and unattainable that I get suckered in. Plus the language is so poetic and beautiful. I'm lame. I know it.
But what makes Downton so refreshing and wonderful is that it's not really Austenian (that's a word, right?) at all- it's soapy and dramatic, and the characters are wonderfully, deliciously flawed. Why is that so fun to watch? Anyways, you know I love me some Austen (like way too much), but I love a break every once in a while as well. Every one needs a good healthy dose of vicarious drama. And isn't Edith the worst?!
Marisa - you are among "lame" friends. And Jane Eyre is one of my favorites! Enjoy! Perhaps I will pick up an Austen one of these days. In fact, I decided that if I should fancy and Austen, I'll start with Emma. Not sure why - but there you have it.
Jessica - an excellent point! Soapy but not in a sex sex sex "you have a twin" sloppy sort of way. Perhaps the propriety of it makes it all the more excellent and not see... gag. Eh?
OH and PS: I somewhat feel bad for Edith though not enough to justify her behavior. I dislike Mary and wish Matthew wouldn't like her. I love Sybil (how could you not?) and of course, Bates is a hero! I also like the father and mostly I like Cora. She's a little buggy sometimes but mostly awesome. Stupid Obrien!
Lady Mary is my favorite! I think next to Bates, she's the greatest hero of the series! She's trying to do the best she can and please the people she cares for. But the people she cares for keep jerking her around and telling her different things. She can't have what she wants unless it's what they also want. I think that with all she's up against, she faces her life with incomparable grace, poise, and honesty. Love her, love her. Edith is a psycho hose beast. ;) And Sybil is just Sybil. She's dashing and romantic, but I feel like in spite of her substance, she stills comes off as a play thing; something to admire and think, "Well isn't she pretty," but for some reason I find it hard to take her seriously. Even with all that happens in season 2.
Yes- just the right amount of soap. I hated Mary at first, but I've learned to like her more as the series goes on...and now I really want them to be together! Especially because her Sir Richard seems like such a slime ball.. And is it wrong that I'm just the teeniest bit in love with Bates? Maybe it's just that actor, he always plays really wise, reliable, awesome roles. I like that. And yes, Sybil is by far the best of the family.
Becca- LOVE Mary? Now I can understand he growing on you - but LOVE? Hmmm! Points well taken and I always enjoy a flawed character (Snape) as I feel they are the most humanistic. However, with Mary I feel her motivations are selfish and she plays the victim's role a little too willingly without taking accountability for her wrong choices (see: The Turk, not accepting Matthew when she should have, and instead of being the bigger person, taking away Edith's likely ONLY chance for marriage because as has been alluded to time and again - she's not the prettiest colt in the stable. Mary will have any pick of man she wants while Edith... poor Edith. Poor evil Edit). Sybil definitely needs more complexity but she is the only one who seems most accepting of blurring the "classism" line and actually using her privilege to helps others. While everyone else in her family merely "pity's" the servant or distraught, she takes action in changing it. She is naive yes, but she's also young and I think will continue to be a great character for me!
Jessica - Sir Richard is def a slim ball but Mary seems to be relenting to the social expectation of marrying for money. She's also very practical and Sir Richard appeals to her practicality. And NO! LOVE Bates! Because he is the pure hero we all want to exist and rarely ever does.
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