the long, tragic season of "downton abbey"

The third season of Downton Abbey just ended. Is it just me, or did this season seem longer than the others? (OK, in truth it was longer than season one...) So many things happened, and while many were good (Matthew & Mary finally getting married, Bates finally getting out of prison, the birth of a Crawley heir), the bad seemed to overshadow the good. Matthew stubbornly refuses to accept the money that could save Downton. Sybil dies. Bates is in prison for over half the season—and all the prison scenes are painfully boring. Edith gets jilted at the altar. Rose. Matthew dies.

Oh, I enjoyed the season, and I'm eagerly awaiting season four, but I wouldn't say the journey through season three was particularly fun.

For all the plot lines that I hated, one I can't blame on creator/writer Julian Fellowes is Matthew's death. The blame for that one goes to actor Dan Stevens, who elected not to renew his contract. Fellowes has said that they felt the only organic way to get Matthew off the show was to kill him, and I agree. Matthew and Mary were finally at a very good place as a couple, and Matthew had taken on a vital role in the management of Downton. Having Matthew and Mary become estranged at this point wouldn't ring true. And actually, Matthew went from being one of my favorite characters to one I didn't really care about anymore ... I'm looking forward to seeing what comes next for Mary and the rest of the Downton bunch! (But I could certainly do without Rose. Unfortunately, it sounds like she's going to be a main character next season.)

In light of the depressing events we were left with last night, I think we could use a little levity. I saw this video on Annie Downs' blog this morning, and it absolutely cracked me up. Enjoy!