Today over at MSN: I've reviewed the series 4 finale of DOWNTON ABBEY (so beware of major spoilers!), where some of the year's storylines were resolved, and others nudged into the Christmas special's agenda...
Downton Abbey overcame a misguided second series with a general return to form last year, culminating in the shock death of Matthew Crawley (actor Dan Stevens decided he wanted out, forcing an eleventh hour EastEnders-style dose of Christmas misery when he crashed his car). The real test of series four was seeing if the show could overcome the loss of Stevens - whose character was the dapper heir to the Crawley family fortune and one-half of the show's key romantic coupling. The answer is a resounding yes, although the potential suitors for widowed Mary haven't left much of an impression, making Lady Mary look a little marginalised, despite the fact she was on equal footing with her father in terms of managing the family estate. As finales go, I expected better - particularly as it was an extended episode, and Julian Fellowes tends to write better with doubled screen-time. Downton was as cosy as one expects for a Sunday evening on ITV, but I'm beginning to find it rather frustrating how this show fumbles good ideas. Or rushes them for no good reason.
Continue reading at MSN TV...
