Checking In

This will be a short post. I just wanted to mention that I have been losing myself in fiction lately, which is why my poor lonely blog has been neglected this week. Downton Abbey has briefly consumed my life; I was up until nearly four last night and the night before watching it. As you might have guessed, this means I owe you about fifteen blog posts, which will be written; I have to retroactively fill up unused days with something. There will also be a review of John Green's new novel The Fault in Our Stars, which was achingly beautiful, hilarious, and sad. I don't usually cry when I read books, but oh boy did I cry when I read this one. Also, I find it very fitting that I read it within a week of my visit to Amsterdam. Anyway, expect this blog to turn into review central soon.

The other thing I wanted to mention is that this is the time of year when I'm prone to feeling sorry for myself. I know you must be sick of hearing about it, and it is rather pathetic, but sometimes I just get so upset over being 21 and not having had a boyfriend yet. I really want to get over it already - I went to therapy about this, for heaven's sake! - and I realize writing self-pitying things like this doesn't really help. I guess I wanted to let you know that if I seem a bit down, it's because I'm rather sick of our culture's obsession with romantic love, and its tendency to label those without it as incomplete. Or maybe I'm sick of the readiness with which I buy into that notion anyway. Well, in any case, I shall be cheerful enough again soon. Just prepare yourselves for sarcastic Aida, and know that she'll hopefully be herself within a few days.

Okay, Downton Abbey! Reviews! Until later!

Aida Watches Downton Abbey, Season 1, Episode 1

 

 Downton Abbey is one of those shows that is getting a lot of buzz. I don't remember when I first heard about it, but I know that by the time I came home for Christmas, Netflix had suggested it to me, Tumblr and LiveJournal talked of nothing else, and even NPR ran a story on it. My friend Sara then posted a message on my Facebook wall telling me I had to watch it, and, well, who am I to argue with that? Plus, the first episode of season 2 was available for viewing on my long flight from Chicago to London, and while I decided not to watch it because I didn't want to be spoiled, I took it as a sign that my introduction to Downton Abbey should come sooner rather than later.

So, here we are. Going in, I knew that the show had something to do with British society during World War I, and it was an ITV import on PBS. The All Things Considered report compared its popularity to Brideshead Revisited, which I have never seen but I know is a big deal. I initially wondered if it was based on a book, and as someone who believes books are almost universally better than their screen adaptations, I felt duty-bound to read the book first. However, as Sara assured me, the show's content is original, and while it may feel like something that ought to be a book, it is not.

The first episode, cleverly titled "Episode One," actually takes place in April 1912, just after the sinking of the Titanic. This surprised me, as did the cast list; I was delighted to see Maggie Smith (better known to my generation as Professor McGonagall) and Dan Stevens (Edward Ferrars in the 2008 Sense and Sensibility miniseries) in the opening titles. The music is incredible, as are the costumes, and the whole thing looks very nicely produced.

The basic plot is this: Lord Grantham (Hugh Bonneville) lives with his family (a wife and three daughters) and many, many servants on his country estate, Downton Abbey. There is an entail on the property, which means that for the same reason that none of the Bennet girls could inherit Longbourn in Pride and Prejudice, Lord Grantham's fortune will fall to the next male heir rather than his daughter Mary (Michelle Dockery). A telegraph is sent to Downton informing Lord Grantham that both the heir and his son perished on the Titanic, leaving the inheritance to a distant cousin. This is unacceptable to Lord Grantham's mother, the Dowager Countess (Maggie Smith), who is determined to find some way around the entail for the benefit of both Mary and the family. A wealthy duke comes to visit, and the family hopes he will make a good match for Mary, but he is instead revealed (to the audience, not the family) to have had an affair with a (male) servant and is not interested in marrying a girl with no legal claim to Downton.

Meanwhile, Lord Grantham hires his old friend (not sure if that's the right word to use) from the war (I think), John Bates (Brendan Coyle), to be his valet. Bates is lame, which does not endear him to the other servants, though Anna the housemaid (Joanne Froggatt) shows him kindness. Thomas, a footman (Rob James-Collier), is upset about Bates's appointment because he was hoping to be Lord Grantham's valet himself. Eventually, some of the servants go to Lord Grantham and tell him they think Bates's lameness is preventing him from doing his duties. Lord Grantham decides to dismiss Bates, who becomes very upset. The next morning, however, Lord Grantham changes his mind, and keeps Bates on as his valet. The episode ends with Matthew Crawley (Dan Stevens), the new heir, receiving the news of his inheritance.

As you can see, the plot is quite complicated, which made the pilot a bit difficult to follow in places. Nevertheless, I am intrigued. I was pleasantly surprised that the episode focused so much on the servants' lives; I figured that the show would be all about the Crawleys (the surname of Lord Grantham and his family), the upper-class, as most such costume dramas are. In retrospect, though, a dual focus on the family and their servants makes perfect sense; Britain has such a strong history of class divide that it seems only natural to make it a theme of a show about World War I, a time when class lines begin to blur a little. I am also interested to see how they will handle Thomas and his (presumed) homosexuality, considering the time period. I do hope we get some more likable characters out of the deal, though (or even better, good character development). I liked Bates very much, and some of the servants' dynamics were fun to watch, but Mary seems cold, the Dowager Countess very snobbish, and Lord Grantham rather aloof. Still, I'm willing to forgive; after all, this is just the pilot, and the critical acclaim this show has had is rather astounding. Can't wait to watch episode two - and since I'm watching it online, I don't half to. Ahh, my favorite thing about watching shows with complete seasons already out.