In fact, sadly lacking from the grand reunion that was The Grand Finale was the late Maggie Smith, who performed Robert’s mom, Violet. Dockery remembers Smith’s wit and sardonic humor on set—and her personal Dowagerisms—fondly. A ultimate scene sees Mary survey the empty Downton Abbey hallway as reminiscences of the Dowager Countess and Mary’s late sister Sybil (Jessica Brown Findlay) flash earlier than her. The sound division truly performed the music that might overlay the scene as Dockery acted.
“In some methods, that was an amazing thought—in others, not a lot. I stored bursting into tears!” she says. “The poor make-up division! I needed to try and look as stoic as Mary is. However it’s a wonderful ending, and a touching tribute to Maggie.”
Dockery first noticed the movie at a forged screening a number of months in the past. What first set her off: when Robert asks Mr. Bates, his devoted valet, “Do you keep in mind the place all of it started?” “I simply cried and cried from there,” she says. Bonneville, sitting behind her, grabbed her hand for the final quarter-hour and didn’t let go.
A phenomenon from its first season in 2010, Downton Abbey stood out from the regular provide of small-screen Brontë and Austen diversifications for being a brand new story—albeit with jaunty nods to real-life the Aristocracy and historic figures. “After we first aired, interval dramas weren’t being celebrated like they’re now,” says Dockery. (Simply this 12 months, we’ve had the likes of Miss Austen, the Mitford sisters drama Outrageous, and, in fact, Season 3 of Fellowes’s The Gilded Age air.) “It was a threat to do it—the urge for food wasn’t there. I’ll always remember the decision after I received it, and I really feel proud that we’ve made one thing that’s resonated.”
“It was the start of a brand new golden age for tv,” Dockery continues. “You see the affect Downton has on reveals like Bridgerton, and Julian goes forth with The Gilded Age. I’m positive that’s a variety of the unique Downton viewers.” Dockery, will all the time admire Fellowes’s potential to “write for ladies so properly, with energy and vulnerability and pleasure.”
Picture: Zoe McConnell
