![]() ![]() “I mean, it’s just unfair,” he groans: he’s a boyish 40, with a honeyed Irish accent and a face that defaults to butter-wouldn’t-melt. But as we look on from behind, her pace slowly stabilises and her posture steels, as sorrow gives way to forbearance. Returning to the house and seized up with grief, Smith’s dowager countess walks unsteadily down the hall towards the drawing room, where the rest of the family have gathered. “It’s when she arrives back at the house after Sybil’s death,” he says without blinking, and fans may recall it well. It comes in the sombre fifth episode of series three, after the death of Jessica Brown Findlay’s Lady Sybil Crawley – the screen wife of Leech’s chauffeur Tom Branson, who marries into the aristocratic Crawley clan. Problem is, I don’t care.For Allen Leech, Downton Abbey’s definitive Maggie Smith moment isn’t a withering glance or waspish aside. One would think Fellowes would throw a curveball and let him limp off into the sunset with Anna on his arm. It’s hard to tell where Bates will fit into this. Reports for season six suggest that not everyone will have a happy ending. More importantly, he doesn’t make for good television. ![]() Even his romance with Anna seemed a bit rushed. Green or more gruesome details about his past turn up), but what does that really matter?Īs a character, Bates lacks depth. We can probably assume that Bates is the better person (unless he actually killed Mr. Barrow takes his anger out on others while Bates is just a grump. Their unpleasantness manifests itself in different ways. ![]() Bates is a crippled creep and Barrow is gay at a time when that was not only completely unacceptable, it was criminal. Both are generally pretty moody and we know why. It’s generally considered reasonable to expect to be given a reason to like the character as well.īates and Barrow contrast well in this regard. ![]() We expect characters to endure hardships. At least then, Molesley could take his place as valet.ĭownton Abbey is a drama. I left the #freeBates team in favor of #killBates. Fellowes never tried to give him any storyline that didn’t involve horrible things happening to him. No one can blame him for being moody after Anna’s horrifically unnecessary rape, but he pretty much spends the rest of the show moping around. He’s happy for a little bit at the end of season three and the beginning of season four, though we find out that he’s also a forger in addition to being a thief. He has a brief moment of happiness when he marries Anna, but then he goes to jail, where he spends most of season three. We find out he has a wife who he doesn’t like. We also find out he was in trouble for being a thief, which was the first red flag. He spends the rest of season one feuding with the O’Brien/Barrow dream team and sad about his leg. He’s sad when he first gets there because no one likes him. Think about how many episodes of the show feature a happy Mr. Now when I watch season three, I usually skip his scenes (along with Edith’s, which makes it easier for me to keep watching the same show over and over). In season three, I was firmly on team #freeBates. This gave me a bit of an “aha” moment as I too realized that I don’t like Mr. There’s a scene in season five where Barrow acknowledges the simple fact that the two do not like each other. It’s not about who’s the most morally altruistic person. People say I’m terrible for taking Thomas’ side, usually because they forget what’s important. I’ve gotten into several arguments regarding the Bates/Barrow feud. I’ve found that the problem goes even beyond Mr. Many articles have been penned about how Fellowes has no ideas what to do with either Bates. Green plotline has been almost universally panned. He gave Molesley some money and saved Barrow from ruin at the hands of O’Brien/Jimmy. Misery seems to follow him everywhere, tracking him by the sound of his cane thumping on Downton’s creaky floors and yet, he’s a pretty decent guy. Bates.Īt first glance, he’s a tough guy to hate. As you probably gathered from the title of this article, I am, of course, referring to Mr. Like many, I started to feel it in season four and that continued as questions regarding his morality surfaced yet again. There’s one man I used to love (as one loves a fictional character) once upon a time, but that affection has vanished. It’s because we’ve grown to love these characters. Julian Fellowes doesn’t hit his mark every time, but there’s certainly a reason why the recent trailer tugs at many people’s heartstrings and it’s not just because of the music. Being known for its soap operatic value, one shouldn’t step into Highclere Castle expecting plots that make sense or robust character development. I recently rewatched most of Downton Abbey in preparation for season six, which starts a week from today. ![]()
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