Carrie Coon’s Mrs. Russell triumphs as The Gilded Age throws the season’s finale ball
All we’re missing is the 1880s version of Ryan Seacrest and Giuliana Rancic reporting live from in front of the house
TV Reviews Gilded Age
Agnes: I feel like I’ve been watching a play in a foreign language
After ending last week’s episode with Mrs. Russell being unceremoniously shoved out of the Astor home, the season finale, “Let the Tournament Begin,” opens back in NYC and Marian’s determination to run away with Raikes. Mrs. Chamberlain is as dubious about this course of action as everyone else, but she’s willing to let the girl make her own mistakes, unlike Agnes. At this point, with Peggy smuggling Marian’s bag out as part of her move-out, the only hope to stop this farce is either Agnes and Ada stepping in or the gentleman in question being exposed.
Blessedly, Ada catches on quickly to what Peggy’s suggesting when she sees Miss Scott carrying one of Marian’s bags. When confronted, Marian folds like a house of cards, especially when Ada warns her that the one way to make sure Agnes never accepts any of this is to do something precisely this stupid. But it’s Aurora seeing Raikes at the opera doing his “Golly gee, aren’t you swell” act on Sissy Bingham may be the key to halting all this nonsense. One can only hope she finally sets Marian straight before it’s too late.
In what feels like a moment where these final episodes were condensed down from the originally planned ten to nine, Mrs. Russell is also back in New York and deep in planning the coming-out party. She is also trying to smash through that Astor glass ceiling, using Carrie’s continued hanging out in her home as an excuse to visit dear Mama Astor. It fails utterly, though the expression on Astor’s Butler when she tries to bring up her unscheduled unapproved visit in Newport is worth the price of non-admission.
Realizing she has miscalculated and having the children of the Four Hundred come to her home for a party does not guarantee their parent’s attendance, Bertha pushes the only lever she has left. She announces she’s disinviting Carrie and the others if their parents won’t come. If you think Gladys doesn’t take that well, Carrie’s not having a bit of it. She’s not blaming Mrs. Russell either; she’s blaming Mama. Mrs. Astor is forced to consider how much this rift is worth. She thinks she can win this if she holds out, but Carrie—who has gotten to know Bertha in a way her mother hasn’t—disagrees. Mama thinks she can make Bertha bend the knee, but she’s wrong.
But just when the cancellation of Gladys’ friends seems like it will be the biggest disaster, Bertha comes face to face with another one. Monsieur Baudin isn’t who he pretends to be; he’s not even French! His name is Josh Bordin, from Witchataw, who studied in France but couldn’t get hired at the level of his training unless he put on the accent. His estranged wife, who he left to go to France, has tracked him down and wants reconciliation, and by that, we mean “money.”
Bertha panics. This is the worst kind of scandal, which plays directly into confirmation bias. The Russells are new money with no taste. They’re so uneducated and trumped-up they can’t even tell a fake French chef from the real deal. However, the new French chef she secures, Monsieur Chevron, is a complete ass, worse than Turner. He’s not five minutes on screen before Church and Watson (and the rest of us) start laying bets on how long he lasts.
Of course, since this is the season finale, the ball and Marian’s elopement are happening simultaneously. With Mrs. Astor not budging and none of the parents of the other children willing to move if she won’t, George starts taking matters into his open hands and pressuring husbands who need his money to force their wives to go. But Bertha betting on mother-daughter relations has been the correct gamble. Even as George exerts his pressure, Mrs. Astor is already in the Russells’ hall. Bertha lays out the bargain. Astor has to come, she has to bring the whole crowd, AND she has to get Mrs. van Rhijn to go as well. It is a tall order.
Speaking of the Van Rhijns, Peggy, Mrs. Chamberlain, and Marian are all waiting for the elopement, but Aurora arrives instead. It is evident by this time that Raikes is not on his way, and Marian has been made a fool. She and Peggy head out to Raikes’ office to find him working. (Yes, he stood her up and didn’t even leave town!) Agnes was always right about him, the money has won, and there will (blessedly) be no wedding today. Even better, with Marian suddenly back again and in need of showing off at a society function (and a pick me up), even the Van Rhijns’ attendance at The Russell Ball is suddenly possible. By the way, Larry Russell is still across the street, and apparently, he waltzes very well…
And now we come to the moment you’ve all been waiting for: The red carpet! The carriages! The dresses! Of course, the new French chef didn’t last an entire episode, and Monsieur Boudin rides to the rescue. Raikes shows up with Sissy Bingham, proving himself the Head Fuckboi of 1882, despite the competition from Oscar, who is officially going full open season on Gladys. As for Larry, he and Marian are BFFs now, and he knows all about Raikes. Let’s hope there’s more to come from that quarter in season two.
Stray Thoughts
- It took all season for Fellowes to finally lean back into his comfort zone of the pastoral servants who wish only to please their betters upstairs, but we got there.
- As suspected, Peggy’s son is alive. In a surprise twist, her dad’s known about it the whole time. I’m sorry to have smushed this into the Stray Thoughts, but it’s such a left-field soap opera twist. I’m going to need much more of the Scotts come Season 2.
- Everything about the Quadrille was FABULOUS. Bring me the wigmaker, and ask why this person isn’t fixing the travesties on the Targaryen heads over on House of the Dragon.
- “Couldn’t we just call it the middle-west?” What’s the matter with Kansas?
- After eight long weeks, Dress of the Week finally doesn’t go to Carrie Coon. (I’m sorry, I know it’s from Paris, but I wasn’t a fan of the final gown.) Instead, the finale’s best-dressed award goes to Mrs. Astor, who knows how to look smashing in defeat.
98 Comments
I love Carrie Coon’s dress but I’m still trying to wrap my head around her also being Proxima Midnight.
There were times this season I wish she’d just whip out some giant swords and start hacking her enemies down.
Sword. Really? She doesn’t strike you as a bare-knuckles type of fighter? I think she’d like to feel the blood of her enemies.
Bertha, sure. Proxima actually used some kind of triple-pointed spear in the movies. (No idea what she uses in the comics.)
It took my almost twenty minutes to convince my sister it was the same person.
To hear her tell it, she only worked on Infinity/End Game for a week. Everything was ADR and one fitting for a green dot suit so they could store her image in the computer. I don’t think she was ever on set.
I wasn’t familiar with the actress at the time, and she really made an impression with what little time she had.
Who Carrie Coon? She is married to Mr. Tracy Letts. Google him. He plays supporting characters but writes screenplays that are top drawer. (August Osage County for one)
She was like 10 months pregnant. Give them a break on her outfit this week.
Tom Raikes was obviously wrong, but I can’t get overly mad at because of the way he treated Peggy. Much of his work for her was off screen to protect the reveal, but a white man of that time could have politely made an excuse, even if he was trying to impress Marian. He could have also done the minimum for her, as in making a single attempt. Or he could have made no attempt and said he did. He also could have been less protective of Peggy’s privacy. I don’t see any textual evidence that he didn’t take Peggy’s case seriously. I do also think he cared about Marian. He pulled up everything and followed her to New York, knowing how broke she was. I just think that he’s one of the thousands of people who move to NYC every year and gets completely lost in the sauce. This city does that.
Tom Raikes was obviously wrong, but I can’t get overly mad at because of the way he treated Peggy. Much of it was offscreen to protect the reveal, but a white man of that time could have politely made an excuse, even if he was trying to impress Marian. He could have also done the minimum for her, as in making a single attempt. Or he could have made no attempt and said he did. He also could have been less protective of Peggy’s privacy. I do also think he cared about Marian. He pulled up everything and followed her to New York, knowing how broke she was. I just think that he’s one of the thousands of people who move to NYC every year and get completely lost in the sauce.
I hate myself for watching this show.PS: “blessedly” twice in one article? Didn’t you get the memo?: “Beloved” is the word that everyone is overusing these days.
Honestly, this entire season was worth it for Donna Murphy in that necklace and tiara at the ball.
I’m wondering whether the spelling “Witchitaw” to refer to Wichita, KS, is deliberate.In any case, this was a fun end to the season. The entire ball scene is luxurious to watch. Raikes was obviously shady, and hopefully Marian and Larry can get together next season.
It probably isn’t. I guess Chicago has some style, after all.
I would love to see Larry take down Raikes society status in an effort to win Marian’s hand next season!
The extra TW sneaking in refers to The Wife (of the not French chef) sneaking back into his life.
Yes, definitely agree on Coon’s spectacularly awful black and white dress. When the camera shot to her at the top of the stairs wearing the dress, I thought it was from 101 Dalmations.Regarding the series, based on numerous other sites, a majority of commenters felt this a big, expensive yawn. I think the issue may be that the entire series and the dramas therein are based on the most superficial of issues; High Society Status. But once that is accepted, and embracing that these families were drivers of industry, commerce, arts and education irrespective of how, in many cases, corrupt and predatory, you realize the gilded onion has many layers. That this High Society universe was mostly set in motion by the wives and daughters of the men who manipulated great wealth, proved frequently a smokescreen to the machinations going on behind the green brocade curtain.Before Hollywood glamour, these were legitimately the celebrities of the time. But these celebrities of wealth had far more impact than being images on a screen. They had long lasting legacies in the countless foundations, universities, libraries and other public works. The issues were at what costs to the common men and women during this time.
My issue isn’t that the drama in the show is based on superficial issues, but that the show has a bizarre tendency to make what minimal drama it establishes evaporate. For example:— George drives a man to suicide, but everyone then decides to get over it— Gladys is mad that her parents drove away the man she’d been writing letters to, but then she gets over it— Turner’s scheming might damage the Russells, but then she is fired without a problem— In inquiring into Oscar’s dealings with Turner, Agnes might discover he is gay, but then she doesn’t— The train accident might be very bad for the Russells’ fortunes, but then it is fine— George might go to jail for a train accident, but then is absolved, since the woman who set him up (who we’ve never really met) just confesses immediately when pressed— The relationship between George and Bertha is strained by the fact that she mainly cares about George’s legal trouble because it might harm her social standing, but then it’s fine — George’s opposition to Larry being an architect might cause a rift between them, but then George gets over it — Marian’s effort to run off with Raikes is a huge scandal, but she just tells Larry about it later that night— Marian’s efforts at friendship with Mrs. Chamberlain might damage her standing, but it doesn’t— Gladys might actually be interested in John Adams, ruining Oscars plans, but then it is fine
I agree with everything except the first. Mr Morris was more than willing to drive George to suicide with the same bullshit.
I don’t think you have to hate George for anything he did there — I certainly didn’t. But it seemed to be setting up real drama. We had scenes before the suicide where both the councilman and his wife went to a Russell, and agreed to give them what they wanted — for George, the votes for the train station, for Bertha, someone to usher her into high society. Both Russells turned down these offers flat. Then the councilman commits suicide. That seemed to set up a situation where the high-society people would have seen all their views about new money as being confirmed — the Russells are ruthless, mannerless, and attack one of the old money people. And instead, after about an episode, everyone decided they didn’t care.Instead,
Also, they could have had us on the edge of our seats after Aurora saw Raikes. It seemed like it was going to be set up to make us worry that she either wouldn’t tell Marian what she saw, or tell her too late. And even after she told Ada, there could have been lots of cutting back and forth to show Marian blissfully unaware as she runs off to meet this cad, while Ada freaks out and tries to act like nothing’s going on, while Agnes looks suspiciously at her while drinking her tea or whatever. But instead, it feels like it was chopped down into 3 scenes. Aurora sees Raikes, Aurora tells Ada, Aurora tells Marian. I feel like I was cheated out of an episode.
True, though I’m never going to feel cheated out of more time with Marian. She’s obviously supposed to be our audience surrogate — she’s new to this world, and says what we’re thinking about how narrow-minded everyone is. But she’s really not much of a character, and is such a blank that I can’t really care about anything that happens to her.
If you dawdle for a bit without resolving conflicts, people complain.If you resolve conflicts quickly, people complain.You know, I’m starting to think you people just like to bitch about stuff.
Dear person bothering me with your reply 5 months later, there’s such a thing as balance.
More b!tching…Your husband/wife is to be pitied. Sorry I have a job and can’t sit in front of a TV binging shows as soon as they come out. Or do you want to b!tch about that some more as well. I realize that it’s quite the high-crime in d-bag world that I consume content on my own timeline…you know, like the whole point of steaming apps. I’ll try to do better if you promise not to get your panties in a twist over nothing. I doubt you’re able. It seems to be your entire raison d’etre.
I kind of wanted to hate you for saying “raison d’etre” but I also noticed that I totally agreed with something you said on the political side. I’ve decided I like you and there’s nothing you can do about it now! Bye!
Oh, Turner is coming back. 100%. The only question is whether she’s going to turn up dead and frame George Russell or turn up pregnant and frame George Russell or find some other way to frame George Russell. It’s the first Mrs. Bates all over again.
Also, Agnes not discovering Oscar was gay was not a dropped thread. To the degree that it was mentioned was that it provided even better cover for Oscar. And on a character level, why would she have kept digging if she thought she knew the answer? The rest of the is solid, but this seems like filler tom me, sorry.
Sure, a good television show can set up dramatic storylines that don’t pay off until later seasons. But maybe the first step is to make sure that there are some dramatic storylines in, you know, the current season.
“Should we give Agnes and Ada more to do?”
“Oh…no. Let’s not. Maybe next season.”
Their story lines were limited due to shooting The Good Fight and “Are We Really Doing this Again” at the same time.
I don’t understand the decision to make Agnes basically a shut-in. She’s worried about being on the outs with Mrs. Astor because it would interfere with her busy schedule of sitting in the parlor and being annoyed when anyone visits?
Well, she does take carriage rides around the park.
And those scenes are scintillating, I admit.
I believe the HBO extras mention that Carrie Coon was very very pregnant by the filming of the last few episodes. Thus the cut of her dresses to hide her bump.
Eight months.They shot stuff so out of order, some scenes she was barely pregnant, and others, in the same episode, she was eight months along. She gave all credit to the costuming dept. When she told them she was pregnant at the beginning of the shoot, they were like “no problem”. Imagine being that pregnant and having to wear those hot as hell gowns. She’s amazing.
It kind of freaked me out that she glided down those stairs without holding the hand rail. That dress with the long train can’t be easy to walk in, and I was praying she wouldn’t stumble.
While we’re showing our appreciation for Carrie Coon (she was amazing in Leftovers), ICYMI:
As if The Leftovers wasn’t enough, my hero!!.
This dress is the winner.
I wish they’d juxtapose the fancy folk with, say, some penniless immigrants dying of cholera or something. Just to, you know, establish the actual stakes of all this flummery.
This might be nitpicking. In fact I am sure it is. But can we at least get a consistent spelling of Boudin/Baudin? And while we’re on the subject of spelling, it’s “Wichita,” not “Witchataw.”
I’m not hugely into fashion (although there are lots of fantastic dresses on this show), but I really liked Marian’s “well, my heart just exploded” detail on her dress.
Witchataw?? It’s Wichita. Give her the Emmy. And as much pizza as she wants!
My assumption is it was spelled that way because it was pronounced so heinously by the characters in the show. It made me roll my eyes and I’m from Wichita so I’ve heard it pronounced a million different ways.
And “the middle West”. WTF
That at least is historically accurate- though it was more of an English way of referring to the Mid and Central Western US. Even in Downton Abbey, the Granthams often talk about “the Middle West.”
The term “Middle West” can also be found in Act II of “Our Town,” written in New Hampshire in the late 1930s by Wisconsin-born playwright Thornton Wilder. In the context of the play, the phrase (as part of the line “one of those Middle West poets”) is a reference to Edgar Lee Masters, who’s most famous for “Spoon River Anthology”; Masters was born in… Kansas.
This show is a perfect counterpoint to the nerve-racking shows on my current watch list (Severance, The Maid). These sort of low-stakes shows seem to be filling the space that hangout shows like Friends or Seinfeld once occupied. My S2 wish list:More Scotts — Audra McDonald is so great on The Good Fight (as is Baranski), so I’d like to see the family stretch its wings.Raikes gets run over by a train.We find out where the Russells came from — what modest/impoverished origins do they have? This would round them out nicely.Let Ada hook up with someone. (Who is the Che Diaz of gilded age NYC?)
Let Ada hook up with someone. (Who is the Che Diaz of gilded age NYC?) Oh just shoot me now.
Less of Marian would be good.
Raikes gets run over by a train.Mauled to death by Pumpkin.
I almost spit Dr. Pepper all over the screen at that comment!
Walks into a field of some sort of gardening implements and when he steps on the end of one it flips up and smacks him in the face and when he turns to walk the other way, he steps on another one and that one smacks him in the face too.
“We find out where the Russells came from — what modest/impoverished origins do they have?”in an earlier episode, there is a crack made about Mrs. Russell’s ancestors “picking potatoes in Kerry” which would indicate that she is an Irish immigrant.
1. They can still say “our French-trained chef.” I don’t see what the big fucking deal is. The “problems” these people have make me even angrier about TODAY’s wealth inequality. Is a French chef the 1880’s equivalent of having a spaceship company?2. Who’s going to join me on the Marian + Larry ship?! I’m all in!
Marian is an asshole, and Larry deserves much better.
I have literally heard no one saying Marian is an asshole. A sucker, maybe. But she’s more than likable.
Meh. She’s not likeable. She’s not hatable. She’s not an asshole. She’s just so fucking dull.
Yes, I think she’s naive and a bit dull, but she’s not an *asshole*. I’ve not heard anyone describe her as such, and I’m not sure why someone would.
Marian is an asshole duller than dishwater, and Larry deserves much better
God that woman is boring
Well we are living through the second Gilded Age. The comparisons have been made for awhile now. And don’t think that wasn’t the plan all along. The Republicans have never gotten over Teddy Roosevelt (one of their own!) the trustbuster (FDR really drove them wild.) They miscalculated with Eisenhower, who turned out to be a decent guy, but when they finally got Nixon in, things started to roll — you can blame him for the state of American healthcare. Then Reagan came along and we’re here at the end result: a vanishing middle class and a new oligarchical ruling class of billionaires.
But even Ike cemented their cultural conservatism with “In God We Trust” on money and “under God” in the pledge.
Ike also sent the 101st Airborne in to desgregate Little Rock High School when the Arkansas governor, Orval Faubus, defied the Supreme Court and activated the Arkansas National Guard to prevent the integration of Little Rock High.Both In God We Trust and Under God were passed with bipartisan support in Congress and signed into law by the president. Had he chosen to veto those bills , those vetoes would have been overridden by Congress.
I should also add that Ike signed into law the Civil Rights Act of 1957. It created the civil rights division of the DOJ and empowered federal prosecutors to pursue interference with the right to vote. The 1957 Civil Rights Act was the first civil rights law since reconstruction, and it helped pave the way for the 1964 Civil Rights Act.Ike was on a roll in 1957. Little Rock High also happened in that year.
Very well put.
True story.
The #BlueAnon cult is strong in this one. Imagine being so encapsulated in an entitled political bubble that you have no idea whatsoever that the Democratic Party is losing working-class and minority voters at an alarming rate due to their complete lack of care for them. Most of those that I know of this designation have threatened to stay home in the next election, while countless others are deciding to vote Republican after many years of Democratic incompetence and will after them delivering electoral victories. But don’t let me get in the way of your fiddling there, Mr. Nero. LOL!
The reviewer missed the full significance of the plot point. The chef had started out as a poor American – a ‘no one with nothing’, but with the aid of his wits and “tenacity” he rose to the top of a fairly exclusive profession. And he became someone else, a new identity that includes assuming a culture that wasn’t his by some natural order.And so the Russells are looking right at themselves when they look at Mr. Borden. The Master appreciates the value of good work but the Mistress is deeply offended. She has come such a long way that she’s ready to adopt the snobbery of her landed peers. I don’t know if we’re to view her more sympathetically because she lets him stay.
I personally lost a ton of respect for her in that moment, and it wasn’t really redeemed by the end.
Gos that’s the perfect solution. Instead of saying French chef, just introduce him as your French trained chef. Last I checked, graduating from the Cordon Bleu is still impressive.
I am glad (I guess) that things ended sort of happily for Borden but he abandoned his wife, took a new identity, lied to his employers…. The show has set him up as a nice guy but for me at least he has some ‘splaining to do. It’s not like there are a lot of career or marriage options for abandoned wives in this time period. Why couldn’t he keep her informed over the years and send her some support? Is it that unreasonable that she is tracking him down? Why wouldn’t he ask her to play along? She would benefit from his “French” status as well. Maybe I missed something where they explained she was an unworthy villainess but that stuck in my craw. Marian and Larry – yes! At least so far. They both seem very nice and clearly get along. She is not the most interesting character and to be fair he seems pretty vanilla too but they are certainly being paired together
Also, I don’t think any of the other society people actually met him so that would work.
I got a little too hyped up after reading some theories that Tom, as her family’s attorney, knew Marian’s state of finances better than she and took advantage of it: that he has either done something to get her family fortune or Marian can’t inherit until she marries, so that’s where Tom finds his opportunity. Doesn’t look like it now.Fellowes just keeps batting away every opportunity for some seriously good drama. Does he wear spotless white gloves when he sits down to write?
Fake French chef coming to the rescue scene was obviously severely cut in the editing process. Boo!
Mrs. McNeil must be the daughter of Watson (Michael Cerveris’ character).
It’s pretty, but not much else: -Ada suddenly isn’t a simpleton.-Agnes just disappears, so her finely-tuned instincts for detecting bullshit are conveniently on the bench. Just in time for Marian’s elopement scheme!-I finally figured out why Aurora kept saying, “Aunt Agnes.” She says Marian is her cousin. Maybe they established that earlier and I didn’t bother to retain that information.-Mr. Russell better get naked next season.
Wow that was so late and so carelessly tossed together, like it was typed out on an iphone in the back of a taxi. Next year – if this show returns – I’ll stick to Vulture recaps.
Good lord; those Vulture recaps reek of trying way too hard to be quirky and cute. I find them next to unreadable.
I love them. They have humor and a point of view, like what AV Club used to be. Unlike this sorry excuse.‘This happened, and then that happened, and then this happened. Oh here’s some stuff in bullet points that I couldn’t be bothered to mention earlier for some reason. OK see you next year, Byeeeee’
Who is this post for? Do you actually think anyone here or even the writers care you’re not going to read them? One of the worst things about the internet is people claiming they’re leaving in a huff actually thinking anyone gives a shit. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.
It’s about time! I’ve been waiting all week for you to read and respond to my post!
How about the mic drop of the main cast waltzing to the show’s theme song?! I was thinking “Ooh what waltz are they going to dance to: Something famous?” Nope. Golf-clap of appreciation to the Gregson-Williams Bros.Is it me, or is this show just fine, and the on-line backlash was aimed at Downton Abby lifers? I never watched DA so maybe I wasn’t jaded (or jaded enough?) going into this.
This show is a case of when good enough really isn’t good enough. Fellowes needs to step it up next season. He was never this boring with Downton Abbey. He really needs to put some of Gosford Park’s spiceyness into Gilded Age. Hmmm, I may have to pull out my Gosford Park dvd and give it a rewatch tonight. Tomorrow’s going to be the start of a Bridgerton weekend. Yay!
Gosford Park? Yes, more cutting. (I also think this is the contribution of Robert Altman). I just did a Downton Abbey to celebrate my new TV and its stakes were below the floor. Lord Grantham really wants to win the cricket match! He’s sad not to be in charge of the WWI statue! The Dowager Countess expects to win the flower show.
Well to be fair there were a few higher stakes in DA than just those. Like, idk, WWI, Sybil’s death and Bates’s murder conviction.I’m positive Altman influenced the tone of Gosford Park, but it did show what Fellowes is capable of. There’s a bit of bite to Gilded Age but, unlike GP, no real payoff. Plus, so far, I just don’t really care what happens to any of the characters. I did care what happened to the characters on Downton Abbey. I was invested.
The first episode/pilot was actually really bad. It improved over the first few episodes.
Baranski and Jacobson dresses are lovely, but Nixon’s fabric came straight off my grandmother’s 70s sleeper sofa.
This yellow ballgown of Marian’s was head and shoulders above her yellow Disney princess gown earlier in the season. I’m sure that was on purpose.
Is it yellow, I thought it was a lovely pale green? Maybe I need to adjust my white balance…
I swore it was yellow when I saw it on my tv, but looking at the pic here now you’ve got me wondering lol. Anyway much better dress than that first ballgown she wore.
“Couldn’t we just call it the middle-west?” Isn’t that a The Hold Steady lyric?
Yes, Bertha’s ball gown gets a ‘meh’ from moi. Didn’t like Marian’s dress either. That black neck ribbon thing was awful as was the black flower stuck to the bodice.Gladys should never have removed that tall white wig – it looked a thousand times better than her natural dry looking mousy locks.And yeah, totally called it re. Peggy’s dad hiding the fact her baby survived. Doubt she’ll ever forgive him for that!
RE: Agnes and Ada rarely leaving the house, wasn’t it mentioned somewhere at the start of the series how they have money, but not a huge amount? Enough to keep the servants employed, but not enough to be constantly out about town like those New Rich? That might help explain their situation.This is the first costume drama of its sort of which I watched an entire season. The genre’s not my forte at all (For the longest time, I thought the similar PBS series was called “Downtown Abbey”), and I stumbled on this series while channel surfing one Monday night. I think at the start I was expecting a little more grit and boundary-pushing, it being an HBO series and all. Once I adjusted my expectations, though, I got into it. Not exactly appointment viewing, but an engaging experience. I’ll gladly watch season 2.
AV has been rather generous in reviewing the series. On a whole, I’d give the whole enterprise a solid B. Happy to see HBO was willing to spend money – those costumes, those sets! – and loved seeing one fine Broadway actor after another, but it was always “Downtown Abbey” lite with a storyline that rarely surprised or captivated. Carrie Coon, in and out of her fabulous wardrobe, was probably the reason to watch most evenings but Baranski and Nixon, with not much to chew on, were always a delight. I do wish handsome Morgan Spector would be allowed to shave his beard. Louisa Jacobson, who’s a dead ringer for mother Meryl, is stuck with a bland role that never really caught fire. Still, much can be repaired in future episodes and I’ll be watching season 2.
It took all season for Fellowes to finally lean back into his comfort zone of the pastoral servants who wish only to please their betters upstairs, but we got there.He really is a Tory piece of shit, isn’t he?
It took all season for Fellowes to finally lean back into his comfort zone of the pastoral servants who wish only to please their betters upstairs, but we got there.He really is a Tory piece of shit, isn’t he?