Downton Abbey was one of TV's biggest unexpected hits of the past decade. Even if you were
a massive fan of the show during its heyday, there may be a few things you missed the first
time around. Let's take a look at the things you never noticed before.
In a post-COVID-19 world, it's safe to say that we all now understand what living through
a pandemic is like. The virus completely transformed our lives, and we found ourselves sheltering
in place through much of 2020, with businesses and schools closing and regulations put in
place regarding mask wearing and social distancing.
It may surprise you to learn that Downton Abbey is set during a major pandemic, and
that's the Spanish Flu. The flu lasted from 1918 to 1919 — more than 50 million people
died around the world, and 228,000 people died just in Britain. It's safe to say that
this pandemic was just as devastating as COVID. And yet, in the Downton Abbey universe, it's
pretty easy to miss the pandemic altogether. In fact, it only lasts for half an episode.
As Vanity Fair joked, in Downton Abbey,
"The plague is the Spanish Flu, a rare, 20-minute illness whose specialty is romantic devastation."
It's pretty weird to watch this fictionalized version of the 1919 pandemic, especially as
nobody wears a mask and the characters don't seem particularly terrified of leaving the
house. No wonder we didn't notice the first time.
One of the things that makes Downton Abbey so unusual is its focus on morality, and the
show operates in a world of intrinsic ethical justice. When characters do wrong, they are
punished, and conversely, when they do good, they are rewarded. In fact, The Washington
Post even suggested,
"The unfailing karma that infuses the show is every bit as intoxicating as the decor
and decorum."
However, when the long-awaited film version of the show finally came to cinemas in 2019,
this moral justness was conspicuously missing from the Downton Abbey universe. If you felt
that the film had a slightly different feel from the series, but you couldn't put your
finger on why, it may have been that karma no longer seemed to be at play. In fact, in
the film, the servants plot to get rid of their royal counterparts, and not only are
they not punished, they are regarded as heroes. No wonder the film feels different compared
to the show.
"Why don't I find that reassuring?"
When Downton Abbey first aired, the world looked very different than it does today.
After all, it was a pre-Trump, pre-Brexit world, and the show doesn't sit well in today's
political climate. In fact, in a post-COVID world, inequalities are even more evident
than ever. The pandemic has shed light on the class system that is still prevalent in
America, with those from low-income areas and households being more at risk of contracting
the virus and losing work.
Downton Abbey puts a pair of rose-tinted glasses on the class system, with the servants happily
existing in their subservient roles, rarely attempting to rise above their circumstances.
In a world where the harsh realities of class inequality are all too clear, watching Downton
Abbey might feel a little uncomfortable to some.
On a first watch of Downton Abbey, the patriarch of the Grantham family doesn't seem too bad.
Sure, he's a little stuck in his ways and he makes some mistakes, but, overall, he seems
to be a good guy.
However, rewatching Downton Abbey, we begin to realize that Lord Grantham is actually
pretty problematic. For one thing, he's terrible at managing the family's money, making a bad
investment with his wife's inheritance without asking her first. He also ignores a medical
professional who says his daughter should give birth in a hospital, and she sadly passes
away after having her baby at home. He even starts an affair with one of his maids in
a moment of mid-life crisis. We never noticed it before, but Lord Grantham is kind of the
worst.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, we've all spent a lot more time at home. In fact,
many of us are even working full-time from our homes. One major shift from the pandemic
is a new interest in the simple pleasures of domesticity. Many of us have developed
a newfound love of interior design, while others have gotten into cooking. Downton Abbey
originally aired in the pre-pandemic world, so for most of us, its domestic focus didn't
really feel particularly relatable.
These days, however, the charming domesticity of Downton Abbey feels a lot more enjoyable
and relatable. And, it's pretty rare for a big budget series to exist entirely in the
home. It's definitely nice to see strong women embracing domesticity as part of their lives,
and when we've all been forced to do the same, it's a welcome relief.
One thing you probably never noticed while watching Downton Abbey is that we never find
out what's in that great big tower. Sure, we see the bedrooms and basements and even
the upper floors where the servants sleep, but we're never shown what's in the giant
tower. Well, it turns out, we do actually get one glimpse into the mysterious tower,
but you may have missed it, as it occurs in the very first episode.
The one scene that takes place in the tower is actually the luggage room scene. Apparently,
the show's crew weren't sure where to film the scene, but the real luggage room of the
estate is actually in the tower. BuzzFeed even spoke to the show's production designer
about why the tower only appears once, and he revealed,
"It's a stunningly beautiful room, for what effectively keeps luggage [...] Beautifully
carved doors and everything. [...] It's structurally unsafe [...] There's liability problems. [...] There's
about three loads of stairs. We couldn't go up there [now]. There's weight issues [...] Apparently
the earl thought he needed a bigger tower, so they had to add it later."
We all spent plenty of time admiring the gorgeous period costumes in Downton Abbey. But what
you may not have realized is that each character has their own specific look. In an interview
with Vogue, the show's costume designer, Anna Robbins, explained some hidden secrets about
the costumes that most viewers probably never picked up on. Discussing Lady Edith's color
palette, Robins explained,
"She was never going to express herself through fashion when her life was so difficult, so
I dressed her mainly in autumnal colours and more staid pieces. [...] As soon as she took
the job as a magazine editor, she blossomed as a character, and I moved her towards a
spring palette – gradually lightening and brightening her looks, having fun with prints,
and incorporating dramatic necklines."
As for Lady Mary, her look is a total contrast, as Robbins explained,
"I studied lots of [...] men’s tailoring from the period, which inspired some of the
more structured outfits she wears when she’s running the 'estate.' She’s a girl in a
man’s world, but she’s doing it her way. Her colour scheme tends to be quite bold."
Ever since Downton Abbey first aired, the house has become iconic. However, you may
be surprised to learn that the real estate, Highclere Castle, has actually been used for
a few other major productions.
In 2006, the house made a surprising appearance in John Legend's music video for "Heaven."
The house was also used for the 1987 version of The Secret Garden. In 2002, the estate
was featured in the Heath Ledger and Kate Hudson film The Four Feathers. And, back in
1982, Downton Abbey's own Maggie Smith visited the castle to film The Missionary. Clearly,
this stunning stately home is very used to hosting film crews.
There's no denying that Downton Abbey is a massive home. Throughout the show's six seasons,
we got to see a wide range of drawing rooms, hallways, libraries, and bedrooms. However,
you may not have spotted all of the brand-new rooms that appeared in the film.
The production designer of the film told Architectural Digest that the crew actually added a bunch
of new sets for the Downton Abbey movie.
"We just wanted to up the level to make it more lavish, to give the audience something
more and make it richer and more opulent."
First of all, the set designers added a brand-new bedroom, and also created sets for the wine
cellar, the silver room, the servers, and added additional servants' quarters and sets
for Mr. Carson and Mrs. Hughes' cottage. As Gina Cromwell, the film's set decorator told
Architectural Digest proudly,
"It was massively satisfying to be able to create sets that we didn't have the space
to do before."
"It's a beautiful house."
Another thing that may have escaped your notice in the Downton Abbey movie is a wonderful
nod to true fans of the show. In Season 3 of the show, there's a brief moment when Ethel,
a housemaid who becomes pregnant, explains that she had a "nasty encounter" when she
went to visit the greengrocer, Mr. Bakewell. His wife, Mrs. Bakewell, refused to serve
her, and Ethel explained,
"Her husband did but it wasn't very nice."
While we never get to meet Mr. Bakewell in the show, years later, he appears in the film.
It's so cool to see how thorough the writers of Downton Abbey were in including this character
who was merely mentioned in Season 3.
For most viewers, Downton Abbey probably feels incredibly accurate. With its precise script,
its incredible costumes, and its portrayal of upstairs-downstairs life, it often feels
like a real glimpse into the past. However, only the most astute viewers will notice that
a lot of the show is actually historically inaccurate.
One of these eagle-eyed viewers is none other than Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. As Brian
Hoey, author of At Home With The Queen, told People,
"They do tend to get it right. However, the Queen did notice on one episode that there
was a young so-called British officer wearing medals which had not been awarded when he
was supposed to be alive. He was fighting in the First World War and the medals on his
chest did not come in until the Second World War."
"I am an expert in every matter."
Meanwhile, historian Jennifer Newby told The Telegraph,
"The relationship they have with their employers is totally wrong [...] One butler [...] said
that even if in a moment of weakness an employer could ask for advice they wouldn’t give
it because it could be held against them."
Downton Abbey actually covers a couple of decades. Season 1, which aired in 2010, was
set in 1912, while the final season, which aired in 2015, was set in 1925. Some simple
math will tell you that the ages of the actors do not match the ages of the characters. In
2015, the actors were all playing characters that had aged 13 years, while the Downton
Abbey actors themselves had only aged five years. Either these characters are blessed
with eternal youth and great skincare routines, or something doesn't add up.
A few viewers began to question the age problem. As the Daily Mail noted, one viewer wrote,
"Why is the Dowager still alive and sharp-witted and [why do] the girls/boys still have the
face of youth?"
Even Maggie Smith, who played the Dowager, noted that the ages really don't make sense.
In an interview on The Graham Norton Show, she joked about the film,
"It couldn't go on and on and on [...] It didn't make sense!"
"Honestly, she was about, by the time I finished, she must have been 110."
One thing that most viewers probably simply accepted while watching Downton Abbey was
the show's bitter female rivalries. On a second watch, however, this aspect of the show does
come across as a little dated. As one viewer pointed out on 3 Quarks Daily,
"There are three pairs of women presented as b-----s who connive against each other
at every opportunity: O'Brien and Anna, Mary and Edith, Isobel and the Dowager Countess."
It's a pretty good point. So what's with all of these horrible female feuds? While Downton
Abbey does have some fascinating, complex female characters, the constant fighting does
come across as a little out of touch and unrealistic. But it's safe to say that the seemingly never-ending
feuds made for some great TV drama, which we couldn't look away from.
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