During Downton Abbey's six seasons on the air, a surprising number of characters passed
away, leading to some of the most dramatic and memorable moments on the show. Here are
the final words the fallen characters ever said.
The very first death on Downton Abbey was certainly a shocking one. In the third episode
of Season 1, the Crawleys welcomed Turkish diplomat Kemal Pamuk into their home. Mary,
the eldest daughter, spends the evening flirting with Pamuk. Breaching all kinds of protocol,
Pamuk appears uninvited at Mary's bedroom door in the middle of the night. After resisting
Pamuk at first, Mary eventually agrees to spend the night with him. Unfortunately, Pamuk
doesn't make it through the night.
The last words we hear Pamuk say are simply,
"Trust me."
A few moments later, Pamuk dies unexpectedly in Mary's bed. Talk about a plot twist! Mary,
her maid, and her mother are forced to carry his body back to his room before the rest
of the house wakes up.
William Mason was the second footman at Downton Abbey who had a long-standing crush on Daisy,
the scullery maid. Before leaving for the First World War, Daisy agrees to marry William,
even though she doesn't love him. When William returns severely injured, Daisy decides to
go through with the wedding so that he can die happy. It's a tragic plotline.
In one of William's final scenes, he assures Daisy that she'll be taken care of because
by marrying him she's become a war widow. When Daisy replies that getting those benefits
would feel a bit dishonest, William replies,
"We'd have married if I had got through it and spent our whole lives together. Where's
the dishonesty in that?"
It's clear just how much William cares for Daisy. What makes it even more tragic is the
fact that Daisy probably loves William, too. Actress Sophie McShera, who played Daisy,
told the Daily Mail that it was Downton creator Julian Fellowes' belief that Daisy really
loved the footman, somewhere deep down.
Another devastating death came in Season 2 of Downton Abbey when the sweet Lavinia Swire
died after catching the Spanish flu. Lavinia was Matthew's new fiancée, and even though
fans of the show were eager to see Matthew and Mary get together, Lavinia's death was
utterly heartbreaking.
Lavinia's final words were unbelievably gracious. She begins by telling Matthew that, while
she loves him, she knows that he and Mary are meant to be together. When she goes so
far as to tell Matthew he shouldn't marry her, Matthew tells her he won't allow her
to end their engagement. But she insists he find happiness, for her sake.
"That's what I want."
Sadly, those are her last words.
While Lavinia's death was sad, it was also convenient for fans. Even Zoe Boyle, who played
Lavinia, admitted to the Daily Mail that she was among the Downton viewers who wanted to
see Matthew and Mary end up together.
Few romances on Downton Abbey were as lovely as the one between Anna and Mr. Bates. But
things hit a snag for the couple when Mr. Bates reveals that he has an estranged wife
named Vera. Vera shows up and tries to blackmail her husband into returning to her, and when
her plan fails, she plots her revenge. The final ominous words she speaks on the show
are:
"It doesn't end here, you know, not for Tom Bates. Lady Mary might have got away — what
do I care? — but he won't. You tell him."
From these final words, it's pretty clear that she has one more card up her sleeve.
Vera ends up taking her own life and framing her husband for the crime. Luckily, Mr. Bates
is eventually proven innocent and he and Anna get their happily ever after — after a few
other setbacks, of course!
Lady Sybil's death in Season 3 from complications in childbirth has to be one of the worst deaths
in Downton Abbey's history. In the lead-up to the birth, the family consults with two
different doctors about Sybil's condition. While one thinks she has the signs of eclampsia
and should be taken to the hospital, the other is convinced she is fine. After giving birth,
Sybil does seem to be okay. She speaks with her mother about Tom and her father and asks:
"Will you help me do battle for Tom and the baby if the time comes?"
Then, in the middle of the night, she has a seizure and dies suddenly, surrounded by
her distraught family.
"I should be getting up. I need to be--"
"No darling, all you need to do is rest."
"My head."
Sybil was known as one of the kindest, most forward-thinking characters on the show, so
her sudden death left fans devastated. In a show full of difficult moments for the fans
and the cast, Sybil's death went down as one of the worst moments of Downton Abbey.
Charlie Rogers is initially introduced to Downton Abbey as a friend of Atticus Aldridge
and Henry Talbot. He and Henry are race car drivers who both take part in a race at Brooklands,
but in a tragic turn of events, Charlie's car crashes on the racecourse and he is killed.
So, what were Charlie's last words?
Right before the race, Charlie tells Henry that they should get moving because the cars
are ready. When Henry says he's right behind his friend, Charlie replies:
"You'll stay there if I have my way."
The death was tragic because the show lost Charlie, of course, but it also provided an
important moment of tension in Henry and Mary's relationship.
After Dan Stevens decided to leave Downton Abbey at the end of Season 3, his character
was killed off in a pretty brutal way. Shortly after his wife, Mary, gives birth to their
new son, Matthew is killed in a car crash on the way home from the hospital. Just before
the tragic moment, the writers gave Matthew and Mary a touching final scene together.
In their final exchange, Matthew tells Mary how much he loves her, and expresses just
how happy he is for a quiet moment alone with his new family. Mary sends him home to tell
the rest of the Crawleys about the baby, and before he leaves tells him she feels she's
earned a, quote, "decent kiss." Matthew replies,
"You certainly, certainly have."
And those are his final words.
The death was so distressing for fans that Stevens later told The Mirror that he was
still apologizing to fans for the moment years after it aired.
Alex Green was probably one of the most hated characters in Downton Abbey history. Mr. Green
was the valet of Mr. Gillingham, one of Lady Mary's suitors. During a visit to the Abbey,
Mr. Green assaults Anna and leaves her trying to keep it a secret from her husband, Mr.
Bates. Mr. Green's final appearance on the show is in a Season 4 episode, during another
visit to the house. We see him sitting at the dinner table with the other servants and
talking happily about moving to London. As he explains, he'll be right in the heart of
the city, close to all the sights:
"I am a lucky tyke."
In the end, Mr. Green isn't so lucky after all. Later in that same episode, Mr. Gillingham
reveals that Mr. Green has died unexpectedly. As Gillingham explains it to Mary, Green was
in the city when he slipped or stumbled and, quote, "fell into the road." That's an interesting
death considering that his final words on the show were all about his excitement at
being in London!
While Charles Bryant wasn't necessarily a major character in Downton Abbey, his death
did create an interesting plot line for Ethel, one of the maids. During the First World War,
when Downton Abbey is transformed into a convalescent home for wounded soldiers, Major Bryant and
Ethel begin a flirtation. Eventually, the housekeeper, Mrs. Hughes, catches the pair
together, and she sends Ethel packing. Ethel eventually gives birth to Bryant's illegitimate
son. However, Bryant dies on the battlefield, leaving Ethel behind to persuade his grieving
parents to help her.
So, what were Bryant's final words on the show? Well, his final scene is with Mrs. Hughes,
who tries to convince him to meet his son. Bryant refuses to have anything to do with
the child and leaves, saying,
"Now, I'll say goodbye. It was time I was making tracks."
It's clear that Bryant wasn't a particularly kind or responsible man, and his eventual
death signals ruin for Ethel.
The second Crawley daughter, Edith, doesn't always have the best luck in love. When she
meets the charming magazine editor Michael Gregson, things finally seem to be going her
way. However, it turns out that Gregson has a mentally ill wife whom he can't divorce
in Britain. So, in order to be with Edith, he decides to emigrate to Germany, where the
divorce will be legal.
Before he leaves, the pair spend one night together. Edith asks if they're going out
for dinner and he replies,
"No, I hadn't planned on going anywhere."
"No?"
"No."
In hindsight, his final words are much more meaningful than they seemed. Gregson disappears
in Germany, and eventually, it's revealed that he was captured by Hitler's Brownshirts
and killed. Even though Gregson hadn't planned on going away forever, that's exactly what
ended up happening, and poor Lady Edith is left heartbroken.
Edward Courtenay is a minor character in Downton Abbey who appears briefly in Season 2 as one
of the soldiers who comes to the town to recover. Courtenay has been blinded by mustard gas
and is suffering from what appears to be PTSD or depression. He befriends Thomas and Sybil
and they begin to help him, but unfortunately, Dr. Clarkson decides to send him away once
he's made a physical recovery. After insisting that he should stay with Sybil and Thomas
so they can help him, Courtenay's final words on the show are,
"Please don't send me away. Not yet."
Sadly, Dr. Clarkson refuses, and it turns out Courtenay really wasn't ready to be moved.
Later in the episode, he is found dead, having killed himself. Even though Courtenay didn't
have a major role on the show, his unnecessary death was heartbreaking and it showed viewers
Thomas' softer side.
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