‘Downton Abbey’ season 5 Christmas Special spoilers: Where is Michelle Dockery’s Mary?

Slowly and surely, more and more details are coming in about the “Downton Abbey” season 5 Christmas Special … and this includes just where we are going to see the majority of its characters.

One of the biggest surprises is that Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) is not going to be spending all of her time alongside the rest of her family at her in-laws’ massive castle; instead, she is going to be paying a visit to Anna (Joanne Froggatt) from prison.

This photo gives you a very foreboding sense of what could be coming during this episode, but we are choosing to be at the same time reasonably optimistic. After all, the show has already really done this whole prison story with Bates, and sticking Anna there for a long time would feel like repetition. That is something that “Downton Abbey” has done a pretty tremendous job of avoiding over the rest of their series.

As for what we want to see from Mary moving forward, it probably falls under her making a decision and sticking with it. For example, we are more than fine if she decides that she really does not want to be in love with someone. She just needs to figure that out, and the move forward and become the center for a variety of other stories. There is something powerful in watching her instead break convention, and showing that women in this era can be powerful and at the center of key decisions.

What do you want to see on the Christmas Special for Mary, Anna, Bates, and the rest of the cast? Share your thoughts and hopes with a comment, and head over here to get some other updates related to this episode! Also, sign up now to get some further updates on everything we cover at CarterMatt via our newsletter. (Photo: ITV.)