‘Downton Abbey’ season 4 spoilers: Scoop on Dan Stevens, Michelle Dockery
Let’s start this article out with a warning: if you want to avoid spoilers from “Downton Abbey” season 4, we have a simple message for you: stop reading now. Otherwise, you are probably going to feel very disappointed in a matter of seconds.
As sad as many of us may be about Dan Stevens leaving the show courtesy of Matthew Crawley’s death, we will at least give the actor credit for one thing: being kind enough to tell the producers and the writers about his exit a long time in advance. Therefore, they have had a good bit of time to figure out just what the future will hold for some of the other characters, especially when it comes to Lady Mary, who is going to begin a rather interesting journey early on in the season.
For more on this, let’s turn to executive producer Gareth Neame, who had the following to say on the subject of the show’s future to TVLine:
“When you see something that feels like a difficult thing for a show — like an exit of a key character — it’s actually a dramatic opportunity … In any relationship drama, the will-they-or-won’t-they is always more interesting than married couples. So actually what we’ve been able to do is reset [Lady Mary]. She has to start again, and that will be much more interesting.”
As for just who Lady Mary will start again with, that much is still a mystery. We are hoping that it will be a new character, mostly because there are not many other suitable candidates on the show considering that the class romance storyline has already been done, and having her date Tom Branson would be a little too much like a soap opera.
How do you want to see Mary move forward? In case you haven’t heard the big news about one Maggie Smith’s return to “Downton Abbey” season 4, you can do so over here.
Photo: ITV
Sholeh
January 24, 2013 @ 12:53 am
Is Aaron Taylor Johnson a good looking man for Mary? I hope who ever is chosen for Mary will have all the qualities that Matthew had plus not being a spoilt boy and have much of business savy taste within the moral rectitude (not like Sir Richard Carlisle who had no moral values). Something like that Lord Grantham and Tom are looking for a good business lawyer now that Matthew is not alive, so he would do Matthew parts and in the mean time while working on modernization of Downton, they will realize that he has the same values and charm that Matthew had. And the similarities between him and Matthew brings some sparks to Mary to get attracted and starts to think of romance again. I also hope that Lady Edith realizes that Mary wants her sister’s benefit in keeping her away from the newspaper man as she wants a better man for her, a better position that would not be being a mistress to a married man. Is Larry Gray a good option to be brought back for Lady Edith, but with a more mature softened character that would not collide with Tom Branson?
Bar
January 18, 2013 @ 12:06 pm
Mary has always been a strong, determined character—and in the first season, expressed disgust that her only route to inheriting Downton was to marry its heir. While it’s terribly sad that Matthew dies, Mary has a son who is the new Downton heir, and this should give her an opening to assert some of the leadership qualities and determination to preserve Downton and its traditions that she has always shown. I doubt very much that it would be appropriate to have the class-conscious Mary become involved with Tom Branson, although I can see them becoming friends and allies, and Mary becoming less snobbish over a period of several years.
Karen Kernaghan
January 18, 2013 @ 12:47 am
I think this is a wonderful opportunity for Mary and the show. She can become the matriarch of Downton Abbey which she wanted from the beginning and it is during the time when women are starting to become irritant such as with the vote andEdith becoming a journalist. Both she and Branson can insure the running of Downton abbey and it’s future.
cyu
January 17, 2013 @ 6:37 pm
I think the show should be ended at the season 3, or have Matthew and Mary moves to other country so that the show will have complete different character and different story. I think I lost interest in Matthew and Mary’s Character.