Warning: SPOILERS for Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale are forward!
The second Downton Abbey film could have been referred to as A New Period, however Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale’s launch on the 2025 motion pictures schedule lastly made good on that promise. The tip of the threequel noticed Michelle Dockery’s Woman Mary Talbot formally taking up operating the household property, and as she stood in the primary corridor, she considered reminiscences that befell in that space of Downton involving deceased family members. Dockery has now revealed an alternate means The Grand Finale might have ended, however I additionally agree along with her on why what we received within the last lower of the film was higher.
In an interview with THR, Michelle Dockery defined how “half the problem” for her of capturing the final scene was “not crying and bursting into tears” as herself given Mary’s stoicism. The actress knew that Mary could be flashing again to those long-departed characters, and music even performed over audio system to assist her “actually get into what that was going to really feel [and] seem like.” The actress continued:
However there have been a few variations of the ending. There was one other model the place you noticed Mary return to work, she goes into the library and she or he sits at her desk. They determined to finish it on the tribute to Maggie, which I believe is one of the best ending. I all the time felt that it was the proper approach to end. [Mary, Cora and Robert] are saying their goodbyes and I believe that’s for the viewers — this sense of transferring on and saying farewell to one another.
Following Mary taking management of Downton Abbey, her mother and father, Robert and Cora Grantham, determined to maneuver into the home the place the late Violet Crawley (Maggie Smith), the Dowager Countess of Grantham, lived within the last years of her life. Whereas displaying Mary on the desk definitely would have been an efficient approach to conclude to additional exemplify the altering of the guard, Michelle Dockery is correct that the primary corridor scene was the extra emotional approach to go. When you’re a fan of this franchise, then seeing that archive footage of Violet, Matthew (Dan Stevens) and Sybil (Jessica Brown Findlay) certainly gave you not less than somewhat little bit of the feels.
Michelle Dockery went on to clarify how Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale’s alternate ending might need given the incorrect impression of the place Mary finds herself now that she’s in command of the property. In her phrases:
However in actuality, Mary’s not alone. She’s in the home with varied different folks, after all, all of the workers. She’s received relations who’re going to be coming and I believe it seems ahead to the longer term. It feels fairly hopeful. I additionally like that on the finish of this story, Mary finally ends up as a single girl. There’s a brand new chapter forward of her, she’s happier, and she or he’s excited to take the reins and develop into the girl of the home. It’s the tip, but it surely feels prefer it’s ongoing.
Whereas each of the prior Downton Abbey motion pictures appeared like they may have concluded the saga began by the TV present that ran from 2010 to 2015, we’ve lastly reached the true endpoint. That’s to not say that the Downton property couldn’t be revisited sometime in a narrative happening many years later, however so far as Mary and these different characters go, Dockery says that “this does really feel fairly finite” with the place we go away them. In truth, because the credit on The Grand Finale roll, we get one final on the principal gamers dwelling their pleased lives, together with Mary along with her two youngsters.
Catch the ultimate chapter of the Downton Abbey saga in theaters now, and make sure you learn CinemaBlend’s Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale assessment. The unique TV collection and the primary two motion pictures can all be streamed with a Peacock subscription.