acid reflects

It’s the definitive curtain call for the long-running, beloved British television series about the aristocratic Crawleys and the servants who live with them at Downton Abbey.

Strictly for the fans, Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale is a fitting send-off to a beloved series and a lovely cast who have endeared audiences for many years —tip of the hat to all those involved, especially to the series creator, Julian Fellowes.

It is 1930, and the Crawleys are in London for several royal events. The day after attending a grand stage play at the Prince’s Theater, the. Crawleys attend a ball in London prepared by Lady Petersfield (Joely Richardson) for Princess Arthur (Lisa Dillon). But news of the divorce between Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) and racing enthusiast Harold Talbot is too scandalous for the aristocrats in the room. Lady Mary is escorted out of the ballroom before the princess can arrive. The scandal reaches Downton in Yorkshire, where Daisy (Sophie McShera) prepares to take the mantle of head cook after Mrs. Patmore (Leslie Nicol) retires. Carson (Jim Carter) is restless, having retired from serving the household as head butler, the responsibility now in the hands of Andy (Michael Fox.)

Still in London, Mary meets up with her American uncle Harold (Paul Giamatti), who has business to discuss with his sister Cora (Lady Grantham, played by Elizabeth McGovern). With them is Harold’s business partner Gus Sambrook (Alessandro Nivola), who immediately takes an interest in Mary. The two engage in obvious flirting that leads to complicated situations, despite the protective suggestions of Mary’s lady-in-waiting, Anna (Joanne Froggatt). To say that Lady Mary is a magnet for controversy is an understatement.

Back at Downton, Harold admits that the estate that Cora has entrusted to him has been lost as the crash in the US signalled the Great Depression, and he owes Sambrook for bankrolling him so far. Mary suggests that the former home of the dowager countess be sold as it is no longer in use, enraging Robert (Lord Grantham, played by Hugh Bonneville). This topic raises the question again whether Mary can truly take care of Downton, or maybe Robert is just reluctant to let go of his stewardship of the place.

Meanwhile, the downstairs people unite to protect Mary’s honor among the villagers, including Lasy Merton (Penelope Wilton), who secured the services of Daisy and Carson for the village fair committee, despite the protests of the conservative chairman, Sir Hector Moreland (Simon Russel Beale). To restore the neighbor’s respect for Mary, Edith (Lady Hexham, played by Laura Carmichael) arranges for a formal dinner to be attended by stage star Guy Dexter (Dominic West) and the playwright Noel Coward (Arty Froushan). Expectedly, the neighbors reinvited themselves to the dinner. Former Downton footman Thomas (Robert James-Collier) is still accompanying Mr. Dexter at his tour.

With Mary’s place in Downton restored, Robert and Cora agree to move to a flat in London after selling the Grantham home. Needless to say, there’s nothing that the household couldn’t accomplish if they work together. All’s well that ends well.

The Grand Finale is practically a reunion for (almost) all the series regulars and serves as the definitive end to the drama about British aristocrats and their staff that began more than a decade ago. The film is set two years after the events of the previous film (A New Era), which ended with Tom (Allen Leech) marrying Lucy Smith, after the Dowager Countess Violet Crawley (Maggie Smith, RIP) passed while the family was in France.

To be fair, the film is all talkie. It is perfectly all right as a television special, as the events are hardly cinematic in scale, except for the horse race at the film’s climax. The characters are in constant conversation about the events, which would probably have doubled the two hours of the film had it taken the show-don’t-tell approach in storytelling. There’s hardly any room for establishing shots; the film just cuts to conversation after conversation in another room.

But of course, the genius here is in who is making the conversation – the series is about these characters, their journeys, and the lives that they have touched on- and off-screen, in a place that has survived the test of time and yet time moves ever onward. One can say that Downton is less about the posh trappings of aristocratic life (although viewers get a lot of that too,) but more about how these characters adjust to the changes sweeping Britain at the time – from WWI to the Spanish Flu pandemic to the rise of the working class and ultimately the beginning of the end of the aristocracy. The second film released in 2022, A New Era, literally makes Downton a movie set in the age of Hollywood.

In a way, the events of the final film create a recap of sorts of everything that transpired in the many years of the show.

There’s an upheaval with worldwide repercussions – here, it is the Great Depression. In Season 1, it was the First World War, and in Season 2, it was the Spanish Flu. Mary is constantly in a scandal about her marital status (all seasons), including a funny reference to indiscretions with handsome Turks. It’s interesting from a Filipino perspective how the film shows the effects of divorce on the family and in British society at that time when today in 2025 the Philippines is the lone nation on earth (with the exception of The Vatican) where divorce is still illegal. I mean, we don’t have aristocrats here but we sometimes act as if we do.

Continuing with series similarities with the Grand Finale, there’s another threat to the family fortune (in Season 3, it was Robert’s failed investments in North America that threatened to wipe out their finances). Robert is constantly worrying about the management of the estate (since Season 1), in this instance, in Mary’s strong, steady hands.

There are a few refreshing takes, thankfully. Mary’s and Edith’s sisterly bond has finally healed the years of bickering and jealousy. Edith even goes to the defense of Mary when she confronts the duplicitous Sambrook at the racetrack. Mrs. Patmore openly acknowledges Daisy’s turn to head the kitchen (after years of verbally abusing her), but more movingly, Patmore recognizes Daisy as the daughter she never had. That scene was one of the emotional highlights of the finale for me. “Our lives are written in chapters,” Mrs Patmore tells Daisy. Indeed, Mrs Patmore.

On a personal note, it was amusing to see recreations (reproductions?) of places in London that I happened to visit last year, more so places that seemed to have barely changed – at least on the surface – since 1930. Oh, except I never shopped inside Fortnum & Mason, only passed by the branch at The Royal Exchange.

In the end, it is not so much the nitty-gritty of events that make The Grand Finale significant as a film, but the interactions of these characters, how some have left the manor and then returned, the relationships, the good decisions, their bad decisions, their love of the family, each other and the manor – how all these elements have come full circle at the expert writing of series creator Julian Fellowes. That is how The Grand Finale fits as the poignant farewell to this household that has, for millions of fans around the world, become part of the family for many years.

In a way, it feels like a bittersweet parting with someone dear, but they must go. It’s an age that is meant to pass. One can only extend gratitude for the time spent together.

Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale is in Philippine cinemas September 10 from Universal Pictures Philippines and exclusively screened in Ayala Malls Cinemas.

Images courtesy of Universal Pictures.

The filming location, Highclere Castle, in reality served as a convalescent home during World War I