Downton Abbey is like the afghan you keep on your couch. Just like that blanket, you can curl up with it on a cold winter’s night, and get lost in it, happy that you’re with something familiar and something you love. However, when you start to look at that old quilt, you notice it’s threadbare or pilling, and the colors just aren’t as vibrant as they used to be. It’s still warm, of course, and still something great to keep around the house, but aren’t you going to be looking for a replacement soon?
That’s just what I thought while watching the first several episodes of Downton Abbey’s fifth season, which premieres in the US on Sunday 4 January 4 at 9pm EST on PBS’s Masterpiece. (I’m not going to give away any big spoilers, but I am going to talk about the season in general, so this is your last warning.) I mean, how many times is Bates (Brendan Coyle) going to be suspected of a mysterious murder? How many times is Lady Edith (Laura Carmichael) going to mope around and do something stupid? How many times is Thomas (Rob James-Collier) going to almost get fired because of his scheming, and save himself at the last minute?
Granted, this sameness is part of the show’s appeal, and it’s nice to be reunited with characters we all love (or hate,) and to feel that sense of anticipation as soon as the plinking of the theme song starts. Downton lulls us into a world that seems quainter in its simplicity. We like to see modernity approaching the manor, but hearing the king on the “wireless” seems so cute next to the assault that happens every time we pass the lock screen on our smart phones. Downton is meant to be comfort food, something reliable we can depend on, a little slice of the splendid past in the sordid present.
And there are some interesting shifts in this season’s dynamics. A project comes about that puts butler Carson (Jim Carter) in a higher position than his long-time master Lord Grantham (Hugh Bonneville). Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery), the only person the show believes capable of romance on any level, continues on her love triangle from last season by taking some rather progressive steps. Branson’s (Allen Leach) Marxist vigor is being stirred once again, but will it be enough to get him to cast away his noble trappings for a second time?
These are all interesting additions to Downton’s usual stable of stories, but at the same time the Dowager Countess’s (Maggie Smith) barbs don’t seem as sharp as they used to be, and Daisy (Sophie McShera) seems twice as annoying (and stupid) as she’s always been. There is so much about the stories this season that seem paint-by-number, and the additional tension of the world events we know are about to happen seems lackluster as well. This space between the world wars doesn’t seem nearly as tense as the first season did, when we all know that the first world war was making its inevitable march toward the home, throwing them all into the modern world. At this point I feel like we could be witnessing the opening of Studio 54, and Lord Grantham would show up in white tie as if nothing has changed.
This is not just boredom at history’s progression, but also a boredom we feel about many great shows that we love. It starts off brilliantly, changing the way we think about television, much as Downton did. The second season is an inevitable disappointment and, season three gets it back on track just in time for it to start slowly sliding off a cliff to Shark Jump Junction, cultural irrelevance, a few sad seasons where the principals start to leave but faithful fans hang out, and then a cancellation where most people feel bad, but mostly because they gave up watching somewhere around season four.
This is the cycle that Downton is going through now, and luckily it can stop itself before those final steps. So, what is the show to do? Take itself off in its prime (and honestly, this season is as good as any, if not a little bit less exciting) to spare us its death rattles, or should it go on trying to make as much money for PBS (and sell as many underused tote bags from donation drives) as it possibly can while there is still a hardcore to follow the Crawleys? That’s a decision only the show’s creators and producers can decide, but they’ll definitely get to that place more quickly if everyone stops watching en masse.
Downton is as welcoming and inviting as that afghan on your couch, even if it is getting a little holey and you don’t really want company to know that you have it. So indulge yourself while you still can, or go out and get yourself something new and shiny. Even if you don’t find just the replacement it’s a comfort just to know that Downton is still there, the same as ever.
