Home
Creators
Search Recent Random
Posts
Search DMs Popular Hash Lookup Tags Random
Importer
Import FAQ
Register Favorites Keys Review DMs Logout
Community
Telegram ThePornDude
Home Creators Posts Import Register Favorites Logout

Downton Abbey 1X1 - Uncut Version (Patreon)

Published:
2026-10-22 00:49:40
Imported:
2026-10

Content

Files

Comments

Cristy

First! Can't wait to hear that music again.

Stacy Hope

I’ve been really looking forward to this notification ☺️

acidnova

I haven't watched yet but I remember how overwhelming it was for me to keep track of such a large cast of characters. So for you and any newbies watching for the first time, I put together a reference list for characters that are introduced in the first episode with their titles or positions. Hope it helps! Family: Dowager Countess of Grantham, Lady Violet Crawley - Dame Maggie Smith Earl of Grantham, Lord Grantham, Robert Crawley - Hugh Bonneville Countess of Grantham, Lady Grantham, Cora Crawley - Elizabeth McGovern Lady Mary Crawley - Michelle Dockery Lady Edith Crawley - Laura Carmichael Lady Sybil Crawley - Jessica Brown Findley Matthew Crawley - Dan Stevens Isobel Crawley - Penelope Wilton The Dog, Pharoah - Roly Servants: Butler, Mr. Carson - Jim Carter Head Housekeeper, Mrs. Hughes - Phyllis Logan Cook, Mrs. Patmore - Lesley Nicol Valet to the Earl, John Bates - Brendan Coyle Lady’s Maid to Lady Grantham, Sarah O’Brien - Siobhann Finneran Head Housemaid, Anna Smith - Joanne Froggatt First Footman, Thomas Barrow - Robert James Collier Second Footman, William Mason - Thomas Howes Under-Housemaid, Gwen Dawson - Rose Leslie Scullery Maid, Daisy Robinson - Sophie McShera Other: Duke of Crowborough, Phillip Villiers - Charlie Cox

Betzal

I’ve been constantly refreshing my notifications for this reaction, can’t wait!

Kate L.

*GASP* These characters are like family to me. Saying this in advance- Please let them have their own opinions! People can get quite intense over this show in my experience. But it’s beautifully written and worth it. ❤️

Kate L.

Non spoilery photo I took myself of the field behind Highclere Castle (Where most of Downton was filmed) in 2012. It’s super tall. Basically, a lot of the main rooms/bedrooms are used as they are, but the downstairs kitchens, etc are in a studio, as the real building is an actual private home with modern amenities.

Sisi M

It’s happening!

Youtalkingtome

We absolutely loved this first episode! For such a large cast of characters, we feel like we received a good introduction to many of them.

Youtalkingtome

I concur. I'm sure, as with all good shows, the characters are complex and will have arcs, so opinions of them will vary deeply. We look forward to hearing what people think as we go, but we absolutely look forward to getting to know these people.

Youtalkingtome

It's a breathtaking locale. I was blown away with the first long one-shot through the main floor.

Paul T Hewes

I have a weakness for soapy british costume dramas. Downton is by far the soapiest, costumiest, dramaiest. I love it, but it is at times, overwrought, silly, and down right odd. But I do love it. I love it, the movies, the other shows by the writer. But like a family member, you love them despite some of their horrible flaws.

Kate L.

It really is, and it’s not too far from London. It’s very popular for tours because it pairs really well with Stonehenge and Oxford too. Lady Carnavron has written books as well. It also has history in Egyptology. There are actual relics there.

Youtalkingtome

This episode definitely felt soapy, but in the absolute best ways.

DGriff

They had kedgeree for breakfast, right at the start. I don't know if you have that across the Atlantic. Coincidentally, I made that for dinner tonight. It is an British-Indian dish consisting of basmati rice, smoked fish, boiled eggs, onion and peas seasoned with quite a lot of curry powder. It is really good. ------ The property entail plot this starts with is legally interesting. It is essentially a restriction placed on a parcel of land regarding what can be done with that land. In particular, aristocrats created these to prevent the sale or splitting of the land and to tie inheritance of the land to inheritance of their title. The idea was to prevent a title from becoming 'name only' and leaving the heir with no means of sustaining the appropriate lifestyle. But they caused big issues for aristocrats in the early 20th century as the costs of running these big houses increased and the profit from farming the estates declined (partly economic changes, partly mismanagement). I studied them when I was a law student but basically half a lecture, because you can't create new ones anymore, so while the existing entails and fee tails still have force, the chance of coming across one in an actual law career was next to, but not quite, 0. They can be broken though, so by this point, there might not be any left.

Allison O

I don’t remember if this changed in later episodes, but Hugh Bonneville had top billing because the names were in alphabetical order :) I’m so excited you guys are starting this! They filmed at Highclere, the seat of the Earls of Carnarvon. Fun fact, it was one of the Carnarvons past who funded the expedition that discovered King Tut’s tomb.

dys

I never got around to watching this though I've seen a few clips on youtube and a lot of people I know love it, so I'm down(ton) to check it out. RIP Maggie Smith. Love Dan Stevens too, been a fan of his work since the Noah Hawley show Legion, which I highly recommend. Fun fact, Michelle Dockery was originally cast as Catelyn Stark in the pilot of Game of Thrones before the role was recast with Michelle Fairley. As a big fan of the books I was closely following all the casting news when the show was still being developed.

sharkey197

It is filmed at Highclere Castle which is home to the current Earl of Carnavron. The downstairs scences are a studio set. Tourist visits to Highclere went through the roof after this series started airing. I was so happy you picked up on so many things your first watch and got so drawn in. Jullien Fellows really knows how to grab audience interest fast.

DGriff

'One swallow doesn't make a summer' basically means one instance isn't a pattern. Seeing one swallow doesn't mean summer has arrived. The Duke is saying that one affair doesn't make a permanent relationship.

Jeff

Watching your faces during this reaction was a total delight! You got pulled into this world so quickly, and there are many more satisfying hours ahead for you. There’s often some confusion about the passage of time in the series. Episode one covers about two to three months. Subsequently, anywhere from several months to a year pass between each episode, with season one covering a period of about 28 months. So while there seem to be many events happening in a short space of time, they’re actually spread out over a longer period than at first apparent. Regarding the names and titles: Robert Crawley is the Earl of Grantham, a title he inherited from his father, and he is referred to as Lord Grantham. His wife, Cora, is the Countess of Grantham, commonly called Lady Grantham. His mother, Violet Crawley, is also Lady Grantham, but as the widow of a previous peer she is called the Dowager Countess. The name Grantham is not connected with their family name, Crawley, nor is it connected with the estate that they own and run, Downton. Downton Abbey is the name of the home on the Downton estate, located in Yorkshire, about 200 miles north of London. The Crawleys own not only the estate but also surrounding lands and properties, including parts of the local village. The family also owns a smaller brick house in the village called Crawley House, Dower House where the Dowager Countess lives, and a London residence called Grantham House.

vala p

Did they have the Egyptian expedition exhibit when you were there? As a Downton and Egypt freak I am super jealous of you right now 😁

Melissa

Jennifer Ehle (Elizabeth Bennet, 1995 Pride and Prejudice) was Catelyn Stark in unaired pilot for GoT.

dys

Oof I got super mixed up, thanks for the correction!

K

Omg this is such a nostalgic show for me. I remember I never wanted to watch my mom’s “mom shows” as a teenager, even though I’ve seen some of them now as an adult and they were great (shoutout Desperate Housewives), but she managed to hook me on this one and it was totally our thing for years. I remember her reaction to some of the big plot points way more than I remember my own feelings! I haven’t seen it since it aired, I can’t wait to watch it with you.

Clare Manion

Darlings -- I've had the biggest, silliest grin on my face all day knowing this was coming up :) I'm so happy you guys are into it! Yes, there are a lot of characters to remember, but as you noted, the show does a good job of reinforcing who's-who. And oh, believe me, the drama and intrigue only gets better from here... Welcome to Downton Abbey! BTW - As others have mentioned, the show was shot at Highclere Castle, which is still occupied by a lord and lady. As I understand it, their main enterprise is now tourism. In fact, the other day, I bumped into a (probably pirated) special on YouTube all about how they prepare the house for Christmas-time visitors. It's every inch as delightful as you think. Once you're a little farther in the show (and we're closer to the holidays) I'll happily share the link.

acidnova (edited)

Comment edits

2026-10-22 22:00 I love a certain amount of soap and Downon is my sweet spot. Daytime soaps are too much for me but at least Downton never has someone become possessed or a character dies and the same actor comes back to play their mysterious twin or what I learned from a recent episode of Buffy but like a living doll or whatever that storyline on Passions was. Downton is more realistic than all that!
2026-10-22 02:29 I love a certain amount of soap and Downton is my sweet spot. Daytime soaps are too much for me but at least Downton never has someone become possessed or a character dies and the same actor comes back to play their mysterious twin or what I learned from a recent episode of Buffy but like a living doll or whatever that storyline on Passions was. Downton is more realistic than all that!

I love a certain amount of soap and Downton is my sweet spot. Daytime soaps are too much for me but at least Downton never has someone become possessed or a character dies and the same actor comes back to play their mysterious twin or what I learned from a recent episode of Buffy but like a living doll or whatever that storyline on Passions was. Downton is more realistic than all that!

Kate L.

On this note, Julian Fellows more recent series “Gilded Age” follows along in the next era. The plots are not literally connected, but you can see the influence.

vala p

Everyone always thinks in a past life they were one of the Crawley's but I'm pretty sure I was probably a Daisy.

Andy_Payne

Okay, so I guess I’m watching Downton Abbey now!…just when I thought I had avoided all the peer pressure from my girlfriend and her friends, you had to pull me back in.

Joy M

It is the home of the Earl and Countess Carnarvon. They rent it out for weddings, shooting parties, it’s open for tours (including a Viking River cruise excursion), and of course the series and movies. I had a friend who stayed there for a pheasant shooting weekend when he worked for a fancy law firm in London. One of the Earl’s ancestors was part of the expedition that found King Tut’s tomb. The tv show is supposed to take place in Yorkshire, but Highclere is actually located in Hampshire in southern England. I went to Muckross House in Co Kerry, Ireland and the basement kitchen looked just like this one and Gosford with the buckets of sand to put out fires, the bells, the old stoves and pots and the servants rooms were in the attic, the locked room for the silver, just like on Downton. What’s funny is that this came out before GOT so I called Rose Leslie’s character on GOT , Gwen instead of Ygritte.

Kate L.

I’m not sure it was as extensive. I think more got added? I remember being sad I missed something like that.

acidnova

I've never been to Highclere Castle but I did get to go on a neat tour when I visited Ireland many years ago. On Fota Island (which also has a wildlife park which was incredible to see) there is a place called Fota House and I took a tour there. They not only showed us the main rooms but all the servants quarters and kitchens and all the behind the scenes places in those houses. It was very cool to see things like the bells for the rooms and the narrow passages to get to certain areas. I highly recommend it to anyone who visits Cork, ireland to take the trip to Fota Island and spend the day there.

vala p

The fellas mentioned that Carson should do audiobooks which, he's married to Imelda Staunton and their daughter does do audiobooks and she's great at it.

Cristy

This is great! Love how you include the dog hehe.

thank u next

FINALLY!!!! so glad you're finally watching this 😭. I stopped asking bc I didn't want to be a bother lol and knew you'd get to it in your own time 🙏

dys

We definitely don't have kedgeree in the US, I'd never heard of it before and I would guess almost none of us have. There are British things we don't have in the US but Americans with some exposure to British media know about, kedgeree isn't one of them. Sounds *really* good though.

Dani

Ah! So excited for this. I love that you caught on pretty quickly that Cora is American because they don't say it explicitly for a few episodes. I love so many characters - Mary, Mrs. Hughes, Cora, Carson, Violet (the Dowager) - all for different reasons and they all contain multitudes especially Mary. Can't wait for you to get into the series. It's phenomenal! I don't love certain plotlines, but on the whole, so very good!

acidnova

Lady Grantham is played by Elizabeth McGovern who you have seen on this channel before. She played Timothy Hutton's love interest in Ordinary People.

vala p

Would you call that " peerage" pressure 😉?

Andy_Payne

A “noble” joke….a pun worthy of Wilde - well done indeed!

Darrell Henry

This is one of my sleeper favorite shows. It’s wholesome but full of intrigue.

Cosmic Slice

I am SO excited you are starting this journey. This show is beautiful in every way and also heartbreaking.

Kate L.

A few fun references - Jim Carter- Imelda Stauton’s husband, long time veteran actor. They met doing a musical. Brendan Coyle- loved him in “North and South” which is one of Richard Armitage’s breakthrough roles. When I first listened to Bates talk it took me a good 2-3 episodes to connect him with N&S’s “Nicholas Higgins.” He’s neither from London or Manchester though, (as the setting of “North and South” is supposed to represent,) in fact he’s Irish. Siobhann Finneran shows up on a lot of UK TV. As does Joanne Froggert. This was an early role for Laura Carmichael. I saw her onstage as Sonya in Uncle Vanya in 2013. Sophie McShera was new as well. Jessica Brown Findlay is in Silo Rose Leslie is indeed best known for GOT. Correct ☺️ Penelope Wilton has a beloved role on Doctor Who- Harriet Jones. She’s also Aunt Gardiner in the 2005 “Pride and Prejudice.” Thomas Howes is part of the ensemble of the film “United,” about the Man U tragic plane crash in the 50s. I saw it because I’m a huge David Tennant fan, and he co-stars as one of the coaches This is Stardust era for Charlie 🙂

I🖤Kraken

DGriff explained the nice version of the swallow quote. The naughty interpretation is that one gulp doesn't make a relationship. 😏 My favorite Hugh Bonneville role was in Notting Hill when he didn't recognize Julia Roberts as a movie star at the dinner party.

Kate L.

Sorry for so many comments but I just want to mention the concept of an entailment for an estate. It’s when an heir inherits an estate that needs to be inherited as one, legally. The point was to keep all the power in the hands of the eldest males. This is the same practice at the heart of Sense and Sensibility and why the Dashwood women have to leave Norland. It prevents Lord Grantham from pulling Cora’s money from the estate to leave for his daughters. His Dad did it to make sure they didn’t lose Downton all together. In Sense and Sensibility, this is what prevents Mr. Dashwood from splitting the estate between his 2 families. His father set up the entailment. The law only left a minimal amount for his 2nd wife and 3 daughters, and so that’s why it’s on his son to choose to help them. They have no dowry without his generosity. Legally he was not obligated to, but some would judge him specifically for ignoring his Dad’s last request. It’s about 1805ish for S&S, and 1912 for Downton. But the concepts are still similar. There’s just more sympathy given to Mary’s future in 1912 than the Dashwood sisters.

Chris

I find that, for my taste, soapy melodrama is awfully difficult to sustain... but man, I forgot how much I enjoyed this first season of this show. That music takes me straight back to 2010.

Kt B

Yes, the characters have arcs you can look forward to. Yes, you may despise the bad actors right now because they behave badly; they are written to raise your hackles. You have free rein to yell at the screen, just like we all did on first watch. I do encourage you, though, to consider deeply the societal forces that made them that way. Servants at a great house were expected to work 6 and a half days a week, be up before their families awoke and go to bed after the families retired for the night. They were with the same people all day, every day, and people got on each other’s nerves. Add to that the fact that servants weren’t allowed to have children (upon pain of dismissal), they could only move up if someone left the position or they went to a different great house, of which there were fewer than there had been. Their needs were always second to the families unless you had a humane lord like Lord Grantham. Add to that that it was hard to keep your job and find a romantic partner, unless you found one in the village, and you lived in the house - your life belonged to service. Being gay was not only incredibly lonely, but quite dangerous. Being a woman meant your future was always in someone else’s hands, and you had to use your wit and your charms to secure your comfort (regardless of class). Being poor meant that you couldn’t afford healthcare, and you certainly couldn’t own property. Without property, you didn’t have the right to vote. Many people felt trapped and desperate, and it twisted them. They also felt like they had to compete ferociously for favor, which sometimes motivated them to tear each other down. Nasty, spiteful people are not to be excused, but given how difficult it was to find happiness, it doesn’t surprise me that they became so. Getting ahead was ultimately a zero-sum game if you weren’t in a place with lots of opportunities like London. I remember a time in my life when I was very unhappy, and although I was never spiteful, I was perpetually angry. I have a world of sympathy for all of these characters, because I had more freedom and agency than all of them (including Lord Grantham, upon whom there are expectations), and now I’ve had the benefit of extensive therapy. Because I feel such sympathy for their plight, I admire the genuinely kind characters all the more, and I’m not ashamed to say that some have been my role models. TL;DR Hurt people hurt people, and kindness is a remarkable and wonderful thing to find in hardship. These characters represent the spectrum of rising above or succumbing to the difficulties of surviving in that time. The more you see of their lives, the more you will understand them. I look forward to following your journey.

Kt B

Also, regarding “One swallow does not a summer make,” the Duke is referring to oral sex. Apparently they dallied together awhile over the previous summer, but only consummated once. Thomas had developed real feelings during that time. Although the Duke denied it or trivialized it, he apparently did, too, or he would not have written that stack of letters. He eventually figured out that the relationship could ruin him (perhaps even land him in jail), so he decided his self-preservation was worth more than his potential happiness, and he decided he needed to cut ties and get rid of the evidence.

Cristy

Bernie! I loved him in Notting Hill, just hilarious.

Cristy

I'm so happy you enjoyed the first episode, fellas. This is such a wonderful, character driven show and I love seeing how everyone upstairs and downstairs develops over time. Given how many characters there are it's no mean feat but Julian Fellows does it with aplomb. There's so much I want to say but spoilers and all that, I'm just so glad you're watching this now, thank you!

Actuarial Lurker

I looked it up... Supposedly there are variants of this in the upper Northeast based on what sailors brought with them and since Cajuns are transplanted Catholics who fled to New Orleans from Protestant New England that some gumbos are variants of spicy fish-based dishes

I🖤Kraken

Absolutely. I would have totally married Bernie!

Actuarial Lurker (edited)

Comment edits

2026-10-22 22:00 Recall that Oscar Wilde- despite his fame was imprisoned from 1895-1897 for being gay and the experience of hard labor wore him out to his eventual death soon thereafter while Alan Turing, despite breaking the Nazi codes, also was arrested for being gay- plead guilty to "unnatural and indecent acts" and accepted chemical castration as an alternative to prison...so the Duke basically with the letters burnt, accused Thomas of making advances on him and have him "killed".
2026-10-22 04:47 Recall that Oscar Wilde- despite his fame was imprisoned from 1895-1897 for being gay and the experience of hard labor wore him out to his eventual death soon thereafter while Alan Turing, despite breaking the Nazi codes, also was arrested for being gay- plead guilty to "unnatural and indecent acts" and accepted chemical castration as an alternative to prison...so the Duke basically with the letters burnt, could easily accuse Thomas of making advances on him and have him "killed".

Recall that Oscar Wilde- despite his fame was imprisoned from 1895-1897 for being gay and the experience of hard labor wore him out to his eventual death soon thereafter while Alan Turing, despite breaking the Nazi codes, also was arrested for being gay- plead guilty to "unnatural and indecent acts" and accepted chemical castration as an alternative to prison...so the Duke basically with the letters burnt, could easily accuse Thomas of making advances on him and have him "killed".

Kate L.

Ack, sorry- you found my useless knowledge hobby 😆Robert’s an earl. King/Queen “Your majesties” Prince/Princess “Your highness” Duke/Duchess “Your Grace” Marquess/Marchioness “My Lord/Lady” Earl/Countess Same Vicount/Viscountess Same Baron/Baroness Same Gentry (local leaders, not aristocracy) Baronet/Lady (Sir and Lady) Knight/Dame (Not inherited or passed on*) (Same) He’s Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham Downton Abbey would be the official seat of the Earl of Grantham. Notice you’ve never heard of an Earless… because the English stole some concepts of titles from the French. Earl and Countess. Lord and Lady Grantham. Maggie Smith is a Dowager, aka former Countess. She lives on the estate in the designated “dower” house. Dan Steven’s character is Mr. Matthew Crawley- has to be same last name because his relationship as the next heir by definition would be through a paternal line. It would be legacy to preserve the estate, and you’re asking the right questions for the Edwardian era as far as what that means. 😉 Traditionally before the 1830s ish Industrial Revolution, the nobility took pride in providing the most employment opportunities and having tenants. Think of estates as tiny villages. But with the advent of bigger cities, factories, railroads… the concerns are real. The National Trust was eventually set up in the UK to preserve a lot of “Great Houses” as Carson refers to them in the present day. Or a bunch of nobility do let houses be used for filming, run parks and gardens, tours, etc.… especially if there’s something of interest. I visited Lacock village (and the Abbey itself) which is most often associated with the 1995 (Colin Firth) “Pride and Prejudice” standing in as Meryton, and has a long list of screen appearances. The ground level of Lacock Abbey still looks extremely abbey like. It was used in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s stone, in Snape’s first potions class. Some of the outdoor walkways doubled as Hogwarts hallways. But the abbey is also important to photography. William Fox Henry Talbot was a scientist who owned the abbey and took one of the earliest photos ever of a window in the abbey. It looks like 15th century downstairs and 19th century up. It’s fascinating.

Gail Hislop

The billing is actually alphabetical in the intro so it’s coincidence that Hugh Bonneville is first.

Actuarial Lurker

The Second Boer War was fought in South Africa over gold mines from 1899-1902 so ended 10 years prior to the Titanic at the start. Lord Grantham mentions South Africa in the kitchen when he stops by....the first Boer War was 1880-1881 and Grantham would've been a young teen. In Lord of The Rings the intent was that Samwise Gamgee was Frodo's "Batman" or valet. Sam cooked, carried Frodo's gear and even carried Frodo up Mt. Doom. The implication here is Lord Grantham was already a noble at the time of the Second Boer war. The small talk reveals the couple were married 24 years prior (in 1888), so he would've bene away from home with his wife and 3 daughters as young girls back home. Bates would have been an Aide de Camp or a mere valet to Grantham similar to Samwise towards Frodo.

acidnova

Legion is such a wild show!

Tobias Keezy

Downton Abbey is the show almost everyone watches with one’s mother. It’s right up her period piece butlery street, but good enough that you’re interested too.

Tom Evans

I'm glad you guys are into it after the first episode. A lot of shows start off slow and awkward at first, but it feels like Julian Fellowes knew exactly what he wanted to do with this show from the start. There are already moments in this first episode that have ripple effects all the way to the movies, it's really impressive actually. I liked Kevin's prophetic comment "this one was in Game of Thrones," and then Rose Leslie appeared about a minute later. 😆

acidnova

It doesn't have to specifically refer to oral sex. The original phrase is referring to the bird. It could just have easily been, "one robin does not a spring make" or similar. Obviously, one can use a dirty connotation and the Duke is probably using it as a double-entendre referring to both the bird and the verb. But they could have done other sexual acts, too and many times over their brief time together. But I think what he's really just saying is, "one fling does not a relationship make."

ScarlettMi

LOL I think you mean he’s the son of an American heiress.

Michelle Taylor

During the Gilded Age, marriage to British aristocrats was often seen as a strategic approach for American heiresses to improve their social standing. Although British nobility held titles and inherited social status, they frequently lacked significant financial resources. Winston Churchill was the son of an American heiress.

Carl Wilson

Gosford Park was written by Julian Fellowes, the creator of D.A., but it was directed by Robert Altman. Which is of course a very very big difference.

Todd

I LOVE THIS. Does anyone know how often will these be coming out?

Carl Wilson

Love these first couple of seasons. It got less delightful to me as it wore on - too soapy and self-indulgent - but it's all cream for the first while.

Cristy

One episode a week.

Todd

Thanks very much! :)

Kirsten Stewart

I am soooo excited to be on the Downton journey with you guys, you’re going to love it!

Anjali Agarwal

Agreed, Joe. This show is delightful! It explores so many themes and you will get attached to both the "upstairs and downstairs" characters.

Nihidea

Ah, Downton Abbey is such a comfort show for me, the first few seasons at least. Just hearing the music does something to soothe me and it all ties together so beautifully, the score, the costumes, the sets, the accents and dialects.. As you so correctly summed it up, it's delightful! I'm excited to see you diving into this story. And you're so right, Michelle Dockery is so lovely. As is Jessica Brown Findley, but ever since I first encountered Michelle Dockery in the Terry Pratchett adaptation Hogfather, I've had a certain weakness for her. When I was cast as a princess in a college theatre production, her performance of Lady Mary was what I modelled my performance on.

Jeremy Burch

Before this show I never liked period piece or upstairs/downstairs type shows or movies, but I had heard about this show a fair amount and decided to give it a try. I will admit it was a bit slow going for me completely getting into it at first, but it kept my attention enough to keep watching. Now thanks to this show, I watch all kinds of period pieces and shows and movies similar to this.

Youtalkingtome

Thank you! I had no idea what war to which they were referring. I really appreciated both Robert's loyalty to John, as well as his understandable incredulity to his wife's blase line about "I totally get how you feel about your war buddy and stuff."

Allison O

It’s interesting to think that Cora must have been born just a couple years after the end of the Civil War, but she’s clearly a Northerner and the people around her were wealthy and could have bought their way out of the draft, so she was probably sheltered from the aftereffects. There aren’t a lot of veterans with missing limbs wandering around on The Gilded Age.

Allison O

I haven’t seen Dan Stevens in much aside from this, but he’s funny as hell in the Eurovision movie.

Allison O

Accepted chemical castration, and died by suicide like two years later. Absolutely tragic treatment of someone who probably saved the country.

Allison O

“Yes, we know who you are!”

Allison O

Mary is really one of my favorites. I know some people like her *because* she’s bitchy, but as fun as that is, I like her because of moments like her apologizing for being in the servants’ quarters. The show does such a good job of making her complicated from the first episode.

Allison O

See also, debate over whether Jane Austen wrote a gay sex joke in Mansfield Park (for my money? probably. It’s hard to imagine what else she meant) or a purely innocent reference.

Roland

Elizabeth McGovern was one of my earliest celebrity crushes, she was 22 when I first saw her in Once Upon A Time In America, those mesmerizing blue eyes...

Roland

Elizabeth McGovern is one of a handful of American actors that have made the UK their home, so they're often seen on-screen when such a part is called for. Gillian Anderson is probably the most famous of this collective (although Anderson also plays full-blooded Brits as well, not least Maggie Thatcher herself).

Genevieve Clerc

she began her career in "Once upon a time in America"

Julzy (edited)

Comment edits

2026-10-22 22:00 I am so excited you will love this. I just know 😊 Julian Fellowes He also did a show called The Aristocrats which I love too
2026-10-22 14:49 I am so excited you will love this. I just know 😊 Julian Fellowes He also did a show called The Aristocrats which I love too. ETA: If the project has the name Julian Fellowes on it, I'm in.

I am so excited you will love this. I just know 😊 Julian Fellowes He also did a show called The Aristocrats which I love too. ETA: If the project has the name Julian Fellowes on it, I'm in.

AudeAudor

And is the same family than the 5th Earl of Carnavron had been the financial backer of the search for and excavation of Tutankhamun's tomb in the Valley of the Kings. He died from pneumonia just merely months after excavating the Tomb and is supposed to be one of "The Curse of Tutankhamun's" victims. He also lived at Highclere Castle.

Actuarial Lurker

The Downton Abbey Fandom Wiki- which of course is a giant spoiler vault which we can shield first time viewers from- lists Cora as being born in 1868 and Robert as being born in 1865

acidnova

I wanted to mention that neither Mrs. Hughes nor Mrs. Patmore are married. I believe it was convention at the time to call women in those high-ranking servant roles, "Mrs." even though they have never been married. Perhaps someone with more knowledge on why can explain. Was it just a way to give them a more distinguished name to show where they are in the hierarchy of servants?

vala p

There's also hierarchy in other servant names too. Maids and footmen are first names, ladies maids and valets are last names and the servants who are lower ranked have to add a Mr or a Ms to the lady's maid or valet' s names. And as your position changed so would the name you get called. honestly, by the time I figured out how to address the person I was talking to, they'd have probably moved on its all so confusing. but I always thought it was weird, Anna is head maid but she's still Anna to everyone

Julzy

me too!

Julzy (edited)

Comment edits

2026-10-23 18:00 The opening score & shot with Lord Grantham out walking the estate with Isis - is like a call to order.
2026-10-22 20:27 The opening credits with Lord Grantham out walking the estate with Isis - is like putting the kettle on (if I was British) comforting ☕️

The opening credits with Lord Grantham out walking the estate with Isis - is like putting the kettle on (if I was British) comforting ☕️

Paul T Hewes

What kind of list would leave out his Lordship's dog?

acidnova

Penelope Wilton is also Shaun's mother in "Shaun of the Dead"

Kt B

I had no idea! Thank you for that explanation.

Kt B

Brendan Coyle was also in Lark Rise to Candleford! It was a delightful little BBC period show that I was enjoying on streaming before the put it behind an extra paywall with the BritBox package

Actuarial Lurker

The Wealthiest Civil War vets tin the South were "planters". Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest, who made his fortune slave trading and was the first "Grand Wizard" of the Klan was worth $1.5 Million at the start of the war, appx $40M in today's terms, but went bankrupt in 1877. Confederate General Wade Hampton owned 12,000 acres of plantation land and 1,000 slaves and had an income over $200K per year prior to the war and went bankrupt in 1868 from personally financing his own troops and having his plantation burnt to the ground. For the North, Maj Gen Philip Kearney came from a family that co-founded the NY Stock Exchange. were investment bankers, mill and factory owners etc He inherited $1M in 1836, $30M in 2025 purchasing power. He fought in the Mexican American War, for the French under Napoleon III, was the first American to win the French Legion of Honor and died in combat in 1862.

Actuarial Lurker

My wife and I love Indian food- which we frequently MAKE but this week are currently eating as extended takeout from a local Indian restaurant we discovered 3 weeks ago. We bought about FOUR days worth of: Chicken Vindaloo with double dose of spice, Curried Shrimp (wife eats that, I'm allergic to shellfish), Vegetable Biryani and Lamb Biryani (basmati rice, lamb marinated in spiced yogurt, ghee, peas, onions, cauliflower and curry)- basically similar to .your breakfast meal but without the fish!), Keema Naan (leavened pita infused with curried Lamb embedded in the bread)

Youtalkingtome

This feels like he was wasting no time at all. It was so well told!

Youtalkingtome

I've rewatched Gosford Park a few times now. Seeing this was an absolute delight

Roland

You and Anna Kendrick are so cute when you're shocked. 🤩🤩

Youtalkingtome

That's a really great question! There are nuances at play here that I will likely not understand without more outside study.

BrummaGen

Kedgeree is delicious! But unless you have a team of servants to prepare it for you, far too much of a bother to cook for breakfast. I sometimes have it for a lunch or dinner.

Deborah Denison

I am so excited for you to get into it more... there is just so much to this show!

BrummaGen

As I enjoy your reactions, I'm reluctantly overcoming my aversion to ever watching Downton Abbey, and am giving it a try at last by watching for the first time along with you! My avoidance at the time of its airing was partly stubbornness, just because so many people were watching it and I didn't want to follow the herd, also partly avoidance of anything shown on ITV because of the commercials, and perhaps too a suspicion that it was just a soap dressed up in period clothing and wouldn't have the well structured plot of a film, or a series based on an existing book. However, I generally enjoy period dramas, and did (back in the 70s) really like a show with a similar concept, called 'Upstairs, Downstairs', which followed the lives of a wealthy family and their live-in servants in a house in London. So really I don't have a leg to stand on. You asked if the house in Downton Abbey would be called a manor. It's a fair question, and there's no reason why you should know. But it's much too big and grand to be a manor house. This kind of large, grand mansion is often called a 'stately home' by the general public, tourists, writers and other 'outsiders', but historians give them the more neutral (and understated) term 'country house' , and the aristocratic families who lived/live in them tend to call them the same - to distinguish them from their 'town house' in London - or refer to them as the 'seat' associated with a particular title . Thus Downton Abbey is a country house which is the seat of the Earl of Grantham. But the most helpful name is one which is used by one of the characters in this episode (I think it was the Earl talking to Carson about him finding another position) - Downton is one of the 'great houses' - a name which does justice to its size and splendour. There are many houses in the country, but very few of them are 'great houses'. A manor house is generally much smaller and older - they were the house of the local gentry ('lord of the manor') who administered the surrounding land and farms. Generally medieval or Tudor in origin, built on a more human scale, from local materials and featuring one central 'great hall'. They would still have employed a number of servants to help run the household and the surrounding estate. A castle is different again, also older (medieval) but built for defensive purposes with battlements, arrow slits etc, and lived in by royalty or high ranking feudal lords. The country houses or great houses are generally more recent edifices, ie from late Tudor times through to the Edwardian era when Downton is set. They were built for luxury, to show off wealth and be a base for social entertaining, with elaborate architecture, extensive landscaped gardens etc - and were of course hugely expensive to run. There is some overlap between these three types - a manor house might be greatly extended and modified in the 18th century to become a much larger country house; some manor houses had defensive features in their architecture especially in parts of the country frequently experiencing border raids; and large country houses might include castle-like decorative features in their architecture, especially once everything gothic and medieval became fashionable in the 19th century. The playwright and composer Noel Coward wrote a satirical song about 'The Stately Homes of England' and the burden of their upkeep - which I guess is going to be a big part of this show. Here's one chorus: "The stately homes of England, how beautiful they stand To prove the upper classes have still the upper hand Though the fact that they have to be rebuilt And frequently mortgaged to the hilt Is inclined to take the gilt Off the gingerbread and certainly damps the fun Of the eldest son But still we won't be beaten We'll scrimp and screw and save The playing fields of Eton Have made us frightfully brave And though if the Vandycks have to go And we pawn the Bechstein Grand We'll stand by the stately homes of England" Many owners of the great houses chose the solution of gifting the properties to the National Trust - sometimes continuing to live in portions of the house which are kept private, while the rest is open to paying visitors providing income for the Trust to maintain the property. Others retained ownership but also allow paying visitors, and have diversified in various ways to bring in more income. One such income stream is allowing the house to be used for weddings and other events, and of course as locations for film and TV.

JENNIFER E

I have never watch Downton so I guess this is my sign to start!

Jennifer H

Outside study probably won't be necessary. All of this was foreign to me on my first watch but the show itself does a really good job of explaining these things as it goes along.

Jontor11

I LOVE that you are doing this. This show is brilliant English TV at its best. And you will soon love all the characters...even the devious ones. And there is more actors coming...especially one where I love the interactions with Maggie Smith.

Joy M

I’m not an expert on primogeniture, but the idea that the estate goes to the eldest son in perpetuity meant that each child doesn’t get a piece of the land and then the next generation gets a smaller piece and so on until no one has enough land to support themselves. 2nd, 3rd, 4th sons had to get a respectable profession: academia, banking, diplomatic work, law, clergy, or start a business with a monetary inheritance. Many of the Pilgrims and founding fathers in America were descended from 2nd sons of nobility who had to seek their fortunes in the new world because there was no land for them back in England.

Joy M

The story about JJ Astor’s stop in Cobh, Ireland on the Titanic is an interesting one, and the subsequent battle over his estate.

Deborah Denison

Seeing how much you love it after 2 episodes makes me so happy!!! I get so excited for Wed to see your next reaction. Btw: suggestion Netflix: Voicemails for Isabelle!!!!

BRENDA

Just a couple mins. in watching with you both, and I believe it is going to be a JOY to watch this series with you guys. This is my favorite series, for so many reasons, and I hope it will win your hearts too:) The movies are a great follow up to the series, so there will be a lot to watch! But, please take each episode at a time, because they are just that special. Just enjoy the moments..they are ones that will stick with you, I think. So, Thank you for doing these reactions.....now, back to the show:)

BRENDA

That is funny & heartwarming:)

BRENDA

I think so too...