Downton Abbey

[ricardienne]

...it's like every. single. line. is not quite arch enough to be arch, but too too obviously genre-savvy to be genuine. Costumes are pretty, though, and Maggie Smith (+ her hats) pretty much makes it worthwhile. OH! And there was a bonus Trollope reference, even though I think it was designed to highlight the boringness of the guy who mentioned Trollope.

BUT. I just watched the third (UK) episode, and WHAT THE HELL?

I just feel that rape should not be played for a "well, she really wanted to consent underneath her social conditioning that made her fight him, and, OH LOOK comedy since he had a heart attack and now we have to drag the body through the house!"

Yeah...no.

Badly played, Masterpiece Theatre, badly played.

Comments

[mhuzzell.livejournal.com]

Yeah... and patriarchy is benevolent and if you just work hard enough you can better yourself and your situation.

TBH I can't even remember the writer's name 'cause I called him Fascist McFascist once and now can't think of him as anything else.

Still think I'ma have to watch the second season though. So hooked!

[ricardienne.livejournal.com]

I have two more episodes to go, and I already can't wait fo rthe second season.

[achyvi.livejournal.com]

Is it still worth watching, even despite the weirdness?

[ricardienne.livejournal.com]

I mean, it's very ridiculous, but also very entertaining -- half of the servants are plotting against each other (or maybe just plotting for the fun of it?) and all the sisters hate each other, and everyone has a Deep Secret Past. And Maggie Smith (as the Dowager Countess) really does add a lot, as she waltzes around in gigantic pink and purple hats making snarky remarks at everyone.

I think you would find it amusing, and the costumes are GORGEOUS.

[traboule.livejournal.com]

Sadly, I stopped taking everything seriously at that point and just laughed for the rest of the episode because it was too silly to think about. I mean - he DIED? I still can't believe it. I'm sure it was horrible for Mary and Cora and Anna (and, obviously, Daisy), but it's simply too farce for words. The whole construct is so artificial that I can't even bring myself to take it seriously enough to comment on the ambiguity of the sex.

I know I should, but I just can't. #Englishmajorfail

[ricardienne.livejournal.com]

Oh, I agree it was ridiculous! I just honestly don't understand, though, why they went out of the way to make the set-up a rape when they could easily have made her a complicit equal in the affair, and then switch gears half-way through.

I kind of couldn't believe that they kept on dragging that bit of plot in every other episode, either.

[traboule.livejournal.com]

Indeed. Maybe it was supposed to be "Mary scared of sex = Mary has layers & character depth"? I think an affair would have been more interesting too - although it's tricky to tell exactly what they were going for, since if it was meant to be 100% unwanted, I think that could have been more explicit. This seemed to be going the squicky Dangerous Liaisons "I didn't want to but once he got started it was kinda fun" route.

You're right about the continuous references too. One of the few really stale moments in the show was the repeated "There's a rumour in London that you are not - pause, gasp - virtuous!" in the most recent episode It's so very period drama cliche, and Julian Fellowes usually does better than that.

We know. Get on with it.

[ricardienne.livejournal.com]

This seemed to be going the squicky Dangerous Liaisons "I didn't want to but once he got started it was kinda fun" route.

and that's exactly the narrative I object to! (because it's not just a "oh those benighted people of the past" narrative -- it's a narrative that is still very much a problem.)