DOWNTON ABBEY S3E4 (review)

By Christopher Cerasi

I don’t think I have ever been as moved or cried as much during a single episode of television that I can remember. Last night’s Downton Abbey was heartbreaking, had some incredible performances by Elizabeth McGovern (Lady Cora Grantham) and Allen Leech (Tom Branson), and a taught, deft script by series creator Julian Fellowes.

Is there anything more shocking than when a beloved character dies on TV? It’s usually tragic, sometimes avoidable, and always, always heartbreaking. With a villain it’s easy to cheer their death, but when it’s someone who is a real heroine, there is nothing to root about at all. With last night’s episode of Downton Abbey, true tragedy has come in the form of the unexpected – and it certainly seems avoidable – death of Lady Sybil Branson née Crawley (Jessica Brown Findlay). We’ve seen death on Downton before with the loss of William Mason the footman (Thomas Howes), and Lavinia Swire (Zoe Boyle), but it is only with this episode that death claims a member of our beloved Crawley family.


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