For the last three years, my hubby and I have been following the chronicles of Downton Abbey with much enthusiasm. I am a big fan of movies and television shows set in the nineteenth and early twentieth century. So when I learned about Downton Abbey was coming to Masterpiece Theater on PBS, I was eager to watch.
DowntonAbbey.com
After watching the wonderfully scripted shows for the past three seasons, I found myself taking a liking some of the characters, and a certain dislike to others. Probably my favorite of all the characters was Lady Sybil.
Sybil-downton-abbey
I especially liked her because she was so real in every way. She put no one above her and no one beneath her. She treated everyone the same, whether you were a Lord or the butler. She wanted to learn to do things for herself that would never have been expected for someone in her social class. One of my favorite scene was when she came downstairs to learn from Ms. Patmore how to cook; and her mother came down to say something to her but stopped and was really proud of her.
Downton Abbey (Sybil in the middle of the picture)
Watching the last episode was especially difficult for me. Sybil’s death after child birth was completely unnecessary and preventable. To have grown men argue about what was the best care for her was unimaginable and a shame. When Lord Grantham decided to believe Sir Phillip, the doctor to the royals, over the doctor from the village; it was against all what Lady Sybil believed in. She would have been cheering for the underdog and making sure that their voice would be heard. The argument scene seem like it went on for hours going back and forth, forth and back and all the sudden the baby was born.
I was telling my husband that it seemed too quick, too easy and then all the sudden Lady Sybil was gone. The only one in the the Downton Abbey manor who thought both of her sisters were nice people. Such a sad day in Downton. Tom, Lady Sybil’s husband, is stubborn but I know that he will miss her dearly. He has to raise a child now by himself now. I wonder how he will be as a single father.
Do I blame Lord Grantham and Sir Phillip for not taking Dr. Clarkson’s advice that she may be seriously ill and would need to give birth to the baby via cesarean? What can I say, I think that she should have been taken to the hospital; but it is too late for that now. Lady Grantham blames Lord Grantham and Sir Philip for Sybil’s death. Lady Grantham believes that if the Dr. Clarkson was able to get her to the hospital; Sybil would still be alive and there is some truth to that. It will be interesting to see the Lord and Lady Grantham’s relationship will play out in the coming episodes. Will she forgive him and allow him back into their room? Or will she forever blame him for her baby not being there now?
For more about the fashion styles of Downton Abbey, check out my other post by clicking here.
To learn about the seven beauty lessons learned from Downtown Abbey, check out the article on Daily Glow by clicking here.
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