Favorite Seasons and Episodes

[amensisterfriend]

How would you rank the seasons from your favorite to least favorite so far? Which episodes jump out as your favorites and least favorites? Have you found that certain episodes/seasons held up a lot better or worse than you had remembered with repeated viewing? 

 

I have the unpopular opinion of not ranking S1 as my favorite :) I actually think I'd go:

 

1. S2

2. S3

3. S1

4. S5 (so far)

5. S4 

[MrsRafaelBarba]

The Christmas Special, with the Murder trial and Matthew proposing to Mary.

Edith getting left at the Altar.

Those are two of my faves, the latter due to Laura Carmichael's performance.

Plus Edith was a beautiful bride, loved the dress.

[Avaleigh]

For me it's

 

Season 1

Season 3

Season 5

Season 4

Season 2

 

Considering the war was going on I thought season 2 was a surprisingly dull season with a lot of missed opportunities. I didn't like the "Patrick" storyline, I hated the stuff with Vera Bates, I didn't like Matthew's paralysis, I thought Isobel was beyond annoying (she's one of my favorites these days), I didn't care for the way Lavinia was written, I didn't buy Sybil's romance with Tom and wondered what it was she saw in him apart from him being her "ticket" out of there, I wasn't wild about Edith's storyline with the married farmer, etc. 

 

Just to be clear it isn't that I disliked season 2, I just think that season 4 had a lot more things that I enjoyed overall. I like the character of Rose and most of the stories involving her in the fourth season. I loved the episode with the pigs, I liked that they had more guests and parties this season, I liked the growing friendship between Violet and Isobel and the reintroduction of Lord Merton, I liked that Edith started having a life and wearing better clothes, I liked seeing the growing friendship between Tom and the family and you really start to see it in season 4. 

 

As far as favorite episodes

In no particular order:

The Christmas Special from season 3. I loved seeing Inverary Castle, I liked meeting the MacClares, I liked that Bates and Anna were happy for once, I liked seeing Mary and Matthew happy together, I liked the Gillies Ball and Rose teaching Anna how to reel, I thought drunk Molesley was amusing, etc. 

 

The Christmas Special from season 4. I enjoyed all of the stuff involving Rose's presentation and debutante season; I liked getting real life characters like Freda Dudley Ward and the Prince of Wales; I liked seeing Martha Levinson again and meeting more of Cora's family; I liked seeing Daisy having a little fun; I thought Tom and Violet had some cute moments. All in all it was just a pleasant episode. 

 

The episode where Sybil dies. Every time I've watched it I've cried. I thought it was really moving and well done and Elizabeth McGovern in particular did a hell of a job. Everyone brought their A-game that day with the possible exception of Dan Stevens who kind of seemed like he was on auto pilot that day.

 

The Pamuk Episode. It had pretty much everything.

 

The Christmas Special from season 2. (I guess I like Christmas Specials.) I liked the shooting party, I liked to dislike the Carlisle character, and I thought it might have contained the most romantic Mary/Matthew moment in the series. It's a toss up between this proposal episode and the episode where they're dancing and Lavinia catches them. Those were two of my favorite scenes in the entire series.

 

Honorary mentions to whichever episode it is in season 2 where Cora gets the Spanish Flu. That totally had me nervous for a minute. Also, the episode where Cora slips on the soap.

[MrsRafaelBarba]

The episode when Sybil died was another one, Tom had me all in my feelings.

Tearfully begging Sybil not to leave him, Allan Leech nailed it.

Why was Dan Stevens squeezing the life out of that innocent bedpost?

[amensisterfriend]

The episode where Sybil died was honestly almost TOO good---it was so well acted and so effective for me that I don't think I can handle rewatching it. At least not until I stock up on more Kleenex :) 

[amensisterfriend]

The Christmas Special from season 2. (I guess I like Christmas Specials.) I liked the shooting party, I liked to dislike the Carlisle character, and I thought it might have contained the most romantic Mary/Matthew moment in the series

 

Plus, the servants ball just makes me so happy---Thomas asking Violet to dance, Carson looking pleased to be with Cora, Matthew's face upon learning that he's supposed to dance with O'Brien, etc. 

 

I definitely agree that this is among my top 3-5 episodes of the series. 

[HoodlumSheep]

Season 1 and 2

Season 3

Season 5 (so far)

Season 4

[RealityTVSmack]

Favorite Episode...Christmas at Downton Abbey...Season Two

http://cdn1.independent.ie/migration_catalog/article25267292.ece/8f18f/ALTERNATES/h342/downton_992288a

Edited January 26, 2015 by RealityTVSmack

[Andorra]

Season 3

Season 2

Season 4

Season 1

Seaspn 5

 

Favourite Episode: The Christmas Special 2012 (A journey to the Highlands)

 

Even though Sybil died in season 3, it is still my favourite season, because it was the best season for Tom. Allen Leech was amazing and I was sad that he wasn't submitted for an Emmy by the show for this season. I'm not a huge fan of series 1. I loved it when I watched it, but in retrospect it is a somewhat lame series for me, because it only had 3 episodes with my favourite character.

 

My favourite episode is an unusual choice, too, I know, but I loved it. I never was very invested in Mary/Matthew and I knew it was coming, so I wasn't shocked or upset about Matthew's death. I loved the rest of the episode though. Tom alone at Downton, trying to find a way to be friends with his old colleagues, Edna starting to stalk him and then my all time favourite scene: Mrs Hughes comforting him in the library.

[amensisterfriend]

I'm glad I'm not alone in loving S3! Parts are hard for me to watch for various reasons, but it also features some of the most powerful and memorable material of the entire series IMO. And the Thomas stuff was absolutely brilliant. 

 

Does anyone have episodes that stand out as least favorites, or at least the ones you're least likely to rewatch?  

 

And who are your 5-10 favorite and least favorite characters?! Not necessarily the characters you'd actually like in real life, of course---but just the ones you find most compelling and who keep you tuning in to DA irrespective of the plotlines :) 

[amensisterfriend]

My favorites, in no particular order: 

 

Violet, Hughes, Carson, Thomas (he's a villainous snake, of course, but a very compelling and amusing one for me. Plus, I love the actor), Mary (I know, I know...I get why many dislike her and I'm not remotely invested in her love life, but somehow I just can't imagine the show without her). I can't really imagine the show without Robert either, for that matter.

 

 Popular characters who I never loved quite as much as most do: Matthew and Sybil. I liked Matthew well enough and love the way he softened Mary's character, but Matthew just wasn't all that sharply defined or compelling a character to me. Sybil, meanwhile, just never quite worked for me. Maybe it's that the actress seemed kind of remote and detached IMO even when her character was supposed to be driven by passionate feelings and beliefs. I also felt that, in contrast to most of the other female characters, she was lacking flaws and edges. I cried like a baby at her death, of course, but that was much more about how it affected other characters than the fact that Sybil would no longer be on the show. 

Edited January 26, 2015 by amensisterfriend

[Andorra]

My least favourite episodes are all episodes without Tom Branson in them. For example the oh-so-wonderful CS 2011 was completely boring to me. I rewatched it once with my daughter and thought again that it was incredibly boring. The most recent least favourite episode: The CS 2014. What a boring disappointment all along!

 

Favourite characters:

1. Tom Branson

2. Mary Crawley

3. Violet

4. Isobel

5. Mrs Hughes

6. Thomas

7. Molesley

8. Edith

9. Cora

10. Mrs Patmore

 

Least favourite characters:

1. Bates

2. Carson

3. Anna

 

I actually like all characters except those three. Bates and Anna just get on my nerves and I can't stand Carson.

[amensisterfriend]

I forgot to mention Isobel among my favorites! She annoyed me initially, but somewhere along the line she became one of the most likable and admirable characters on the show for me...not that there's generally much competition in that category :) 

[amensisterfriend]

---So now that a lot of time has elapsed, how would you all rank the six seasons from your personal favorite to least favorite?

I'm liking the later seasons more than I'd remembered and loving the earlier seasons a little less than most do, but I'll come back once I sort out my own weird rankings :) 

[whateverhappened]

It's hard to rank them since every season has elements that I really love and other storylines that I wish had ended up on the cutting room floor, but overall I would say S1, S3, S2, S6, S5 and S4. 

Favorite characters in no particular order are Cora, Robert, Sybil, Tom, Carson, Hughes, Mary, Edith, Bates, Anna, Violet, Baxter, Molesley, Mrs. Patmore, Jimmy, William, Bertie, Anthony Strallan...was I supposed to limit myself? It's too difficult! I have complaints about a lot of the people I listed, but the truth is that I can't imagine the series without most of them. 

Characters most love who I'm neutral about are Matthew and Isobel. Matthew didn't feel at all multi-dimensional to me, though like many here, I did like how his presence seemed to soften Mary a bit. There's much to admire about Isobel, but I just didn't really connect with her or find her a very interesting and entertaining character. 

Characters most dislike who I love are Robert, who is very flawed but very real to me, Cora who is possibly my very favorite character of all, Mary and Edith who are so difficult to like at times but are also for me so essential to what makes Downton the show that it is, and Bates. He and his storylines were gloomy, but I still find him compelling. I can't justify why. 

Romantic relationships I care most about no matter how messed up they may be at times are Cora x Robert, Carson x Hughes, though especially before they married, Sybil x Tom, though also mostly before they married, Baxter x Molesley who I realize are only actually together in my mind, and to a lesser degree Edith x Anthony and Edith x Bertie even though the former left her at the altar and the latter wasn't very well developed. 

I miss this show so much right now! 

[TheGreenKnight]

Season 1 - I have no real complaints with this season, which is why I put it at the top.

Season 6

Season 5

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4 - The main reasons I dislike this season: Thomas for some reason still resenting the Bateses; the love quadrangle being dragged out downstairs; the love interests upstairs for both Mary and Edith; Edna, Rose, and Baxter all being dull characters, although the latter two became more interesting in 5, thankfully. A lot of things I hate about this season are what also drag down 3, where most of the storylines/characters are introduced. Actually, I think the reason I dislike this season is because all the payoff for the storylines built up in 4 don't happen until 5. I have no idea why Fellowes delayed and dithered so much.