"Don't Let the Door Hit You...But If It Does, Excellent!"

[DeepRunner]

I am starting this thread pretty confident in some of the responses that will come. Season Numero Seis is the last one for the artistic Highclere visage. When they turn off the lights, we'll say goodbye to characters who took the world by storm. Everyone has a favorite character, and everyone has a loathed one.

 

Thems we love are for another thread. This one is about thems we hate. Who won't YOU miss, once they close the Abbey for good, and why?

 

For me, in no particular order (ok, at least the top one is in order):

 

* Thomas--He is Satan in the Garden of Eden, and one of Fellowes's pets. More lives than Catwoman, he has survived only because of the stupidity that Robert and Cora regularly exhibit when he's hanging on the precipice, only to do something to get in their good graces again

 

* Spratt--An insufferable snob. It's great to see Violet put him in his place

 

* Carson--He started the series as a great figure, and turned into an odious snob. No points for finally popping the question to Sgt. Elsie

 

* 1st and 5th Season Rosamund--The Rosamund of the other seasons was good. She was horrid in these two seasons

 

* Ivy---Yes she's been gone for a while now, but she added nothing other than to be a rival to Daisy for Alfred

 

* Alfred--"Hmmm, let's see, we killed off William, now we need another footman, and oh, by the way, let's make him O'Brien's nephew even though he's twelve feet taller than she is, and we'll have a war between Satan and Sarah O'Brien because of him, and yeah, let's get him to like Ivy so that it can burn Daisy." Two words...Plot. Device.

 

* Jimmy--Other than eye candy for Thomas and for the females of Downton and Downtonia, whadhedo?

 

OK, those are mine. Et tu?

 

 

 

 

 

 

[helenamonster]

I honestly can't wait to say a big fat BUH BYE to Lady Edith. Damn, even two years ago I had no inkling that she'd become my most loathed character. I think Laura Carmichael is great but it's time to put Edith to bed.

[DeepRunner]

I honestly can't wait to say a big fat BUH BYE to Lady Edith. Damn, even two years ago I had no inkling that she'd become my most loathed character. I think Laura Carmichael is great but it's time to put Edith to bed.

 

Edith seems to have lost some support among DA fans, it's true.

 

Let me say here that it's not so much about loathing the character, perhaps, as it is not drawing characters sufficiently or writing that did not serve a character well. In the case of Thomas, I have great respect for that character as an essential part of the Downton story; he is the necessary evil. But after so many different situations of coming close to losing his job, and still keeping it, it is hard to like him OR Robert or Cora for it.

 

Sarah Bunting is a good example of a character who could have been drawn better; she represented societal change, but was made so much of a shrew that most everyone was happy to see her go.

[Andorra]

I will be SO happy to say Goodbye to the Bates! I really got to hate them both. I loved them in season 1, but once tragedy stroke in season 2 in the person of Vera Bates and the endless drama started, I really, really hated them. I wish Fellows would have made Bates into a killer, that would have been so much better than the boring and repetitive storylines they got!

I also never got to like Carson. He's just a stiff bigot and I'm more than mad that my beloved Mrs Hughes agreed to marry him. I hope she'll hit him over the head with a pan when she has him safely in their home. I'll never forgive him his heartless behaviour to all people who are in need. He's cold as a fish.

The other people I hated are already gone. Bunting, Blake and Gillingham were incredibly annoying. Bunting was the worst character that ever was in the show and her storyline dragged out way too long.

Rose wasn't a favourite of mine in the end either. I didn't buy her weird journey from the rebellious flapper to the happily married Cinderella Saint. That was just SO cheesy!

[caligirl50]

Hmmm...let's see.  In order, Vera Bates, Miss O'Brien, Thomas Barrow, Edna Braithwaite, Sarah Bunting, Spratt, Sir Richard, Alfred Nugent, Tony Gillingham.  The most broken of all is, of course, Vera Bates.  O'Brien and Thomas showed inklings of good but Vera was pure evil.

 

The one who surprised me most was Alfred.  He rubbed Daisy's nose in his dislike of her as a girlfriend for no reason on more than one occasion. When Mary called his looks, "a puppy rescued from a puddle," I cheered inwardly and laughed out loud.

[Badger]

I never thought he disliked her.  I just think he wasn't into her as a potential girlfriend.

[HoodlumSheep]

Hmmm...

Definitely:

the Bates-so tired of them

Thomas-for reasons you all have already explained

Alfred-part of the annoying downstairs love quadrangle

Bunting-does it really need saying?

Edith-annoying, especially the stuff with Marigold

In later seasons, could be equally as horrid as Mary, but at least she owned it

Mrs. Patmore- more so the later seasons

mary's men (except for dear, sweet Evelyn of course) literally amounted to nothing

Ivy-also part of the downstairs mess

Lord Merton's sons-horrible sons

Mr. Green-for obvious reasons

Jimmy-same as Ivy and Alfred

Prince K and his wife-they actually deserved each other in the end

I'm actually fine with everyone else. Unpopular opinion, but I loved Vera and Carlisle as villains (it helped that they didn't outstay their welcome). They were wonderfully evil, so I will

miss them.

Hopefully I haven't forgotten anybody.

[Cameltoes]

None of the major, long-term characters make my list as the only problem with them was poor writing as the seasons went on. Thus, #1 on my list is Julian Fellowes himself. I am grateful for the vision that created the show, and the high points were magnificent but, when it was bad, it was horrid.

 

Most of the characters who I disliked are gone:

 

Jimmy - I got a kick out of the plot surrounding his entrance and I enjoyed it when his friendship with Thomas began to blossom, but he was mostly a useless character whose anger was never explained.

 

Edna Braithwaite - Another character whose bad attitude was never sufficiently explored. As horrible as Thomas and O'Brien could be, it was always clear that they were hardened by life experiences and their humanity was revealed on many occasions. Edna was both cartoonishly malevolent AND stupid.

 

Martha Levison - If she's an example of how JF writes upper class Americans, "The Gilded Age" will suck. She was supposed to be a match for Violet, but that completely fell flat. Mostly she just ran around bleeting about the English needing to embrace change ad infinitium. The problem is that the storyline and characterization (and history) were revealing that, we didn't need it pointed out by Martha. Her arrival for the wedding should have been delicious given all the hints we had about her personality but she pretty much did nothing but prove that everyone was right to not want her around.

 

Ivy - Utterly pointless. I guess she was supposed to be some kind of cross between Daisy, Ethel and Gwen, but she ended up just being a simpering idiot.

 

Susan MacClare - Horrid, horrid woman. She gives Mrs. Bates a run for her money in terms of being the most heinous character who ever graced the steps of the Abbey. She slut-shamed her own daughter only to then try to ruin her happiness after she actually become as "respectable" as she always wanted. Not to mention how stupid it was for her to turn up her nose at the Sinderbys given she and her husband's complete loss of fortune.

 

Spratt - Nasty man who cost Moseley his chance at upward versus downward mobility (I'll ignore for a moment how ridiculous the plot that caused this come about was). I will forever be convinced that he is stealing from Violet and he's really responsible for the things that went missing. I do not understand why Violet keeps him around.

Edited August 31, 2015 by Cameltoes

[Kat From Jersey]

 

For me, in no particular order (ok, at least the top one is in order):

 

* Thomas--He is Satan in the Garden of Eden, and one of Fellowes's pets. More lives than Catwoman, he has survived only because of the stupidity that Robert and Cora regularly exhibit when he's hanging on the precipice, only to do something to get in their good graces again

 

Oh, but he's so, so pretty to look at!!!!!

[Saje]

Susan McClare- just the worst! I cheered when her husband yelled "Stop making everyone so unhappy!" I don't know why Cora puts up with her. 

 

O'brien - I thought her departure was too abrupt, welcome as it was. Her and horrible Susan deserve each other.

 

Sarah Bunting - sick of her from the first. Hypocritical, uncouth, disrespectful shit-stirrer. She should have had more respect for Tom's choices. 

 

Ivy - boring, boring, boring.

 

Violet's staff - Ugh. Spratt's unfettered snotty demeanor and Denker's grasping stupidity are just too much. I'm irritated whenever they're onscreen. And I find Denker really hard to look at. She reminds me of a Cardassian.

 

[Andorra]

I agree with everyone who thinks Spratt and Denker are a waste of screentime. I don't find them funny at all and they're only annoying!