Matters of life and death — and of inheritance — preoccupy the Crawley family in the splendid, two-hour season premiere of “Downton Abbey.”
The sudden death of Matthew Crawley —“Fifty years before his time,” as his widow, Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) puts it — has resulted in a major shakeup at the manor house. Not only is everyone asking how Lady Mary — and her former mother-in-law, Isobel (Penelope Wilton) —will get on, they’re also asking Who Gets What.
In this case, it would appear, that everything goes to Matthew’s heir, George.
And who is going to manage the newborn’s affairs since he can’t read, write or even speak yet? Well, his grandfather, Lord Robert (Hugh Bonneville), is hot to get Downton under his control again (despite his complete lack of fiscal management skills). Not so fast, says his mother, the Dowager Countess (Maggie Smith), who wants Mary to have her say.
The action begins on Valentine’s Day, 1922, six months after Matthew’s death, and while the servants exchange valentines and flirt with each other, some of the downstairs staff face an uncertain future.
With fewer mouths to feed and fewer bodies to dress (Lady Sybil also died last season), the dinner table has shrunk, and the servants are territorial — to say the least. One of the episode’s most touching subplots shows everyone, including the formidable Dowager, coming to the aid of Matthew’s valet, Bill Molesley (Bernard Gallagher), who finds himself out of a job and unsuitable for any other kind of real work. When the Dowager tries to put in a good word for him for a possible job with a certain Lady Shackleton (Harriet Walter), Molesley is a bundle of nerves and can’t make a go of it.
Lady Mary is not much better. When the reliable Carson (Jim Carter) tries to rouse her from her doldrums, she rather haughtily — even for Lady Mary — tells him he has overstepped his mark. Only when her grandmother speaks to her quite plainly — “You have a choice between death and life” — does Lady Mary start to come around.
Creator Julian Fellowes shows another side to the Dowager Countess, usually the sardonic Greek chorus in this costume drama. Not only does she give Mary a pep talk, she also comforts Matthew’s mother. Wilton shines in her scenes with Smith, describing her grief in terms everyone can relate to: “When your only child dies, you’re not a mother. You’re not anything, really.”
How these broken-hearted women will heal is one of the main concerns of Season 4. And not just for the widow and her mother-in-law. The unlucky-in-love Lady Edith (Laura Carmichael) finally has a chance at happiness after so many false starts and disappointments. Dismal prospects among the aristocracy have forced Edith into the modern world — London, and a job at a newspaper, where her boss, Michael Gregson (Charles Roberts), has fallen in love with her.
When Edith joins Gregson for dinner at the Criterion Hotel in a smashing, strapless sea green chiffon dress cut to the knee, we see how necessity has made her blossom. Of all the “Downton” denizens, she stands the greatest chance of making it when this is all over.
All over? Even though “Downton Abbey” has been renewed for a fifth season (which goes into production next month at Highclere Castle), the tide of time has turned against the aristocracy. Their land-owning days are coming to a close and there is much discussion about how they can hold on to what they have. (A hidden letter that is “found” in the second hour seems too conveniently placed, but that’s a minor complaint.) It’s not going to be easy. Molesley, we fear, will not be the only one leaving his or her employ at the house.
Until then, there is much fun to be had. Cousin Rose (Lily James) is living at the house now and all she wants to do is dance. Her irrepressible spirit leads her to investigate scandalous entertainments at a club in York but embrace, down the line, the truly forbidden.
One of the many excellent things about “Downton Abbey” is the variety of rich female characters creator Fellowes has fashioned. While Hollywood scrounges around every year, trying to find five actresses to nominate for a lead Oscar, Fellowes keeps coming up with more great parts for women, and not just for the ermine-and-pearls set. Downstairs, it’s a scene-stealer’s holiday with Sophie McShera (Daisy), Mrs. Hughes (Phyllis Logan) and Mrs. Patmore (Lesley Nicol) all making the most of scenes with almost no inherent “drama.”
In an era when many TV shows spin their wheels with preposterous plots and characters who are truly nasty, or just plain nuts, “Downton Abbey” offers the illusion that it was enough to write about a world where people cared about each other, whether they were upstairs or downstairs.
Maybe that’s why — costume drama or soap opera or whatever you want to call it — “Downton” is the most popular TV show in the world.