Please note, this article contains spoilers ahead.
The halls of Downton Abbey have grown quiet. After 15 years following the Crawley family, Highclere Castle has whispered its final farewell with the release of Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale.
And what a finale it is. Divorce, drama and Dowager tributes, the final film wraps up over a decade of storyline twists and turns in 132 brilliant minutes.
Anna is pregnant, Lord Grantham grapples with future-proofing the estate and Thomas hangs up his Downton keys for a new, exciting life with English playwright Noël Coward.
Rory Mulvey
But is there a scene the cast predicts will resonate with fans the most?
“The final 10 minutes. You’ll watch the screen with tears in your eyes,” Allen Leech, who plays Tom Branson, tells Country Living UK at the press conference. “It’s a combination of the journey the characters have been on.”
Filmed in the Great Hall, the central atrium of Downton Abbey, the final scene sees the past unfold through Mary’s eyes. She remembers dancing with her beloved Matthew and sees Lady Sybil’s kind eyes smile once more.
“It was quite hard to shoot that scene without crying,” Michelle Dockery tells us.
“Mary is pretty stoic, so I had to really hold it back. There were a few times when they had to touch up my makeup because I kept crying too much. The show brings such comfort and warmth to people.”
Rory Mulvey
Hugh Bonneville (Lord Grantham) adds: “I didn’t know the retrospects were going into those last scenes and it completely floored me.”
For Joanne Froggatt, who plays Anna, that scene was heartbreaking. “I was in floods when I saw that scene. I knew it would be emotional, but I didn’t realize it would be that emotional.”
In the film, Mary’s reputation shatters under more scandal and scrutiny: this time, with a public divorce from Henry Talbot, whom she married in the final episode of Downton Abbey, Season 6.
Rory Mulvey
But was Michelle surprised by Mary’s behavior?
“I wasn’t surprised by the storyline,” she laughs, “Mary has been on such a journey over the past 15 years, so I wasn’t surprised there would be yet another scandal and a challenge for her.
“It’s a great core storyline that leads out into the other characters. Julian wraps up the characters really beautifully. You leave with a really hopeful end, even though it is the end.”
Rory Mulvey
As for Edith, her bitterness towards Mary has melted into compassion. “It’s nice to see Edith stepping into her power to protect Lady Mary. We had lots of fun in those scenes,” says Laura Carmichael, who plays Edith.
There are also many beautiful tributes to Dame Maggie Smith, who played Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham. The first film without her, Maggie’s presence was greatly felt on set.
“She certainly felt very present when filming,” says Michelle. “It felt like we were reminiscing about her. The character is also very present in the film.”
Laura also shares: “It was almost so lovely that Noël Coward was in this film and Maggie once did a play with Noël. I once read Maggie’s letters to Noël, so I could almost hear her voice and I wondered what she would have made of it all. We will spend our lives reminiscing about her.”
Rory Mulvey
Like many estates trying to stay afloat in the 1930s, change is inevitable and the Crawleys are faced with finally deciding Downton’s fate. Will Mary step into Robert’s shoes and preserve the house for George? Will they sell for somewhere smaller?
“Since Robert has been so reluctant to change for the past 10 years, it’s nice that he has admitted it a little bit,” says Hugh Boneville. “Lady Mary and Tom Branson can finally stop nagging him and he can finally hand over the car keys.”
The grand wooden doors might have closed for the last time, but Downton will continue to live on in the hearts of fans forever.
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale is out in theaters now.
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