A Captivating Watch—Downton Abbey Christmas Specials || Movies & TV Shows Christmas Contest

As a historical drama aficionado, Julian Fellowes captivated me and many fans with the British drama series, Downton Abbey, a true masterpiece. This series ran for six seasons and five of them included Christmas specials! I'm sure you know where I'm going with this write up—a review of the Downton Abbey Christmas specials.

These specials were set as the season finales for seasons two to six. In this post which is my second entry to the Movies & TV Shows Christmas Contest, I'll look at what the specials are about, which ones are better and more festive than others.

First, Downton Abbey is a historical drama about the lives of a high class family, the Crawleys having the Earl title, their enormous estate and their servants. This series is similar to the old British drama Upstairs Downstairs (1971 - 1975). Every season is eventful and captivating and we see how the characters pass through a world war, the Spanish plague, deaths, financial loss and heartbreaks, to become better versions of themselves.

The Christmas specials of the five seasons were aired on Christmas Day of each year, 2011 to 2015, and the running time was double of the usual length for the normal episodes. With Downton Abbey, the specials are full of festive spirit, twists and turns and shocking dramas that would keep you glued to the screen. Let's get into the specials!

The first Christmas special titled Christmas At Downton Abbey was the finale of the series' season two. Some significant subplots made it interesting like: Lady Mary's engagement to Richard Carlisle, Lady Edith's fascination with Anthony Strallan despite losing an arm in the war, Lady Sybil's marriage and pregnancy.

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For the servants, the trial of Mr. Bates was at the heart of this special, and also Daisy's struggle with William's death and her position in the kitchen. The episode began with a large tree decorated in a large room, the Granthams gathered to give out wrapped presents to the servants. It ended in an enchanting way with a flurry of snow as Matthew Crawley got on his knees and proposed to Lady Mary. I remember this special received lots of positive reviews for the happy ending as that's what most of the audience wanted—a fine resolution of the star-crossed lovers' dilemma.

The second Christmas special titled A Journey To The Highlands was not as festive as the first one. There were no decorated trees or wrapped gifts or singing or carols. Rather the Grantham family travelled to the Duneagle Castle in Scotland to visit Lord Hugh MacClare, Marquess of Flintshire, who is related to Lord Grantham. The opening scene of this special revealed the servants were excited, packing and preparing for the journey to Scotland.

The focus was on the interaction of the two high class families, Lady Mary's slightly-risky pregnancy, a fair in Thirsk attended by the servants who were not part of the travel party, Lord Grantham going head to head with Matthew Crawley over the new Grantham house reforms and Lady Edith falling in love with a newspaper editor. Julian Fellowes gave his audience a memorable ending with the shocking death of Matthew Crawley! I'll never forget that Christmas. Though not Christmassy, this special planted the seed of what to expect in season four.

The third Christmas special titled The London Season was not Christmas themed as fans expected but Julian Fellowes gave us a taste of a debutante ball in Buckingham Palace. I particularly enjoyed this special because of the festive scenery and the fascinating feature on the Prince of Wales' scandal. Like the other specials, the high class (British and Americans) and their servants mingled to make it captivating.

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The fourth Christmas special titled A Moorland Holiday took the Grantham family and their servants to Brancaster Castle to meet Lady Rose's new family, the Aldridges. The servants made this episode particularly intriguing as Mr Aldridge was revealed to have clay feet like every other man despite his condescending attitude.

The Grantham servants showed the Aldridges' servants that they were made of sterner stuff than anyone would expect. Also, Lady Edith and Mary meet their beaus to whom they would later be married to. There was a bit of Christmas celebration with touching reunions at the end of this special.

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The fifth Christmas special titled The Finale which neatly wrapped up all the subplots and events in the series is my favourite of all the specials. It was festive, the big tree was decorated, there was a terrible quarrel which led to a lovely reunion at the end and eventually, the glamorous wedding of Lady Edith that most fans had been waiting for.

I think this last special was the most successful of all the specials because the characters were given good endings. It concluded with the ringing of the bell and singing that ushered in the new year. I think that was a superb way to end the series.

Overall, Downton Abbey is one of the best series I've seen till date and their Christmas specials are even better. When I don't want to watch the series all over, I simply pick the five specials and watch them. So if you want a recommendation for holiday specials, I say watch these five. Of course, you must have seen the entire drama series to truly appreciate these Christmas specials.

Merry Christmas!

This is my entry to the Movies & TV Shows Christmas Contest. You are invited to participate and review your holiday films or series.

Thank you for visiting my blog.

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