I kept waiting for something bad to happen. Someone to die; a wedding to be called off – you know, real life to happen. But what a nice nice happy ending for all, and i really liked that. It was good - and it just kept getting better.
Yay! Happy we can now talk; I saw it about a month ago.
I thought ending was great, but had a few reservations. Here’s what I thought (I’m copying this from my comments on the Downton Abbey spoiler thread, which fidn’t get much traction).
SPOILERS
Though I thought the series was very well resolved overall, there were a few things I didn’t buy: (1) the retention of Thomas as the new butler. After all the issues they’ve had with him, I don’t think they’d want him in that position. People don’t change that much. And (2) Mary’s acceptance of the car mechanic shop / car salesman idea. There’s no way in hell someone in Mary’s position would accept that, and Mary’s snobbier than the average aristocrat.
Wonder how much time Edith will have to run her magazine. Keeping up that giant castle will be a full time job. I loved the looks on Robert and Cora’s faces as they walked through those halls! The place made Downton Abbey look positively cozy!
How about the servants being guests at the wedding. Well, except Mrs Padmore and Daisy, who knew Lady Edith but Spratt and Danka were guests?
I never like Barrow, never felt sorry for him, never thought that everyone but everyone understood that he was gay so all his meanness and backstabbing was to be forgiven.
It’s Mrs Patmore and Denker (I use closed captioning).
I like the following:
Spratt: I value honesty and discretion.
Violet: True love does not run smooth.
And I am glad that my guess about Bertie and Edith is correct.
There had been some talk on here about Henry’s relationship with little George … from that office scene where he was “working”, it appears that was happily resolved too.
By far, my favorite scene was Violet leading the charge and Isobel storming the gates to free Dickie from his horrendous captors!
And I could not have been the only one holding my breath at Edith’s wedding when the vows came to ask if there was any reason they should not be married.
Never an Edith fan, I came around as I watched her blossom as she left the shadows of Downton Abby and Mary’ cruel hand and felt the warm rays of freedom on her own at the newspaper and in her own flat.
And boy,oh boy, she better keep the flat, because she will want to escape her MIL often.
Mrs. Patmore will soon have her own loves nest and will leave a chair at her table for poor Mrs. Hughes to come and vent as she deals with Carson’s semi retirement.
Just love the power that women’s friendships can bring us throughout our lives.
Hooray!
Very satisfied with the finale. Many moments of salty discharge.
Only moment of concern, was if Shirley MacLaine was going to make a surprise visit at the wedding reception. Whew- laughed when Cora made the comment about not being too disappointed she wasn’t there. =D>
Every story line neatly tied up.Well done.
I had given the show up a couple years ago (rape scene and aftermaths), but I came back to watch last night and very much enjoyed it. A few characters were new to me (Violet’s servants, Mrs. Crawley’s beau, Mary’s husband, Bertie, etc), but it was easy to sort them out and get a handle on them.
Maybe I’ll go back now and watch the missing years, knowing that some of the truly bad stuff I feared didn’t happen.
Oh, and Tom Branson is as cute as ever; so glad they didn’t mess up his character.
I’m a sucker for happily ever afters so I really liked the finale. Did anyone notice how beautifully Edith dressed. They had her in a red dress, while everyone else was in neutral colors, in the first walking scene so really stood out. The rest of her outfits, including her wedding dress, were gorgeous.
I too had a little problem believing Mary’s acceptance of Henry’s used car store. Maybe the fact that she was pregnant and it was in partnership with Tom helped.
Loved the finale.
So Anna has an easy-peasy birth in Mary’s bed, and Sybil dies? Sigh. I’m not quite sure why Anna couldn’t make it back to her cottage and give birth in her own damn bed.
I agree that the best part was Violet and Isobel kidnapping Dickie Merton. Dickie’s DIL is a piece of work. I wish her only the worst.
^I’ve truly never gotten over Sybil’s death. She and Tom were always my favorite part of the show. Never could warm to Mary. If I were Edith, I still wouldn’t late go of my guard.
I had a slight thought Mary and Henry marriage had crack and they were about to get divorced at the beginning of the episode.
Was Anna’s baby boy or girl?
^Boy.
If she did, it wouldn’t show the slow breakdown of social order. But I agree it was too gimmicky.,
boy.
It might have been a little too all neatly tied up for me. But I have been rooting for Edith all this time (journalist and single mom that I am). And I realized that they may not have too many more happy New Year’s with the Depression and then WWII waiting in the wings.
If I were Bates I would not let Anna have the baby in Mary’s bed. It had a history of bad luck. 
It seemed a little too contrived to me. Carson’s sudden palsy seems like a direct result of the need to make a happy ending for Barrow. My favorite part was the Dowager’s reaction to Spratt’s column.
I absolutely loved the finale. And I couldn’t believe my eyes when Edith and her parents visited Bertie and his mother in his new ancestral seat: I visited that castle while on a trip to Scotland 2 years ago. It’s in northern England, right over the border from Scotland and was also used as hogwarts in the Harry potter movies, and was earlier used in downton abbey.
My sons and husband spent the day climbing the tallest mountain in the UK, which is in Scotland, and I took this tour, which I recommend to anyone visiting Scotland: