It’s 1925 in Downton Abbey as the sixth and final season begins on Sunday night, and the dead dog Isis is, reassuringly if somewhat eerily, still seen trotting toward the stately pile in the opening credits. The theme of the season, stated as loudly as one of the Dowager Countess’s window-rattling harrumphs, is that 20th-century modernity has finally, and now with even greater speed, penetrated the Downton families, both upstairs and downstairs.
In what will become a recurring subtext of the season, dialogue referencing the shifting culture inhabited by the Crawley family does double-duty as meta-commentary on the conclusion of the series: “I’ve begun to question how long we can go on with it all,” said Lord Grantham, who adds a bit later, “These are days of uncertainty.” That last line must have resonated with the executives of PBS, trembling with fearful sorrow over the prospect of ending what is likely the biggest prime-time cash-cow the network has ever seen.
In what will become a recurring subtext of the season, dialogue referencing the shifting culture inhabited by the Crawley family does double-duty as meta-commentary on the conclusion of the series: “I’ve begun to question how long we can go on with it all,” said Lord Grantham, who adds a bit later, “These are days of uncertainty.” That last line must have resonated with the executives of PBS, trembling with fearful sorrow over the prospect of ending what is likely the biggest prime-time cash-cow the network has ever seen.
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