Downton Abbey: How Did I Ever Live Without You?

June 25, 2012

Last week, I bought season one of Downton Abbey and I’ll make no secret of it: my life was changed. The incomparable Dowager Countess, Lady Violet. The ever-solid Bates. Beautiful Mary and the Turk. William, the loyal footman. Evil Thomas. Hideous Edith, bless her heart. Elizabeth McGovern’s puzzling combo accent of American pouty and British. And quite possibly the love of my life, the incredible Matthew Crawley. I ~~watched~~ devoured every episode in two days (between midnight and 3 am) and promptly bought season two just a couple of days ago. Now, I’m down to the last two episodes (not including the Christmas special) of season two and I’m feeling slightly twitchy and panicked about what will happen after watching them; some sources say season three is coming in September, some say January. How can we be expected to wait so long? What will I do? How will I sleep at night? What will become of me?

So for the first time in five days, I’m not watching Downton Abbey at 1 am, I’m blogging about Downton Abbey at 1 am. I’m holding off on watching any more because I can’t bear the thought of being done with it for months.

If you’ve never watched, I ask you—nay, I implore you—to watch these videos below, a compilation of the best Lady Violet moments. If you’re able to resist the haughty charm and quippy one-liners of Maggie Smith as Lady Violet, then your British pop-culture heart is surely made of stone. If you’re a fan already and you haven’t seen these, you’ll love them, and you’ll also love Jimmy Fallon’s version of Downton Sixbey at the end.

Watch the videos. Please. In these trying, Downton-less times, we can’t be picky about where we get our DA fix. Perhaps if I were Italian, this hiatus would be easier, because as Lady Violet reminds us: “In these moments, you can normally find an Italian who isn’t too picky.” (Moment #9 in the first “Top 10 Maggie Moments.”)