Downton 4.5 Review: In Which I Discover What Sort of Downton Fan I Am

A funny thing happened to me last night. I was watching Downton with Denisa, and a character came on screen. I’ve already forgotten his name–he’s the guy with the jerk who’s going around inspecting British houses. (The jerk’s totally going to end up with Mary. Just sayin’) Anyway, there he is, and Denisa says, “That’s the man who invited the Turk over.”

I stared at her. It isn’t every day that your wife starts spouting gibberish. I was worried she’d hit her head or something, but she continued. “Remember? Back in the first season? When Mary slept with the Turkish man? This is the man who brought him to the house in the first place.”

Evelyn Napier–that’s the guy.

I told her she was making things up. Then I did a Google search.

She was right.

My wife. The one who says epic fantasy is way beyond her, because she can’t keep track of all the different characters. She heard this guy’s name and immediately connected it with a character who’d popped up for all of one episode more than THREE YEARS AGO. And no, we haven’t watched that episode since. She knew right away who he was.

I was floored. And it was at that moment that I realized I’m just not that big of a fan of this show. To me, I think I’ll always pretend the show had two seasons. The first and the third–and that it ended five minutes before the third season actually ended. Just cut to black, like the Sopranos.

But I’ll continue to watch it, because Denisa loves it, and I’m that sort of husband.

This week’s episode? Diverting enough, I suppose. But my heart’s no longer in it. Edith’s pregnant? Meh. Rose is making out with the bandleader? Shrug. Mary’s got another suitor? Double shrug.

The thrill is gone, my friends. Even Violet vs Isobel failed to get a real rise out of me. It all seems to be going through its paces. Which is a shame. The set design is still great. The scenery’s beautiful, but the show itself sailed off on a giant shark back during Anna’s rape, and it just hasn’t been the same since.

I know some of you love it still, and that’s great. You also know who Evelyn Napier is. I don’t.

I’m at peace with that.

And that’s all I have time for today, because I’ve got to get back to jury duty. (A full report on that tomorrow!)

Thanks for reading!