Coping with the Loss of Downton Abbey

Yes, folks, it’s time to say goodbye. This evening marks the finale of six years of Downton Abbey on PBS in the United States. I honestly don’t know what I’m going to do with my Sunday nights now. The weeks ahead just won’t feel the same without this program to cheer up the dreary Sunday evenings—it was always something to look forward to on the eve of the dreaded Monday morning. Now Mondays will seem even bleaker.

I should apologize. I’m supposed to be writing today to help us all cope with the end of this fantastic series, but I’m afraid I’m going to fail miserably at it. I’m having a hard time coping myself, as is my mother, my father, my friends, and even my husband. We have been with the show since the very first episode aired over six years ago. We have loved Mary and hated Mary; rooted for Edith and been stunned by Edith; had zero empathy for Thomas and now have lots of empathy for Thomas; have believed in Daisy and wanted to punch Daisy; and have cackled at Violet’s one-liners…and cackled some more at Violet’s one-liners with each passing episode.

Saying goodbye to this show is not going to be easy, namely because the writing has been so tremendous; we feel as if we are there, in the Abbey, among the wealthy and among the working class. We’ve been able to get to know the characters, and its loss will be much like closing a book we love: we will miss them tremendously when they are gone. It’s like losing a little part of yourself.

Julian Fellows has given us much joy. The acting, sets, cast, dialogue, costumes, and plot lines have been intriguing all the way through. Sure, we got a little tired of O’Brien and Thomas scheming and we rejoiced when finally Bates and Anna had no troubles surrounding them, but all the while, it gave us something to think about rather than our own lives. Who can forget Carson’s proposal to Mrs. Hughes? For that hour or hour-plus, I was able to forget about everything in my life and just focus on the happenings at the Abbey.

We will all be going through withdrawal. It’s hard to say goodbye to something we’ve enjoyed so much.

I guess the only way we have to cope with this period drama’s ending is to rejoice that we even got the privilege to enjoy it for a bit. I remember feeling the same way about “24” with Kiefer Sutherland. While that show affected me in a totally different way, it was a loss of good, quality television programming when it was over.

I suppose I will feel similarly tonight as Downton Abbey waves goodbye and in return we do the same. It will be a loss we must come to grips with.

They say things come into our lives for a reason–the reason for this show was simple: it thoroughly entertained us—and always gave us something to talk about.

Maybe that’s what I’ll miss most—the chats about Downton Abbey with family and friends.

Hopefully, tonight’s episode will give us one last wonderful conversation.