Note: This story contains spoilers about Season 3 and hints about plot points in Season 4.
What is it with Lady Mary and men?
In Downton Abbey Season 1, she bedded Turkish lover Mr. Pamuk, only to see him die inopportunely in her bed. Her husband Matthew (Dan Stevens) died in a car crash just after his baby was born in the Season 3 finale.
“I really don’t know why this happens to her. I’m not quite sure she’s a black widow bedding men and then having unfortunate things happening to them. I think it’s just bad luck,” says British actress Michelle Dockery in an interview.
Dockery seems every inch the British aristocrat with her perfect posture, porcelain skin and clipped upper-class tones. But she says her character is not quite the icy snob that she’s portrayed as in the series.
“She’s really a product of her time. I think she really means well. For her, family and tradition are everything,” says Dockery.
While Dockery, 31, plays an aristocrat, her roots are far from the upper classes.
She grew up in East London and her Irish dad used to drive a van. Her great-grandmother was a domestic servant.
Downton is all about societal change as it portrays the lives of England’s elite and their servants through the turn of the century. But change is not a thing that Lady Mary does well. The death of her husband sets the tone for the opener of Season 4, Jan. 5 at 9 p.m. on PBS.
“When Dan decided to leave the show we really weren’t expecting that, so it was a bit of a shock. But I’m certainly hoping she will find happiness at some point again,” Dockery says.
Actor Stevens had to be written out of the series, precipitating the car crash that shook the TV world. No more so than in Britain, where the finale aired on Christmas Day 2012.
As could be expected, the Downton estate is in mourning in Season 4.
“It’s a dark time for the house,” says Laura Carmichael, who plays younger sister Lady Edith, in an interview.
“It’s a really beautiful opening. You see the change in the house, the change in the family life. You are finding that people are trying to come to terms with news that’s so horrible the question is how are we ever going to get back to normal.”
Downton has become a monster hit for PBS and its highest rated show. It has also led to a rise in British period pieces on television and in Hollywood, where English accents rule.
“The show opens six months on and Mary is still refusing to come out of wearing black,” says Dockery.
“Traditionally you come into lilacs three months after a death. She’s very much in a kind of limbo state. And the family is all gradually trying to pull her out of it.”
Still, not all the characters are unhappy. After three seasons of a tenuous relationship, downstairs characters John and Anna Bates are finding what looks like happiness.
“When the show opens, Anna is very concerned with Lady Mary, who is not able to break out of her grief,” says Joanne Froggatt, the actress who plays the popular maid Anna. “However, after a very long time, Anna and Bates are in a happy place. They are in their cottage, finally able to work together and in a strong place.”
However, it seems that it may be short-lived. The long-suffering Anna’s fate is a topic of concern in Season 4, with a plot twist that drew viewer complaints when it aired in Britain, where viewers see episodes months ahead of North American fans.
The series has already been renewed for a fifth season.
“As a viewer you want Anna and Bates to be happy. As an actress you want to make things interesting. So it’s a bit of a clash,” says Froggatt. “And of course, you’re never sure how happy anyone is going to be moving forward. This is Downton Abbey.”
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