Downton Abbey and Christian Values

SPOILER ALERT: There are spoilers from all seasons, including the series finale.

On Sunday night, an era came to a close as the final episode of Downton Abbey aired on PBS. I have been a loyal fan since the first season, and it is one of the only shows I have ever consistently watched (minus a few nights of studying for exams in college) the night that the episodes aired. I always looked forward to Downton nights at my friend Jordan’s house when I was at IU (goodness Jordan, another shout out!), and even this past season when we weren’t together, we’d usually text during or after the episodes with lots of heart-eye emojis and capital letters. I read this article from Verily Magazine about how Downton Abbey has challenged us to look at life differently, and it brought about something I had never thought about: how has this secular TV show made me look at Christian values differently?

There is so much trash on TV right now. I hardly watch TV, and when I do, it’s usually historical dramas because their morals tend to me more in alignment with mine. (And because of the clothes. Who wouldn’t want to wear the dresses they get to wear?) Not only do these period dramas showcase the values of different time periods, they honor them and present them with dignity and truth. Downton Abbey did this very well. The show didn’t treat sex, discrimination, or adultery lightly, and I applaud them for that. To honor a show that will forever hold a special place in my heart, I’ve decided to dedicate my blog this week to Downton Abbey and write about three ways that this show has promoted Christian values.

1. There are negative consequences for poor choices, but forgiveness is more powerful than any poor choice we make.

All of us once lived among them in the desires of our flesh, following the wishes of the flesh and the impulses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like the rest. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, brought us to life with Christ (by grace you have been saved), raised us up with him, and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus.

(Ephesians 2:3-6)

There are way too many examples of this throughout the show to possibly list them all, but I’ll give a few of the major ones that come to mind.

Mary loses her virginity to a Turkish dignitary in season 1, and he ends up dying in her bed. The “dying in her bed” part is an extreme consequence, but the consequence that stirs in her heart and causes a lot of turmoil in season 2 is the fact that she is a compromised and unmarried woman. In that day and age, losing her virginity before getting married was reason enough for a man to refuse her hand. But Matthew (RIP), after learning this about Mary, forgives her immediately and tells her there is nothing she can do to prevent him from loving her. Unconditional love… now where have I heard about that before?

Another wonderful example of unconditional love is that of Robert and Cora when they learn that Marigold is, in fact, Edith’s biological daughter. Instead of condemning her for her choice to have sex with Michael Gregson (RIP) before they married, they applaud her bravery to keep her child and want to raise her as her own. Their love for their daughter is more powerful than Edith’s sin of having a child out of wedlock.

2. We can always love more and heal broken relationships.

All bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling must be removed from you, along with all malice. And be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ.

(Ephesians 4:31-32)

Mary and Edith have a rocky relationship to say the least. They are scorekeepers who are determined to have the final word and make sure that number one is taken care of. I’m pretty sure there is some form of backstabbing in every single season for this lovely duo. Edith prevents Mary and Matthew from getting engaged in Season 1 (but where would the adventure have been in Season 2 without this drama?) Mary sends off Bertie in Season 6 to prevent Edith’s happy ending. But finally, in the last episode of the final season, Mary realizes that her cruelty is no good for anyone and is permanently damaging Edith’s happiness, so she brings Bertie back (I kind of heard Justin Timberlake sing that). Mary and Edith’s healed relationship was one of my favorite parts of the show finale.

3. There is always hope.

But we even boast of our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance, proven character, and proven character, hope, and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts.

(Romans 5:3-5)

There were a lot of seemingly hopeless moments in Downton Abbey: when we thought Matthew and Mary weren’t going to be together, when Sybil died and left Tom with a child, when Edith’s happiness was constantly being stolen away, when Anna couldn’t get pregnant, when Bates was sentenced to death… the list goes on. Even in moments of despair, moments that lasted for seasons at a time, the writers of Downton never left us without hope that things would turn out in the best way possible. I mean, if Edith can finally get her happy ending, anything is possible. As it says in Romans, the characters’ afflictions made them so much stronger. Mary became a better person when she had to move forward after Matthew’s death, and Edith finally started to put up a fight for her happiness when she faced a life with Marigold. Every character on the show faced challenges that seemed unbeatable at times, but they each grew into stronger people that made you fall in love with them by the end of the show. Even Thomas. And if there’s hope for Thomas Barrow, there is hope for anyone.

This show holds a very special place in my heart, and I am grateful for the creators and everyone involved in making this show the magnificent piece of television that it is. The characters, though living in a very different time and place from us, were so human and allowed us to take a look at how we can love each other more and grow into stronger people. Thank you Downton Abbey for six wonderful seasons of Dowager one-liners, joyful laughter, uncontrollable tears, and memories with the friends with whom I watched the show. You will be dearly missed.