The untouched beauty of the British countryside is alluring, but not so much compared to the people's lives that inhabit the wonderful estate in the hit TV show, "Downton Abbey." The show, written by Julian Fellowes, has consistently received increasing viewership and critical acclaim, not to mention, a few Emmy Awards too.
Since executive producer, Graeth Neame said that the miniseries will end with Season 6, everyone wants to know if Lady Mary Crawley's (Michelle Dockery) wedding will be announced. If the last two minutes of the previous season indicate anything, it is that Mary's dormant love life has undergone a sort of resurgence. She has two love interests: Henry Talbot (Matthew Goode) and Charles Blake (Julian Ovenden).
Mary spent most of Season 5 with Charles, displaying her ladylike qualities: smugness and sarcasm. What developed later was a delicate, comfortable friendship. She met Charles Blake so often in London and even sought his company at balls, luncheon and at fashion shows.
However, as with any drama series, Mary's interest diverts towards another person, the absolutely dashing Henry Talbot. The last scene in season 5 ends with Mary standing still as Henry takes off in his car.
It is so rare to see any member of the "Downton Abbey" characters display any sort of strong reaction. They're the quintessential examples of the British stiff-upper lip. However, Mary's brief moments with Henry and her bold gestures towards him, ignited speculations that she , could in fact become Lady Mary Talbot before long.
Nevertheless, there are two things to consider: Charles hasn't yet forsaken his feelings for her. And Mary is known to choose a suitor who is conservative yet broad-minded enough to accept her for who she is: confident, vain, brazen, jealous, smug and caring towards the person she loves.
Her complex character has left many of her suitors baffled, and so far, only Matthew (Dan Stevens) and Charles seem to have understood her fully. Both have been relegated to friend-zones but Mary has often undergone a change of heart towards her friends.
Sure, Henry Talbot descends from the same class as Mary and is infinitely better looking than Charles, but Henry's dashing looks could only get him so far. Mary, as shown in previous seasons, falls in love with the character, rather than the persona one projects.
So Henry could perhaps briefly distract Mary, but her real suitor would be one who cradles her feelings with care and one who is very, very real, much like Charles.
As Gareth Neame said in an interview to Variety, "I think it's made for such an interesting show, and made Mary's life incredibly complex. People root for her to end up with the right guy. I think a lot of people thought in season five it would be one of the two guys (Tom Cullen as Lord Gillingham and Julian Ovenden as Charles Blake), and she's not that straightforward."
The production for Season 6 is ongoing and will air later this year on ITV.
