‘Downton Abbey’: “Christmas At Downton Abbey”
I have strong feelings about Downton Abbey and how it’s secretly a Christmas show. (That is, it’s the perfect show for Christmas.) It’s not just that the show is a heart-warming bit of family-friendly fare, but Downton Abbey makes the most of its Christmas specials. Just look at the show’s very first super-sized Holiday Special: Season 2, Episode 9, “Christmas at Downton Abbey.” We finally get Bates’s trial, news that Lady Sybil and Branson are having a baby, and a satisfying conclusion to Lady Mary and Cousin Matthew’s prolonged courtship. If you can’t find the magic in a stately period soap, then maybe you’re a Grinch.