There is no excuse for lazy writing…or why I refuse to watch Downton Abbey anymore.
Tags: Tv Reviews, Violence Against Women, Stereotypes, Violence, Downton Abbey

There is no excuse for lazy writing…or why I refuse to watch Downton Abbey anymore. Kristin Jan 14, 2020·3 min read

One day I came in to see what my boyfriend was watching and I did a slow sit down to the couch. I’m not sure what I expected from Downton Abbey, but it was not like what I had imagined. I quickly fell in love with many of the characters: the beautiful and feisty Sybil, the ugly duckling spinster, Edith and the one I have affectionately nicknamed, “more than a handful of bitch”, Mary. The star of the show is definitely the grandma and I bet Maggie Smith has a blast flinging out her very sarcastic zingers episode after episode.

I also fell in love with Daisy and Anna and ultimately this is what led to my resolve. We put the series on hold right after the death of Matthew to watch all of the Star Wars movies before the new one came out. So here we are in Season 4.

I honestly felt very badly for Mary upon the death of Matthew and did not blame her for taking awhile to snap out of it. I’m sure that she will be back to her old self soon enough and she seems to be slowly starting to finally enjoy herself when the incident happens.

Anna goes downstairs to get some medicine and is raped. What? Why? Hasn’t she already been through enough having her husband in prison? She was a delightful character going through life with a positive attitude, a true light. As if this isn’t enough, the rape is also portrayed as HER fault. If she hadn’t been nice to the other servant, this NEVER would have happened. In fact, her husband warned her TWICE that she was being too familiar with this man, effectively giving the audience the message that he thought that she was FLIRTING with the man. And the final disgusting part is that she cannot TELL her husband for fear that he will kill the man. Instead, she will have to pretend that nothing happened and suffer inside.

Shame. Shame on the writer for doing this. For just throwing all of the rhetoric that we have been hearing for years about rape back at us and perpetuating the stereotypes. If we NEVER have to witness another rape on TV, I’m completely ok with that. Because I feel that somewhere there is a man watching this episode and saying….she deserved it. She flirted with that guy. Her husband knew. He told her to stop and she didn’t listen.

Oh just wait, it gets worse. In a parallel plot line, Tom Branson is feeling out of sorts, again. He confides in the maid as he had once before. He doesn’t fit in. He isn’t a real part of the family. We then see her giving him a significant amount of whiskey and then sneaking into his room. I’m sorry. Having drunken and regrettable sex with someone is NOT the same as being violently raped. Did she take advantage of him? Yes, she did. I’m sure that he will have regrets the next day. As in, “Damn, I really shouldn’t have had sex with that maid. Hope she doesn’t get pregnant, or I’ll really be in deep shit around here.” Meanwhile, Anna doesn’t even want Mr. Bates to hold her hand because she has physical injuries.

I’m not sure exactly how this ever came up as acceptable plot development. It was shocking and disgusting for no apparent reason. We already know that Mr. Bates can get violent when pressed. Did we really need a reminder? And if so, there are certainly a MILLION other ways to accomplish the same outcome. As for the maid, we knew that she would be up to mischief, but I would have respected her wicked wiles more if she had found a way to get Branson into bed, without the alcohol. She is already BFF’s with Thomas. They could have hatched an evil plan together.

Just three small words in closing- No more rape. We have have seen enough.