‘Downton Abbey’s most dramatic episodes, ranked

In the darkest depths of winter 2022, I decided to escape from reality and rewatch the entirety of Downton Abbey.

Revisiting all six seasons was an all-consuming task which required a great deal of time and dedication, and I am proud to say I enjoyed every single moment of it.

Far from the grandeur of the great house (which is filmed at Highclere Castle in Hampshire, England), I perched on the edge of my grey sofa in my flat in London, transfixed at the drama of it all. I laughed, cried, and, on some occasions, yelled at the TV.

Naturally, as someone who has watched Downton from start to finish several times over (I just really love it, OK?), I have Thoughts on the highs and lows of Julian Fellowes’ beloved series. So, I decided to rank the most dramatic episodes of Downton Abbey, from the most wonderfully joyful to the downright upsetting.

So, with that, I’ll take it away. Pop the kettle on, put your feet up, and enjoy this foray into the most dramatic Downton moments.

The most heartwarming episodes of Downton Abbey

7. When the Dowager Countess does the right thing

If there’s one thing that’ll upset the apple cart at Downton, it’s unfairness. Especially unfairness in the name of tradition and “that’s just how things have always been done.” Well, Isobel Crawley’s having none of that, thank you very much.

In Season 1, episode 5, she discovers at the village’s annual flower show that every single year the judges award the prize for best in bloom to Lady Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham (Dame Maggie Smith), because of her position in the village. The glaring injustice staring everyone in the face is the fact that Bill Molesley (that’s butler Mr Molesley’s dad) was more deserving of the trophy as his roses are the best in the village. Despite putting up a bit of a fight, Violet relents and does the right thing, disregarding the judge’s decision to award her the prize, and she goes ahead and gives it to Bill.

6. When Mr Carson and Mrs Hughes get hitched

Perhaps one of the sweetest couples to come out of the Downton series is Mr Carson (Jim Carter) and Mrs Hughes (Phyllis Logan). Throughout the show, the pair are each other’s allies, backing each other up as they run the Downton Abbey household like a well-oiled machine.

In Season 6, episode 3, Elsie and Charlie become Mr and Mrs Carson (even though everyone decides Mrs Hughes doesn’t have to change her name at work for sheer ease). Their wedding is a simple affair after Mrs Hughes expressly refuses to have the wedding breakfast at the house and instead opts for a low-key reception at the village school.

And to top it all off, Tom Branson and his daughter Sybbie return home after moving to Boston and announce that they won’t be leaving after all. Thank goodness for that.

5. When Sybil and Tom have their first kiss

Is there a love more pure than that of Lady Sybil Crawley (Jessica Brown Findlay) and Tom Branson (Allen Leech)? I think not. This kiss was a long time coming. So many furtive, emotionally charged glances were exchanged in the run-up, it was almost too much for us lowly viewers to bear. But in Season 2, episode 7, Sybil and Branson finally locked lips in the garage and agreed to run away together after a very prolonged will-they-won’t-they storyline. The tortured romance of a forbidden love? We simply have to love it.

4. When Mary gets into hot water with Mr Pamuk

We love a good scandal. Especially one involving two hot people who throw caution to the wind and flout society’s stuffy rules for a night of passionate sex. That’s what Lady Mary Crawley (Michelle Dockery) got up to with Kemal Pamuk (Theo James), a dazzling Turkish diplomat who came to stay at Downton during Season 1, episode 3. Everything was going so well until Mr Pemuk died suddenly in the arms of Lady Mary.

Lady Mary’s future flashes before her eyes as she tries to figure out what to do with the lifeless corpse tangled in her bed sheets. She goes to wake Anna Smith, her lady’s maid (Joanne Froggatt), and then her mother, the Countess of Grantham, Cora Crawley (Elizabeth McGovern), before they drag Mr Pemuk’s body down the hall to his bedroom. The wildly chaotic scene is based on a true story, as revealed by Downton writer Julian Fellowes in the official Downton Abbey podcast. RIP to the poor guy, but he died doing what he loved best: shagging.

3. When Anna and Bates get married in secret

Anna and Bates deserve a lifetime of peace and uninterrupted marital bliss after the ordeals they’ve both been through. If it’s not Mr Bates being wrongly convicted of murdering his wife (he’s innocent), then it’s Anna getting falsely imprisoned for murdering Mr Green. In season 2, episode 8, Anna and Bates marry in secret and spend their wedding night in one of the upstairs beds, thanks to Lady Mary pulling some strings.

2. When Edith finally gets her happy ending

It’s just one thing after another with Lady Edith Crawley (Laura Carmichael). First Sir Anthony Strallan (Robert Bathurst) ditches her at the altar, then her beloved Michael Gregson dies. But just when you thought she’d given up all hope of finding happiness, she meets Bertie, who adores her. In the final ever episode of Downton, the Season 6 finale, Lady Edith and Bertie Pelham, the Marquis of Hexham (Harry Haden-Patton) reconcile after an unfortunate separation (more on that later) and tie the knot. Hurrah!

It took until the series finale, but Edith finally caught a break.
Credit: ITV

1. When Matthew and Mary finally get together

After a near brush with scandal, several marriage proposals, and more than her fair share of heartbreak, Lady Mary finally gets a big dose of happiness with her one true love, Matthew Crawley (Dan Stevens), in the end.

“You must say it properly. I won’t answer unless you kneel down and everything.”

In the Season 2 Christmas special, Matthew and Mary are standing outside in the snow when he pops the question. After Lady Mary says what we’d all been thinking — “We’ve been on the edge of this so many times, Matthew. Please don’t take me there again unless you’re sure.” — she makes sure Matthew gets down on one knee and proposes the old fashioned way.

“You must say it properly,” she says. “I won’t answer unless you kneel down and everything.”

Thank goodness for that, we thought you’d never ask.

The most upsetting episodes of Downton Abbey

7. When Robert vomits blood all over the dinner table

In Season 6, episode 5, tension reaches an all time high. During a dinner debate about who should get control of the local hospitals (government versus town), Lord Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham (Hugh Bonneville), begins to feel very unwell. He stands up to leave the table before vomiting blood all over the dining table because of a burst ulcer. Thankfully, he is taken off to hospital and survives the ordeal.

6. When Matthew moves on

It’s never great when your ex moves on with someone new. Especially when you haven’t had a chance to get yourself a new heart’s desire. In the season finale of Season 1, Lady Mary is prepared to accept Matthew’s marriage proposal, but he doubts her motives and he decides to leave Downton.

By Season 2, episode 1, we’ve moved on a bit historically. It’s now September 1916, Britain is at war, and Matthew returns from the front on leave and informs everyone that he’s engaged to Miss Lavinia Swire (Zoe Boyle). Cue heartbreak for Mary, not that she’d ever admit that out loud. The course of true love never did run smooth, though.

5. When Matthew gets hurt in battle

In Season 2, episode 5, Matthew gets seriously injured in combat and is paralysed from the waist down. At first, he is told that he’ll never walk again, nor will he father any children — both of which devastate Matthew and make him reconsider his plans to wed Lavinia. Mary (still massively in love with Matthew) tries to nurse him back to health. Matthew’s injury eventually turns out to not be a severed spine, but a case of spinal shock and he regains the ability to walk.

4. When Mary ruins Edith’s engagement 

It’s no secret that Mary and Edith don’t get along. And they’ve certainly not been kind to each other over the years — let’s not forget it was Edith who revealed Mary’s scandalous secret involving Mr Pamuk in a letter to the Turkish ambassador. But Mary gets her revenge in the end in Season 6, episode 8, by revealing Edith’s darkest secret to Bertie (whom Edith is in love with). When Bertie becomes the new Marquess of Hexham after his cousin’s untimely death, he visits Downton, where Mary spitefully reveals — when the pair are announcing their engagement — that Marigold is Edith’s illegitimate child. Bertie walks out and their relationship appears to end, leaving Edith heartbroken.

3. When Edith can’t see Marigold

Lady Edith certainly doesn’t have an easy time of it. As mentioned above, Sir Anthony Strallan leaves her at the altar on their wedding day, then when she finally finds love with Michael Gregson, publisher of The Sketch, he’s married and can’t get a divorce. In a bid to escape his marriage, Gregson moves to Germany because he’s found out he can get a divorce there if he becomes a German citizen. Sadly, Gregson is never heard from again and we later learn that he’s been murdered by Nazis.

While Michael is missing, Edith finds out she’s pregnant and goes off to have the baby in secret without her family knowing, before placing the child with a local farmer and his family. For a while, Edith is able to visit Marigold, her daughter, at Mr and Mrs Drewe’s home. But in Season 5, episode 5, Mrs Drewe tells her husband to put a stop to any further contact between the child and Edith. It’s a heartbreaking moment for Edith, being forced to be separated from her own daughter.

2. When Matthew crashes his car and dies

It’s supposed to be the happiest day of your life, the day your first child is born, but clearly Julian Fellowes wasn’t having any of that. In the Season 3 Christmas special, Mary gives birth to baby George in the Cottage Hospital. Matthew joins her shortly after and meets his son. But on the way home from meeting his baby, about to fetch the rest of the family, he gets in a car accident and dies. Is nothing sacred, Julian Fellowes? Are we not allowed to enjoy any happy moments?

1. When Sybil dies

By far the most traumatic episode of the entire Downton series is Season 3, episode 5. Sybil — arguably one of the most beloved characters — is heavily pregnant with her first child with Tom. Robert decides that Dr Clarkson, the village physician isn’t good enough to deliver his first grandchild, so he enlists a fancy doctor from London, who disagrees with everything Clarkson says. When Clarkson says Sybil is exhibiting the symptoms of pre-eclampsia (a pregnancy complication that is characterised by high blood pressure among other symptoms), he is ignored by Lord Grantham and Sir Philip Tapsell (the fancy London doctor), which ultimately seals Sybil’s fate.

After her daughter is born, it becomes too late to do anything and Sybil indeed develops eclampsia, which causes seizures. She dies suddenly surrounded by her family while her mother and husband are begging her to stay alive. It is a deeply upsetting scene.