Dowager VS Isobel Crawley | Round 1 | Downton Abbey

The Dowager Countess may not have been central to many Downton Abbey storylines - but that didn't stop Maggie Smith stealing every scene she was in with a reliably memorable stream of caustic insults, dubious advice and witty asides.
First Round: Season 1, 2 and 3.
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#DowntonAbbey #MaggieSmith #PenelopeWilton

[@karldelavigne8134]

Maggie Smith gets a lot of credit for her brilliant acting in Downton Abbey but Penelope Wilton is a class act too, and the interaction between the two characters is hilarious.

[@sheilaburns8977]

I agree. The back and forth zingers … and the looks they give each other are priceless. However, I love that when the Dowager is ill, Isobel did not leave her side … and when Isobel was going to get married, the Dowager actually admitted she felt sad to lose a friend. So sweet and poignant. Great Ladies.

[@lecorsaire2283]

I love Penelope. She was great as Shaun’s mom! Edit: Shaun’s mum lol!

[@anneworks]

Yeah, but I keep expecting her to say: “harriet jones, prime minister”. She’s so idiosyncratic

[@fredrikmoller629]

Real Me and now she is Dame 👌🏻

[@josephcarlbreil5380]

Dame Maggie is one class act, but Penelope almost matches her acerbic asides one for one.

[@nina1522]

"We can always start with Mrs. Crawley and Lady Grantham." Still one of my favorite Dowager lines ever.

[@mssrus]

Alternatively, 'Yes, we know who you are!'

[@kalevala29]

but isn't Cora technically lady grantham?

[@TShay92]

In all honesty, that was a really good reply. They were indeed there identies! 😂

[@Smithjones12]

Isobel Shaun's mum in Shaun of the dead 😀

[@andresperezroldan8143]

She won that fight from the very beginning. :D

[@michellemyer482]

Isobel: “I take that as a compliment.” Dowager: “I must have said it wrong.” 😂😂 what a woman

[@Pjparty69]

I know right lolol. I just started watching this show. The Ladies make me laugh when they get into a argument.

[@mikeoxmaul45]

Seasons later Isobel: You take everything as a compliment. Dowager: I advise you to do the same, it saves many an awkward moment.

[@LifesPeachy321]

Dowager's delivery of a one-two punch is priceless! 😂😂

[@Fee212]

😁 😂 🤣 😅 😆

[@Hannah-pk6iq]

No love. Its the script writer you absolute fool. Imagine been as thick as you.

[@jimhall1170]

OMG After she correctly diagnosed that rash on Mosley's hands, she was SO pleased with herself as she walked out the door. HA

[@jamesfracasse8178]

Oh snap 😂🤣 she shut up Mrs.Crawley all right

[@TShay92]

That Laugh. She is like Me= 1 Mrs. Crawley = 0

[@jojoandsuri1]

What a queen

[@bandygreen2456]

titus saha actually cousin Isobel had saved a patients life with a risky procedure and the countess didn't approve. So this made them equal, which is why she was so sassy and ready to prove her wrong

[@aruth1049]

That's how you drop the mic in 1920's

[@julz3tt3]

Lol "Is she making a suit of armor?" XD XD The Dowager is such a BOSS

[@SuperGreatSphinx]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armour

[@libordostal886]

That killed me back then :D :D :D

[@Alex-hk9lw]

"Do you want mosley to die?!" 🤣🤣🤣

[@danielezecchinato2219]

Followed by dr. Clarkson's facepalm 🤣🤣 I die every time

[@Alex-hk9lw]

Daniele Zecchinato 😂😂😂

[@盧璘壽로인수]

Of course I don't!

[@georganna.2371]

The Dowager never disappoints! Her one liners can cut like a knife.

[@m.layfette6249]

Each were craftly written for Dame Maggie Smith by the Great Julian Fellows.

[@salviaofficinalis02]

or her knife cuts like a one liner vice versa. I can only imagine that something sharp came in handy back in the day when transport was slower and help was slower i.e. Police and ambulance

[@willemvandeursen3105]

@@m.layfette6249 I understand that Julian wrote everyone's dialogues. But it's the delivery that in the ends counts. The typecasting, the accent, the tone, the gestures, the looks. Maggie is the absolute queen of the stage, but Penelope is a sublime match for Maggie's dowager. The character Thomas Barrow isn't liked much, but the actor plays him very well, he's a professional, young as he may be. The whole cast is highly qualified, we see the creme de la creme of British actors here. Was it also Fellows who envisioned Shirley McLaine as Cora's mother Martha Levinson? A stroke of genius. Martha even manages to scare the Dowager!

[@LisaGrimm-LG]

I absolutely adore the way the Dowager laughs when she's leaving the doctor's office having just solved the mystery of the allergy :)

[@mangos2888]

"Put that in your pipe and smoke it" is one of the best lines of the series! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@denisemallam2786]

A Londoners saying from many many years ago...I can remember my Dad saying this. Don't hear it much these these days but Maggie says it beautifully...🙃

[@linengray]

My favourite Dowager moment was when she went with Cousin Isobel to get Lord Merton out from under the grip of his children. That was pure gold.

[@SuperGreatSphinx]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold

[@audioamateur]

@@SuperGreatSphinx Your point, other than being a smart ass?

[@deepbluesong5067]

That was cinematic genius❤❤

[@renzomuedas]

And who can argue with that?

[@vivianpowell1732]

Along with everything else that confrontation accomplished, it led to the discovery that Lord Merton did not have deadly pernicious anemia after all. He had iron deficiency anemia, which was manageable and not life-threatening.

[@littlemisswicked2465]

I love Dr Clarkson's face at 6:06, you can just imagine he's thinking "why am I always in the middle of an argument involving these women?!"

[@Tang0Fox1]

That last line "Happily it was not needed." Made me laugh so hard.

[@proteus404]

They could do a show with just the two of them sitting in chairs arguing with each other infront of a green screen and I'd watch every minute of it

[@mikedtw]

That, I'd watch more than once!

[@alexanderjones9572]

'The thing is to keep smiling. And NEVER look as if you disapprove.' 😂😂😂

[@scottfrazer655]

I love the relationship between Violet and Isobel. They were each other's match and grew to love each other very much.

[@carolinedavis1730]

I really love how Lady Grantham and Mrs. Crowley’s relationship went from strangers to best friends.

[@RaymondHng]

6:38 Isobel's slow reaction of shock after Violet's mentioning of Ethel's "so many skills".

[@tymcintosh-campbell3924]

I can only imagine when Julian Fellowes and the producers thought when they saw Maggie Smith and Penelope Wilton did a table read for the first time together and thinking- WOW, THIS DUO IS GONNA MAKE THIS SHOW!

[@denvyzhang4006]

I love their relationship. They're sparring partners. The progressive Isobel and the feudal Violet. They're so different and interesting to watch them trading jabs with one another.

[@kittynorville9125]

Carson’s little giggle after the pipe comment 😂

[@foofoocudlypoops525]

Dowager is the best thing that happened in this series

[@Xerxes2005]

This series wouldn't be half as good without Maggie Smith.

[@m.layfette6249]

Whether a Goddess in Clash of the Titans, or Professor Magonagole at Hogwarts, or the Dowager Countess of Grantham at Downton Abbey, Maggie Smith is an actress in a class all by herself. She's Beyond Legendary. 💜💜💜

[@katharinasheikh8698]

Raspberry Dove-Ali !

[@zbr76]

That's a funny way to spell Sybil.

[@corryjookit7818]

#KpopExtremist Buy a film called the Prime of Miss Jean Brodie Maggie Smith excels in this film and her eccentricities are used to great effect. Buy the book of the same name. Enjoy !

[@jimhall1170]

"Happily, it was not needed." DAMN, that's cold!! And I loved every second of it.

[@seancolepeper4410]

Not to mention “yes… but it was an hour VERY day!”

[@class87srule]

Dame Maggie is a national treasure in every sense of the word. I know she's 'working' Julian Fellowes' text but she transforms every line and delivers it perfectly, acting with a glance, a head tilt or a lightning bolt of wit. Dazzling, every performance. I could cheerfully listen to Maggie reading the News. It would be a damn sight less tedious!

[@mdotschrody]

These two are the best. I absolutely love their scenes together. I don’t know how the rest of the cast kept from laughing.

[@princessscarlet2219]

"Cousin Violet has never let a matter of convenience stand in the way of principle." "As the kettle said to the pot." 🤣🤣

[@cioccolateriaveneziana]

"a matter of convenience"

[@princessscarlet2219]

@@cioccolateriaveneziana Oh, ha ha, sound like she said "imaginative convenience". 😂

[@cioccolateriaveneziana]

@@princessscarlet2219 Yes, cousin Isobel has a specific way to pronounce -tt- in "matter", it's almost like "madger", hence "imaginative". But what would "imaginative convenience" be?

[@princessscarlet2219]

@@cioccolateriaveneziana I have no idea. 😂

[@danielbowman3864]

Savage

[@eagleschick95]

These 2 actresses have amazing chemistry & give Downton Abbey some comedy! I love these 2 characters!

[@SuperGreatSphinx]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemistry

[@normalbeauty5644]

i think it's absolutely hysterical how Penelope is clearly fighting not to laugh. She even avoids Maggie's eyes. Especially in the fragment starting at 4:57 . She almost loses it at 5:26 when she looks at Maggie. Those two are gold together. I love them so much!

[@julz3tt3]

"I make no apology." This needs to be Violets catchphrase. The way she fought for Mosely was awesome

[@v8cool231]

"These days a working woman must have a skill" Dowager "But you seem to have so many " *Lady Crawley.... Cannot. Believe. You . Just. Said. That !! Hahahaha The expression on Crawleys face is priceless

[@Diamondelle84]

0:35 No one........ Matthew 'What a reception commitee!"

[@AlienHunter47]

Holy awkward moment, Batman.

[@davidthaler7018]

If only he hadn't said "committee." I could just hear Carson's butt cheeks clench a little tighter around that broomstick, poor chap.

[@j.l.knight9857]

The clock ticking in the background was the perfect touch!

[@08Pixel]

I don't understand, what was wrong with that comment?

[@Diamondelle84]

@@08Pixel It was just awkward.

[@jamest2401]

“Was Napoleon overawed by the Bourbons?” One of her best comebacks.

[@nicholasfields9507]

Cora's side-eye game slays so hard LOL. 4:40 - 4:50 gets me every. single. time.

[@morbius109]

Lady Grantham is a marvelous Olde World battle axe. She’s classy and high society but still throws shade with the best of them. My all time favourites remain 4:54, “I must’ve said it wrong!” And 5:36, “So put that in your pipe and smoke it!” with Carson’s amused chuckle, LOL.

[@anthonywillin9790]

I love the rivalry between these two, but absolutely love Dame Maggie Smith and the lines\sayings she says.

[@downtown82]

Anthony Willin you look gorgeous!!

[@cherokeegotti4903]

8:02 I doubt he works harder than a slave. An epic read😂😂

[@ronnie7075]

It just goes to show what great actors can do with really good dialogue. Julian Fellowes deserves all the praise for his brilliant writing.

[@kathrynbellerose3925]

The Dowager is a real broom rider. Maggie Smith plays this role beautifully.

[@daisymay9203]

I lived for the “banta” between these two Dames!! The heated yet quick fire discussions and arguments were just riveting 😅

[@zeuswill9523]

I just love Cora...she was so elegant in presence. Her presence announced her

[@bobbidazzler1343]

Cora's outfit at the flower show. 🤩

[@cherryrotella3714]

Fiona Midgley Audrey Hepburn My Fair Lady

[@utkarshsingh1863]

Most of the times she doesn't let Mrs Crawley even speak a word by quoting "Now I must go"😂😍

[@teroterskamaki3395]

6:03 "do you want mously to die?" XDDD best line ever

[@TShay92]

Moseley 😂

[@melanierobin8510]

@@TShay92 it's actually Molesly (there's an L before the S)

[@treefittyforall]

I've never actually watched this show before, but I've busted out laughing at a few things Maggie Smith's character said. She's always got a quick-witted response. That's one spicy broad!

[@hobbitfan]

treefittyforall you should watch it it’s brilliant, there’s more lines to make you giggle 😊

[@livb6945]

Greatest thing of all is that all the cast say she's like that in real life

[@bethanychos6005]

Definitely a should watch!!

[@MsScarlett61]

W0T! Hope you've caught up now. Love me a period drama.

[@chnalvr]

"Yes, but it was an hour EVERY day."

[@kalevala29]

I love both of these characters and their sparring and it's funny how they're good friends in real life

[@anitacalloway3032]

I’ve been impressed with Penelope Wilton ever since, in a Doctor Who episode, she explained to the Doctor why Earth had to learn to defend itself from aliens when the Doctor was not around. Excellent writing, and her delivery was fantastic!

[@KTHR56]

3:32 the look on Clarkson’s face is hysterical!!! 😂😂😂😂

[@suninmoon4601]

"Cousin Isobel is very literal." 😁

[@mikeoxmaul45]

Nothing goes over her head. Her reflexes are too fast. She would catch it.

[@suninmoon4601]

@@mikeoxmaul45 LoLoL

[@liambraithewaite6415]

'Yes, but it was an hour *every day* (Death-stare)

[@nina1522]

I love that, and "Put that in your pipe and smoke it."

[@Loveoldies50]

John Smith I LOVE that line, too! LOL What a wonderful actress she is. Every movement and inflection is perfection! I'm a HUGE fan!

[@livb6945]

My all time favourite line

[@davidm8351]

I see. How tiring. - Isobel

[@clairecadoux471]

@@davidm8351 we all are completely in awe of these people as if they are real, or inventing the words. I reminded myself, who actually worked this out, wrote it, fine tuned it and got it on the screen like this. We rarely say, well julian fellowes. And in my opinion, that, is testimony to his great writing. I am 100% entertained by Downton from start to finish. These one liners are top of the range. Thanks to whoever uploaded this.

[@Mario_1611]

[With a straight face] "Do you *want* Mosely to die?!"

[@inayatahmed5828]

One of best videos of downton I've seen! Great editing and selection!

[@jpreyes1028]

So many mediocre shows go on and on for years and yet Downton has left us too soon.

[@Xerxes2005]

I don't know... The show was not as good in the last seasons. I believe they stopped at the right time. Besides, Lady Violet could not have gotten much older, and she's the most popular character in the show.

[@jpreyes1028]

@@Xerxes2005 What they should have done was not skip so many years.

[@jesseleeward2359]

They are doing the Gilded Age

[@Onmysheet]

The show loses it's way after season 4.

[@natanaelrodriguez3953]

Theres tons of good shows too. EYPSIN.

[@Bergen98]

4:34 - I can't with Cora's watching these two arguing and thoroughly enjoying it

[@Annabelle66633]

2:46 "is she making a suit of armour?"😂🛡️

[@minervacuervo4662]

“Is she making a suit of armour?” 😍

[@georgeprchal3924]

Does it ever get cold up there on the moral high ground?

[@BeckMulhall]

Thats hilarious 😂

[@sargonsrobot2552]

No , but I am sure it will be well warmed ,where you are going...

[@CollectorSean]

Violet’s a beast and it’s awesome

[@morganmiller5413]

I live for her insults lol

[@mscott3918]

She is very blunt and honest. I think that we are so used to politicians and celebrities saying what they think people want to hear that we have lost an appreciation of those who don't.

[@mikeoxmaul45]

I love it when Mrs. Crawley just gapes after Lady Grantham's quips

[@rosiebargoed681]

They make such a great team. This is born of great talent and amazing writing.

[@TShay92]

Dowager Countess: A book of oneliners! There!!! A BEST SELLER! " It was an hour EVERYDAY."

[@thebeardedseeker5633]

even Oscar Wilde would've had a tough time holding his own against Violet.

[@SuperGreatSphinx]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_Wilde

[@unniechingu2539]

Theirs is a weird and unexpected relationship ever occur in this series. But is one of the most celebrated. It has grown up from enemies to friendship.

[@themarquis336]

We love Mrs. Crawley because she’s kind, polite, positive and relatively progressive. And we love the Dowager Countess because she’s the Dowager Countess 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@matteusconnollius1203]

Honestly for the time and for her being pretty old "relatively progressive" may not even cover it she literally hires prostitutes and champions every social cause with unending vigor she's a queen

[@Maaarrina]

One of my favourite lines was when Violet says she hasn’t been down the servant’s hall in ages and Ms. Crawley says: have you got your passport?

[@hansolofholmberg2071]

I admire Isobel's self-control when being insulted, and replying positively, as well as not holding grudges. Also the fact that she must have prepared mentally to mange to encounter the upper-class, noble family and not let her dishabitude showm in cor´njtrast to Matthew who shows many signs of the opposite, strangeley enough, being a solicitor. Does anyone know wj´hat Carson's little smile means, upon the Dowager replying Isobel "Well we can always start by calling each other..." Was he content at her puttoíng Isbel in her place, disliking class movement? Prov´bably. How good of Cora do soothe it and help. She almost always does that.

[@yesidothecooking]

these two, the dowager and mrs. crawley are the mrs. patmore and daisy of the upstairs...

[@m.layfette6249]

No truer words have ever been spoken. 😁

[@rachelgarber1423]

No, Mrs. Pattmore isn't a bitch

[@corryjookit7818]

@@rachelgarber1423 No, The Dowager is not a as you put it " a bitch " She's a great character, whose thoughts and pronunciations are quirky, sometimes accurate, but she's no bitch. She doesn't have true venom within her, not deliberately hurtful or spiteful, both of which I think are a necessity for a " bitch " . She's well aware of her own words, but would never deliberately hurt someone. Her eccentricities are well known and understood. She has a moral compass, and a line beyond which, she believes neither you or she, can ever pass. .

[@leroymccoy9008]

@@corryjookit7818 Yes she most definitely loves her family, and we've seen numerous times she has a heart. ☺

[@shaunygb4156]

I'd say they're more like the Mrs Patmore and Mrs Hughes of the upstairs

[@aansharmaa]

😂😂😂 This collection is priceless!

[@suzanneh975]

6:55 isobels face here is absolutely brilliant 😂😂😂

[@colestock9980]

“So put THAT into your pipe and smoke it” Best one-liner ever 🤣🤣🤣

[@shosha1878]

The best duet of Downtown Abbey. 😀

[@ceralee2151]

The Dowager Countess and Lady Crawley are the entire SHOW. I could sit and watch a show just written around these 2 traveling around England lol.

[@greyinvader]

I do believe the Dowager Countess wins this round, thank you very much.

[@brianpearson3540]

Love the banter and zingers between the two elder women. Interesting, they become best friends.

[@Knappa22]

“Cousin Isobel is very literal.” Haha!

[@ginadisbrow9324]

The brilliant lines Julian gave his characters aside, I always felt my eyebrows furrow, and my mouth pooch and frown every time granny or Mary insulted Edith! Her facial reactions were classic and real!!

[@leonardssenkindu8445]

The shade at the beginning with Maggie Smith character the public humiliation, lol 😂😈

[@sophia1215129]

I cannot help laughing, such awesome characters!

[@inayatahmed5828]

Please please do part 2!!

[@JoelWalker56]

These 2 had the best love-hate relationship.

[@j.chiari]

"What...What is a weekend?" (Edit: forgot to end quotes)

[@agoogleuser4443]

I wish I was rich enough to not know what one was!

[@kari8187]

“We’ll happily it was not needed”🤣🤣🤣

[@angangieangela5216]

Fellows was born to write dialogue for Dame Maggie Smith. Her delivery is absolutely singular!

[@foxycinnamon7307]

Ilove both of them so much!!! The looks to the side, the side eye, they are each other's perfect foil!

[@camillemarsanne4029]

Sometimes I have the impression that she is going to go on a ring put boxing gloves and Carson becomes a referee but now they are friends they have gone through so many trials and sorry for my English but I'am Belgian ;)

[@classicaldeb]

Your English is great!

[@ryotaarai3816]

Still a better fight than the McGregor vs Mayweather 😅

[@natanaelrodriguez3953]

YOU ARE WRONG. IS NOT BETTER NO AND NEVER. EYPSIN.

[@oliviaturner7388]

The last line, Isabel saying if she had to chop Charlie the butcher to get her way, and the dowager paused, saying, “well, happily it was not needed! That was just the best zinger!

[@suzannereilman4516]

...’if you had had to sell Charlie to the butcher, chopped up as stew...’..;)

[@henryrpyne]

Sometimes things are best left to the professionals 🤣🤣👏

[@c.j.williams3948]

3:30-3:45 straight vicious and she didn’t even care to hear what she had to say 🤣😂

[@MrTBoner1]

"Happily, it was not needed". Best line in the series!

[@calico27]

"Happily it was not needed" --- still makes me fall off the chair, chuckling! Oh Lady Grantham, how will I get on without you!

[@marfialennox2642]

Oh how sinful that Carson is more of a snob than his employers. The way his nose never touches down...DA is the best

[@mscott3918]

The aristocracy are never snobs.

[@盧璘壽로인수]

@@mscott3918 Just too much entitled

[@SymphonyBrahms]

Dame Maggie and Dame Penelope. Two great Dames.

[@SafeSpaceInc]

6:05 "Do you want Molesley to die?! LOL!

[@1Lightdancer]

"And you've been pulling out the old rue hedge, by hand ... It's a Rue allergy"

[@SuperGreatSphinx]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruta_graveolens

[@fabulouschild2005]

The first words exchanged between Isobel and Violet were so frosty. By the end of season 6, I doubt either one could cope without the otber

[@debrahardy8689]

Maggie Smith is PRICELESS, I just love her as Dowager.

[@josemiguelmarquescampo4902]

My word, what a delight! An incredible series!

[@naturazpolski9213]

I love how their relationship progress with time. At first as some kind of enemies, then become twisted friends

[@kofoolanrewaju1639]

Lady Grantham's evil smirk at the syphilis situation is hilarious. Life experience of the elders vs medicine

[@lecorsaire2283]

What a show! Downton and the Spanish Gran Hotel (original on Netflix of course) are two of the finest period dramas I’ve ever seen. I wasn’t sure I would warm to Downton after watching that one first but they couldn’t be more different. One deals with everyday life and the other is mystery that happens to share the setting.