The Dowager Countess Explains | Downton Abbey: A New Era

Everyone's confusion over the Dowager Countess' inheritance of a villa in the south of France is finally put at rest as she explains everything...
The worldwide phenomenon continues in "Downton Abbey 2," the follow-up to 2019’s hit feature film extension of the globally popular television series. The sequel reunites the original principal cast, who are joined by Hugh Dancy, Laura Haddock, Nathalie Baye and Dominic West. The film's screenplay is written by "Downton Abbey" creator and Academy Award® winner Julian Fellowes, who produces once again with Emmy® and BAFTA Award winner Gareth Neame and Emmy® Award winner Liz Trubridge. The film is directed by Emmy® and BAFTA nominated director Simon Curtis ("My Week with Marilyn").
This is the official KZbin channel for Downton Abbey. Immerse yourself in the much-loved British historical drama, relive some of your favourite moments and tragedies, and keep up-to-date with the latest news.
The costume drama series, Downton Abbey, written and created by Oscar-winning writer Julian Fellowes, stars Academy Award-winner Maggie Smith as a Dowager Countess of an Edwardian English country house in 1912. The series portrays the lives of the Crawley family and the servants who work for them, in a time before the last vestige of a century’s old tradition were stripped away by World War and the modern age. The all-star cast also includes Hugh Bonneville and Elizabeth McGovern.
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[@midnightbluefairy]

Love how Dowager’s immediate thought was “which of my grandkids needs it the most?” ☺️

[@kathleenlouise783]

I loved everything she said ❤️❤️I miss her terribly

[@chimaobiihekaire8481]

**great grandkids

[@rald224]

She has always loved Branson like a great grandson. She admires and praises him always. Take notice.

[@cheappinoy1053]

Siby doesn't even "need" it as she will inherit Baroness Bagshaw's estate

[@midnightbluefairy]

@@cheappinoy1053 technically she may not: as Dowager mentions in this clip, it will be Branson’s FUTURE children who will inherit it, as the estate belongs to his new wife. That means it goes towards HER, the new wife’s, descendants. This is why the Dowager gave this vila to Sybbie, as by inheritance policy she’ll be unintentional made to get nothing

[@Joscope]

"Do I look as if I'd turn down a villa in the south of France?" was her way of telling Mary "I may be old, but I'm not stupid.."

[@susanv.7540]

" Do I look like I'd turn down a villa in the south of France?" Maggie Smith delivered ANOTHER memorable quip !! IF there ever is a third DA movie, it won't be the same without the Dowager!

[@Landis963]

She has a point, too. Would you turn down a villa in the South of France? I certainly wouldn't.

[@mercedesdelrioalvarez5703]

@@Landis963 e

[@mercedesdelrioalvarez5703]

En español Mi

[@harveyspecter1855]

@@Landis963 there are people who are stupidly kind or kindly stupid enough who would turn down a villa in the south of france upon the request of the previous owner's widow.

[@Landis963]

@@harveyspecter1855 That is a good point. I'd like to think I would be one of those people, especially as it became clear and unequivocal that the widow didn't have anywhere else to go.

[@kritishdadu3395]

The Dowager Countess, even before dying, secured the future of her great grandchildren! She is the epitome of wisdom!

[@oolala53]

But if the expense of somebody else. That’s the way the aristocracy works.

[@ethelryan257]

At the expense of whom? The villa had been heres for well over half-a-century. The French family is enormously well off. Her children are well off. All her grandchildren but one will have great wealth - why not give that child something of great value?@@oolala53

[@SilverGreenEyes18]

​@@oolala53ofc not, she was given the villa as a gift by the owner who had the right to decide what to do with his own property

[@JackieDannenberg]

I love how Edith and Mary have gone beyond their childhood hatred of each other, grown up and found that supporting each other is far more beneficial

[@oolala53]

It kills me how much these people keep getting such serendipitously fantastic inheritances.

[@GoldenRose116]

It is sweet seeing Mary and Edith get along

[@m.layfette6249]

What's even sweeter is seeing them together with their children playing and growing up at Downton.

[@chrisbekker8834]

Edith now outranks Mary, so getting along is more a matter of form.

[@riverrojas2036]

Sometimes distance is the healthiest option

[@mysparklingjoy]

It is indeed! I really enjoy their interactions now 😊

[@mi3helle707]

@@riverrojas2036 💯

[@robboyte1101]

It's so nice of Violet to remember her late granddaughter and eldest great-grandchild. Given the Crawley family's history, ala Edith, Sybbie probably would have been overlooked. And that would've been a tragedy and a pity.

[@m.layfette6249]

"There's only One reason old ladies summon their lawyers."

[@ikm64]

"Class" is one of those indescribable qualities of life... The only thing I can say is "Maggie Smith" has it in bucket loads.

[@m.layfette6249]

Is it just me or does that opening theme music just make you giddy with sheer delight. ☺️💜☺️💜☺️💜☺️💜

[@TheJFerg24]

The French horns were a next level addition

[@m.layfette6249]

@@TheJFerg24 IKR! The theme music 🎶 of Downton Abbey gives the show that extra bounce in its steps.

[@JKLoans]

It was the highlight of my Sundays in January for six years. You bet it makes me giddy.

[@m.layfette6249]

@@JKLoans I'm right there with you my friend.

[@lizjo7213]

Agreed...

[@juanawashington9597]

I would have loved to see a flashback of a young Violet as she told the story of visiting the Frenchman at the villa.

[@m.layfette6249]

"And leave you to discuss my mysterious past."

[@mariashaffer-gordon3561]

Remembering how she almost ran away with a Russian prince when she was a young woman, it seems that Violet had a terribly interesting life.

[@theoutlook55]

I enjoy how Robert uses old school language instead of calling it just making it a film, and then no one calls him out when he calls it "KInema."

[@dbmag9]

It references the pronunciation of the Ancient Greek word that 'cinema' comes from (via French). British newsreaders still pronounced 'ski' the German way, 'shee', until surprisingly recently!

[@theoutlook55]

@@dbmag9 cool

[@DowntonAbbey_fan]

@@dbmag9 I kinda assumed it was because he didn’t know how to say cinema and so he just called it kinema

[@gnoekus]

I'd have loved it to be an entire episode and humour and shock on The Dowager Countess' "flings" in the past. It'd be very funny and fun to watch. Spending a few "days" (and/or nights) and she got a villa ... :)

[@mahram]

0:31 Still get a thrill hearing that theme!

[@TeXXicJA]

"Of course it would happen to a foreigner. No Englishman would dream of dying in someone else's house"

[@mariashaffer-gordon3561]

Violet always had the best lines, didn't she?

[@sunflowerz54]

Absolutely one of the best show in years!!

[@ron4501]

I could watch this show 24 hours a day...

[@user-iz4mq4td2u]

Me I wish it would go on for ever

[@thehopefuledwardian]

I know the reason Henry isn’t in this film bc the actor had other commitments but I really help if there’s a third film Henry is in it and he and Mary are still happily married

[@LGranthamsHeir]

5:35 - 6:15 Hmmm. Mary's remarking on her husband's absence in very polite terms, even though deep down she would've realized the main reason of Henrys long absence from Downton is he most likely has found a new 'traveling companion' that shares his love of car racing more than Mary did 😥

[@bubsmurf8622]

meanwhile the real reason was the actor was unavailable.

[@franklesser5655]

Imagine! Using Downton as a location for film!

[@m.layfette6249]

"I think it's a MAD idea!"

[@Diamondelle84]

Very meta 😏

[@GosieKin]

It might pay for the roof repairs though 😉

[@andrewjones-productions]

Scandalous, I know. I would have suggested to the Crawleys that they insist that Downton Abbey be given a pseudonym in the film and call it Highclere Castle.

[@creature57]

Lovely drone shots in this film.

[@dennisbrunell2414]

Bravo 👏 Julian fellows, however I do have one major question why wasn't Rosalind by her mother's side when she passed away?

[@everythingcohid]

Whatttttttt new era...... after all the awesome seasons how did I miss this the new era....wonderful

[@malinhessedahl]

I love both movies of downton abby💕 i love all seasons of Downton abby💕

[@michelechartier6322]

Moi aussi Je suis fan fan .

[@Byrnzi360]

Hugh Bonneville lost quite a bit of weight. I had to do a double take. He looks great!

[@muriaal]

I thought it was a different actor when I saw it in theatres!

[@Nina-hl5qk]

I thought he looked ill and aged

[@BookishRaider]

My thoughts exactly when I saw this.

[@samueldatri2020]

His voice changed a lot too! I wonder why

[@themermaidstale5008]

The first thing that struck me is Hugh Bonneville’s weight loss.

[@kaidenshepard8446]

indeed and softened voice, whereas in the early series it seemed more pronounced

[@calarch78]

First thing I noticed was his orange face - egads

[@l.a.3479]

​@@calarch78🤣

[@MuhammadHassan-hj6mx]

Everyone looked very tanned in this film, Idk why@@calarch78

[@dln4918]

I hope there's going to be movie about the Dowager. She lived a very colorful life it seems.

[@lordwalker71]

Weird seeing Edith and Mary be nice to each other.

[@user-mf6yb3vx7h]

They are no longer board out of their mines.

[@remiremsar5946]

LOOK AT HOW MUCH DARLING SYBBIE HAS GROWN ❤❤❤

[@zyxw2024]

The actor who plays Robert lost a great deal of weight. His voice has changed too. Obviously I haven't seen the 2nd. film yet.

[@user-iz4mq4td2u]

magical

[@Diamondelle84]

4:27 "Potty" 😂😂🤣

[@ivorytower99]

*Hooked!* Now I have-to watch it again.

[@excelynite]

No one ever gives me any villas in the south of France :(

[@ReggieGurl04]

I’ve watched this movie an unsettling amount of times. It’s one of my top feel good movies. Having said that, every time I’ve watched I’ve wondered how the car went that hastily up the drive. Was there two cars?

[@BookishRaider]

I’m not saying this to assume anything, but Hugh Boniville (The actor who portrays Lord Grantham) looks like he’s lost some weight in the multiple scenes that he was in.

[@truesolsquare]

How is Sybbie's situation different from Marigold's? Not sure I get the thought process there.

[@rayvnsamone53]

Marigold inherits her late fathers news paper business, and his flat in London, so she is set as well, Lady Edith set it up in a prior season.

[@flyboy152]

She’s growing up as the step daughter of a Marquess who loves her like his daughter. I’m sure he & Edith will make provisions for her.

[@katherinewilson1853]

Branson is not an aristocrat. Marigold, on the other hand, is born with her mother being an aristocrat. It's the glass ceiling of generational wealth. While Tom likely won't be knighted, he can gain wealth for Sybbie, and that villa is a place he's never personally going to be wealthy enough to buy. With the gift of it, Sybbie is now far more wealthy and by extension, so is the Grantham family.

[@margaretjeffries1666]

Made me 😥when she died !

[@jalistomsouzadasilva7151]

loved the film

[@astrofabio68]

Suddenly all the cast becomes mediterranean..!

[@l.a.3479]

🤣

[@joeseeking3572]

This is the first clip I've watched of the second movie. Partially because the first movie was (probably more than a little) disappointing compared to the series and I suspected the second would be too. From this clip, pretty sure that would / will be the case when I eventually watch it in full. No matter what the budget, there just isn't time enough for nuance (even the series began dropping that after the first few seasons). The story suffers, the actors' opportunity to convey emotion suffers, even the wit becomes forced.

[@UncoordinatedPixie]

This movie was waaaaaaaay Better than the first one.

[@ameliamartinez339]

Puede ser en español? Gracias

[@HaHa.Na.ssentu]

Blood is thicker than water. Love is the greatest gift though. Comforting.

[@Lans888]

I wonder why is this removed from Netflix.

[@flyboy152]

Netflix gets shows from other networks on contracts, sometimes for a year, sometimes two. Eventually the contract ends.

[@xadam2dudex]

I don't think they ever said how much they offered on the back of the card

[@l.a.3479]

Doesn't matter. You can tell it's a more than generous amount by the reactions of Mary and Edith.

[@tyamada21]

Is there gonna be another season -anyone know????

[@flyboy152]

There won’t be any more seasons of Downton on TV. There is a remote possibility of a 3rd movie, but don’t get your hopes up.

[@TheJFerg24]

Mr. Barber does a wonderful job as a DA on Law & Order.

[@KoiYakultGreenTea]

He’s also wonderful as a empath on Hannibal

[@Diogenes-jn7nh]

Why is everyone (including the photography and filters) so orange in this film? It looks almost bizarre.

[@rp7784]

Haha it's because they filmed much of this movie in the south of France which is much more hot than in the UK, hence why some of the cast are rocking a tan.

[@Diogenes-jn7nh]

@@rp7784 but even before France, they were orange. 🍊

[@rp7784]

@@Diogenes-jn7nh that's probably because they had to film some scenes in France before they did the UK segments.

[@m.layfette6249]

Here's a question...How much $$$ was written on the back of that business card?

[@cyrilmauras4247]

Well, enough for Mary to rebuild the roof of Downton Abbey.

[@annamo9354]

@@cyrilmauras4247 which would be about GBP 750000 to a million in todays' money. At least that's what it would cost today, esp. on a Grade I listed house.

[@andrewjones-productions]

None. It would have been written in £££££,

[@ceebee23]

somehow I felt unconnected to this story.... it did not engage me in the way the TV series and first film did. I cannot say why .... but something was wrong ... the pacing? the French villa which we barely saw? the lack of Mary's husband? The movie stuff ... Barrow's departure... it just did not feel right...

[@curtyeomans8446]

Perhaps it was the fact that they tried to stuff all of that (plus he whole Daisy/Andy/Mr. Mason living together thing and Molesley and Ms Baxter getting engaged) into one film

[@marisolfernandez9356]

I don't like Barrow's end!

[@joryadamson7854]

I know this is fiction, but part of me wonders the state of the villa at the end of World War 2

[@andrewjones-productions]

Yes indeed! I just left a comment mentioning that myself. This was Vichy France, technically 'independent' and unoccupied. However, the Vichy Government adopted a policy of collaboration and were nothing more than a puppet state of the Nazis. It is likely that foreign ownership by a member of an enemy state would have been nullified and new owners or possibly the use of the villa in some military or hospital like way was possible. It merely could have been confiscated and the contents looted and sold off.

[@imnotyourdaddyx]

8:02 i thought she's wearing CARTIER HIGH JEWELRY NECKLACE worth $230,000

[@williamjoyner3759]

The Dowager was so severe.

[@blurdreamer]

First German, then France... Dowager is international wild back then, lol

[@EyesOfFrozenMeat]

Yes honey, you would turn down that villa!

[@ligialeonardo8160]

And where is Henry ? I miss him …

[@davidthaler7018]

‘Henry’ thought his time was better spent making some film about the making of another film. He won’t be back-the actor doesn’t wanna play in the Crawley sandbox anymore.

[@ivanahavitoff7308]

I beg your pardon!

[@voldeficient]

Why did you let her Die !! I know Maggie wanted it, but did the Dowager want it ?

[@user-ix1rp9ff3p]

her continued longevity will already be in violation of the laws of Nature

[@theoutlook55]

They already alluded to how she was going to die in the first movie, I'm just glad that we had her to be the pivotal plot point of the second movie. Also, it's always nice when you're able to end on your own terms, story-wise that is.

[@Landis963]

Judging from the first movie, yes, she did. "I have lived an interesting and privileged life and now - it's time to go." EDIT: corrected the timing of the quote.

[@m.layfette6249]

Settle down children, I've heard through the grapevine that there is a Downton Abbey Prequel is in the works. "And who could argue with that!"

[@mariashaffer-gordon3561]

@@m.layfette6249 Do you suppose Violet was as tart tongued when she was young as she is as an old woman?

[@gilbydog7350]

They all look great in the new series. The storyline with being given a villa in the south of France 60 years ago that she didn't take seriously / pay up keep on all those years is a bit far fetched.

[@terminallumbago6465]

She wouldn’t have needed to pay for anything with it because it belonged to the Marquis de Montmirail until his death, when he left it to the Dowager. It was willed to her. Also I’m sure she may have thought it was a scam or a joke, as it’s indicated later in the movie that his love for her was unrequited (or at least not followed through on).

[@GosieKin]

Why is everyone so tanned?

[@susanv.7540]

I remember reading that some members of the cast had gone for a boat ride on a sunny day, and ended up getting severe sunburns.

[@hpavalferr7201]

💙🙂💚

[@zauberklarinette]

Why is Rosamund there???? It doesn’t make sense 🧐

[@ligialeonardo8160]

Robert it’s so skinny! Why it’s that ?

[@Nyx773]

Because he decided to lose weight.

[@MyMags8]

Because when the stomach ulcer burst half his stomach was removed to save his life. My Uncle experienced the same & was a thin man for the rest of his life…..

[@kerriethompson2073]

His voice was different as well.

[@KD-nk3ht]

It its length up to par at least?

[@l.a.3479]

*IS, not it's

[@muhammadrashid6699]

Denker don't stare me 😂😂😂😂

[@fannycraddock99]

It's steer me!

[@muhammadrashid6699]

@@fannycraddock99 Stare s the right spelling steer is to change the direction of something

[@fannycraddock99]

@@muhammadrashid6699 sorry but it's steer. look up a dictionary. Plus if you listen to what she says to Denker and her subsequent reply.

[@muhammadrashid6699]

@@fannycraddock99 ok may be i m wrong though i saw dictionary it was steer but English is my third language

[@fannycraddock99]

@@muhammadrashid6699 no worries, glad to have helped.

[@samanthac.349]

As I’m watching this scene, I’m cracking up because Hugh Bonneville is already so tan! They must have filmed the France location scenes before filming at Highclere began.

[@jhwheuer]

Gosh, the writing really took a nosedive after season two, maybe three…

[@Boringcountrylife]

Too much plastic surgery, make-up, stiff hair, and cheesy music. The filming doesnt seem as relaxed and authentic anymore. Feels more like watching people in a museum.

[@laerwen]

Plastic surgery? What are you talking about? The music is the same as it was, what do you mean? Stiff hair - you mean 1920s hairstyles???

[@TheJFerg24]

British Lion 🦁... gee, what actual film company was that a knockoff of...

[@thomasmccaghrey9888]

Nothing, it was an actual film company which was founded in 1927

[@Grace-hd6fh]

Omg 😳 you played in Harry Potter I’m a really big big big fan I watched all of the Harry Potter movies

[@carolablue5293]

If Maggie Smith is willing and able to do another movie, Violet's death could be written as a dream or a vision.

[@l.a.3479]

🤦🙄

[@Tenorgeiger]

Why is Lord Grantham so heavily made up?

[@Kingiwingi8713]

It was something to do with the film schedule. The Highclere filming was delayed but then they filmed the France scenes in a heatwave then did the house scenes so he had a tan.

[@manicangel7796]

This movie was horrid.

[@l.a.3479]

It always said nice things about you. 🤷

[@manicangel7796]

@@l.a.3479 Lol.. I bet Thomas had nothing nice to say about me. I adored! the series but the movie was not good.

[@user-rk1dk1gr9c]

Stupid pompous storyline.

[@InFltSvc]

Good God, they destroyed this series…. nobody’s recognizable, the only one surprisingly recognizable is the old lady and she’s the oldest. Hugh Bonneville looks horrible. It don’t even sound like him.

[@abhilashmishra3601]

12 years …do u still expect Mary to look like the time she met Pamuk? Lmao

[@ericwierzbinski4993]

Empty. Useless.Very painful sequel to watch.

[@10293]

Yes, you are those things

[@nickjonasdicc]

The highlight of this clip is Marigold calling Edith her "mummy."