"Never Complain, Never Explain" | Downton Abbey

Despite Prince Kuragin's earlier confessions of love for Violet, she reunites him and his estranged wife, Irina, at her house. Violet gives Irina some of her clothes to wear, but Irina treats her with contempt. Was Violet so wrong to savor this immoral proposition?
Season 5 Episode 9 ”A Moorland Holiday”: Lord and Lady Sinderby invite the Granthams to the country estate they have hired for driven grouse shooting. Elsewhere, Violet reunites Prince Kuragin and his estranged wife. Robert tells Edith that he knows Marigold is her legitimate daughter but will continue to keep the secret within the family to protect them both from scrutiny. Later, Isobel declines Lord Merton's marriage proposal, as she does not want to come between him and his sons. Finally, Anna is released on bail and a big Christmas party is held for the Downton household, which is the perfect send-off for Tom and Sybbie.
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.
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[@xoxo-dr8df]

"If you are going to feel miserable you might as well do in charming surroundings." wise words.

[@funnyusername7097]

Reminds me of Blair from Gossip Girl: if you’re gonna be sad, might as well be sad in Paris

[@taroman7100]

I thought it was a crass remark.

[@alejandrobonofiglio1097]

I realy liked him in the series, but man, how i wanted to punch him when he made that comment!

[@williamsstephens]

I was quite proud of him for showing enough gumption to deal appropriately with that dreadful woman.

[@themermaidstale5008]

Apparently it’s in the Russian nature to suffer.

[@danielburmad382]

They should make a serie about Lady Grantham when she was younger, including this famous trip ro Russia

[@rosalynsmith5232]

Oh yes

[@sarahdelmoral3475]

I second that.

[@emdee7744]

Oh my yes. What an inspired idea. Who do you think should play Violet in her younger years? Kate Winslet maybe? Claire Foy?

[@kimidanger1150]

@@emdee7744 o0o0 kate winslet would be marvelous!

[@mikeoxmaul45]

@@emdee7744 Still Dame Smith, but de-aged with CGI. Lol

[@pinklady051]

"you don't usually have much trouble complaining." this line was pure gold.

[@karldelavigne8134]

I love it when Isobel and Violet bond. They are like two quarrelling sisters but they also give each other emotional support.

[@barbarat5729]

Is THAT what they're doing?

[@IzzyKawaiichi]

Gives us hope for Mary and Edith...

[@lower_than_furries9727]

@@IzzyKawaiichi they're no less horrifying than Cain and Habel, if not worse.

[@IzzyKawaiichi]

@@lower_than_furries9727 This may seem like a strange question, but what version of the Bible are you familiar with where Abel is spelled like that? This isn't criticism-- I've never seen this so I'm curious.

[@mathbau]

A bit like Elizabeth and Margarete in The Crown.

[@markmh835]

Every woman over 75 deserves at least one last "immoral proposition from a man." What a memory to savor! You go granny. 😱👍

[@vai280194]

markmh835 you are so right.

[@hermzc3392]

I try to help with that but they act so shocked 😅

[@glennvannijevelt1133]

markmh835 immoral.... LOL !

[@wilfordfraser6347]

As a man over 40 I savor immoral propositions as often as possible

[@markmh835]

And if the immoral proposition to a woman over 75 comes from a younger man ........ then it is doubly savored. 😊

[@heathermetz6576]

2:05 “The presence of strangers is our only guarantee of good behavior!” Dowager!

[@buddyobbard2176]

Snap 😂

[@buddyobbard2176]

Notice how timid Violet seems compared to how she usually is in the scene with the princess. She doesn’t make any rude/witty remarks and seems genuinely holding back.

[@rosesweetcharlotte]

It's like a part of her is that young girl who remembers the princess in her prime.

[@adriangilbert5364]

@@rosesweetcharlotte it'd be hard to forget that time you were manhandled by your hair, or the person who did it...

[@sidharthmedepalli4564]

@@adriangilbert5364 whattt? When did they say that happened?

[@lisarandleman6141]

@@sidharthmedepalli4564 Violet and Prince were set to runaway together (a la Anna Karenina) the Princess found out, gave chase , caught and overtook the pair and pulled Violet out of the carriage. She sent Violet back to Lord Grantham.

[@sidharthmedepalli4564]

@@lisarandleman6141 oh my my...thanks for the info!

[@scottibrown3274]

I would have loved to have seen a younger Violet in Russia when she first met Prince Kuragin

[@sks17873]

Scotti Brown A kind of prequel series a few episodes long on either the Dowager or Cora would be great. I think Violet’s story would be interesting because of her relative lack of money compared to Lord Grantham and the Prince Kuragin situation. It would be interesting to see Cora’s transition from America to Great Britain though.

[@stalstonestacy4316]

@@sks17873 YES!

[@here_we_go_again2571]

@@sks17873 At the family dinner table, Violet mentioned that she "owed" it to the Princess Kuragin to help her escape to the UK and re-unite with Prince Kuragin. If nothing else, reuniting the two of them would allow Violent to get rid of the playboy, Igor Kuragin (who at that point wanted to be with her …. most likely for financial security)*** Princess Kuragin's background story would be interesting too. ***At his age what a man really …… needs is a (full) "pur$e and a nurse"

[@iainmawhinney8867]

for the sake of a joke, princess irina kuragin sure didn’t like seeing it

[@markmh835]

@@here_we_go_again2571 -- A "Nurse with a Purse" -- every man's dream. 😉

[@herrbrucvald6376]

The princess' rude coldness is just a sign of her very great suffering, not just pique at being in the hands of her rival.

[@marinazagrai1623]

Have you seen the series on Netflix? The prince almost ran off with Violet when they met (during that trip to Russia). The princess discovered their plan (Violet changed her mind) so, of course, she held a grudge, especially that now she was the poor one and had no status of Princess (she felt superior to Violet even as she lost everything).

[@koppsr]

"I will never again receive an immoral proposition from a man." That line somehow made me tear up. That moment when a woman realizes, that a part of her life is irreversibly over.

[@g0nt411]

There is always a last time for everything, better just embrace them, as long as they are safe.

[@Bluemango123]

That little step back Violet did when the Princess stepped forward preceded by the "Last time we met..." line. Wonderful acting. You could see the fear in her face. Again, you almost never see the Dowager Countess on the defense.

[@ruthhunt667]

I concur

[@stanislausklim7794]

Fun fact:Princess Kuragin is played by the same actress who played Princess Alice of Greece and Denmark, Queen Elizabeth's mother-in-law, in The Crown.

[@leewhite-graham753]

A wonderful actress. 10 years recovered from a stroke.

[@shivapejman8155]

Oh wow. Awesome. 😁

[@nidhi5779]

Exactly yes. I just commented about it myself

[@chrismorgan9154]

She sure gets around!

[@robertmoore6149]

And she was wonderful in that role as well.

[@annaisnotabanana246]

"Many of our countrymen have lost everything..." "Including the will to live."

[@12tinj]

AnnaIsNotABanana ... and it’s hasn’t changed even today

[@AlexS-oj8qf]

Russians were such a Severe people haha Glad my ancestors relocated to Poland-Lithuania and later Australia when the Empire collapsed.

[@dergluckliche4973]

@@AlexS-oj8qf Poland to Australia is quite a leap! How did that come about? My ancestors made a much less interesting move way back: Scotland to the US (Illinois) probably in the 1870s and then in the 1920s to Los Angeles. Less than a century later I turned around and moved to London, then to France.

[@AlexS-oj8qf]

@@dergluckliche4973 We have lands back in Poland, my ancestors were descended from the Ruriks of Muscovy and have Polish titles and castles around the area of Brest-Litovsk. My ancestors later moved to Paris as the Russian Empire collapsed, then to Manchester where they board a ship for Melbourne and settled in Yarra Ranges area with many other Polish immigrants.

[@jamessinclair2915]

I always imitate Princess Kuragin when speaking with old enemies.

[@powerdriller4124]

"KuraginA". Female Russian last names add an "a" at the end.

[@ESTIFANOS_EGZI]

@@powerdriller4124I think the rule does not necessarily apply to surnames shared with your husband and with the rest of the family. In her case, her first name "Irina" ends with an "a" as you rightly said.

[@williamsstephens]

@@ESTIFANOS_EGZI It's Elena, pronounced "Ilyena". I noticed because it's my sister-in-law's name.

[@Hjalmar_an_Craite]

@@ESTIFANOS_EGZI Her name doesn't have anything to do with her surname. In some Slavic countries, like Russia or Poland, surnames have male and female version, but it depends on a surname of course. In this case, however, she should be called Kuragina, not Kuragin. Most famous example - wife of Putin was called Lyudmila Putina, not Lyudmila Putin.

[@Hjalmar_an_Craite]

@@williamsstephens It's Irina, not Elena.

[@steemdup]

Isobel sacrificed love and happiness to spare Lord Merton's hateful sons. She's an honorable person. Branson is so lovely; I wish Sybil hadn't died.

[@marksolomon969]

She didn't, you know. She is hanging out with Elvis, in a quiet neighborhood in Vegas.

[@Dreamcatcher0007]

Even Mathew.

[@itsabovemenow1016]

Isobel was such a martyr. I drove me nuts that she almost gave up Lord Merton because his god-awful snobby sons disliked her. Really? Happiness and companionship is terribly hard enough to find when you’re older and she’d give up for those jackasses? I would have loved for Sybil to stay in the series. Rose was a poor substitute. I didn’t care a thing about her story. Everybody else was interesting except her.

[@luviano26]

I can’t get enough of Maggie Smith. She is the best.

[@luxaholicanonymous2577]

I loved her in first wives club 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

[@marinazagrai1623]

Hug Bonneville said that all were scared they would not act correctly against this master of the stage, primarily.

[@themermaidstale5008]

Maggie Smith played the part of a school teacher in a Mama and Eunice skit on the Carol Burnett Show.

[@jimhall1170]

I will never again receive an immoral proposition from a man. Was I so wrong to savor it? What writing!

[@hildajensen6263]

Isobel and Violet. One brings her ideals and energy. The other has connections and can strategize and negotiate like a seasoned politician. Together they would be able to manage just about anything.

[@jdstep97]

3:43. The Dowager wasted no time ringing that bell. You know she's ready to be out of the presence of the Princess.

[@SheBPadfoot]

“You will, if you try.” Such a subtle line, with such depth. He was one of the few people who could understand her on a deeper level, but they met at the wrong time. In another life, they would have been soulmates.

[@DUCKDUCKGOISMUCHBETTER]

He was either "the only" or "one of the few". Can't be both at the same time, lol. Gave you an upvote anyway, because I agree with you.

[@SheBPadfoot]

@@DUCKDUCKGOISMUCHBETTER Thanks for the input 🙏 I made the correction, however I don’t fully understand your meaning. Could you elaborate? I often use phrases such as “only a handful of people”, is this incorrect as well?

[@DUCKDUCKGOISMUCHBETTER]

@@SheBPadfoot Well the expression "handful of people" is a figurative expression. Not intended to be considered literally true. But with the common, but nonsensical expression "one of the only..." it is an amalgamation of the two separate expressions "one of the few..." or "the only...". They are mutually exclusive. Meaning whatever it is, cannot be both simultaneously. If someone or something is "the only" someone or something, then they or it is the ONLY one that exists. Which means there cannot be a few others, of which they are one of. Otoh, if they or it are one of the few, then they are not the "only" one of its kind. Hence, to say something is "one of the only" is a description of a numerical impossibility. A literal contradiction in terms.

[@fancybrooks3156]

I really like lord Merton for Isabel. They both deserve some happiness. And it is nice to see people of a certain age find love again on-screen. It happens all the time IRL, but not that often on-screen.

[@markmh835]

For movies with storylines featuring late-in-life love and sex, I would HIGHLY recommend the British films "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" and its sequel "The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel." These are charming and magnificent! Both feature Dame Maggie Smith ("Violet" in D.A.) and Penelope Wilton ("Isobel" in D.A.), as well as Dame Judi Dench together with other British acting luminaries. (And the sequel features American actor Richard Gere.) If you haven't seen these movies, do track them down to watch them. You will not be disappointed. 😊👍

[@luxaholicanonymous2577]

Same! ♥️

[@maryshaffer8474]

One of my brothers specializes in marrying seniors in nursing homes.

[@eggplanthose]

Carson and Mrs. Hughes was a lovely story line.

[@lower_than_furries9727]

If only lord Merton's children were as nice as their father..they were an absolute cunts, abomination to humanity.

[@taroman7100]

I like how curt the Princess is to everyone and how she fumes with resentment and contempt.

[@gragokboy]

I think she is a realist. They were surrounding her with pleasantries when she knew that her life from that day onwards was going to be unpleasant through no fault of hers.

[@stonem0013]

@@gragokboy no fault lol. The russian aristocracy had plenty of faults, believe me

[@davidcorruthers78]

@@stonem0013 certainly didn’t help they still had serifs when everyone else gotten rid of that system

[@markmarderosian4025]

This storyline made me realize just how fleeting a concept "royalty" is and how fragile. Without the will of the people to buy into it, there's no power. Royalty might have thought they ruled by divine choice, but it was all just chance and then built with the illusion of power where none really existed. Without the support of people (and the military), in the end, they were no different, were they?

[@blissinchains]

The same with democracy, or communism--or any governmental system. If you can't control the people, you can't control anything.

[@TheMcKenzieHaus]

At the end of the day, all power comes from the people.

[@Luboman411]

It wasn't an illusion of power held by the masses. If you messed around with the Russian czar when he had full control of his armies, you were liable to get shot or sent to a Siberian exile. It was REAL SCARY POWER. The problem came when the armed forces lost faith in the czar as a leader, which came about when the idiot decided to fling millions of his loyal men, unprepared, against the mighty German war machine from 1914 to 1917. That horrific war of attrition embittered most of the soldiers. So when the czar called on these soldiers to shoot starving mothers in St. Petersburg in February 1917, they instead turned their guns against him. Within days of this vast mutiny of soldiers the czar lost all of his great powers.

[@dan_38]

@Luboman411 sadly, all of those were self-inflicted wounds by the czar himself. He lost the faith in his men because he did not want to reveal his true secret, that his son was hemophiliac. He had no supplies, because go figure, abusing ur workforces means loss in reliable work, and no food because the farmers weren't evenly distributed by the nobility of Russia. He sent millions to die to keep allusion, but each ultimately led to his murder in a rakety basement in the woods

[@dreamiesnoona6423]

It makes one humanise these royal or aristocratic figures who love to be shrouded in mystery. Ultimately, they are all humans in poverty or in richness.

[@kritishdadu9828]

"I will never again receive an immoral proposition from a man" why did I just shed a tear?

[@kachi2782]

The princess' lines are so wonderfully written. Poverty since birth is a hard thing but i think it is harder to fall from prestige and privilege into poverty.

[@kbeautician]

Yes.

[@arandomambipom9444]

Wholly disagree

[@fujoshirants9609]

I experienced that and it jars you. It took me years to settle into this life and I am still not used to it. The financial crisis of 2008 humbled alot of people.

[@kachi2782]

@@arandomambipom9444 Really ? Why ? Better the devil that you know since birth don't you think.

[@kachi2782]

@@fujoshirants9609 I am sorry to hear that. And yes the ongoing crisis is humbling a lot of people, except the super rich who are just getting richer and richer. Were you born wealthy or did you go from regular to wealth to broke ?

[@jackjones3657]

What a great show this was. The acting, the writing, the attention to historical detail were top notch. I'm not sure I share the British idea that even the best series' need to last no more than 6 seasons.

[@here_we_go_again2571]

The sixth year of episodes seem kind of rushed compared to the first five years -- But, there is the film and also (Feb. 2020) rumors of a second film.

[@maestroclassico5801]

They excepted on Dr Who

[@elamplough1]

@Flightof2Owls It's true that a lot of British TV shows don't last as long as American ones but there are exceptions, like a police drama called Heartbeat that aired for 18 years (there were 372 episodes overall!). Generally speaking though, it's believed that a popular TV series shouldn't last too long in case the script and acting wears thin and it drops in popularity. In other words, people like a good show to end while it's still good.

[@elamplough1]

@Flightof2Owls Sorry, didn't mean "believed" to sound weird, obviously not everyone shares the same opinion but it's what you might call the general opinion within the British TV industry. Writers and producers get a lot of criticism for letting great shows turn boring over time.

[@maestroclassico5801]

@@elamplough1 Downton had much to offer but honestly the show HAD jumped the shark.

[@adriangilbert5364]

I thought this was the best storyline of the season. Finally some background and exposition for the Dowager and battle ax though she is, we got to see tenderness and abundant humanity from her, as well as the depths of her complexity and integrity.

[@ChaoticNarrative]

In her own words; She's a woman of many parts.

[@dorianlord6576]

“The presence of strangers is our only guarantee of good behavior”. Classic British methodology! Love it!

[@leenaleewitch3731]

The princess is savage. I love how she greets her husband 🤣🤣

[@Knappa22]

What’s lovely about this is that it truly shows the human condition. Ask any person of senior years how they feel and they’ll usually say they feel they are the same person as they were sixty years ago. Age brings experience, and an ability to reflect but it doesn’t change the essence of who we are

[@gerardcollins80]

"I didn't know if you had your luggage with you?" "I have no luggage, I have no possessions to put in my luggage." When the airline looses your suitcase.

[@stalstonestacy4316]

It's funny because it's true

[@barbarat5729]

Loses. Its loses.

[@markmh835]

@@barbarat5729 -- "It's." It's "it's," not "its." 😊

[@kimidanger1150]

@@markmh835 love this haha :) when people who try to smarmily correct others grammar make their own mistakes! its a youtube comment for dowager sakes, who cares about correct grammar or spelling?

[@davidthaler7018]

@@kimidanger1150 Right...because IT’S perfectly OK to forget about the correct use of the English language on KZbin.

[@flyboy152]

Edith: You don’t usually have much trouble complaining Violet: *death stare* Hey, she got that sass from you. 😀

[@LollyGagChannel]

`Never complain, never explain` `You do usually have much trouble complaining` 😂

[@xs10086]

The princess is so grand and intimidating

[@taroman7100]

and she's still really pissed about her outcome.

[@phalynwilliams4119]

I love 💕 the way Violet and Isobel became such close friends.

[@ethanjorgefazon4152]

Please. PLEASE! make a spin-off about that time in Russia!!

[@seabirds]

That would be worth watching!!

[@farhoudfalahatimarvast1187]

But I’m sure we’d all be disappointed! No one can play Violet better than Maggie Smith herself ❤️ A young Violet really requires a young Maggie Smith. So unless there’s a time machine to bring her here....

[@l.a.3479]

​@@farhoudfalahatimarvast1187 Plenty of good actresses could play a young Violet. Natalie Dormer comes to mind.

[@EmpireProductions1]

Princess Kuragin has every right to treat the Dowager Countess as such. She could have become a divorcée overnight if her husband had run away with Violet. It's painful to watch her having to be in a mere countess's hospitality in a foreign land.

[@luxaholicanonymous2577]

Not to mention she lost all her wealth. A princess with no home nor possessions.

[@taroman7100]

She lost everything. Reduced totally to a humiliating status.

[@williamsstephens]

The Russian landed gentry made the French look quite benevolent. I spend no time bemoaning the revolution they absolutely deserved.

[@smsucks7174]

The Prince and Dowager’s characters were written to be quite amoral

[@remycallie]

There were several hundred princely families in imperial Russia and literally several thousand princes. Actually a much more common title than a British Earl. The sons and daughters of the Tsar were NOT called "prince" or "princess" but rather "Grand Duke" and "Grand Duchess." *Their* children were called imperial princes or imperial princesses, but this was not the same title as the ordinary title of prince that Prince Kuragin has in this story. The only thing that really bothers me here is that the Prince and Princess would have spoken fluent French and they probably would have spoken to Violet in French, not English. As Peter the Great said "I speak French to my court, German to my soldiers, Russian to my peasants, and English to my horses."

[@GoldenRose116]

I loved this storyline so much, wish it lasted longer. Isobel and Violet are so sweet together

[@user-ih6vs3eg3o]

Oh no Edith got the look!😂

[@dougele]

Stink eye!

[@jehannethompson1432]

Whenever you get the look. Your in trouble

[@williamsstephens]

Edith DNGAF.

[@l.a.3479]

​@@jehannethompson1432 YOU'RE or YOU ARE in trouble.

[@gautamsinha878]

Dame Maggie Smith......Totally Inimitable & Spot ON !! Cheers from India!

[@MrMrremmington]

“ I will never again receive an immoral proposition from a man.” Poor thing.

[@elisaronchi672]

"I didn't know if you'd have your luggage with you" "I have no luggage. I have no possession to put in my luggage" And I'm like "Yeah, okay, but chill a bit, dude"

[@davidthaler7018]

Elisa Ronchi How “chill” would you be if you had to flee your homeland with nothing but the clothes on your back and were “rescued” by the woman who ALMOST ran off with your husband?

[@elisaronchi672]

@@davidthaler7018 lol, true, but the situation made me smile

[@MaximilianvonPinneberg]

It was almost comedic but then you realise that what she says is the truth and she really has no possessions.

[@rosesweetcharlotte]

@@MaximilianvonPinneberg And remember, she's a princess. Violet is just an English Countess, a title which wouldn't hold a ton of meaning on the wider European stage. And here this princess has absolutely nothing and even had to borrow a nice evening dress from this country countess who almost stole her husband.

[@williamsstephens]

@@rosesweetcharlotte I assure you, during the Dowager Countess's lifetime the British were the world's greatest superpower. The Russian nobility were fabulously wealthy, but they were also effete Francophile dilletantes who utterly oppressed the people of Russia. (Most of them spoke only French, btw. Completely ignorant of Russian reality.) They did much to create their own sad fate.

[@omargoodnesssake]

“Last time we met the circumstances were rather different.” “I don’t remember.” “I think you do.”

[@neilhorner9197]

Maggie Smith is an amazing actress. Bravo!

[@albustran4855]

I dun have words to describe Maggie Smith's acting skill. She is just... marvelous.

[@l.a.3479]

Obviously. The words are "don't" or "do not."

[@kokoeteantigha389]

That hollow echo of footsteps on a wooden floor, it brings back fond memories from many wonderful years now long gone.

[@cerenerturk]

Don't you feel hope from the soundtrack? Anytime I hear it, varying emotions come to my heart and go. But in all of them there is one common and steadily remaining feeling, hope.

[@JMac7395]

I doubt Prince Kuragin was still in love with Violet. I think he was using their past entanglement to emotionally manipulate Violet, so that he would live out the remainder of his life in comfort. Fortunately, Violet is too smart for that😉

[@rosesweetcharlotte]

This is what I always thought. I mean, maybe he loved her a bit, but mostly he just needed a nice place to live.

[@renatewest6366]

Yes but with a spouse like that who could blame him.

[@MeMeDaVinci]

"Nothing is more tedious than other people's misfortunes."

[@rachaelm7084]

She just said that them being there will stop them from tearing each other‘s clothes off! ☠️

[@Dowager666]

The actress who played the princess also played DAGMA the sister of Queen Alexandra back in Edward the 7th 1975 as the mother of Nicholas 2nd Tzar of Russia SHES an amazing actress amazing to see her in this too bravo

[@carl44acq]

She also played Eleanor of Aquitaine in the 1978 BBC series The Devil's Crown.

[@Dowager666]

@@carl44acqshe also appeared in THE CROWN too twice

[@Messier45_Pleiades]

I never liked Prince Kuragin who was so willing to abandon his wife to poverty for a life of luxury. No loyalty.

[@elamplough1]

His character is based on a manipulative and untrustworthy Russian nobleman from the book War and Peace.

[@mathewcole7848]

I got the impression that Prince & Princess Kuragyin were separated during the Revolution or the Civil War. It's very easy to assume that even the most dearly loved person is gone forever, when separated under those circumstances.

[@johndawid8059]

Didn't like Prince Kuragin because he willingly abandoned his wife, etc. etc? Sheesh, I'd have delivered that nasty old woman to the Cheka myself before I bailed outta Russia! Bet they didn't have any kids...talk about frigid!

[@aronspidle138]

@@mathewcole7848 They were. In another scene, somewhere, it is explained that they were arrested together, but then imprisoned separatley. The princess was released from prison before he was, and put on a boat leaving the country, headed for Hong Kong. In the chaos and destruction of revolution, and when so many disappeared never to be heard from again, it would indeed--as you say--be all too easy to assume and believe that the princess was dead. Esp. after five years.

[@6356190]

Maggie Smith, Penelope Wilton and Jane Lapotaire are wicked! Awesome British actresses.

[@shafur3]

Granny looks beautiful love her outfits

[@nina1522]

I want a series of 'prequel' movies, about Violet's adventures in Russia, about Robert and Cora's courtship and the early days of their marriage, Isobel and Matthew's life before they moved to Downton.

[@flyboy152]

The first two would be good, but Matthew as a solicitor doing wills, taxes, and contracts? Yawn. Remember in the UK, solicitors do not argue at trials, so no interesting courtroom dramas.

[@EvaSofie]

Violet’s face at 4:53 says it all. 💔

[@DeanMoxley87]

I’ve just noticed that the Dress the Princess is wearing is the Dress the dowager wore in the very first episode

[@rosesweetcharlotte]

I think that is partially why she is so mad. She is a royal princess, she is technically Violet's better. And yet here she is, wearing one of her old dresses. Violet is just a country girl from England who happens to be of nobility, but that was nothing compared to the Russians

[@slytherinnyc]

ahh!!! Jane Lapotaire (princess kuragin) she's magnificent...she played Princess Alice in The Crown i saw recently...magnificently! maggie of course is creme de la creme.

[@JudgeJulieLit]

Thank you for identifying Jane Lapotaire; I had seen her in Edward VII as a Danish princess, but here did not recognize her, expertly acting a Russian one.

[@millardlim981]

Jane Lapotaire and Maggie Smith have not, sad to say, acted much together professionally. They were together in the National Theatre in the late 1960s but not much history together.

[@pedanticradiator1491]

@@JudgeJulieLit the Danish princess she played in Edward the Seventh became Empress of Russia

[@bogdancristea9270]

I know Russians and Eastern Europeans in general (me being one of them) are rather straightforward and unkind, but this Russian lady is going over the top with her rudeness to her English hosts, who were not responsible, after all, for her and the Russian aristocracy's misery. It's true, we've only found out lately, that King George V personally made sure that his cousin, the tsar, would not be offered asylum in the UK, but that was an ill-advised and selfish decision that affected only one man and his family, the king could not have done anything to prevent the Russian disaster overall.

[@l.a.3479]

I see your point, but she also, obviously, has understandable resentment toward Violet for almost running away with her husband back in the day.

[@themermaidstale5008]

Sometimes the Dowager Countess gets off her high-horse and has moments with Isobel. I’m was happy she was in Lord Merton’s and Isobel’s corner. Violet was instrumental in helping rescue Lord Merton from the “tender attentions” of his horrendous family.

[@ShowToSpeak]

You see why Dowager Countess is the boss. She returned the favor may be five decades later to the Russian princess, just when she needed it the most, and the very same woman whose husband the dowager tried running away with. That is maturity level : epic. She may have tricked everyone wearing the mask of a traditional woman but it was she who played the boss all thru, albeit silently. Writers take notes, that's how you balance gender when writing a script. One despises women being pitted against other women while writing the character.

[@apresnousledelugeloral4335]

The root of all of that is sexism. ..

[@smsucks7174]

Good grief 🤦🏼‍♀️

[@LMays-cu2hp]

That scene was so very nice.

[@LMays-cu2hp]

I still like this scene.

[@jws1948ja]

Yes, Lady Violet does remember. . .

[@m.a.b.devos-elsenaar7964]

They play this so beautiful.

[@l.a.3479]

beautifully

[@cyrilmauras4247]

"The presence of strangers is our only guarantee of good behavior"! I'd say. The last time the princess was with the Dowager was in Russia when the princess pulled her out of the carriage in which she and the prince were running away together!

[@anneball683]

I luv Edith's quip about granny complaining.

[@puterboy2]

She’s as sassy as the Fairy Godmother from The Slipper and the Rose.

[@christoffellner84]

Its pieces like these, that want me to see a series on the young (not yet) Dowager Countess.

[@judylaaper4849]

I wish netflix Canada still had this show .

[@jehannethompson1432]

Amazon prime has it

[@jehannethompson1432]

I religiously watch it on there

[@EyeLean5280]

"Never complain, never explain" is a line from an old 1930s Hollywood movie. I forget which one, but that line really stood out for me since I was a kid. In the movie, the romantic hero left the woman with that philosophy for a woman who was much less jaded.

[@philipchong8703]

3:57 Mrs Crawley said Yikes

[@Kotyk_Murkotyk]

Isobel: "I would so like to go to Russia. I'm afraid I never have." Princess Kuragin: "Then you've missed it!"

[@JudgeJulieLit]

The post introduction need be reworded, to say that Violet did not "vow to never again" receive an immoral proposition from a man. She rues to Isobel, "I may never again receive" such proposition; "was I so wrong to savor it?"

[@lualncol]

She's so good.

[@donalokeeffe7504]

"They can discuss syringes and stitches and stuff" 😂😂😂

[@RojaJaneman]

I looooove me some Violet. What a character!!!

[@emiltiwaz1022]

Jane Lapotaire is a magnificent actress. Watch her as Princess Alice Battenberg in The Crown S03.

[@dinar4240]

Could you please upload more videos of Thomas Barrow?

[@ch1aka2]

It's Princess Alice from The Crown? How can that be?

[@courtneysimpson88]

The actress is Jane Lapotaire.

[@pedanticradiator1491]

What do you mean how can that be? Actors do play more than one part you know

[@davidthaler7018]

I think it’s so cute the way young people think there was no life before The Crown, Harry Potter, or Game of Thrones.

[@l.a.3479]

​@@davidthaler7018 It's not just young people...🤦

[@PriyaSingh-rs4uz]

love the grandmother

[@Eowyn3Pride]

Hope of romance even in elder years! 🥰 there is hope!

[@preciousfox4740]

It breaks my heart what happened to the Princess Kuragin.I know that the show is only fiction, but I feel like the countries that had those revolutions, dethroning their royalty and nobility, they seem to have lost a sense of magic and romance and became over industrialized, and for what? Jealousy and greed? I'm no expert, but it seems that things got worse for them because of it. It reminds me of the book The Scarlet Pimpernel, it seems that England was a safe place for aristocrats because they still honored tradition

[@rosesweetcharlotte]

If you look at Russia, they essentially just replaced the ruling class with another.

[@-nightcore-2559]

. Why are they all wearing hats inside, and even at the table smh lol

[@kathyscott759]

Those hats squashed your hair to match the shape of the hat, so the style became to leave hats on when inside.

[@-nightcore-2559]

. @@kathyscott759 oh thats interesting. thanx

[@cfrygirl]

Ohh please make a series about the Dowager when she was younger!!!!!

[@uptoolate2793]

Oh Lady Grantham, i feel your pain.

[@tr_g]

Maggie Smith & Rade Šerbedžija! Very, very fine theatre actors.

[@hugothepinkcat]

"They have lost everything, but so have we." "InCLuDiNG tHe WIlL tO lIVe..." "Well, if you're going to be miserable, might as well so it in charming surroundings 😀" I'm dead hahahaha

[@7ajhubbell]

Thank you.

[@flyboy152]

This is another time they mess with the timeline for dramatic purposes. It was a multi-week journey from Hong Kong to England at that time. If Shrimpie’s men had just found her, she wouldn’t be there for some time.

[@bbatjargal1549]

In Russian she should be "Princess Kuragina".

[@NeekoFreeman]

I want a prequel but with Maggie Smith reprising her role haha

[@NorthAmericanDemocracy]

Maggie Smith is a Masterclass.

[@patrykkozubik6051]

Is it just me that was worried the Princess would try to commit suicide? -"Of course, they have lost everything. But so have we." -"...including the will to live." (...) -"I will be more comfortable tonight than I will ever be." -"You don't know that." -"But I do, Mrs Crawley."

[@adamthevirgo9297]

Princess Alice from The Crown! That’s where I remember her from!!!

[@jeanmyers1787]

Fantastic idea. Mr Fellows??????

[@trudifruty6078]

I do understand why she was so great full she didn’t run away with him what class she has to help them out

[@l.a.3479]

G-R-A-T-E-F-U-L

[@lotfibouhedjeur]

Please 🙏🙏🙏 I would die for a prequel about the dowager countess!

[@l.a.3479]

Better not make one, then!

[@walrusbehindyou9214]

The Russian revolution was such a sad event

[@valeria-militiamessalina5672]

All exits are entrances too, Madam.

[@amberanime]

People where starving and the rich where not using their wealth to prevent the poor from doing so. A revolution was unavoidable. I always find it sad when violence is needed to change things. But I can hardly blame people from taking up arms to overthrow a source of power that leaves them to rot. Even in this day and age the rich have enough money to own several houses/boats/cars and what have you while the poor are starving, unable to go to any schools or recieve proper health or dental care. A civil world doesn't let wealth decide what people are entiteld too. The poor grow poorer, the rich grow richer, and as always, a time comes where that reaches a limit and people snap and start a revolution. It's sad revolutions are needed, but it seems the rich have no intention to preventing them by taking good care of the less fortunate people so they have no desire nor need too take up arms to fight for their rights and survival.

[@williamsstephens]

The Russian landed gentry made the French look delightfully benevolent. They earned their fate, fair and square.

[@williamsstephens]

@@amberanime, please come help me build these guillotines in Texas.

[@wfcoaker1398]

I will.never again receive an immoral proposition from a man. Was I so wrong ti savour it? What a lovely line!

[@l.a.3479]

You made a mistake, however. It's "Was I so wrong TO savor it?"

[@ladyfoxwf1075]

Downton, I have a request, because I can't for the life of me find this scene, and I think I'm going INSANE! I remember a scene with Carson, I think talking to Mrs Hueghs, about when Mary was younger! Please could you upload it! I would be so grateful!!! :D

[@markmh835]

Lady Fox: I think I found it for you. Search KZbin (or the Downton channel) for an 18-minute clip called "Star Jim Carter as Carson the Butler." The scene of him speaking about 5 year old Lady Mary running away from home can be found at the 5 Minute mark. I hope you can find it.

[@ladyfoxwf1075]

@@markmh835 Thank you so much!

[@markmh835]

@@ladyfoxwf1075 -- I hope it's the scene you were looking for.

[@ladyfoxwf1075]

@@markmh835 Yes it was! Thank you for taking the time to reply, it was very kind of you :)