Violet's Best Season 5 Moments | Downton Abbey

The Dowager Countess is the matriarch of the Crawley Family. Violet never fails to make us laugh with her fiercely dry wit and perfectly executed one-liners.
This is the official KZbin channel for Downton Abbey. Immerse yourself in the greatest British historical drama and relive some of your favourite moments and tragedies, access to exclusive interviews with all the cast, and keep up-to-date with the latest news!
If you want more about life at Downton, don’t forget to subscribe now at goo.gl/tvsby7
Watch Downton Abbey on Google Play: bit.ly/2RkLl4f
Google+: goo.gl/7QfEH3
Twitter: / masterpiecepbs
Facebook: / masterpiecepbs
Official Website: www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/d...
#DowntonAbbey #MaggieSmith #VioletCrawley #BestMoments

[@Euroviking86]

"There's nothing simpler than avoiding people you don't like. Avoiding one's friends, that's the real test." Lol!

[@kimberlyevans9637]

That was a flaw in the show. It should have been MORE simple. Simpler was not a word in that period of time.

[@Shane-dy8lq]

My favorite line lol

[@suzannegross9293]

11 A

[@suzannegross9293]

Ddddd

[@dobazajr]

@@kimberlyevans9637 perhaps the way she was saying it was like with intrusive "r".

[@letlotlosibanda]

"You're testing me, Spratt. And I warn you, being tested does not bring out the best in me."

[@thamisiphesihleshozi9619]

'My dear, a lack of compassion can be as vulgar as an excess of tears' - Violet Crawley. Brilliant

[@zerjiozerjio]

Still a sharp barb, but actually has some wisdom to it! beautiful!

[@cartoons981]

something like conflict of machine vs animal. once truth is known that there is no conflict ? it becomes all meaningless . cuz it is

[@maviskoon1509]

Just another example of Mary’s vile arrogance.

[@brunorossibonin788]

@thamisiphesihleshozi9619 though she herself showed a lack of compasion throughout of the hole show

[@thamisiphesihleshozi9619]

@@brunorossibonin788 Throughout the whole show? Don’t you think that’s a bit of an exaggeration?

[@nandakishoren8566]

Look at the conversation between Violet and Isabel. It doesn't look like acting at all. It is so natural. Marvellous.

[@bobareebop]

Dame Maggie Smith and Dame Penelope Wilton. The British are so good at honoring talent and achievement.

[@nandakishoren8566]

@Adonis Briar Thank you!

[@lemorab1]

I love all of Maggie Smith's lines in "Downton Abbey." She also delivered one of my very favorite lines of all times in "The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie" in 1968: "Give me a girl at an impressionable age and she is mine for life."

[@debifambro1039]

I just love them... I❤❤❤

[@OzmaOfOzz]

They're friends in real life and Penelope Wilton has stated how much she admired Maggie, their friendship is very lovely 🥰

[@jayrjrjayrjr822]

The way she handled Spratt shows just how sharp and cunning she is

[@lower_than_furries9727]

To her, It's easier than flipping a hand. On her worst day, she is still way much better then we all are on our best day.

[@shahparaltaf5052]

She is not cunning at all. She is better than most of us specially compared to this age and day.

[@livlovely2707]

@@shahparaltaf5052 I disagree- She was cunning because she came up with an instant lie and then used her position and reputation to reprimand Spratt for possibly thinking and insinuating that it was a tawdry incident which she knew was actually the truth!

[@annsmith7207]

OH NO! Violet isn't cunning -- she can see right through people --- and she always has the most brilliant response. Not vulgar or crude but simply a bullseye statement that stops the conversation dead in its tracks! 👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋❤

[@angeldsouza777]

What it shows is just how indentured & stupid Spratt is 🙄 - he knows what he saw, so he MUST know the Dowager (& societal expectations) well enough to understand that she is basically telling him to 'know his place'. If he *truly* believes her impromptu story, then he's way more stupid than she is cunning... 🤷🏾😂

[@OfficialRyanx]

“Mrs Crawley is never happier than when she has a chance to use her guiding hand” Savage.

[@katherinehayes9110]

And the way Isabel handled it with her look and smile Classic!!

[@seancolepeper4410]

My favourite line in the entire series!

[@lknapp235]

"Darling, Granny, you know how much I value your advice." *"Which means you intend to ignore it."*

[@dawnstanley1733]

Lmao😂 Love that line!!

[@gerardcollins80]

Me with my siblings. Only they're not as courteous lol.

[@ewanoxborrow1024]

She was right though 🤣🤣🤣

[@gerardcollins80]

"You have to take control of your feelings, before they take control of you." *A seriously underrated peice of advice.*

[@Nat0528]

Honestly!! Sagest of advice!

[@Wickett01]

90% of people on Social Media should take this to heart when posting anything.

[@sezza271]

@@Wickett01 Agreed!💯

[@creativewriter3887]

now that we know what happened between her and the Russian Prince, she was really talking from experience, and how when confronted with the indiscretions of all the Crawley daughters, she understood from a position very few would understand. She really is the best "granny". :)

[@Wandrative]

Why? Thats some terrible advice, and its not good to do so.

[@weepingangel6805]

"Nothing vulgar, I hope. Nothing beneath the dignity of a butler of this house" I love the way she flips it round. Magic!!

[@shaniatreyu9303]

"My dear, a lack of compassion can be as vulgar as an excess of tears." Violet really knew how to kick the stand from under Mary- and so eloquently at that.

[@patriciajrs46]

Mary was so rude to Edith.

[@jimhall1170]

A lack of compassion can be as vulgar as an abundance of tears. I must remember that.

[@DarrylGrantaba]

Love this line!

[@WndD_74]

Excess not abundance.

[@aaf1548]

Jim Hall One of my all-time favorite quotes of the dowager was “a nastier woman never drew breath”

[@emdee7744]

Indeed, that IS a gem!

[@m.layfette6249]

"A lack of compassion can be as vulgar as an excess of tears."

[@Cwmbran1984]

“He wants what all men want… Don’t be ridiculous I was referring to companionship, as I hope you were” 😂😂😂😂😂

[@nazgullord3198]

Violet's and Isobel's friendship was one of the best ones in the series 💗✨

[@sheilaburns8977]

I agree. 2 Pistols! … 🤣🤣!!! Love these Ladies. PEACE to ALL.

[@amberanime]

@Maina Fridman God forbid people would use the comment section to share what they love for a change. Always so quick to spit our venom we are.

[@en1909s9iah]

it's the best because it went like any real friendship. it was unexpected, evolved, and each one knew about their disagreements, and the quirks of the other.

[@buddyobbard2176]

I love watching Isobel learn to give it back over the course of the show. :)

[@katherinehayes9110]

I love their honesty with one another

[@sadiemeazell7388]

I would absolutely love a prequel highlighting the early life of the dowager Lady Grantham

[@j.chiari4222]

Yes!

[@jeffhallam2004]

Yes but whom would play her?

[@j.chiari4222]

@@jeffhallam2004 Actresses aren't few.

[@jolenesmoove]

What a great idea!

[@jolenesmoove]

@@jeffhallam2004 Maggie Smith plus Deep Fake CGI

[@shoofly529]

2:44 "The presence of strangers is our only guarantee of good behavior"-Violet Crawley

[@jeronecute30]

"My Dear love is a far more dangerous motive than dislike"

[@m.layfette6249]

Dowager: "I think it's a Mad idea." Isobel: "I doubt they were aiming it at you."

[@lemorab1]

Isobel said "I doubt they were aiming it at you."

[@m.layfette6249]

@@lemorab1 🤗

[@madeleine9907]

😅

[@karishmaahmed7627]

My favorite!!! Isobel is savage with her comebacka 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@georgeprchal3924]

But old Granny was so smart and so quick that she thought up a lie and she thought it up quick.

[@DarrylGrantaba]

i think the line about the nudist colony in Essex and it being damp is perfect!

[@heathermay9884]

I see your Dr Seuss reference and I like it.

[@annedwyer797]

Outwardly, the Dowager Countess was seen as so old-fashioned and conservative, but when there was a crisis (especially regarding her granddaughters!), she was rather progressive and was the person who saved the day, working quietly behind the scenes. Maggie Smith brought such wit to the role. If you ever get the chance to see her in the 1968 comedy "Hot Millions", you'll see how great she is doing comedy.

[@davidthaler7018]

She also displays great comedic chops in “Neil Simon’s California Suite” (because before there was Tyler Perry, there was Neil Simon) and the 70s comedy classic “Murder by Death.”

[@phaerion9142]

The Dowager is not progressive, is pragmatic, sensible and hates to be predictable (to keep an image of ruthlessness and power), nothing to do with going against her love for the past and tradition or being "progressive".

[@Red1Green2Blue3]

@@phaerion9142 She was clearly very progressive for the time period, she accepted and even encouraged change in many instances. Being progressive doesn't have anything to do with 'love' of the past but rather a willingness to embrace change (the opposite of CONSERVative). She readily embraced change to what was considered normal and proper in a way some of the even younger family members, and certainly servants, did not.

[@phaerion9142]

@@Red1Green2Blue3 you keep turning the results of her actions as a personality trait/driving force, someone who dives multiple times in the water to save people is not a diver, is doing it to save people not for the love and embrace of diving, diver dive into water for the love and embrace of it, the dowager is faaaaar from being a progressive, progressives do progressive stuff for the sake of progress, they embrace and want change, she is clearly at heart a conservative/monarchist, but does not abstain to do "progressive stuff" for the sake of betterment. labelling her progressive is like labelling "gay" your straight football player for slapping you in thee but, results do not correlate motivation.

[@Red1Green2Blue3]

@@phaerion9142 I've turned nothing around. A progressive is somebody who embraces progress and change, that's it. The motives are neither here nor there. She was a progressive for her time. Just as the founding fathers of the USA were progressive for their time. You are terribly uneducated as you seem to have misconception that being "progressive" or "conservative" are static concepts - they're not they are relativist terms that depend on the context in which they are used. What was progressive 100 years ago is not necessarily so today. "progressives do progressive stuff for the sake of progress" - this is just nonsense, I'd advise you to enrol on a political science course at the open university or equivalent. Ignorance is a terrible thing.

[@sammy9679]

“Take control of your emotions, before they take control of you.” So wise!

[@yannickdrmda5295]

Spratt said it very well in the series final : "She hates to be predictible".

[@andreafabianbouchard3574]

That first scene. Oh my God. 😂😂😂😂😂 "He just wants what all men wants." "Oh, don't be ridiculous" "I was referring to companionship" "(Oh.)..."

[@cherylannemason]

"Lack of compassion can be as vulgar as an excess of tears"--who else would've had the nerve to say this out loud to Mary?

[@marionarda2790]

Only her . Cora maybe . Good advice . Many in DA lack compassion

[@helene420]

"A lack of compassion can be as vulgar as an excess of tears."😭😭😭 That was a zinger.

[@natesnana4955]

Indeed. A zinger that Mary would have been wise to take to heart

[@gatorbyte5254]

2:18 I wonder how many takes that took so no one would crack up laughing until “cut!” was yelled. “He’s a man, men don’t have rights” 😂 Lady Violet is the best

[@sisis_eyes_wide_open]

Definitely one of my favorite lines 😂

[@LilyGrace95]

One of my favourite things about the Countess was that she was often aghast at modern concepts, but never in the racist/sexist/-phobic way. It was always about being proper or the impracticality. Like the nudist colony and someone marrying up into a life they're not ready for.

[@marionarda2790]

Unlike carson

[@aaronc4899]

The implication being that traditions sprang out of practicality.

[@sampuatisamuel9785]

Avoiding ones friends is the real test... Lol

[@lemorab1]

I love this line. That and "She's as touchy as a beauty losing her looks."

[@lindadeluca3570]

I adore Maggie Smith. She made this show!!!

[@jamup870]

Maggie Smith will always be the Dowager Countess in my mind! She was born to play that role! I miss the series so much!

[@katherinehayes9110]

Oh I do too I can watch and show of any season and it is like watching it for the 1st time

[@dikshasinghmusic]

Me too!!

[@carolineandrews7231]

I have watched DA over and over, After a busy or stressful day, or just because I wish to, I sometimes- many times put on one of the DVD. it's like an old friend ( one you don't want to avoid haha)

[@desaawa]

"What do you mean a man has opened a colony in Essex?" 😂😂

[@CrimsonThorns]

I always loved the interaction between the Countess Dowager and Spratt (4:43-6:53)....quite often their scenes were very entertaining. 😎

[@markmh835]

"However much a couple may strive to be honest, no one is ever in possession of the facts." And this includes the wife and husband themselves. Friends of divorcing couples should best remember this true pearl of wisdom from the Dowager.

[@leilanij2567]

I love when she says “I prefer to rule with fear!” Lol

[@meh5069]

Spratt and Denker always had me cracking up 😂😂😂

[@kailoa1498]

"My dear a lack of compassion can be as vulgar as an excess of tears"

[@amethystanne4586]

“What is a weekend?”, Said by the Dowager in the 1st season when Matthew was talking about his job as a lawyer.

[@sarasamaletdin4574]

Well then a lot of people worked and studied still 6 day weeks and only Sunday was a day off, so it’s not that odd that weekend was something old person had not heard of.

[@ronnie7075]

Oh yes, and Sunday was strictly for going to church. My Dad would never allow us to go to the movies on a Sunday. Just not done.

[@philiphema2678]

I love the repartee between Violet (at first standoffish) and Isobel (never a wallflower, rising tot he occasion beautifully) as their alliance grew. I will binge forever!🥰

[@jeremysaysrawr119]

“Isn’t it terribly damp?”

[@angangieangela5216]

The Maggie Smith and Michelle Dockery dynamic relationship, their chemistry = perfection ❤️😍😊

[@marcosgarcia2643]

6:20 she was very fast and clever to give an answer to sort out the situation.

[@boredlawyer3382]

"In Essex? Isn't it terribly damp?" LOL.

[@sassegranny4700]

These 2 cousins were hilarious together. I loved their interactions together. there weren't many in the Movie but the ones they had made the movie.

[@scoopeditor6564]

What movie?

[@ronaldwebster9683]

@@scoopeditor6564 she is referencing the Downton Abbey movie in 2019. Check it out! It’s great!

[@OzmaOfOzz]

Spratt is such a drama queen 😂 Typical Spratt, he's a touchie as a beauty losing its looks 😂😂😂

[@ozuzumaki]

May God preserve Maggie Smith forever

[@williamterrill4384]

Violet Crawley is my favorite character

[@elizabethroberts6215]

……had the great privilege of seeing Dame Maggie on stage. What a consummate actress she truly is. I wrote to her, expressing my delight in her show, & received a beautiful letter back from her………wow!

[@whynot2644]

She had such ownership in this character .

[@frangamache5372]

I'm always expecting Isobel to introduce herself as "Harriet Jones, Prime Minister". Great actress, loved her in Doctor Who. Dame Maggie Smith and Penelope Wilton have great chemistry. They don't appear to be acting at all and, it seems so natural.

[@weepingangel6805]

"Harriet Jones, Prime Minister" "Yes, we know who you are"

[@ericl29]

The final line " I doubt they were aiming it at you." LOL

[@rosej5029]

Isabel is no slouch in the witty comebacks either.

[@kimberlylewis2185]

I miss DOWNTON ABBEY!!!! Cousin Violet was AWESOME!!!!!😂😂😂😂😂

[@lalruatpuiikhiangte7030]

Brilliant writing executed to perfection by the great Maggie Smith 😊

[@Theuomr]

"In my day a lady was incapable of feeling physical attraction until she'd been instructed to do so by her mama." Lady Grantham is bizarre sometimes...

[@portershaw9229]

I did hear my grandmother say the same thing. It was very very rigid during the 1920s. Women saved themselves and their virginity was vitally important when getting married. That is why Lady Mary states she was ( damaged goods ) after she slept with the man who died in her bed. If that got out she would never be accepted . That is why her sister Edith threw her under the bus and spread the story .

[@Theuomr]

​@@portershaw9229 I knew about that. I just didn't know they were shamed for feeling attraction...

[@lost99sheep]

@@Theuomr Granny Violet was born in the 1800’s back then women weren’t allowed to feel any kind of pleasure unless they were of the gallant living.

[@creativewriter3887]

@@lost99sheep And in Victorian literature and "scientific" literature, a woman was incapable of feeling passion unless she was defective, hysterical or whatever and if she exhibited any, she was hardly considered a lady.

[@lost99sheep]

@@creativewriter3887 that’s what I said.

[@angangieangela5216]

Julian Fellows was born to write for Maggie Smith 🥰

[@amandaljohnson]

Violet putting Mary and Spratt in their places at 4:29 and 6:27 are my faves

[@gerardcollins80]

I like 3:45

[@sheilaburns8977]

LOL!!! I was just writing about it above before seeing your comment. The Dowager is Brilliant and her mannerisms are great. …. PEACE to ALL.

[@delillablanton4994]

This is the best show I ever watched I love it. Why did it have to end.

[@harringt100]

Partly because Dame Maggie Smith was tired, I hear.

[@darmastutidarmastuti]

For me the unforgettable quote from violet is about Henry Talbot..."Mary needs more than handsome smile and hands on geer stick" .. 😂

[@johnedwards1559]

When I first watched Downton, I thought Mary was the protagonist and disliked Edith for her childish rivalry with her. When I watched it again, I felt Mary was an entitled brat too much like her father but without his compassion and Edith was the real sympathetic core of the show. Several years on, I now recognize that the Dowager Countess is the true protagonist and her love for her family and legacy were the central part of the show.

[@raphaelledesma9393]

I like to think of it like Notre Dame. The house is the protagonist. Everybody revolves around it. People die and are introduced but Downton Abbey remains intact.

[@karldelavigne8134]

Violet's witticisms have more than a little touch of the short stories of Saki.

[@memattia3198]

"Avoiding one's friends, that's the real test." :D

[@pabloruiz8597]

At 0:28. "Avoiding one's friends--that's the real test." LOL. And here I am, nodding at the Dowager Countess's very sage advice as I had to fib to a very sensitive friend about going out with coworkers on this Friday evening. He invited me to hang out with him despite the fact that I will see him tomorrow at a party. Now I am doing what I really wanted to do--lie on my bed to watch "Downton Abbey" and other clips on KZbin. LOL. That truly is the real test--avoiding your friends deftly enough without hurting their feelings. Sometimes you really don't feel like doing anything with anyone. Simple rest is just...I need it. :D

[@emmalouise9536]

I LOVE Maggie Smith she’s my favourite actress

[@emmalouise9536]

@James Smart hello friend, I’m ok thank you, how are you? X

[@emmalouise9536]

@James Smart thank you 😊

[@emmalouise9536]

@James Smart I’m glad your ok, I’m from England, it’s nighttime here

[@cassidyfaith16]

Best character ever.

[@salina8653]

Isabel,Spratt and old lady Grantham should've had a spinoff!

[@Celisar1]

I just love the interactions between Penelope Wilson and Maggie Smith. The first scene here is absolutely masterful. The way Mrs. Wilson masters it with perfect, subtle comedic timing is stunning.

[@InFltSvc]

Yes ! This show gave us six years of first rate fantasy entertainment every Sunday night in America on Masterpiece PBS and many memories have been made having special snacks and drinks with mother watching it.....

[@beverlyhorsley2952]

Oh I do so enjoy Lady Violet! She's priceless!!

[@mdv02]

She's simply the best! Greatest Maggie Smith!

[@John_Henry83]

My ABSOLUTE favorite character in the whole series. But then again she was played by the incomparable Dame Maggie Smith.

[@mariapelayo6276]

Every word a gem and I never tire of seeing scenes from this and listening to the dialogue so masterfully delivered!

[@KoiYakultGreenTea]

“He’s a man! He doesn’t have rights. “

[@28105wsking]

No! She said, " He is a man. Men don't have lives."

[@aansharmaa]

Men don’t have *rights

[@KoiYakultGreenTea]

Wendy S. King I think she meant the right to know what goes on with the children being women have to be primarily concerned with the kids

[@MsSavagechef]

@@28105wsking wrong. It was "rights."

[@henrybai8204]

@@28105wsking NO!!! SHE SAID: "MEN DON'T HAVE RIGHTS"!!!!!!!!!!!

[@CG-kf5vh]

What great actors! I’ve seen the entire series five times and I still watch scenes in KZbin. Outstanding.

[@susanmann5286]

I LOVE HER CHARACTER!!!

[@mukunimulundika5359]

"My dear, a lack of compassion can be as vulgar as an excess of tears" **Mary silenced... 😂😩🙆🏾‍♂️

[@mrspock1994]

“I won’t take sides ...IT’S TRUE”

[@katiethomas5889]

She is a treasure.

[@colmoconnor1357]

Maggie Smith brilliant 👏.

[@dorotawalczak7002]

Świetny serial, doskonali aktorzy zwłaszcza postać Violet👏

[@ophelias4172]

I want to be the Dowager Countess when I'm her age.

[@aaf1548]

Never complain, never explain

[@cecelialewis8358]

I absolutely love downton Abby

[@AnaLuizaHella]

I'm Brazilian so I can't watch the series. I came across with it because I was watching other videos with Maggie. I can't stop watching it. She is amazing. I think I'll rewatch "The Lady in the Van".

[@patmaurer8541]

"In Essex?! Isn't it terribly damp?" 😂

[@D.E.P.-J.]

I doubt that they were aiming it at you. LOL

[@Gertyprunes69]

She's such an icon

[@HappyStars234]

This is wonderful. Thank you for continuing to upload!

[@forchun88arrereh50]

There will no any boring moments if our granny is maggie Smith 💕💕🥰🇵🇭🇵🇭

[@rossanaglasgow2561]

The Dowager was on the ball. Quick thinking

[@KoiYakultGreenTea]

“I won’t take sides but I don’t think I can ever be described as neutral” is such a good line. It’s so black and white these days and the minute you declare an opinion you’re ‘against us’ these days. How often is it narrow minded of people to have ‘sides’ when you can have an opinion while not taking any side. We ought to be tolerant and clear headed

[@katie7748]

"Tolerance is the last virtue of a dying society. Apathy is the vice that kills it." It's a fine line between tolerance and tolerance. Learn to know the difference.

[@ericholck3914]

I almost feel like that last line "I doubt they were aiming it at you" was improvised on the spot. It's so catty and perfectly delivered, it seems too good to have been scripted and rehearsed.

[@joannethibault6016]

Violet has the best come backs.

[@Buttercup697]

Much of her advice was as good then, at the turn of the 20th century, as it is now, at the turn of the 21st.

[@user-ix1rp9ff3p]

but by the time she was entertaining the Russian prince it was already past 1917, hardly the "turn of the 20th century"

[@4knewt505]

I'm here during the pandemic and this is so refreshing!

[@amulyamishra5745]

Did someone listen the word _Quarantine_ ?

[@HeartofFlame]

Quarantine isn’t a new practice, that’s for sure. I think it dates back to the 14th century or something. Did that episode happen before the start of WWII?? The world has just come out of the worst Pandemic it had seen in 1918-1919. So I wonder if it was related to that.

[@manujohnson6557]

@@HeartofFlame I think it originated during the Black Death. There was a practice of ships being forced to stay off shore and people being confined in rooms for 40 days. Hence the term quarantine ( French for 4 is quatre, 40 is quatorze but I don't think quarantine came from French but from another similar language )

[@gerardcollins80]

And i oop

[@delillablanton4994]

Oh yes I am listening 😊😊😉

[@en1909s9iah]

@@manujohnson6557 it's from before. actually people were forcibly quarantined inside their homes most of the time.

[@gloriaszigetine6663]

nagyon szeretem ezt a sorozatot,remek szinészek környezet,nyelvezet.Egy világ ami sajnos eltünt.Budapest.Gloriia.

[@melissabarton3761]

I love this show!!!

[@tr-26]

Wish I had a granny like Violet Crawly! 😆😆

[@Terika-]

"In my day, a lady was incapable of feeling physical attraction until instructed to do so by her mama' " ...brilliant..

[@seektruth8662]

A nudist colony in Essex?? (Perfectly timed pause) Isn't it terribly damp there?!

[@LollyGagChannel]

I think, Violet is a good example of how I would like to be at that age😅