Line #9 WMG/DowntonAbbey


1	WildMassGuessing for ''Series/DowntonAbbey''.
2
3	[[WMG: Tom Branson is the father of Tom Hagen, of Film/TheGodfather]]
4	* Didn't he go to Boston, where Sonny Corleone found Tom Hagen?
5	** Jossed, he came back from Boston in the new season for good.
6	* Perhaps Tom's cousin is the father, so that would make Branson Hagen's cousin.
7
8	[[WMG: The series will end at the start of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII]]
9	With the house taken over by the government for the duration (and perhaps decades longer), and a DistantFinale showing it presently under National Trust administration with the Crawley descendants scattered throughout the world. Master George could make a present-day appearance at the Abbey - in his mid-nineties.
10	* And before that happens, one episode will involve a Mitford-like pro-Nazi guest at Downton, and either Cora or Mary will tell the guest off by saying "my father/grandfather was Jewish."
11	* Also, another episode or series of episodes around 1933 will involve a German Jew claiming to be Cora's cousin on her father's side[[note]]Isidore Levinson was almost certainly a German Jew, given his name and time period; "Levinson" is a characteristically Ashkenazi name, and the Polish and Russian Jews didn't start arriving in the US until the 1880s, while the major influx of German Jews came in the 1840s-70s, as a result of the anti-Semitic reaction after the UsefulNotes/RevolutionsOf1848[[/note]] trying to escape to Britain.
12	* And Master George Crawley will be conscripted, as he will be 18. Miss Sybil Branson will be a volunteer nurse like her mother.
13	* {{Jossed}} - Series 6, the final series, concludes on New Year's Eve 1925.
14
15	[[WMG: The series will end the way Seinfeld did, with all the main characters in prison]]
16	After all, they are all guilty of obstructing justice (or whatever the equivalent charge is under English law) in the investigation of the murder of [[spoiler: Anna's rapist]]. All the family's enemies (Edna, Simon Bricker, Richard Carlisle, Margie Drewe, Mabel Lane Fox, Larry & Tim Grey, Irina Kuragin, Terence Sampson) will testify as character witnesses against them. The Kemal Pamuk scandal will finally come to full public view. In the final shot the camera will pan out as they engage each other in their usual witty banter from behind bars.
17	* {{Jossed}} - Anna will not be prosecuted because of the real murderer's confession.
18
19	[[WMG: [[spoiler: Mary and Tom will be each other's SecondLove]]]]
20	[[spoiler: He's just lost his wife, she's just lost her husband. Both their children are close enough in age to be brought up together. With Matthew's death, the next heir to Downton becomes his newborn son, so Robert doesn't have to go shaking the family tree for any distant cousins to marry his daughter to preserve the Grantham line. Plus, the Christmas Special made much of the fact that both Tom and Mary don't really have people who truly understand them, save for their significant others. They can bond over their perceived distance from the rest of the family, their grief, their children. Whether it will end with them being happy together permanently is a different story, but them hooking up initially? That's going to happen.]]
21	* Unlikely, because while Mary is every bit as independent and headstrong as Sybil, she doesn't have the disdain for tradition her younger sister had; she prizes social connections and prestige. She's unlikely to get along with someone who would like to destroy all that. She also isn't at all interested in politics.
22	* There's also the fact that he is her dead sister's husband, so the whole matter would seem inappropriate and uncomfortable for them both.
23	* {{Jossed}} - Mary marries Henry Talbot, while Tom is seen flirting with what seems to be Edith's editor from the magazine company.
24
25	[[WMG: [[spoiler: Mary will find somebody in America]]]]
26	Let's face it, the whole idea of Mary going to America to "find a cowboy in the Middle West to shake [them] up a bit," as Robert put it, was a case of TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot - even if that aspect was ignored over the joy of seeing [[spoiler: Mary and Matthew FINALLY get together]]. Now that [[spoiler: Matthew is dead]], the family may decide to have Mary go to America anyway [[spoiler: to grieve in peace, and to find someone else]]. It certainly makes a lot more sense than [[spoiler: traditional, haughty Mary hooking up with rebellious, common-born Tom]], much as they may make sense in other respects.
27	* A spin-off will follow the series up in America - too many characters are winding up there for it to be coincidence. Presumably set in the Great Depression and the run-up to WWII.
28
29	[[WMG: [[spoiler: Branson and Rose will get together]]]]
30	With [[spoiler: Rose moving to Downton]] next series, all the Sybil-Rose parallels and hints of Tom [[spoiler: possibly finding someone to help him cope with his loss]], it's not unlikely that this will happen. While Rose is a lot less mature than Sybil ever was, we'll probably see her shed her naivety and whatnot next series.
31	** Jossed: Rose marries Atticus Sinderby in Series 5.
32
33	[[WMG: Daisy Robinson is an ancestor of Daisy Wick of 'Bones']]
34	Not only does Sophie [=McShera=] bear a striking resemblance to Carla Gallo, the two characters seem to share a lot of the same GenkiGirl personality traits, although they are much more repressed in the humble, "simple-minded girl" role of subservient Daisy Robinson.
35
36	[[WMG: The show is about Mary and her growth into maturity]]
37	Think about it. When the show starts Mary is a spoiled and self-centered brat but over the 3 seasons, she grew more and more mature. And now, with the [[spoiler: death of Matthew]] she will have to grow more mature to handle the changing world.
38
39	[[WMG: Mary is a succubus]]
40	Pamuk tried having sex with Mary, he ultimately died.
41	Lavinia, when she fell ill, was brought to rest on Mary's bed. She died.
42	Matthew slept with Mary in the same bed. He died as well.
43	Clearly... Mary is a succubus or some sort of demon.
44	** Or maybe her ''bed'' is cursed.
45	* Clearly all three girls have curses around them. No matter what, if you sleep with one of the Crawley girls, one of you will end up dead.
46	** Mary has so far killed Mr. Pamuk and Matthew.
47	** Sybil, being the selfless one, killed herself.
48	** [[spoiler: And now that Edith and Mr. Grigson have slept together, he's died in Germany.]]
49
50	[[WMG: Somewhere in the shows time skips a few episodes of [[Series/JeevesAndWooster Jeeves and Wooster]] occurred.]]
51	Both TV shows match each other to the year and if the Earl and his money mismanagement let to the temporary loss of Downton sometime after WWI (Which no one in the Crawley family speaks of out of shame) to the Basset family who had the place renamed to Totleigh Towers then we have a perfectly reasonable explanation for why Bertie Wooster is seen puttering about Downton Abbey.
52
53	[[WMG: The series will at least reach 1925]]
54	Why? Because that's when the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_Property_Act_1925 Law of Property Act 1925]] was passed, ''abolishing'' entail entirely.[[note]]That is to say: if Robert had lived to see 1 January 1926 (fairly certain) and Mary hadn't married Matthew and Matthew hadn't died, Matthew would have inherited the title and nothing else. Robert would have been free to leave Downton and the fortune to Mary or whomever else he pleased.[[/note]] This will be a moment for fantastically awkward (and very ''Downton'') humour as everyone looks at the perfectly-healthy Robert and remembers how they had been in a tizzy for ''eight years'' about something that, as it turned out, was completely irrelevant.
55	* Partially Jossed, the show ends on New Year's Eve 1927, but the abolishment of the entail isn't brought up.
56
57	[[WMG: The Earl of Grantham will die in the final series]]
58	Since we now know the series won't make it all the way to WWII (and it would have had to have been quite a long runner to do that) they'll need some other event to cap the series, and Robert's death is a natural end to the era at Downton (an alternative, the start of the Great Depression, is more the beginning of an era than the end of one). The other characters are dispensable, but Robert is the series tentpole; without him there is no Downton. It's traditional in drama for the paterfamilias to die and pass on his mantle to the next generation of leadership, in this case, Mary and whoever she winds up wedding; presumably the faux-angina episode is foreshadowing.
59	* Probably not with talk of a movie. The only person seemingly slated to die is the Dowager Countess.
60	* Jossed, Robert [[spoiler: suffers from a burst stomach ulcer in season 6, but survives.]] The big events at the end of the show are simply [[spoiler: Edith and Bertie's wedding, and Anna giving birth.]]
61
62	[[WMG: Thomas will finally get some in s4.]]
63	Because God knows the poor man's been disappointed so many times over the course of the entire show.
64	* [[spoiler: Jossed. Unless he got some offscreen while on the boat to America.]]
65	* [[spoiler: There is a scene of him kissing someone in the movie trailer, however.]]
66
67	[[WMG: Rose will have a relationship/fling with Gary.]]
68	Rose likes Jazz music and is a modern flapper, so it's easy to see her hooking up with the (Black) Gary. One of the pictures for season 4 shows them [[OldFashionedRowboatDate rowing a boat together.]]
69	* [[spoiler: Confirmed, although Mary does break it off, with Ross asserting that it wouldn't have gone on much longer anyway.]]
70
71	[[WMG: There will be some other heir ahead of Mary's son.]]
72	Matthew may have been the next heir, but he died before the title and property passed to him. If there is another adult male heir who was just as close a relation to the Earl as Matthew was, but a little bit younger or otherwise put behind him in the succession, they may still be ahead of the one-generation-further-removed baby. Of course, once entails are outlawed in 1925, Mary will be declared the heir instead, but they won't be able to resist milking the succession issues one more time for everyone who hasn't looked up entails...
73	* Doesn't work. the laws of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primogeniture primogeniture]] mean that Mary's son scopes the loot regardless of Matthew dying before he received his inheritance.
74
75	[[WMG: Mr. Carson and Mrs. Hughes will eventually retire and then marry each other.]]
76	Because they are the FanPreferredCouple. And it's not like Carson would ever do anything improper while they're both working at Downton.
77	* [[spoiler: Confirmed as of the Series 5 Christmas special, where they become engaged - although neither of them plan to retire.]]
78	* [[spoiler: Carson does finally retire in the series finale, due to his health.]]
79
80	[[WMG: Marmaduke's Real Name was Rather Boring]]
81	When he and Rosamund were courting, he called her "Marmalade" to wind her up about her hair, so she resolved to call him something equally [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotHeinous horrid]] and came up with "Marmaduke". His real name was probably John or something equally mundane, so the nickname stuck.
82	** Nah, that's his name - it's a real, though granted unusual, first name of Irish and Gaelic origin, meaning "follower of Saint Maedoc"
83
84	[[WMG: George will be MIA or a POW during the Second World War.]]
85	He'll be the right age to join up or be conscripted during the early years of the war. And it'll cause some drama.
86	* Jossed, the show ends before that point.
87
88	[[WMG: Downton will be damaged or even destroyed by German bombs during the Second World War.]]
89	HIGHLY unlikely - Downton is in the middle of nowhere, and the bombings were centered around major cities and areas of industry (London, Liverpool, etc). Bombing a country house seems a pointless waste of ammo.
90	* Again, jossed as the show ends before World War II.
91
92	[[WMG: Carson is Mary's real father.]]
93	Lord and Lady Grantham both have blue eyes, which couldn't produce the beautiful chocolate brown eyes that Lady Mary has. Carson also has dark brown eyes, and a very fatherly attitude towards Mary. We know Lord and Lady Grantham didn't marry for love, so is an affair in the early days of their marriage really out of place?
94	* Seeing as Carson is loyal to the hilt, and utterly disgusted by any sort of sexual antics, this seems impossibly unlikely. As a further point, brown eyes are certainly possible with two blue-eyed parents, just as two brown-eyed parents will sometimes produce a blue-eyed child (due to a recessive gene). [[http://genetics.thetech.org/how-blue-eyed-parents-can-have-brown-eyed-children Genetics are not cut and dried by any means]].
95
96	[[WMG: Molesley's arc for series 6]]
97	Molesley will marry Baxter. Later on, it will be revealed that, in the past, Molesley was in prison for a crime he did not commit or was forced to commit. His reluctance to reveal all the details will cost him his job. But just as he sinks into depression, he will receive an inheritance. Only, he will feel he does not deserve such inheritance because of the complicated and/or dramatic romantic circumstances surrounding said inheritance. But eventually he will realize he does deserve the inheritance or will accept it to help Baxter. He will need to help Baxter because her former boyfriend, the one who talked her into stealing in the past, will arrive to Downton to blackmail her after finding out about her marriage and Molesley's inheritance. Said former boyfriend will die mysteriously, and his death will before long be deemed a murder. Molesley will suspect Baxter killed her former boyfriend so he will take the blame and go to prison. He will be released soon, once it's proven that the former boyfriend's death was actually an accident, unfortunately Molesley will not be released before he loses a hand during a prison riot. Still, even though he lost a hand, he will be hired as a valet by a returning Branson, much to the chagrin of Carson and annoyance of Thomas.
98	** Aching sarcasm aside, [[ArcFatigue at least one of these well-trodden plot points is bound to happen.....]]
99	*** Amazingly, all of this is {{Jossed}}; moreover, Molesley stops being the resident ButtMonkey and finally has a run of ''good'' luck that allows him some dignity and a life of his own.
100
101	[[WMG: Anna's arrest is caused by an evil plot from [[spoiler: her evil stepfather.]]]]
102	Her mother has come into some huge inheritance (like everyone else in the show)so the [[spoiler: evil stepfather.]] is trying ensure she is hanged so he can get the money. He is the main police officer and pays the witnesses.
103	* Jossed, we don't meet either of her parents.
104
105	[[WMG:Bertie's cousin Lord Hexham isn't actually dead]]
106	He's been heavily implied to be gay and headed for a [[TheBeard sham marriage]]. It's noted that his body was buried quickly, before Bertie could get to Tangiers and make funeral arrangements, which is normal because of the climate... but still awfully convenient if he'd wanted to [[FakingTheDead fake his death]] so he could be free. There are two possible (slightly crazier) corollaries to this theory: he could now [[MeetCute run into Thomas]] and decide Thomas, with his [[TallDarkAndSnarky haughty good looks]] and [[JerkassWoobie air of tragedy]], is his [[TheMuse personal muse]], so decide to [[StartingANewLife run away with him]]. It's possible that after his [[InterruptedSuicide suicide attempt]], Thomas might have problems with his hands, in addition to his damaged hand from (trying to get out of) the war, leaving him unsuited for service (leading to some further misery for him, as he realizes the Crawleys are keeping him on entirely out of pity)... but no less suited for posing for paintings.\
107	Or, alternately, Thomas could have been [[NewOldFlame previously acquainted]] with Bertie's cousin, somehow or other, and they've kept in touch as pen pals or something like that, and Bertie's cousin actually faked his death so they could run away together, but somehow [[PoorCommunicationKills didn't manage to convey his plan to Thomas in time]], which is why after all the shit he's been through, Thomas [[DrivenToSuicide hit rock bottom]] in the same episode in which we learn Bertie's cousin is dead - he found out his longtime friend/maybe something more was dead, and felt he'd lost the last little bit of anything he had left to live for. Cue [[ReunionKiss touching reunion]] in the Christmas special.
108	* Nice theory, but we now know that Thomas [[spoiler: briefly took a job as the butler in another house, but returned to Downton to become the butler there after Carson got health problems. So even though he has no lover in sight, he at least got a promotion within his job and is relatively happy. And it was never implied that he even knew Bertie's cousin.]]
109
110	[[WMG: Downton Abbey is a GeniusLoci that uses the Crawley sisters to ensnare men so that it can feed on their life energy.]]
111	* This is why Kemal Pamuk, Matthew Crawley, and Michael Gregson all died after sleeping with a Crawley sister. Tom Branson would have died, too, but Sybil sacrificed herself instead and he was spared, though he was not ever permitted to permanently leave. And it's also why Anthony Strallan actually ditched Edith at the altar (he could sense the house's evil and that it was planning to consume him) and why Evelyn Napier, Richard Carlisle, Tony Gillingham, Charles Blake, and Henry Talbot all became obsessed with Mary so quickly.
112	[[WMG: Major Gordon is Patrick Crawley…]]
113	* For the Ayes:
114
115	* For the Nays:
116	[[WMG: Violet is related to Professor [=McGonagall=] and Cousin Maud is related to Professor Umbridge]]
117	* It would presumably have to be through [=McGonagall's=] father, unless there's a Squib line on her mother's side. Incidentally, Maggie Smith also played Mrs. Medlock in the 1993 film, though Highclere Castle was only used in the 1987 version.

Context WMG / DowntonAbbey