"Downton Abbey" Hits Some Sophmore Slumps in Its Less Than Stellar Second Season

Downton Abbey has always been soapy, but in its second season its more overtly soap operatic elements threatened to derail the show. The first season was a soap wrapped up in period piece gloss and the immersion prevented the soap from getting too crazy. The show was doing stories that were both specific to this time period and these characters, and in that blend the writers found a sweet spot. I would have never guessed that my affections would fall so heavily for a show about turn of the century aristocrats and their servants, but the show managed it by never letting the soap become the sole reason for tuning into the show. Soap dramas often get dissed for their outlandish plot twists and reveals to convince viewers to tune in next time. Season one had largely avoided this. But season two dabbled in it more and it caused the show to be too often insane (and also insanely stupid). The show became less character centric, and that meant plots seemed to be dragging characters along rather than character affecting change and driving the narrative (as had been the case in the first season). There were no clear arcs like there had been in season one. Stories just seemed to happen and then never get mentioned again. And some of these stories were baffling and laughable in their absurdity. Take the example of the burn victim who claims he’s a long lost heir. It’s a story that stretches all plausibility and feels like it belongs in a very different show from the one we’re familiar with. And it takes place over the course of a single episode after which it never gets mentioned again.  

World War I wracked some serious damage in real life but never would you have imagined that it would enervate Downton Abbey so immensely, making it feel like as if it was mired in mud. At times, the show dragged, where in the past it had felt so breezy and light on its feet. The schmaltziness that had defined the series from the start (and also was part of its pleasure) failed to avoid falling into excessive, pandering idealism and sentimentality. The demonstrations of patriotism got a little too pointed at times and the show became far too self-serious at times (any time anyone discussed the “war” and what it means or how important it is was a time where the show just felt like it was shoving a message down my throat). Too many stories felt as though they were running in circles repeating themselves for diminishing returns (case in point, Mary and Mathew’s tension of “will they/won’t they” is a contrived and poorly handled  long term storyline that always felt like it was hitting the same notes over and over). This repetition comes at us like a sledgehammer. Hitting us over the head with much less subtly and nuance than the first season had offered (The series has never been exceptionally subtle but the first season looks thoroughly subtextual in comparison to this season). For instance, Bate’s arrest and trial is so heavy handed, so attention grabbing (and feels rather pointless) that it stops being a dumb narrative direction and simply a baffling one. 

There were stories I liked throughout the season’s run but they were far too often buried, solid sub-plots suffocating in favor of less engaging storylines (I've always been a fan of Sybil's stories - and it helps that Jessica Brown Findlay is one of the better performers - and anytime Maggie Smith is on screen its golden). This was part of a larger problem of the season having much less focus and attempting to fit far more stories than usual into each episode. Without a center to hold it together like last season (with the question of who would be heir), things muddled around a lot more.

Downton Abbey is still a fun show but it was much less uniform in its sophomore efforts, more fits of delicious soap drama than stretches where you can't stop watching. Shows that burn through lots and lots of plots have this problem (see other plot burners: Vampire Diaries, The O.C.). Effective plot burners are rather entertaining but more uneven series because of the way in which they churn through so many stories. In the process of consuming so many stories, some of those stories will be bad or at least poorly executed. Plot burners will still reach highs though. The Vampire Diaries' fourth season this year has been bumpy but it still remains something I really enjoy watching. And Downton Abbey remains a show I like watching but my love affair with it (much like that of Mary and Matthew's) became a little more complicated and less universal during the second season.