There are three of my favorite supporting characters. The old lady, the second lady and Aunt Octopus.
1. Lady Grantham
can see the difference between ancient China and ancient Britain here. She is also the highest elder. In China, the emperor and queen have to make offerings to Lafayette, and no one dares to give her a face. This is different for the old lady. Although the old lady is also respected, her words do not count. The most obvious thing is that after Cora became furious in the second season, she said that she was Downton's mistress, which made the old lady speechless.
Lady Grantham is the old-fashioned generation, who stick to the old system and hate change. The old lady came to Downton from the first episode when the lights were just starting, and said "oh dear. Such a glare! I feel as if I were on stage at the gaiety!" while turning on the fan to block the light. Then started complaining about the steam engine, about anything that was changing. It is difficult for the British aristocrats to accept the radical and avant-garde ideas of the Americans, so the United Kingdom at that time rejected the United States very much. In the first episode, the gay man also said that he was willing to marry an American because he was crazy poor. Qian married Cora, because the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law was so bad until the inheritance of the eldest sister. The swivel chair she sat in when she went to see Dandan's cousin alone for the sake of her inheritance also made her keep complaining about the fact that American Mao was always having trouble with her.
Compared to the old lady's conservative Isobel is her nightmare. The main line of the whole story revolves around the inheritance of the family inheritance. The arrival of Isobel and Dandan means that the inheritance she has worked hard for decades cannot fall into the hands of her granddaughter. The old lady hates it to death, in order to protect Mary. To get the inheritance, he was willing to join the alliance with his daughter-in-law, who had hated him all his life, and tried all kinds of tricks to deal with it. She considers herself noble and has a very high desire for control. The hospital wants to listen to her, and the champion of the flower competition also belongs to her. She has to take care of this and that. Isobel's radical character constantly violated her bottom line, and the old and new ideas kept colliding, resulting in constant confrontation between the two.
But the interesting thing is that Lady Grantham's vicious attacks and conservative thinking are not annoying at all, but they find her interesting. It is because she is inherently kind. The flower competition secretly changed the list of winners. Old Mosley got the trophy. How rare it is to let such a high-spirited old lady give up her favorite honor. It is obvious that the applause from the audience, even if it was given to Old Mosley, was also given to Lady Grantham. of. In the second season, in order for William to return to Downton for treatment, she was willing to give up her old-fashioned ideas and use that devil-like phone to intercede for William. Seeing her clumsily holding the phone and complaining would warm anyone's heart. My all-time favorite scene is episode 4 when the old lady tells Mosley the cause of the disease in her hand in the hospital, she sees Isobel giggling and walks out the door in embarrassment, what you see here is not an old lady who is on top, but looks like It's the old kid who got the candy, both proud and embarrassing for Isobel, looking so light and happy all the way.
Maggie Smith's interpretation of this role can no longer be described in a good word. Her gestures and even a small look fully express Lady Grantham's character and ideas in all aspects. Such a vivid image Superbly displayed in front of the audience, only for the sake of wow, the Emmys can't be more worthy of her.
2. Lady Edith
The second young lady is in an embarrassing situation. She is not as beautiful as Mary, nor as strong in social skills as Mary, nor does she have the attention of her parents, and she is not like the little sister Sybil who is spoiled by her parents. But she was not reconciled at all, neither reconciled nor capable of turning over, this role became particularly unpleasant. Even Mom and Dad's bedtime conversation was to let Edith accompany them to retire, and the old lady's evaluation turned out to be hungry. In order to change her fate, Mary didn't want Dandan, she approached Dandan's cousin, Mary had a scandal, she went to expose it, and later, in order to gain attention, she tried to please the old man Anthony, who was ignored by Mary, but in the last episode, under Mary's provocation, Anthony left Edith No one felt heartache for Edith when they saw Mary's triumphant smile. A large part of the reason she became like this is also due to circumstances. Confined by the stereotypes of the old British society, Eidth's confusion stemmed from the fact that she couldn't find her proper position. Reading books, drinking tea, listening to music, and living a social life in the big house did not allow her to discover herself, nor did she herself. Know how to achieve self-worth. So when I watched the second season, I saw how happy she was when she was driving and how full she was when she was a nurse. Even Sybil said "ur far nicer than u were before the war u know.".
But she is still a tragic character from beginning to end. She kisses the farmer while realizing her self-worth on the farm, so the job is gone. After the war, she had to return to the status of Miss Noble because of social pressure. She could not and did not have the courage to challenge the old society bravely like Sybil. Edith is like a sad girl in an oil painting, her wealth is on the surface, her pain is buried in her heart, and she is trapped in the frame.
3. Aunt Octopus Aunt
Octopus has a disgusting face, everyone hates her, everyone hates her. Her thoughts are as old-fashioned as the old lady, and she sticks to the idea of being a servant for a day and a servant for the rest of her life. Even if others have the heart to forge ahead, she will sneer and ridicule, with an unforgiving face, and she does not do good deeds to sow discord.
This kind of person who doesn't do good things every day is very dark, but in the life of a servant in the underground, when Thomas and Daisy danced the bear's paw dance, her smile was much less serious. If you look closely, you will be surprised that Aunt Octopus There is also such a warm side~ I
mistakenly thought that when Cora was about to fire her, she deliberately kicked the broken soap under the bathtub, and then she had an uneasy conscience and tried to stop it, but she accidentally killed a person. Later, I learned from the old lady that it was a misunderstanding and the whole person changed greatly. Everything is premised on Cora, cautious everywhere, sharing the worries for the owner. But if you think that all of O'Brien's characters have changed for the better, then you're wrong, Aunt Octopus is Aunt Octopus, she can hold a grudge~
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