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Michelle Dockery and Joanne Froggatt sit down with “Extra’s” Mona Kosar Abdi to talk “Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale.”
(*Warning: Some spoilers ahead!*)
Michelle, who plays Lady Mary, said, “I was really satisfied with the way it all tied up for her. I also wasn’t surprised that [creator Julian Fellowes] kind of threw in one last challenge for Mary being kicked out of parties and out of society and trying to kind of navigate her way back into it. I was also thrilled to see the passing of the baton, you know, finally being taken… and them moving into the next generation.”
Dockery insisted, “It’s very much the end of the show and the films, but you can kind of foresee the characters kind of moving on and moving into the 1930s. So, I think it’s a really beautiful finish, you know, for all of the characters.”
Joanne, who plays Anna Bates, added, “I think all the characters are left with a very hopeful ending that you feel is going to carry on. And I think the viewers can fill in those gaps in their own imaginations.”
She added, “This film really feels like a sort of love letter to the last 15 years and to the fans. And I think the ending hits just the right note.”
The ladies also both recalled their emotional last days of filming — Joanne was 38 weeks pregnant at the time!
Michelle said, “Jo and I finished on the same day. So, we were both in scenes that day and and my last scene was with Jo, which is the scene between them at the end. So, that was a really an emotional moment for both of us.”
Jo recalled, “My last scene was actually the final scene of the shoot and it’s Anna holding her newborn baby and I was 38 weeks pregnant… it was the most surreal wonderful full circle moment personally and professionally.”
Michelle Dockery & Jasper Waller-Bridge Expecting First Child
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Michelle, who is currently expecting her first child, also spoke about sharing the happy news with her castmates over the last few months.
She said the cast was “hugely supportive,” adding, “I’ve told people individually over the last couple of months and there’s been a lot of voice notes between me and Jo, already getting some good advice from this one.”
Dockery also shared how the film pays homage to the late Maggie Smith, who played family matriarch Lady Violet Crawley.
“The character is mentioned so many times in the film, she’s referred to and so she does feel really present and inevitably, she was such a huge part of the story. I don’t think fans will feel like she’s missing in that in that sense. She’s very, very present.”
Plus, could we get a “Downton” and “The Gilded Age” crossover?
Jo gushed, “I’d love to pop into the ‘Gilded Age.’ That’d be so fun, wouldn’t it?”
Michelle agreed, “I’d love to see that crossover. I think that would be fantastic. Like a young Cora or, you know, a young Dowager makes sense.”
Mona also spoke with Hugh Bonneville, Allen Leech and Kevin Doyle about the “Grand Finale.” Hugh spoke about there being a sense of finality to the movie, and Allen emphasized that fans shouldn’t hold out hope for more! Hugh, Allen and Kevin also talked about where their characters end up and feeling a sense of pride in what they’ve accomplished with the franchise. Plus, they revealed what items they took from set!
Watch!
“Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale” is in theaters September 12.
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