‘Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale’ Features Lady Mary Embroiled in Yet Another Compelling Scandal

After six TV seasons and two movies, the saga of Lord and Lady Robert Grantham (Hugh Bonneville and Elizabeth McGovern) and their trouble-prone family and staff has come to an end.

The original series kicked off with Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) shagging a Turkish diplomat literally to death, and now she’s embroiled in another scandal — she’s divorced Henry Talbot (Matthew Goode), which in 1930s England is enough to get her booted from a posh high-society party, setting off a tabloid scandal.

Meanwhile, the era’s financial challenges also threaten the family’s vast property. But Mary, now the estate manager, is determined to stiff-upper-lip it, saying, “Families like ours must keep moving to survive.”

Lady Edith (Laura Carmichael) and her husband, Bertie, as well as “downstairs” staff, Carson and Mrs. Hughes, John and Anna Bates, Andy and Daisy Parker and Mrs. Patmore also make farewell appearances. Alas, the Dowager Countess (the late Maggie Smith) isn’t around to offer her signature withering commentary on all the goings-on.

Downton’s signature gorgeous costumes and elaborate sets don’t disappoint, so it’s worth seeing The Grand Finale in the theater to say an apt goodbye to these beloved characters and their long-disappeared world.

Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale | In theaters Friday, Sept. 12 PG