A perfectly decent sign-off: Downton Abbey: A New Era

So, I was going to blog last week, but had my energy sapped by a week-long heatwave. All right, maybe not just the heatwave. Curiously, I've found it hard to find the motivation to tackle the subject I've lined up, although it's a juicy one: the second, and surely final, Downton film.

Perhaps the subject is a little too juicy. I actually enjoyed Downton Abbey: A New Era more than the first film, but I haven't been looking forward to summarising my thoughts on how the stories for the whole numerous cast of main characters in Downton ended. Therefore, I will dial down the ambition level somewhat, though this is in all probability the last Downton drama we will ever get (unless there's a spin-off set in the future, featuring the Crawley kids as grown-ups and Lady Mary as the new stern matriarch). I'll try concentrating on two aspects: why I prefer this film to the first even though it's essentially lightweight, and why neither of the films lives up to the Downton Abbey series at its best.

I always enjoy rewatching the first Downton Abbey film, but every time I do I get annoyed at the daft "servants insisting on serving the King and Queen and defending Downton's honour" plot. For reasons I explained in my film review, I simply can't buy this. Moreover, we spend an inordinate amount of time on the royal visit, and side-plots connected to it. I didn't think a royal Downton visit was that clever an idea to begin with: it felt like one of the less inspired plot thefts from Upstairs Downstairs (where it was more believable that the then King would pop by). I'm sure the story about Princess Mary and her unhappy marriage is interesting in itself, and I wouldn't have minded seeing more about it in films and TV series about the royal family at the time (The King's Speech, say). But why do we spend time on her in a Downton film, which is already overcrowded with protagonists – the characters we've actually been following for six series? Fellowes did try to connect the King and Queen's visit with what was going on in the lives of Downton residents up- and downstairs, but the conceit felt forced, and if you strip away all the pomp and circumstance, the visit wasn't a very significant event for the main characters of Downton the series.

Downton Abbey: A New Era has a similar problem, in that the two main plotlines – a film crew wants to make a film at Downton Abbey, and the Dowager Countess inherits a French villa from an old beau we've never heard mentioned before – aren't stories that have grown organically, so to speak, from the plots and conflicts we've seen in the series. Like the royal visit, they seem to be there to provide glamorous set pieces around which the characters' personal dramas can unfold. Here, though, I think Fellowes does a better job of integrating the glamorous set-piece plots and the domestic Downton plots. There is at least a little at stake for the main characters. The Earl of Grantham is faced with the possibility that maybe he's not the rightful Earl at all. The film plot may seem only an airy soufflé, but the film crew does threaten to unsettle Lady Mary's family life even as it provides happy endings for other members (and ex-members) of the household. 

Yes, there are new characters unconnected to the series present this time around as well, but their interactions with the Downton crowd made it intriguing to follow their dramas. The friendliness of the French nobleman who is convinced that the Earl is his half-brother adds a layer of complication to the situation the Earl finds himself in. The troubles of the female film star whose common accent may bar her from work on the new "talkies" highlight Anna's diplomacy and Daisy's more no-nonsense approach, and which strategy works best in this particular instance. Overall, Daisy has a much more flattering role than in the last film, and for the first time, as we see a glimpse of their married life, I started to believe in her and Andy as a couple. You could argue that in the first film, Princess Mary's rocky marriage provided an opportunity for another Downton character – Tom Branson – to shine, but it had already been established in other side-plots what a good egg he is. He didn't need more to do in the royal set-up.

Downton Abbey: A New Era is by no means perfect. The plotting is sloppy in places, and there are inconsistencies. What happened to Carson's trembling hands (which we didn't see much of in the previous film either)? He retired for a reason, remember. Where did Molesley learn to lip-read? How can Andy be part of a long-term plan to ensure there's a butler at Downton when he's set to take over Mr Mason's tenant farm? Wasn't Henry Talbot done with car racing, and how is him attending races helpful for his and Branson's business? To be fair, an effort is made to provide an "in-universe" explanation for the absence of Lady Mary's husband (Matthew Goode was busy filming elsewhere) and milk it for dramatic effect. Even so, and although Mary insists that marriage is "a novel, not a short story", which leaves us hopeful she and Henry will get through their rough patch, it feels a little sad to leave her story in a less satisfying place than it was in the previous film. Especially, it provides those of us who still ship Mary and Charles Blake with plenty to shake our heads over.

In the end, though, the writing and characterisation is still recognisably Downtonesque, and the Dowager Countess's send-off is given its proper weight, with many touching moments between her and her nearest and dearest. I love the friendship between the Dowager and the former Mrs Crawley, now Lady Merton, and here it comes into play again. The film ends with an event – or strictly two – which have a real impact on life at Downton, and hint at what the future will look like.

I think the reason why the films don't reach the heights of the Downton Abbey TV series in its prime is partly that they are films. Downton Abbey was conceived as an ensemble piece with plenty of time to flesh out the story arcs of each of its main characters during hours of television. It's impossible to give all of the protagonists the same attention in a film, and so some characters slide into the background. 

You could argue that the Downton specials did a better job of juggling its cast than the films, but they were part of the TV series context in another way. Stories that had been built up through a whole series of episodes – such as Mary's romance with Matthew and her ill-fated engagement to Sir Richard Carlisle – could get their pay-off in a special. Downton Abbey: A New Era more or less dispenses with the pretence that anyone who hasn't seen the TV series would be interested to watch it: that makes as much sense as if someone who hadn't previously seen a Marvel film would watch Avengers: Endgame. Nevertheless, by having external forces largely unconnected to Downton – the King and Queen, an amorous nobleman, a film crew – drive the plots, the films are more self-contained than the series specials were. I think it's a pity. I would rather have seen stories linked to unresolved plot lines in the TV series – like, say, someone threatening to make Marigold's real parentage known to the world – even if that would mean that newcomers wouldn't have a clue what was going on.

Oh, and the answer to the important question "Is Thomas getting any?" is yes. Thomas love interests are like buses – you wait for ages for one to arrive, and then two turn up at once, or at least in consecutive films. I would have been happy with Ellis from the previous film proving to be Thomas's endgame, but I'm not complaining; at least this way one of my Downton predictions partly comes true. Plus, Dominic West!

A villain-lover's guide to Marvel, Phase Four – the TV series, part two (from Hawkeye to Ms Marvel)

Time to push on with my Phase Four overview – there's not much left of it, so I'll probably do a roundup post about Thor: Love and Thunder (which I still haven't seen), She-Hulk: Attorney at Law and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever sometime in the autumn or winter after they've all aired. But for now, here are my thoughts on the three most recent Marvel TV series. For my impression of the other Phase Four TV series and general reflections about the Phase Four TV shows, see my previous post. For my thoughts on the movies so far (excluding Love and Thunder), check the post before that.

Hawkeye

Series set-up: All Clint Barton aka Hawkeye wants to do is to spend a nice, quiet Christmas with the family he thought he'd lost forever. However, during a visit to New York, he gets involved with the troubles of his number-one fan Kate Bishop. As Kate is in danger largely because she was filmed wearing Clint's old "Ronin" vigilante costume, he feels responsible for her. The two first-class archers have to fight a whole array of suspicious characters, who may or may not include Kate's own mother, and ideally wrap things up before Christmas Day.

Additional genres (apart from the super-hero genre) channelled: Buddy-cop movie (yes, again), action comedy.

Overall impression: I really enjoyed this series. Granted, it's a bit unfocused, with plot points which are set up as important but then get a rushed conclusion or none at all. But I like the gruff no-nonsense Clint, who one feels has had a hard time of it as the only non-superpowered Avenger besides the now deceased Natasha. Kate is engaging, too, and I appreciate that she's not questioning Clint and scoffing in an anything-you-can-do-I-can-do-better way: she genuinely admires him. This series has a zing and a light touch which The Falcon and the Winter Soldier lacked, and therefore I prefer it.

Any interesting villains in the "array of suspicious characters"? This series actually has a Big Bad who turns up at the end in the form of Kingpin, who from what I can make out is a famous foe of especially Spider-Man and Daredevil. He has weight, to be sure, but for someone like me, who hasn't read the comics or watched the Daredevil series (formerly on Netflix, now on Disney +), there isn't much here to go on when it comes to discovering what kind of villain he is. I guess we'll see in future projects. The gangsters for hire, the Tracksuit Mafia, are mostly comedic and remind me fondly of the Beagle Boys. There's a fun red herring among the sus characters of whom I would like to see more.

Moon Knight

Series set-up: The shy and bullied Londoner museum employee Steven Grant has a rather wretched existence. He keeps blacking out, waking up in awkward situations and places he can't remember and missing large chunks of his life. After a couple of days where things have been madder than usual he finds out that he might actually be the tough American mercenary Marc Spector. The upside? Marc leads an exciting life visiting places Steven has always wanted to see, has a charming wife and can summon superpowers and a cool-looking suit. The downside? He's pursued by nutters, possessed by the not very amiable Egyptian god Khonshu and has Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). Which means that either Steven has a severe mental affliction, or is part of one.

Additional genres channelled: Psychological thriller, psychological drama, Indiana Jones-style adventure.

Overall impression: To watch Oscar Isaac acting his socks off for six episodes is by no means a hardship. His hapless Steven is especially endearing, but you feel for Marc too. May Calamawy is charismatic as the (of course) feisty Leyla, Marc's puzzled wife. F. Murray Abraham's (known to villain-lovers as Salieri in Amadeus) voicing of the tetchy Khonshu is a delight. Tonally, though, this show is all over the place. I had fun with the adventurous high-jinks in episode four and was impressed by the handling of Marc's ultra-traumatic back story in episode five, but how well do these elements gel with each other? To put it in MasterChef terms, I enjoyed a lot of the ingredients on the plate, but it doesn't quite come together as a dish.

Also, the series creators have been so keen to be respectful about DID (formerly known as multiple personality disorder, but I guess that sounded too cool) that they risk falling into the old Poor Miss Finch trap of claiming their protagonist is better off with their severe affliction and should not look for a cure. I'm not sure how helpful this attitude is to real DID sufferers: it smacks of being respectful all the way to the asylum. Not that I usually care about that sort of thing, and as a drama the treatment of Marc's/Steven's mental troubles works well: quite apart from what's best for the hero, we as the audience want neither Marc nor Steven gone (especially not Steven). Only, this show should not give itself airs or pretend to be any better ethically than other fiction which has used DID/multiple personality disorder for thriller-like purposes.

Any interesting villains in this largely enjoyable mess, then? I've already mentioned Khonshu, who's a sort of villain – at least he exploits his "avatar" Marc/Steven without scruple. The head villain, though, is cult leader Arthur Harrow, played by Ethan Hawke. It's an excellent performance: Harrow is utterly convinced that he's on the side of good, and you can see how his earnestness could convince others, even if worshipping Ancient Egyptian Underworld helper Ammit (not Osiris or Anubis? OK) must be a tough sell. Not the kind of villain I appreciate the most, but all the same, good show.

Ms Marvel

Series set-up: Kamala Khan is a teenager in Jersey City with a Pakistani background who loves the Avengers, Captain Marvel especially. When she uses a bangle sent by her grandmother while cosplaying as Captain Marvel, she unleashes real superpowers. The neighbourhood wants to know more about its very own superhero, a government agency wants to apprehend and question the mysterious girl and a seemingly friendly group with similar powers makes contact with the overwhelmed Kamala.

Additional genres channelled: Coming-of-age story, Bend it Like Beckham-type comedy, period drama (briefly).

Overall impression: I didn't have high hopes for this series – even with a basis in the comics, it seemed like worthiness overload (comics can be worthy too). Kamala sounded like she was an inclusiveness project first and a character second. But I was willing to give the series a chance (after all, I really liked Bend it Like Beckham). Admittedly, I was not in the best of moods when watching the first episode, but I thought it felt pretty flat, and the second one too. The third episode had funnier dialogue and something close to a twist, which was welcome in this otherwise psychologically black-and-white show. Then Kamala goes to Pakistan for two episodes, and among other things, her family's memories of the Partition are explored. A surprising lot of shade is thrown at the British, seeing as it wasn't them who did the actual killing (it's not a good sign when a Doctor Who episode from the Chibnall era offers a more nuanced picture of the Partition than your show). Then we jet back to Jersey and a showdown where the principal villains are lacking. 

I'm used to disjointed Marvel TV shows by now, but this time I didn't like the separate ingredients as much as I did in Hawkeye and Moon Knight. Kamala herself is sweet and her family is charming and lovable (her dad especially, but I also like her brother whose piety doesn't stand in the way of him having his sister's back). But the local community good-government agents bad setup felt very simplistic. All the same, I enjoyed the Jersey City bits more than the "let's remember the Partition" segment. If you have fewer hang-ups about being lectured than me, enjoy coming-of-age stories with an ethnic flavour and don't mind some sugar-coating, chances are you'll like this series: like most Marvel products it's competently put together.

OK, but are there any interesting villains? A yummy British one maybe? Nope. I liked the introduction of the Clandestines as an oh-so-friendly group who then suddenly turn nasty quickly when they get impatient (perhaps too quickly: if they'd held their fire, Kamala would probably have helped them). But even the most prominent among them, Kamala's crush Kamran's mother Najma, has presence but is under-characterised. As for the government agents... pity Agent Deever, who is such a caricature she signals her cultural insensitivity by clomping into a mosque with her shoes on – twice. I would have respected the show if it had let her exude menace and authority at her second visit – all after having dutifully removed her shoes. That's the kind of style a villain needs.