Why Hugh Bonneville Dislikes This Maggie Smith Line in Downton Abbey The Grand Finale

It’s been 15 years since we first stepped into the grand halls of Downton Abbey, and now, with Downton Abbey The Grand Finale, the saga is drawing to a close. As fans prepare to say their final goodbyes, the film is already making waves, not just for its emotional farewell but for a particular line that had one of its biggest stars squirming.

Hugh Bonneville, whom we know and love as Robert Crawley, the ever-dignified Lord Grantham, recently confessed there was one line in the new film he genuinely despised. In fact, he was holding out hope it would end up on the cutting room floor.

Grand Finale: Hard Line

So, what is the line that caused such a fuss? It’s a callback to one of the most quotable moments from the Dowager Countess, impeccably delivered by the legendary Dame Maggie Smith. In a scene from the original series, Smith’s character, Violet Crawley, famously scoffs at the very notion of a “weekend.”

Fast forward to Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale, where Michelle Dockery’s character, Lady Mary, casually mentions something happening over “the weekend.” Bonneville’s Lord Grantham retorts, “The weekend? I’m glad Mama isn’t alive to hear you say that word.”

Bonneville admitted, “It’s my least favourite line in the movie.” But his hesitation wasn’t about the writing. It was about the immense pressure of echoing a line made iconic by an actress of Smith’s caliber. “How can you quote Maggie?” he asked. “She did it so iconically… It was down to me to reference it.” It seems the weight of honoring a legend, even with a single line, is a heavy burden, even for a seasoned actor.

True to life, Maggie Smith came from a middle-class background, comfortable but removed from the world of Downton Abbey. Smith portrayed members of the aristocracy and ruling classes with aplomb and grace. Yet, one cannot escape the wry, self-effacing humor she gave to the role of Violet Crawley. Indeed, Violet’s death signals more than an emotional moment: it signals the end of a world and a point of view in English life.

In The Intellectual Takeout, one review sheds an interesting perspective on the film’s core message. “The film is, in fact, full – almost ad nauseum – of comments about how things change and how we must accept it. In all my years of watching movies and television shows, I’ve rarely seen a theme laid on as thick as this. Change, we’re told, is necessary and good. Especially when it comes to what is socially acceptable,” Parker Snider wrote, September 19.

“This lack of subtlety leaves no space for continuing to hold to tradition. To do so is to be cowardly, unreasonable, and perhaps even hateful. In a franchise that romanticizes a more traditional time, this hits me as a strange message,” Snider continued.

Downton Abbey The Grand Finale leaves little ambiguity regarding the central characters and their views of their 1930s society. Lady Mary’s divorce from Henry Talbot shakes up London society, even barring the new countess from attending a ball. (Spoiler alert!) With royalty in attendance, Mary is unable to participate.

In 1936, only five years ahead, Great Britain faced a constitutional crisis as King Edward VIII abdicated the throne. Why did Edward take such a drastic step? Because he wanted to marry a divorced American woman named Wallis Simpson. In fact, Simpson was twice divorced. All levels of society were shocked and hurt by their monarch’s behavior. The Church of England frowned upon his actions. Therefore, he gave up the throne, and his younger brother, the Duke of York, was crowned.

If tradition and religious beliefs were not upheld, we may have never known Queen Elizabeth II. She was the eldest daughter of the couple who became King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.

A Finale Full of Nostalgia

For those of us who have followed the Crawley family’s journey, these little winks to the past are part of what makes Downton, well, Downton. Downton Abbey The Grand Finale speaks to something old in all of our collective souls. We crave community, a sense of place, and nationhood. Even if we are not of British ancestry, there is something to admire about the Crawleys and their world.

Downton Abbey The Grand Finale isn’t just another movie; it’s the conclusion of a story that has spanned a decade and a half. It is a final curtain call for characters who feel like old friends and a world that has offered us an escape into a bygone era of elegance, drama, and razor-sharp wit.

As we get ready to bid farewell, the film promises a blend of heartfelt moments and the signature humor that made us fall in love with the series in the first place. And while Hugh Bonneville may have cringed at delivering that one particular line, for fans, it will likely be a bittersweet reminder of the incomparable Maggie Smith and the enduring legacy of Downton Abbey. After all, what is a weekend without a little bit of drama?