Downton Abbey’s Most Impressive Character Evolution

Warning: Minor SPOILERS For Downton Abbey: The Grand FinaleAfter binge-watching all six seasons of Downton Abbey, followed by the three Downton Abbey movies, I’m convinced who the series’ greatest character is. This is with all due respect to Lady Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess, who was portrayed with razor-sharp aplomb by the late Maggie Smith.

Julian Fellowes’ global phenomenon centers on the Crawley family of Yorkshire, England, and their loyal servants downstairs. Downton Abbey’s saga takes place from 1912 to 1930, depicting how the Crawleys adapt to the ever-changing modern world, enduring many tragedies, but also countless heartwarming moments.

Downton Abbey boasts an expansive cast led by Hugh Bonneville as Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham, Elizabeth McGovern as Cora, Lady Grantham, and their daughters, Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery), Lady Edith (Laura Carmichael), and Lady Sybil (Jessica Brown-Findlay), who tragically passed away in Downton Abbey season 3.

Maggie Smith’s Lady Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess, is an indomitable presence throughout the saga until she died in Downton Abbey: A New Era. It’s understandable to feel that Lady Violet is Downton‘s greatest character, but one of her granddaughters emerges as the saga’s true heroine from the start of Downton Abbey to the end.

Why Lady Edith Became Downton Abbey’s Greatest Character

I believe Downton Abbey‘s greatest character is Lady Edith Crawley, who becomes Lady Edith Pelham, the Marchioness of Hexam, by the end of the Downton Abbey TV series.

Lady Edith was the Crawleys’ overlooked middle child; not as glamorous as the first-born, Lady Mary, and not as beautiful and kind-hearted as her baby sister, Lady Sybil. Edith suffered a great deal throughout Downton Abbey, and she had to make her own way, relying largely on herself.

Like her elder sister, Lady Edith became a wife and a mother, and she married incredibly well after ill-fated romances where she was jilted at the altar, and Michael Gregson (Charles Edwards), the father of her daughter, Marigold (Eve and Karina Samms), was unexpectedly killed in Germany.

Throughout Downton Abbey, Lady Edith evolved and changed completely into a powerful figure whose intelligence and fierce love of her family makes her a formidable figure, rather than the afterthought she was when Downton Abbey began.

Lady Edith Has Downton Abbey’s Most Impressive Character Arc

Lady Edith was portrayed as a scheming, jealous middle sister locked in a lifelong conflict with her favored older sister, Lady Mary. Edith didn’t think she would measure up to Mary, and even resigned herself to being a spinster, but the middle Crawley daughter gradually found her way.

Lady Edith made terrible mistakes, to be sure, from her insistence on marrying the much older Sir Anthony Strallan (Robert Bathurst), to hiding her daughter Marigold in Yew Tree Farm, upending the lives of Timothy Drewe (Anthony Scarborough) and his wife, who adopted Marigold as their own.

However, Lady Edith also bet on herself and her skills as a writer. Edith became independent of her family when she took a job contributing to The Sketch, and Edith eventually became its editor after the death of her lover, Michael Gregson. Edith enjoyed being employed and split her life between London and Downton Abbey.

By Downton Abbey season 6, Lady Edith had met her future husband, Bertie Pelham (Harry Hadden-Paton), and they nearly didn’t marry because Edith hid the truth that she was an unwed mother. Yet true love conquered all, and they became happily married.

In six seasons of Downton Abbey, Lady Edith grew from a source of pity for her parents, with Robert lamenting that Edith “couldn’t even make her dolls do what she wanted,” to the Marchioness of Hexam, outranking everyone in her family.

In the three Downton Abbey movies, Lady Edith is happily settled as a wife and a mother – she had her second child, Peter, with Bertie – and retained her job with her magazine while also serving in her role as Marchioness of Hexam. No one in Downton Abbey rose as high from where she began.

Most importantly, Lady Edith is a good person. She is a loving mother, loyal to her family, kind to her servants, bright, clear-headed, has a heart of gold, and Edith has become glamorous, as well.

Lady Edith Eclipsed Lady Mary

In Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale, it’s clear that Lady Edith has eclipsed Lady Mary, who copes with the fallout of her divorce from Henry Talbot (Matthew Goode), which turns Mary into a pariah in society.

In contrast, Lady Edith is at the zenith of her power as Marchioness of Hexam, and her husband, Bertie, is devoted to and reliant on her. Bertie and Edith are equal partners, but he yields to his wife’s intelligence and good judgment, especially in Crawley family matters.

Throughout the Downton Abbey TV series, Mary lorded over Edith as the elder sister who fought off numerous suitors and was in line to inherit the Downton Abbey estate. While Downton was always meant for Mary, Edith achieved something even grander.

In the Downton Abbey movies, Mary and Edith have mostly put their sisterly rivalry aside, despite a few barbed-tongued comments for old time’s sake. Yet Mary does fully understand that her sister holds far more power and influence beyond Downton’s walls.

Proving her love for Mary, Lady Edith comes to her sister’s aide when she discovers the truth about Gus Sambrook (Alessandro Nivola), the scheming financial consultant of their uncle, Harold Levinson (Paul Giamatti). Edith was never more impressive than when she exerted her power to literally run Sambrook out of England.

At the end of Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale, Lady Mary takes her rightful role as the ‘captain’ of Downton Abbey’s ship, inheriting the position of their late grandmother, Lady Violet. The house and the future of the Crawley family is safe in Mary’s hands.

Yet Mary is largely the same character she has always been throughout Downton Abbey, as are the other Crawleys and their servants. In contrast, Lady Edith is markedly different, a better all-around person, and she became the greatest overall character in Downton Abbey.