Downton Abbey's 7 Best And 7 Worst Moments

Downton Abbey was a total emotional rollercoaster from start to finish, as fans of the show know all too well. At first glance, the period drama appeared to be stately, regal, and very proper — however, after watching just a few minutes of the very first episode, viewers quickly realized that the show's glamorous façade hid plenty of scandal, gossip, and intrigue. The show was packed to the brim with unforgettable moments — in fact, it was pretty hard to get through a single episode without emitting a shocked gasp or two.

As the series progressed, viewers became more and more invested in the Crawley family and their loveable troop of servants. So, when things went well for the characters, we were elated, and when things went wrong, we were devastated. Let's relive some of the drama and take a look back at the best and worst moments of Downton Abbey. Warning: Spoilers ahead!

One thing that Downton Abbey did exceptionally well was romance. The addictive love story between Mary and Matthew had us all on our toes ever since their first frosty encounter in the first episode. It was a classic case of enemies who fall for each other — and we loved every minute of it.

So, when Matthew finally proposed, viewers were over the moon. The moment is definitely one of the best in the show, as it was pretty much perfect. Mary and Matthew find themselves alone in the snow. Mary has decided to leave for America to avoid a brewing scandal. Then, Matthew says, "Would you stay, if I asked you to?" Initially Mary is hesitant, saying they have too much "luggage." Finally, she says, "You must say it properly. I won't answer unless you kneel down and everything." And with that, we got one of the most romantic TV proposals of all time.

In fact, the moment was so perfect, one fan even recreated the moment for his own proposal. As the Daily Mail reported, Andy Chapman took his girlfriend to the estate where the show was filmed and got down on one knee during the tour.

After going through the ups and downs of Mary and Matthew's relationship, fans of the show finally thought everything was going to be alright. The pair married and even had a baby on the way. However, in the Season 3 finale, viewers were dealt a very, very harsh blow. Shortly after Mary gives birth to their baby, a jubilant Matthew heads out on the road in his convertible. Everyone is thrilled. Suddenly, another vehicle appears. Cut to an ominous clip of the Dowager Countess of Grantham saying, "We don't always get our just desserts." We then see Matthew — his car has crashed and he is lying dead beneath it. It was one of the biggest shock deaths in television history.

Needless to say, Downton Abbey fans were furious. In the UK, where the episode had aired on Christmas, they claimed that Christmas had been ruined. In fact, as actor Dan Stevens, who went on to star in Beauty and the Beast and Legion, explained to Mirror in 2017, he was "still apologizing to people now," for asking to leave the show. Yikes — it's safe to say this was one of the worst moments of the show!

Most deaths on Downton Abbey were pretty heart-wrenching to watch. However, one death ended up being a pretty spectacular moment. In the third episode of the show, a Turkish diplomat named Kemal Pemuk comes to the estate for a visit. In a shocking twist, he and Mary end up sleeping together (an unheard of scandal), and he dies while in bed with her. What makes the moment so incredible is watching Anna, Cora, and Mary trying to get rid of the evidence of Mary's indiscretion — watching the three women scuttle down the hallway carrying the dead body made for a juicy plot point that viewers ate up.

While this moment seems pretty preposterous, it turns out, the incident is actually based on true events. As the show's creator Julian Fellowes explained at the Cheltenham Literary Festival (via Evening Standard), "That story came from a friend of my wife and I who had a great house." Apparently, this friend found an old diary which contained the story of a girl who had slept with a diplomat who died in her bed. The girls in the corridor carried the corpse back to his bed, and, as Fellowes said, "They got away with it."

While Kemal Pamuk's death is pretty entertaining in its own way, other deaths on Downton Abbey are completely devastating. One of the worst death scenes is Sybil's. Sybil is the young, spunky daughter of the Crawley family who scandalously falls for the Irish chauffeur. The pair eventually marry — however, the birth of her first child goes wrong, and Sybil dies after giving birth, surrounded by her terrified family. It's a horrible moment made even more devastating by the fact the doctor had originally recommended a Caesarean section, but Sybil's father refused.

In a paper in the British Journal of General Practice, medical student Adrienne Ho explained that, based on the medical evidence in the show, Sybil really should have been hospitalized. Nevertheless, according to Ho, there were some mistakes by the doctors, too. It's heartbreaking to know that had Lord Grantham sent Sybil to the hospital, she may have lived.

Let's face it: Sybil was always a super cool character. From the very beginning of the show, she refused to follow the dated rules of society. Her independence made her a likeable and exciting character. One of her boldest moments came in the fourth episode of Season 1 when she stunned her family by wearing not a dress but harem pants! It was a spectacularly rebellious moment on Downton Abbey. As Town & Country put it, "She was a fashion risk taker."

And it's true — wearing pants was a pretty big risk at the time! The first season was set in 1912 (via The New York Times), and back then, women donning a pair of pants was pretty much unheard of. As bespoke tailoring business King & Allen explained, trousers did enter women's fashion "for leisure activities" in the 1880s. Nevertheless, it wasn't until the 1970s that it became normal to see a woman in pants. Sounds like Sybil was about 60 years ahead of her time!

In Downton Abbey, Mr. Bates was certainly one of the most hard done by characters. In the second season, Bates is plagued by his estranged wife Vera, who is out for revenge. When Vera dies (we later find out by suicide), Bates is accused of her murder. The jury finds him guilty, and he is sentenced to death. It's an utterly heartbreaking moment — especially for the helpless Anna, whom he'd quickly married before the trial, as she think's she is about to lose her new husband. Thankfully, his sentence was changed to life in prison, and, of course, later on in the series, the charges were reversed (via E! News).

As Tatler reported, scenes at York Prison were filmed at Lincoln Castle. The setting was suitably ominous, having served as a jail for many years and having been a real-life location of multiple executions in the past!

Luckily, after Bates is found guilty of murder, his sleuthing wife Anna eventually finds the evidence needed to set him free in Season 3. Anna's joy at discovering that her husband is finally coming home is lovely to watch.

This touching moment was definitely one of the best of the whole series. In fact, as the Mirror noted, it was the conclusion of what was probably the "most heart-warming storyline of the series." Joanne Froggatt, who played Anna, told the publication, "Anna has always had 100 percent faith in John." No wonder viewers loved seeing them finally reunited.

Even though viewers loved the sweet reunion, for Brendan Coyle, who played Downton Abbey's Mr. Bates, it was also a welcome plot point so he could participate in more scenes with his co-stars again. "I did feel isolated and very removed from the main show," he said. "Most of my scenes were filmed in Lincoln where there's a perfectly preserved Victorian prison." Sounds like he was happy to rejoin the cast at the much more pleasant Highclere Castle, where most of the show is filmed (via Tatler).

Poor Edith. Throughout Downton Abbey, she was frequently portrayed as the family's black sheep or ugly duckling. Without the beauty of older sister Mary or the charm and spunk of younger sister Sybil, Lady Edith often felt a little left out. When she finally received a proposal from Anthony Strallan, a man she actually kind of liked, it seemed like things might end up ok for her. Even Mary wished her well! However, it was not to be. In a shocking twist, Strallan left Edith embarrassed and heartbroken at the altar. Whether you're an Edith fan or not, the moment was incredibly sad.

In an opinion piece about the episode, writers at Slate all expressed their fury over the incident. "This episode left me fuming. Mary's happiness seems to be the only thing that matters in this household," one said. While all agreed the moment was awful to watch, there's no doubt the moment made for some tantalizing, highly watchable drama!

This was one incredibly sad moment on Downton Abbey, but we have to list it as one of our favorite moments because of good old Daisy. For most of this episode, viewers were left staring at the screen as Daisy resisted tying the knot with the lovely William. The young kitchen servant had promised to marry the footman but never intended to go through with it. However, when William is on his deathbed after getting injured in the war, she refused to wed him because she couldn't "false to a dying man." Just do it, Daisy!

Finally, she agrees to the marriage. The pair marry surrounded by family and servants with William's bed decked out in flowers. It's a lovely moment, though sad, of course. But we loved seeing William get some happiness before he died.

Actor Thomas Howes, who played William, told the Daily Mail his thoughts on Daisy and William's relationship, saying, "Daisy probably does love him but doesn't realize it yet." Actress Sophie McShera, who played Daisy, said of the episode, "You'll see she's got fire in her belly."

One of the most unforgettable moments of Downton Abbey was also one of the worst. When Anna, one of the show's best-loved characters, was brutally raped, many fans were horrified. As Time put it, "It felt as out of place in the normally placid series as Mr. Pamuk's death-by-seduction in the first season." As the Mirror reported, many fans were shocked by the scene. One compared it to witnessing a "murder on Teletubbies," while many others reported the show to Ofcom, which regulates broadcasts.

Despite the pushback against the episode, Julian Fellowes, the show's creator, defended his choice to include the scene in an appearance on the radio show LBC. As he explained, they were careful not to show too much on the series as they were more interested in following the "emotional impact" of the event. And Joanne Froggatt, who played Anna, felt equally strongly about doing the scene justice. As she explained to HuffPost, along with Mr. Bates' trial, this scene was one of her only "raw, reactive scenes." And she certainly did an amazing job — she even won a Golden Globe for her work in this season!

Of all of Downton Abbey's love stories, the romance between Mr. Carson and Mrs. Hughes is certainly one of the most poignant and touching. Unlike some of the younger couples on the show, Carson and Mrs. Hughes go through a long, slow, almost imperceptible courtship. And the tender, super sweet proposal scene does not disappoint.

The adorable moment came in the Christmas special after the fifth season, as noted by Entertainment Weekly. In the scene, Carson, ever the dignified stoic, asks Mrs. Hughes to marry him after telling her he bought them a cottage. "Take your time to decide," he says sweetly (via Daily Mail), "but know that I'm not marrying anyone else." She adorably replies, "I thought you'd never ask." While this scene might not be quite as exciting as others, fans were still overjoyed. In fact, writers at Maclean's even called it the "best Downton moment, ever." As one writer gushed, "I screamed. I cried. I rewound the video and watched stolid old Mr. Carson tear up over and over again. And I heaved a collective sigh of contentment with the Downton nation."

Back in Season 1 of Downton Abbey, Cora's lady's maid O'Brien was a main villain. When she feared she might be fired, she sneakily hides a bar of soap under the pregnant Cora's bathtub for her to slip on. Sadly, when Cora falls, she loses her baby. It's a sad and infuriating scene. As The Telegraph noted, it was actually one of the show's most shocking scenes ever. And as The Guardian pointed out, it was probably one of the most demanding scenes actress Elizabeth McGovern, who played Cora, had in the whole series.

While this scene was horrific to watch, it did become an important plot point in the series. Later, when Cora fell ill with the Spanish flu, O'Brien stayed up all night to tend to her out of guilt. She even began to tell her employer about the soap incident. As Entertainment Weekly noted, it was a good thing she never got the chance to tell her — "Cora didn't die after all and would have been around the next day to murder her."

Not all Downton Abbey fans enjoyed the addition of Lily James' Rose to the show. However, it was hard not to enjoy her sweet romance with the adorable Atticus. The couple's meeting was definitely one of the show's greatest scenes. As Tablet recounted, the pair met in "a classic British meet-cute, in the middle of a pouring rainstorm." Rose was carrying one too many wicker cake baskets when Atticus appeared to gallantly hold her umbrella for her. So cute!

As the fans at Maclean's noted, Atticus' introduction to the show was a very welcome one. "Atticus Aldridge is the character Downton has been waiting for," one writer said at the time, comparing him to Prince William. "Suffice it to say he's got more charisma in his gallantly umbrella-wielding left arm than the rest of the cast put together." She even said the actor might be the Colin Firth of our generation. Wow, high praise indeed! No wonder fans were thrilled with his first appearance.

As most Downton Abbey fans will know, the show was filled with its fair share of medical mishaps. From miscarriages to war injuries, the show could sometimes feel like a historical documentary on how far the healthcare system has come in the last century. One of the most shocking health scares at Downton came when Lord Grantham's ulcer burst at the dinner table in a horrifyingly bloody scene that looked like something out of the Alien movies.

Vanity Fair spoke to the show's producer Liz Trubridge about the infamous scene. "Our medical consultant had done quite a bit of historical research," she explained. Apparently, they really did want the scene to be as bloody as possible and spent plenty of time with the actor, Hugh Bonneville, practicing spitting up blood to "see how far the blood would go." While the scene definitely wasn't fun to watch, at least it sounds like it was super fun to make.