Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale takes place in 1930. Old traditions were dying, the world was changing, and places like Downton Abbey were feeling the strain. This movie is the last act for the beloved tale of English manners, wealth, and class. It’s been a great run. The Grand Finale is a fitting tribute to the years of drama.

Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale wasn’t the same without Maggie Smith. The film was dedicated to her, but she was definitely missed.

The plot revolved around letting go. Robert Grantham (Hugh Bonneville) had to let go of Downton Abbey and hand over the running of it to Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery). Mr. Carson (Jim Carter) had to hand over the Butler position to a new man. Mrs. Patmore (Lesley Nicol) retired as head cook and the job fell to Daisy Parker (Sophie McShera). None of them were particularly graceful about the transition.

Lady Mary was divorced. That made her socially untouchable. Fortunately, her old friend Guy (Dominic West) was in London doing a play by Noël Coward (Arty Froushan). His dresser (and lover) was former footman Thomas Barrow (Robert James-Collier). Getting Noël Coward to come to dinner at Downton Abbey was such a social win that Lady Mary’s divorce became a forgotten problem.

Lady Cora Grantham’s (Elizabeth McGovern) brother Harold (Paul Giamatti) visited from America. He brought a man named Gus (Alessandro Nivola) with him. They shared the news that Gus had lost all Harold and Cora’s money and the inheritance Cora was planning on to pay for fixing all their crumbling real estate was gone. Gus wanted even more of the family money to “invest.” This lack of money meant some big changes – things had to be sold.

Tom Branson (Allen Leech) was there visiting and learned that Gus was a con artist. Tom and Lady Edith (Laura Carmichael) made short work of his stay, but there were complications.

A favorite subplot was when Isobel Merton (Penelope Wilton) became President of the County Fair and brought Mr. Carter and Daisy Parker on to the board. They spoke up to the tradition-bound upper class snobs on the board and were able to create some change. Divorced women were still outcasts and servants still stood at attention, but, by golly, ordinary people were getting a chance they’d never had before. To me, that perfectly illustrated the changes going on in England at that time.

Of course, the ending was a positive one. The financial woes were handled somewhat and the letting go from the older generation was proceeding nicely.

Everyone managed to show up for the farewell film, including some archive footage of Dan Stevens, Maggie Smith, and Jessica Brown Findlay. It was a lovely ending for an excellent series. It’s sad to see it go.

The film is streaming on Peacock or you can rent it from the usual places like Apple TV, Prime Video, Google Play, and YouTube.