How M/M via DS Non-Ironically Ruined My Life Meme: Not Long for This World

[shanghaiedinla]

"We  must never take us for granted."

[Downton Abbey S3 Spoilers Ahead]



Day 14 - When did you begin to suspect that Matthew was going to die?

So we are going a bit morbid for (a belated) Valentine's Day. (And knowing how the creator of this meme loves irony, I suspect it is not coincidence!) But for a character who got down on one knee in the snow to pop the question (even if

Comments

[eolivet]

Late to my own meme. How embarrassing. [/Violet] ;p

It did occur to me this question was going to happen on Valentine's Day, and if I was an ~experienced meme writer, I'd have put it on a less depressing day. Oops. ;p

I just was never one to believe that Dan Stevens could leave the show permanently and Matthew not die.

And your reasons were basically the ones JF gave, verbatim. I continue to marvel at how well you anticipated him. :(

That last part -- "will they become Lord and Lady Grantham" -- sent a wave of panic through me. Here is a perfect example of why semantics matter. Why would Stevens use the word "become?" As in, will they turn into, will they ever be?

I still cannot get over how you predicted that from his phrasing...but there really is a tremendous difference between "be" and "become." Seriously, can I get you to buy my lottery tickets? Too bad they don't pick winners based on ungrateful actors ditching their jobs.

I wonder now if we all -- on some level -- knew.I didn't. I swear on a stack of Bibles, I had no

[shanghaiedinla]

You're back! It's like a fandom desert when you're away (ok, well, it's at least more arid than it should be!).

I continue to marvel at how well you anticipated him.

I don't know if I anticipated him so much as I just thought about what felt organic to the show and what I would do if I were writing (though you KNOW I'm NOT saying I would have killed Matthew in a ditch on Xmas night ...). I just couldn't envision Matthew "going away" -- constantly referred to but never to be seen again. (Hee! Now I'm getting all kinds of John Forsythe feels. Like Matthew could be Charlie and Mary, Edith and Rose could be the Angels. ... Ok, sorry for the silliness. End of reversion to pre-K.) For that to work, he would have had to agree to appear at least once or twice in S4 and at least twice in S5 probably also.

But I think it's because where you're paranoid, I'm overly analytical.Yes, I think that's it. We're both analytical really, but you have a benevolent view towards reason: you're like Voltaire, Rousseau, Kant. I'm more of a skeptic or

[eolivet]

Aww, yes -- I'm back. :D And you too! Yay!!! :) See, the CS airing in America was so sucky, we both had to go away to escape it. ;p

We're both analytical really, but you have a benevolent view towards reason: you're like Voltaire, Rousseau, Kant. I'm more of a skeptic or realist, like Hume or Hobbes

Awww. We're mirror "analytical thinkers" too. OMG, and if I have a Matthew mindset, you have a Mary one...sigh. :(

It's funny -- I've tried for years to be less "gullible" and trusting and just be more cynical. But I feel like people are just basically good. So, when I turn on someone (like DS), it's a big deal. And I have turned on him. Because basically good people don't trash their co-stars and show that made them who they are on their way out.

Re: the NYT...I loved that interview. :D It's funny that JF wanted to end S3 on a high note and kill Matthew in S4. You remember that's what I wanted (well, if it was a cliffhanger). I wanted the year to let go and say goodbye. I could've finished PTR if that had happened. I could've written

[shanghaiedinla]

Aww, yes -- I'm back. :D And you too!

Actually I didn't get back until Tuesday, and then I caught some bug (probably on the plane) so I owe you some comments on your recent posts.

Because basically good people don't trash their co-stars and show that made them who they are on their way out.

No, they don't. Hell, forget good people. Smart people don't trash their costars and burn their bridges. That's what's so funny: he's trading (in part) on this "intellectual" pedigree of his, but he sure isn't very savvy about certain things. (JF, however, who's also a Cambridge alumnus, does get it -- he obviously has much better social skills which are needed to really get ahead in the biz or any profession, really.) Either that, or DS really is so arrogant to think the rules of etiquette and so forth just don't apply to him.

I could've finished PTR if that had happened.

Speaking of which, you still owe me a PM about how it would have ended. :-)

I could've written dark smut!Oh, so what, you think you're off the hook now? Pfft. You've