This article contains spoilers for Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale.
Those who’ve already taken the cinema trip to see the last Downton Abbey movie The Grand Finale will know that its final moments are the most tear-jerking of the entire film.
After finally taking over at the head of her family’s estate, Michelle Dockery’s character Lady Mary ends the movie by taking a look around the house and reliving old memories, featuring some familiar faces.
But during a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Michelle admitted that this ending almost never came to be.
“There were a couple of versions of the ending,” Michelle said. “There was another version where you saw Mary go back to work, she goes into the library and she sits at her desk.”
She continued: “They decided to end it on the tribute to [Dame Maggie Smith], which I think is the best ending. I always felt that it was the right way to finish.
“[Mary, Cora and Robert] are saying their goodbyes and I think that’s for the audience – this feeling of moving on and saying farewell to each other. But in reality, Mary’s not alone. She’s in the house with various other people, of course, all the staff. She’s got family members who are going to be coming and I think it looks forward to the future. It feels quite hopeful.
“I also like that at the end of this story, Mary ends up as a single woman. There’s a new chapter ahead of her, she’s happier, and she’s excited to take the reins and become the lady of the house.”
Michelle also shared that to help capture the emotion of the moment, the director played the Downton Abbey theme tune on set while shooting the final scene, although she admitted this made it difficult for her to stay in character and not “burst into tears”.
Her co-star Hugh Bonneville recently told HuffPost UK that the scene took him by surprise, as it didn’t appear in the script, only seeing it for the first time when he and Michelle had a preview in an editing suite.
“I clutched her hand because I didn’t see it coming – and suddenly, there’s 15 years of your life,” Hugh recalled. “It’s such a great moment, and unexpected.”
He was also full of praise for the ending, claiming: “[It’s] quite cathartic, and it just feels completely right. This is a good way to end the story, the handing on to the next generation.”
