Downton Abbey‘s creator, Julian Fellowes, has explained how Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale will honor the late Dame Maggie Smith’s beloved character, Violet Crawley. As the third (and possibly final) Downton Abbey movie, The Grand Finale will thrust the Crawleys and their wonderful downstairs staff into the 1930s. The 30s were a time of worldwide economic upheaval, and the Crawley family will undoubtedly be affected by the Great Depression, too. There’s even a sH๏τ in The Grand Finale trailer of Robert Crawley (Hugh Bonneville) saying what appears to be goodbye to Downton Abbey itself. Will they be forced to leave?

Whatever turbulence comes next, the Crawley family will have to face it without the late Dowager Countess of Grantham, Violet Crawley, who pᴀssed away at the end of the last Downton Abbey film, Downton Abbey: A New Era. Sadly, the legendary Dame Maggie Smith is no longer with us, making Violet’s absence in The Grand Finale even more bittersweet. In a recent interview with ᴅᴇᴀᴅline, Julian Fellowes described how The Grand Finale and the Crawley family have reacted to the death of their beloved matriarch, and how her lasting presence, and Maggie Smith’s, will be felt throughout the film.

“There is a clear sense in the film that the family continues to be, in a sense, dominated by Violet,” he explained. “The fact that she’s ᴅᴇᴀᴅ is a detail. It’s her beliefs, her demands, and her sense of how the Crawleys should behave, and what they’re there for, that live on. We tried to find ways to make that as clear as we can. Of course, we do miss Maggie in the film, but we should miss Maggie in the film. That’s quite deliberate. We don’t want people not to miss her. We want them to miss her. I think she created a wonderful character that I will be grateful for to my dying day.”

What Fellowes’ Comments Mean For Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale

Violet Crawley Is An Inextricable Part Of This Family

Fellowes’ comments make it clear that the Crawleys have not fully moved on from Violet Crawley’s death, and perhaps never will. She was a force to be reckoned with, a true believer in what the Crawleys and the Grantham estate stood for. She loved her family fiercely and was a guiding hand for all, especially her son, the Earl of Grantham, and his eldest daughter, Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery).

If there’s financial trouble brewing at Downton, if the estate becomes even harder to manage, it’s no surprise that Violet Crawley’s memory will be felt in every corner of the film. Violet would want them to fight for it. They might feel guilty about having to let it go. How will that affect their grief? How will that change their futures?

Our Take On Dame Maggie Smith’s Downton Legacy

Perhaps The Grand Finale Really Should Be The Final Downton Abbey Movie

Downton Abbey is one of the most beloved TV franchises ever created, so it’s understandable why even Fellowes can’t commit to whether The Grand Finale will truly be Downton Abbey’s final installment (“I never say never anymore,” Fellowes teased in that same interview with ᴅᴇᴀᴅline). Maybe it should be, though. Without Violet, the family’s dynamic is completely different. The Grand Finale will give us a glimpse of what it’s like to see the family and the household function without her, and how the cast moves without Maggie Smith’s performance to play off of. Maybe that’s enough.

Sure, we could keep returning to this family and the downstairs staff until Robert’s grandchildren and great-grandchildren are grown, and they become old enough to take over the estate (or not). Yet, as the movie will no doubt acknowledge, Downton will never be the same without Violet or Maggie Smith. Perhaps, then, Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale is a beautiful way to say goodbye to not only Violet Crawley and Dame Maggie Smith, but the story as a whole.

Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale will be released in cinemas on September 12.

Source: ᴅᴇᴀᴅline