The following contains spoilers for Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale

15 years after first playing Mary Crawley, Michelle Dockery reflects upon her character’s emotional last scene in the newly-released Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale.

Many an actor has come and gone from the Downton Abbey franchise in the years since it first appeared in 2010, but Dockery has stuck with it all the way through, crossing over from the beloved TV show to the movie series, which kicked off in 2019, and is now wrapping up with a second sequel.

Dockery’s Mary Crawley has indeed come a long way since first appearing in Downton Abbey season 1. Her evolution continues in the third Downton Abbey film, which sees her taking her rightful place as manager of the тιтular Downton Abbey.

The film ends on a bittersweet note, with Mary flashing back to her experiences, and remembering deceased characters like Dan Stevens’ Matthew, who appear in a montage of clips.

Dockery spoke recently to ScreenRant for the release of Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale, and told Rachel LaBonte about filming that emotional final moment as Mary, explaining why the scene proved a particular challenge to grapple with:

Well, that scene was, I guess, my biggest challenge because I wasn’t playing to any actors. It was footage. They were still looking through, at that time, as to what they might use. I think they were, even right up to the edit, still deciding on which bits of footage that they would use for that memory.

Dockery then revealed the one memory she knew would be included, and talked about the helping hand she got from her director:

So, other than Matthew and Mary dancing, I didn’t really know what I would be looking at–what the character would be looking at. But it was a really special scene to shoot. It was just myself and Simon Curtis and he would just talk me through each beat and who I’m seeing [and] where I’m seeing them and just reacting to it.

Dockery recalled how, for that moment, the line between herself and her character may have slightly blurred:

For me, I was kind of standing there and looking back over the last 15 years, and it was a very emotional scene to play both as the character and for myself in many ways.

What This Means For Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale

Though the latest Downton Abbey movie’s тιтle indeed rings of finality, Dockery explained recently why she doesn’t consider the film an ending, but a new beginning and a pᴀssing of the torch from one generation to the next (via Vanity Fair):

Even though we are finishing it, it feels like the story is continuing, and there is somewhere to go beyond what we are showing you on screen. As much as this is the grand finale, it’s a new beginning. The young are taking over. There is this pᴀssing of the baton in this film. That means the story continues in many ways.

Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale’s ending may not feel like it’s truly wrapped up Mary’s story, but merely marks the beginning of the next phase of her life, as she takes on the grave responsibility of managing the estate. But that story will remain untold, at least for now, as The Grand Finale lives up to its name.

Dockery seems to have gotten emotional while filming Mary’s last scene, even though she was acting to thin air, with some ᴀssistance from director Simon Curtis. The actor’s feelings at that moment crossed over with those of her character, whose journey over the years has been quite compelling.

Our Take On Dockery’s Final Mary Scene

Mary’s final flashback scene is a good note to end on, as it both sets up her future, while giving her and the audience a chance to look back, and feel all the feels over departed characters, and many memorable events that transpired both on the show, and in the movies.

Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale is in theaters now.