Warning: This post contains spoilers for Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale!These days, it seems like no franchise ever truly ends. We’re living in an age of constant sequels and continuations, and so, whenever something actually does come to a close, there are a lot of expectations placed on said ending. That’s certainly the case for Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale, which closes out fifteen years of storytelling this weekend.

For me personally, Downton Abbey has been a fixture of my life since I was in high school. A Harry Potter fan growing up, I was eager to see Maggie Smith in something new, and I began watching the show with my mom. It was something we cherished, even after it ended, and when it came back to us in 2019, we were delighted.

Between the series finale and The Grand Finale, Downton Abbey has had two endings. Both are the kind of emotional, uncomplicated conclusions that leave its characters happy and facing new futures. The latter ending, though, is perhaps even more special than the original finale. With just a few brief moments, it perfectly sums up what fans have come to love about the franchise.

Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale’s Closing Moments Honor What Came Before

The ending of Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale finds Lady Mary Crawley (Michelle Dockery) officially installed as the mistress of the тιтular estate, and left alone as the rest of her family moves on to new homes. The image of Mary standing by herself in the main hall could be an unexpectedly somber sendoff for a firebrand character like her, but that’s not where the sequence ends.

The Grand Finale then shows us our favorite dearly departed characters: Matthew (Dan Stevens), Sybil (Jessica Brown Findlay), and the Dowager Countess, Violet (Smith). Though it’s been so long since we’ve last seen them onscreen — particularly for the first two — Downton Abbey ends with them alive onscreen, dancing in a room full of people among their loved ones.

When I first saw the movie, I had expected to shed plenty of tears throughout, but I was surprisingly dry-eyed. It wasn’t until Matthew appeared that I became truly emotional; by the time Sybil looked over her shoulder, I was a full-on wreck. Right before me were characters I’d lost and mourned, and never expected to see again (except during rewatches, of course).

That’s the true beauty of Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale‘s ending. Even as it’s ushering in a new beginning, it is paying tribute to everything that came before. Without characters like Matthew and Sybil, and especially Violet, the series wouldn’t have flourished quite the way that it did. They’re not around to share in this final conclusion, but they haven’t been forgotten.

By ending the movie on this note, creator Julian Fellowes and director Simon Curtis give longtime fans the chance to sit with their own history with the series. In sharing these memories alongside Mary, it’s like we’re all a part of this family too. We’ve been through all these ups and downs alongside them, and now we get to witness a private moment at the end of it all.

Even with the тιтle and the very definitive ending, there’s already been talk that Downton Abbey could return in the future, perhaps through a reboot exploring new characters. Personally, I don’t think that’s needed. The Grand Finale gives us the closure we need and perfectly connects it to the past. This is exactly the ending the franchise deserves, and I’m so grateful for it.