10 best ‘Downton Abbey’ episodes, ranked from great to amazing
The historical drama Downton Abbey ran for six seasons from 2010 until 2015. Created by Julian Fellowes, the show follows the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants who live on an expansive estate in the titular home.
The show was a tremendous success with critics and viewers alike, but some episodes are definitely more interesting to watch than others. Here’s our ranking of the best of the best Downton Abbey episodes.
10. Season 1, Episode 3 (2010)
Just when viewers settled into the benign pace within Downton’s walls, episode 3 gave us our first real jolt of the series. It begins with Cora (Elizabeth McGovern) playing matchmaker for Mary (Michelle Dockery) when a visiting bachelor stops by for a hunt. He brings along Kemal Pamuk (Theo James), an attaché to the Turkish Embassy, who instantly falls for Mary. That night, Kemal bribes a servant to get into Mary’s room, and yadda yadda yadda … he has a heart attack and dies in her bed!
9. Season 1, Episode 1 (2010)
The very first episode will always be a favorite since it’s the one that introduced us to characters who’ll soon become dear to our hearts. The action opens in April 1912, when Downton Abbey’s Crawley family learns that the two heirs of the estate died in the sinking of the Titanic. The whole estate’s fate hangs in the balance; it should rightly go to Earl Robert’s (Hugh Bonneville) oldest daughter, Lady Mary, but instead, Robert taps a distant cousin named Matthew (Dan Stevens).
8. Season 2, Episode 8 (2011)
It’s 1919, and Spanish flu is sweeping the country. Cora, Carson (Jim Carter), and Matthew’s fiancée Lavinia (Zoe Boyle) become critically ill. Lord Grantham is furious at his youngest daughter Sybil (Jessica Brown Findlay) for wanting to marry commoner Branson (Allen Leech), and Mary and Matthew share a clandestine kiss. Lavinia witnesses the kiss, and graciously dies, stepping aside for the Mary-Matthew romance we all want.
7. Season 3, Episode 9 (2012)
This Christmas special episode was the last one in the third season, and it reduced viewers to tears. Still grieving the loss of Sybil, the Crawleys embark on their annual trip to the Scottish Highlands to visit the MacClare family. Amidst the verbal sparring, it’s decided that cousin Rose (Lily James) will come to stay at Downton. There are multiple subplots involving the servants back at home and in Scotland, but the real shocker happens in the last few moments of the episode.
Lady Mary gives birth to a son, and she and Matthew are overjoyed that “Downton is safe” with a new heir. Matthew is so excited that he jumps in his car and speeds off, only to crash and die instantly.
6. Season 4, Episode 9 (2013)
Jumping ahead a full season brings us to The London Season, the ninth and final episode of season 4. The Crawleys head to their London home for Rose’s coming out. Shirley MacLaine reprises her role as Martha Levinson, and Paul Giamatti appears as Harold Levinson. It’s a whirlwind filled with all of the lavish trimmings we love about the show: scandal, intrigue, and secrets. Lady Edith (Laura Carmichael) also has her love child, Marigold, and secretly hides her with servants on the Downton grounds.
5. Season 6, Episode 3 (2015)
We finally get to see beloved staff members Mr. Carson (Jim Carter) and Mrs. Hughes (Phyllis Logan) tie the knot! But first, there’s a lot of hustle and bustle over what the bride will wear (that drab brown dress simply won’t do!), and Cora accuses the help of stealing from her. She winds up apologizing, and it’s one of the more humanizing moments of the show.
Just when we thought the episode couldn’t be sweeter, Tom shows up with daughter Sybbie (Fifi Hart) and announces they plan to stay for good.
4. Season 2, Episode 3 (2011)
This is one of those episodes that gives us a glimpse of history. It’s not flashy, but it sets multiple plotlines into motion. The year is 1917, and Downton is serving as a convalescent home for wounded World War 1 officers. Branson is anti-war, and he becomes angry after being medically discharged from military service instead of becoming a conscientious objector. He hatches a scheme to dump hot soup over a general while helping to serve dinner, but Carson finds out and intervenes.
3. Season 3, Episode 5 (2012)
This is the episode when we said goodbye to one of the fiercest, most independently-minded members of the Crawley clan. The episode revolves around Sybil, who is in crippling labor while the entire house waits on tenterhooks to see if she’ll be okay. Spoiler alert: she’s not okay.
In the middle of the night, Sybil has seizures due to eclampsia. As the entire family looks on, she dies suddenly, leaving them to blame themselves for listening to bad medical advice. Oh, the agony!
2. Season 6, Episode 8 (2015)
So much happens in this episode, that they had to extend it to a feature-length 72 minutes. Edith’s beau Bertie suddenly becomes heir to a fortune, and everyone at Downton thinks she has to tell him about her daughter Marigold before agreeing to marry him. Mary is nasty to everyone she encounters, ticking off everyone in her family, especially Tom and Edith. When she tells Edith’s secret, Bertie leaves, and everyone is justifiably mad at her. The episode ends with a surprise wedding, and there’s lots of fun and intrigue along the way.
1. Season 2, Episode 9 (2011)
The second season finale is a Christmas special, so it’s filled with an extra dose of magic. Over the course of three days, the family and servants celebrate the holidays together, Mary fights with her current flame, breaks up, and ultimately gets engaged to Matthew. There’s a murder trial, and a scandal from the first season comes to light, threatening Mary’s social status.
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