Stephanie: As we discussed, in our live-and-in-person finale viewing (with hats!), I’m so glad the big wedding moment belonged to Edith. Mary’s wedding felt rushed (to the point both of us forgot she’d married Henry Talbot at the start of the episode), but I don’t mind that Mary was overshadowed for once. Mary even helped urge Edith along to reuniting with Bertie, aka the new Marquess of something-or-rather, all to say Edith is mega-titled and Mary is now married to a jobless former-race car driver. If Talbot wasn’t so darned attractive I might feel sorry for her. Speaking of Henry, as only the rich have the luxury to do, he decided to give up racing and further pondered what to do with his life over a drink in the library. Good thing Tom Branson also has had virtually nothing to do since he returned from his (failed?) new life in America. Now, they’re partnered in a new business venture which Mary immediately reduced to being used car salesmen. But we all still love Mary, right?

Catherine: As long as the business is a “growing concern” (aka a company with prospects), no doubt Mary will back up her arm candy’s occupation of choice. It was a nice touch to see Edith and Henry hanging out. He even called her “Edie” which was so cute as no one’s ever called her that. They spoke comfortably together and seem more on the same wavelength then Henry is with Mary- though perhaps part of Mary’s charm is making everyone feel off kilter and slightly alarmed. The only person I’ve seen relaxed around Mary is Anna and that’s more to do with the fact that Anna has a separate life from Mary’s. I can’t imagine anyone else having a baby in Mary’s bed but Anna. Everyone else would be too terrified. Anna’s birthing scene was skipped (which was a bit jarring. She’s started labor! and now she has a baby in her arms!) likely because it was the Christmas special and babies are delivered via storks during Specials. I wish the baby had been given a name besides “boy.”

Stephanie: The Bates’ had their happy family moment with baby “boy.” I’m also perplexed why we didn’t get a name. Come on! Let’s talk about Carson’s First Shakes. From the very first tremor, we knew Carson was a goner. Thankfully, Downton kept tragedies to the past, and instead of a finale funeral, we may have seen Downton’s first retiree—with a pension granted by Lord Grantham! This led to another happy conclusion for Tom Barrow. The past season really drove the point into the ground that Thomas loves Downton. He committed his life to service, and specifically service to the Crawleys, as evidenced by his lonely reflection at his new station after leaving Downton. What good timing that Carson’s aging body prevents him from pouring pricey wine; Thomas can come right on back as head over the downstairs! I’m glad Thomas didn’t ended up wandering dank London alleys, but I speculate if Downton had another season, Thomas would have dipped even further into depression.

Catherine: Thomas Barrow’s days as sin-eater are officially over. Though, of course, Carson will still be around to glare and suspect him of evil doing. Mary’s insistence that Carson will still have a job at Downton made me roll my eyes. Let the man retire! He’s done enough service for you. Surely he can find meaning to his life outside of Downton (especially now that he has a pension). I like to think that Carson will go on to conquer the intricacies of cooking, will learn to pair what wines with what food on a slender budget, and grow an herb garden. Can’t you see Carson triumphantly snipping his rosemary into order with a pair of scissors? I can.

Let’s not forget Isobel Crawley’s marriage. That happened off screen and was sweet indeed. Sometimes people need a good shock to get them moving and that’s what happened when Isobel learned that Lord Merton was dying. She finally discovered that she loved him. It also helped that the evil son and daughter-in-law were holding Merton captive and not allowing him to see his friends. White Knights Isobel and Violet to the rescue! “If reason fails, try force,” advocated Violet. They got him out of there. Of course, Lord Merton wasn’t actually dying so he and Isobel can live out the rest of their lives in wedded bliss.

Stephanie: That line about using force was my favorite of the episode. Then, a proposal to Merton by Isobel! How fitting for her personality. I love that that ending moment of the series involved the Dowager and Mrs. Crawley by Downton’s Christmas tree. In that moment, they were just Violet and Isobel, chatting as they do among posh New Year’s partygoers at the estate. Great that the camera caught one last eye roll from Isobel. As for Carson, perhaps Mary knew Carson would want to feel needed, and that’s why she suggested more options for him to do. Outside of Thomas, Carson is arguably the most devoted to Downton, even choosing to abstain from wine when Lord Grantham had been instructed to give up drinking after his ulcer. Mrs. Hughes had to convince him it was okay for their own wedding to occur off the estate. Carson is blessed indeed to have Mrs. Hughes in his corner. I only hope for her sake he doesn’t drive her crazy with his many unstructured hours at home! Plus, we had one final moment of Carson’s befuddlement with technology when Anna received a delivery of a hairdryer for Lady Mary.

The episode focused quite a bit on Daisy and Andy. So many good moments with Mrs. P and Daisy in the kitchen. Their bickering has been such a mainstay, it felt right to have one last plot where Mrs. Patmore meddled in Daisy’s love life.

Catherine: Mrs. P got Daisy to marry her first hapless husband, after all. And now, there may be romance in the air between Mrs. Patmore and Daisy’s father-in-law! That felt right, particularly as Daisy got so jealous over the pair’s friendship. There’s just something about Downton (or viewers’ demands) that causes people to pair up. Downton does friendships so well; I wish there had been more focus on friendships rather than romantic pairings. Romance is fun but so is friendship and it usually lasts longer than romantic relationships too.

Over at the Dowager’s house, Dinka and Spratt are frenemies. They’re allies when it suits them and enemies when they’re not. I wasn’t so sure about Spratt writing the agony column at Edith’s paper but once I saw how pleased he was at Edith giving him a raise and mentioning how well he writes about fashion and keeping one’s husband happy, I could see it. Spratt is an observer and he rubbed it in Dinka’s face when she mistakenly believed that the Dowager would be incensed over Spratt’s secret column. The Dowager laughed and laughed and that’s why we love her.

Stephanie: Cousin Rose returned, and I was happier to see her than I expected. She has a bright outlook on life, and her meddling ways came in handy to end everyone’s second-to-least favorite storyline (the hospital administration-first least fave being the Bates’ endless murder trials turmoil). Rose convinced Lord G to drive her into town and just happen to stop by Cora’s meeting. Grantham finally sees how Cora’s community work is needed and worthwhile. The wealthy no longer need to putter around the house—all of them have jobs now! Edith, Mary, Tom, Henry, all are enterprising and looking ahead to ensure more stability in their life. That’s an interesting note overall given how Downton started with a look in on a privileged aristocracy who seemed more like ornamental décor in a picturesque estate. Perhaps that ideal all crashed and burned with of Mr. Pamuk dying in Mary’s bed (one last shout-out to Theo James!)

Big thanks to everyone reading our reviews the last two seasons, and Catherine’s before that. What a fun ride.

Catherine: Downton’s Season One hinged on the shocking circumstance that the new heir to Downton had a JOB and was a LAWYER and has now turned about face with everyone having jobs. Due to the inhabitants’ radical willingness to change, Downton Abbey will no doubt continue to exist and prosper and that’s a happy place to leave it. This series has had its ups and downs but it’s a fun ride overall. Thank you for having these great conversations, Stephanie and thanks to everyone who’s read them!

Catherine Eaton is a writer living in a western suburb of Chicago. She blogs over at sparrowpost.com and enjoys foraging around the neighborhood in her spare time.

Stephanie Scott is a Young Adult writer living in the western Chicago suburbs. Library superfan, award-winning TV-binger, and she just might be your cat’s new best friend. She tweets at @StephScottYA.

Follow The Stake on Twitter and Facebook