Diksha Sundriyal
‘Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale’ unravels the final chapter in the story of the Crawley family and the staff who have been with them their whole lives. The film is the last installment in the franchise and brings back almost the entire cast that has been a part of the show for about a decade and a half. While Lady Mary still remains the focal figure, her second husband, Henry Talbot, is nowhere to be found. Played by Matthew Goode, Henry has been a part of the show since its fifth season, which is why his absence in the final send-off to the show and its characters seems rather anticlimactic for him. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Henry and Mary’s Irreconciliable Differences Lead to Divorce
While Henry and Mary had a whirlwind romance before they got married, things didn’t exactly turn out the way they had planned. His love for Mary led Henry to give up his love for cars, and at one point, he also confessed that he suffered from a sense of inadequacy compared to her status as an heiress. In the first ‘Downton Abbey’ film, they seem to be on good terms and are even revealed to have become parents to a daughter. However, the seams start to show as the facade of their perfect relationship cracks. In the second film, Henry is entirely missing, and Mary explains it by revealing that he is away on business.
It also seems that he has been spending more and more time away, which shows that their relationship is not headed towards anything good. At the beginning of the third and final film, it is revealed that Mary and Henry are divorced. Their separation was not hidden from their family, and they had been in the midst of divorce proceedings. But it is in the film’s opening scene that their divorce comes through. The news of Mary’s failed marriage spreads through English high society like wildfire, and she is quickly banished by everyone. The fact that she had expected it didn’t make it any less heartbreaking. So it goes for marriage as well.
In a conversation with her parents, Mary reveals that the more Henry stayed away from home, the more he wanted to. Somewhere down the line, he met someone named Mrs. Baron, and she became his mistress, which might have been the point where Henry decided he couldn’t keep up with the show of his and Mary’s marriage. During the legal proceedings, adultery was presented as the cause of the divorce, but instead of presenting the real woman he had an affair with, Henry paid a random woman to testify as his mistress. This wasn’t entirely shocking as it was considered “proper” to do it that way. In any case, with the divorce coming through, things have finally ended for good between the couple.
Scheduling Conflicts Led to Matthew Goode’s Departure from Downton Abbey
While adultery and divorce seem like good reasons for Henry to stay away, this wasn’t exactly why the character was written off from the show. Matthew Goode revealed that a scheduling conflict was a major reason behind his absence from the second and third movies. During the filming of ‘Downton Abbey: A New Era,’ he was busy filming ‘The Offer.’ When the time came for ‘The Grand Finale,’ he’d had a knee operation that he was still recovering from. Moreover, he had Netflix’s ‘Dept. Q’ lined up for filming. Still, he revealed that efforts were made to find a way to fit him into the movie, and he had a lengthy conversation with Michelle Dockery (who plays Lady Mary) about it.
He also revealed that even if he’d managed to make it, it was just a half-page scene, which means his presence wouldn’t really have done much to change the movie’s storyline. He also revealed that he was supposed to appear in the racecourse day scene, but by the time the filming began, things couldn’t work out, and it was decided best for the film to move on without him. Goode’s shortened prospective role in the final movie wasn’t entirely surprising either. ‘Downton Abbey’ creator Julian Fellowes explained that once the series concluded its sixth and final season, Goode believed that he was done with Henry’s part. So, when the movies happened, he had already moved on from the character. So, for the first film, his role was reduced to a cameo.
His complete absence from the second and third films was largely because there was no scope for Henry without the actor reprising his role. Dockrey revealed that she saw Mary and Henry’s divorce coming after the events of the second season, and believes that it was a fitting thing for both characters, especially Mary. The final film’s focus on the divorce storyline sheds light on how restrictive the English high society had been behind its facade of glamour and politeness. Thus, Goode’s departure laid the foundation for the storyline that further enriched Mary’s arc, showcasing a greater character growth, while also raising an important issue about women breaking down social barriers and taking on the roles that weren’t expected of them and bequeathed to them in those times.
Read More: Where Was Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale Filmed?
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