Blame Jessica Brown Findlay. The actors on the show became very famous very quickly. She wanted to go do other things and refused to sign-on for an additional three seasons. So Jullian Fellowes got pissed and said "OK, then I'm going to kill your character." Same thing for Matthew. Interestingly enough, the show ultimately ended because Maggie Smith decided that she was done after six seasons. Fellowes knew damed well if he killed Violet the fans would kill him. They dealt with that elegantly in the movie with Violet confides with Mary that she is mortally ill. So when they make more Violet can be gone.

@@GeometricMason I wonder if she did the same thing in Harlots. I mean, refusing to return. Maybe that's why she was killed off?

This was one of my favourite story lines..and it had a beautiful story arc with Gwen returning to Downton in the last season. I was hoping they would do it and was so happy that they did. It was such a pure tribute to Sybils love and kindness, and another satisfying comeuppance for Thomas, though he had his own personal reasons and I admit I felt sorry for him. But still - he was mean. Happy to see that things seem to look up for him years later, as we saw in the movie.

@@GeometricMason I mean, I understand Brown-Findlay's and Stevens's perspectives. It must be a little stifling to always be playing the same character for someone who is a genuinely good actor and enjoys the craft. And actors never get their youths back, the same as anyone else. Older actors are seldom offered as many interesting roles. It was really heart-breaking seeing Sibyl and Matthew killed off, though, and the show was never the same. I guess I thought that they never intended to do more than six seasons, though...

@@harringt100 your point is well-taken, but what has she done since? As for six seasons, this show could have been generational; like the fact Mary and Matthew's son George would be 18 years old just in time for the second war.

I get the feeling this sort of thing has happened before, and he’s just there like “sigh not again” 😂😂😂

@@doodars9357 reminds me of that time when Mary convinced him to take Barrow instead of Bates to America, but didn't tell him why

It’s such a dad look!

Yes, he is surrounded by woman! 😂

He can't deny his baby.

Agreed 😭😭😭😭

Cecily Erker there is a youtube Ob/gyn that analyzes how realistic the Birth scenes in tv shows were. She said sybils death was very accurate for the time.

Lucky 19 Teas Also, she quit the show to star in Hulu’s Harlots

Indeed. I felt terribly when i saw it. It was socking and very realistic.

I have dared not and can't bring myself to watch it

YES

And she liked mr barrow, she always knew he was a good man inside.

True dat

EXACTLY

O’Brien didn’t do herself any favours she was always trying to screw someone over

Then she should have renewed her contract. 😀

@@flyboy152 they should have paid them more. By season 3 it was a primetime big bill program. And yet they kept wages pretty low (well, low for a prime time spot) for a lot of them, and Jessica brown-findlay and Dan Stevens got better offers/better opportunities. They couldn't very well write Sybil off in a way that wasn't death while keeping Tom/Allen Leech on. Also, despite me loving Sybil and Matthew, I think both Tom and Mary's development without them is great, and I kind of wouldn't trade it for a "what could have been". Tom and Mary are a team, and they're closer as siblings than Edith and Mary ever could have been with Edith trying to ruin Mary's life from the beginning because she was jealous/going after 2 of Mary's potential matches, and Mary being scrappy back. Tom and Mary are the power team of the show and without Matthew and Sybil being written off we never could have gotten that dynamic.

@@loudemopsychic I watched their movies on Netflix, and they were not half as good as Downton. Actors sometimes make regrettable decisions. My husband and I watched the series on Netflix so we didn’t have to wait every year for the upcoming season. Dan Stevens’ departure gave the writers a new life for Mary to explore until she met her final husband.

The show never quite recovered in the post-Sybil era imo. She was the idealistic, compassionate heart of the ensemble, and her interest in politics and social causes kept the plot engaged with the wider world outside of Downton. Her relationship with Tom was also one of the best pairings, and could have opened up a lot more narrative avenues than they ended up with.

For real

I totally agree! so pity that she left the show so early..

Too bad the actress wasn't as good person as the character was. I mean her stupid arrogant and immature decision to leave the show.

Absolutely!!!

@@zoehannah6278 I didn't like her decision (because I love Sybil!) but she was on for 3 years and as she is so young, she didn't want to be tied to a role and not be able to work on other shows/movies☺️

Both are absolutely beautiful inside and out!

I found the fact that Anna still called her husband “Mr Bates” after they married really bloody annoying.

@@elenaverde7356well he sometimes called her ‘Mrs Bates’ in return, it was a cute thing between them, reminding each other they were married.

"That's about the size of it." Half apologetic, but also not budging. Knows she'll get her way.

The eyeroll just kills me

He's greatly outnumbered. Three daughters, Cora and Violet. No wonder he loved having Matthew around so much!

Well they didn't put those in the drama though 😉

anna recognized as well

@@kevintyson9026 Of course Anna would recognize her, they were roommates for two years.

Thankfully he persevered and became a valued member of the family

Eh I don’t think Edith would be that way. She’s not as self centred as Mary

@@SarastistheSerpent Edith is the woman who placed her child into two different adoptive homes, waited until she was a part of their family, and then yanked her away from people who loved her and everything she knew because Edith didn’t get to see her enough and she couldn’t live with her own decisions. She’s plenty selfish.

@@Cleptrio well she didn’t do that on purpose, and the family did offer to take Marigold. It was a terrible experience for all parties, but when it comes to your own child, you’ll do anything to be with them.

Sarasti S edith did plenty of selfish things during these series. I’m not saying Mary didn’t. But Mary is a very complex character and she has many sides. She isn’t only mean, snide and self-centered, but she also has a deeper side, which I really started to love throughout the series. I admire that Edith got a job and worked for what she wanted and she also had to face many unfair things during her life, but she wasn’t an angel either. She worked hard to make Mary’s life miserable at times and she also mostly cared about herself and the revenge she could get on others.

@@SarastistheSerpent did you tune in _after_ the story arc in which Edith goes out of her way to leak the news about Mary that she's not a virgin and that a visiting foreigner died in her room, all because she's pissed off at her? I'm not saying Mary didn't give as good as she got, but don't for a moment fool yourself that Edith wasn't as extremely nasty to Mary as Mary could be to her. Just because we feel sorry for Edith more often doesn't mean Edith couldn't be just as much a piece of work.

Gerard Collins haha..it's foul...fowl means birds. I'm not shaming you, I think it's cute. 😊

@@KittenUndercover 😂😂😂

Also know that the actress came from an aristocratic background. She played downstairs quite well even though she grew up upstairs.

@@erastusjonesdoughton7399 wait what now...?!

It's incredibly surreal to watch her playing a timid housemaid in Donwton Abbey after watching her playing an ambitious young lawyer in the Good Fight

Makes nice cover for the fact that he's got a crush on Sybil at the same time he's genuinely admiring her for helping out.

Well, he moved lol

Skipped forward over part of that scene just now, and with all the references people make to Rose Leslie having appeared in Game of Thrones (which I hear has a lot of dragons), for a minute there I was quite confused by your comment!

And after all, you just finished saying that my dreams are much more likely to come true than yours!

Yep.. That’s why she’s one of the higher ranks 😉

She's just so beautiful too :)

This is like how a lot of white people used to think (and some still think) all people of color look the same. Prejudice blinded their eyes. When you're not prejudiced, you'll be aware of, accept wholeheartedly, and appreciate fully all the diversity.

Gwen is the only one with red hair.

@@MariaHossain Oh yes the race card. All people in uniform look the same from behind is that because of race or because they are all wearing BDUs? I'll give you a hint it's the BDUs. Drop the racist bullshit and grow up.

@@NotMykl Yes, but in the scene the OP is referring to, she’s calling to Lily.

Well, we all have to put on our proverbial pants in the same manner, so we’re not that different! The class system was invented by the king so they’ll have someone defending the borders (as far away from London) from the start of the country’s history. Sybil understood the importance of loyalty towards the ones working for them from their teens to maturity and beyond.

I know right, it’s so sad. Funnily enough recent studies show women doctors are less likely to have patients who end up dying.

Watch the last season. That did happen

@@run4cmt The OP is asking for the clips to be posted, which they are now.

@@run4cmt the person is saying it would be nice if this set of clips were edited to include that epilogue arc, which they are aware exists.

It is my favourite part after Tom whispering the news into Sybil’s ear and them running to tell Gwen the grin on his face when Sybil was telling Gwen the amazing news you could tell they were real friends just by those gestures

You stole my burrito, Charlie That is true! Sybil was kind to every one! But I love how kind Sybil was to Gwen never judging her

@You stole my burrito, Charlie also the way Mary treat Anna in season 5 put me off. She knew Anne was uncomfortable buying contraception yet still command her to buy it. Sybil would never treat Gwen that way.

You are an idiot?? Mary wasn't ANYBODY'S friend!🙄

@Eleanor Clark no, you are not! Mary was obnoxious to me from the first time I saw her. Really terrible person! Arrogant, self-absorbed and mean!

Zoe Hannah You might say she was friends with people or did stuff if it was convenient for her. She was something of an on and off antagonist on the show

Absolutely agree, though it must be said that she did at least tell them from the get-go.

Dragon is like “Glue, beeyotch? Let’s see how you like a face full of mud!” 😀

Exactly I don’t think why people think that one of the sisters were ugly. Sybil was stunning ( she could rock any outfit) Edith was cute( her nose and her puppy eyes) Mary was attractive with her charm and elegance and she also looked good in anything she wore

I agree :) Jessica Brown Findlay (Sybil) just has such a beautiful and perfect face for period pieces :) Mary's beautiful too, just in a different way, and Edith really came into her own and started looking really beautiful after the war :)

I NEVER NOTICED BEFORE! And it was so natural neither did Sybil, until Mrs Hughes dashed cold water on the moment. Squee :)

@@steemdup - "neither did Sybil" overtly at least. It has been too long since I watched the seasons for me to remember whether she has feelings for Branson yet, but if she does at all, internally she absolutely would have noticed.

Sybil's death in the series brought a sad end to the best part of Downtown Abbey. The same thing happened in The West Wing when Secret Service agent Simon Donovan was killed by a gunman. He and C. J. Cregg had just found themselves falling in love.

@@vivianpowell1732 I quit watching after Dan Stevens left the show! The death of Matthew was the death of Downton Abbey! I've seen the entire series but it was NEVER the same after the losses of Sybil and Matthew!

@@teresaf4454 I agree about Matthew, too. I was very sorry when he died so unexpectedly in the story. Matthew had a special quality, like his mother Isobel. Sybil was one of the most finely drawn characters I've ever seen on television, or in motion pictures for that matter. I will never forget her telling Gwen, "Your dreams are my dreams now." Sybil knew instinctively how to add value to other people's lives.

Me too 👌

Me too! Mrs Hughes gave wise counsel, she saw everything, she was not just a supervisor, she was a mother to them all below stairs.

As sybil said, odious woman.

The actress wanted out of the series

It was organised pretty early on that she would only stay for a few seasons. I wish she could have stayed all the way through :)

I didn't see it coming and I stopped watching the show because Sybil was my favorite character.