The Dowager Countess, also known as Granny, also known as Cousin Violet, also known as the old lady who looks like a bird, also known as Maggie Smith, is another one of the show’s big hooks. I’m not going to reference the flower show again. Just know that I could. But here’s how Granny works, or at least how she worked for me: she starts off like this crazy old lady who we’re supposed to laugh at because she’s horribly racist and mean to everyone and doesn’t appear enough to really factor into the show all that much, it seems. Just about everyone else on the show seems likeable enough, agreeable one might say, so Granny stands out in part because Maggie Smith is so recognizable, but also because she says awful things.
She’s the first character to do anything really surprising, and it comes a couple of episodes into the series. It’s also one of the first things that makes the show feel real and interesting: rather than seeming like a mere gimmick, which gets predictable and boring rather quickly, Granny is shown to have a genuine care for people, particularly those in her house, even though she sticks to traditional British customs and points of view. Her offensive statements then get taken as more ignorant than hateful, more like we would take them if they were said by our own grandparents. Good luck escaping her talons of charm after witnessing her sassing rude dinner guests.
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Published: Feb 20, 2013 04:25 pm