Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale ending explained with full spoilers – how does the franchise end?

Elsewhere, the question of Downton's future is always on the table, with many wondering what will become of the fortune left from the wealthy family of Cora Crawley, Countess of Grantham (Elizabeth McGovern).

So, what becomes of Lady Mary, the Crawleys, the staff and all of the cast of Downton Abbey? Here's everything you need to know – and with some quotes from the film's cast shared with RadioTimes.com.

*Spoiler warning for Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale.*

Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale ending explained with full spoilers

So, the Downton Abbey franchise comes to a close with a very emotional and sentimental conclusion in The Grand Finale. The ending will certainly leave fans with a lot of emotion, and, unsurprisingly, the cast felt that way too.

"I didn't actually expect to cry," revealed Joanne Froggatt, recalling how she ended up hugging co-star Michelle Dockery during one screening of the film.

On the weight of filming this final chapter, Dockery added: "Definitely, in particular scenes, you really felt the way."

So, as we conclude, what exactly happens to every character?

What happens to Lady Mary Crawley at the end of Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale?

The final film sees Lady Mary face scandal following her divorce from Henry Talbot (Matthew Goode, absent in the film).

An outcast and looked down upon for much of the film, the question also arises over whether she should be the one to take charge of Downton as her father, Robert Crawley, the Earl of Grantham (Hugh Bonneville), hands over the reins.

Mary does find some distraction in the new arrival, Gus Sambrook (Alessandro Nivola), an American businessman and associate of her uncle Harold Levinson (Paul Giamatti).

After a night of passion, Guy seeks to repeat their lustful encounter, but Mary is aware of the scandal and soon Gus is also exposed as a con artist looking to take more of the Levinson family fortune from Downton.

Thankfully, this is avoided, and Gus is sent on his way by a stern Lady Edith (Laura Carmichael).

As the film comes to a close, Lady Mary finds that she has the support of the staff at Downton and also from the community at large and soon Robert feels comfortable to step back, move to the Dower House once occupied by his mother, and let Mary take the lead as a single mother.

In the final scenes, Mary parts ways with much of the family, including maid Anna Bates and her sister Edith, with whom she has finally reached an understanding after all these years.

"I mean, our ending, you know, when we did our last moment together, yeah, and the characters are actually leaving one another," noted Dockery to Carmichael of the weight of their final scenes. "So we were sort of holding it back and our goodbye, I felt that was quite a tough one. So there are definitely those moments, actually, where the characters were also saying goodbye, were quite hard to play."

The final scenes – a tribute to Dame Maggie Smith

After this, Mary looks around Downton and experiences a vision of the Servants' Ball (as shown in the Christmas at Downton Abbey special) with visions of the family and servants dancing happily together, including Mary with her late one true love Matthew Crawley (Dan Stevens) and also sees her late younger sister Lady Sibyl Branson (Jessica Brown-Findlay) and, of course, her late grandmother Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham (Dame Maggie Smith).

The emotional and almost angelic scene fills Mary with emotion before she walks away, and the camera rests on the portrait of her late grandmother with a tribute to the late Maggie Smith.

Speaking about the nostalgic final scenes, Dockery said: "Well, that was actually an addition during filming, that was an idea from the creatives, and Simon Curtis was really adamant that they put something in like that.

"When you see Mary remembering those moments within the hall, it was really hard to film that. Have to say, I found it really difficult because Mary's so stoic.

"She's not someone who sort of bursts into tears, and that's all I wanted to do, but they played the music, which was a piece from Matthew and Mary's scene together at the train station, which is one of my favourite pieces of music, and they played it over the speakers as I was imagining everybody in the room. And it took a few takes, because the first take, I just welled up too much. They had to check my makeup and go back and be stoic again.

"So it wasn't, it wasn't an easy one to shoot, but really rewarding, because I think it's such a beautiful tribute to Maggie at the end. And that was all Simon Curtis's vision, which really worked so beautifully."

What happens to the rest of the Crawley family?

As mentioned, Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham, and his wife Cora Crawley, Countess of Grantham (Elizabeth McGovern), decide to move to the Dower House and let Mary focus on running the estate while they spend time together.

Elsewhere, Lady Edith Pelham – now a steely matriarch herself – remains happily married to Herbert "Bertie" Pelham, Marquess of Hexam (Harry Hadden-Paton), and now has a strong relationship with Mary.

"She feels very secure," noted Carmichael. "Where you find her, she's very happily married, and also is returning to work. She's got this newspaper, and I think it gives her so much confidence and status. She has a bit of power and she uses that in this film to help her sister, which is really cool to see that change from the early days."

Dockery added, "Yeah, she feels really anchored. I think that's why Mary leans on her, because she needs someone to hold on to and to help her through this predicament that she's got herself in.

"Their dynamic has always been so brilliant and for us, this film was like the last great kind of moment between the two of them, which we hadn't really seen."

Meanwhile, Mary's former mother-in-law, Isobel Grey, Lady Merton (Penelope Wilton), also remains a fixture in the community and remains close to the family after remarrying to Richard Grey, Baron Merton (Douglas Reith).

Finally, former Irish Republican and socialist activist Tom Branson (Allen Leech) remains happily married to his second wife, Lucy (Tuppence Middleton, absent from the film) and their young child, along with his eldest child, daughter Sybie.

Despite living away from Downton and being a true businessman now, Branson remains close to his first wife's family.

What happens to the staff of Downton Abbey?

Despite some absolute difficulty on his part, Charles Carson (Jim Carter) did finally retire for good this time, while his beloved wife, Elsie Hughes (Phyllis Logan), stayed on as housekeeper of Downton.

Speaking about where Carson is at in the film, Jim Carer said: "Carson's obviously not going to cope well with retirement....I mean, you've been in service for 50 years?"

Elsewhere, Beryl Patmore (Lesley Nichol) retired herself but was uncertain about leaving service behind and wondered what sexual demands her husband Albert Mason (Paul Copley) might make of her – but Mrs Hughes soon put her mind at rest – and revealed she might enjoy it.

Mrs Patmore also handed over the reins of the kitchen to her protégée, Daisy Parker (Sophie McShera), who she told was like a daughter to her in a very sweet scene.

Meanwhile, Daisy's husband Andy Parker (Michael Fox) finally took over from Mr Carson full-time as the new butler of Downton.

Phyllis Baxter (Raquel Cassidy) also finally managed to persuade her husband Joseph Molesley (Kevin Doyle) not to be so obsessed with his new career in screenwriting and to focus on making their own home life happy, too.

Also, as the Earl and Countess leave Downton for the Dower House, it is decided that Baxter will swap her roles with Anna Bates and become the lady's maid to Lady Mary in the manor.

Finally, the conclusion of Anna Bates and John Bates (Brendan Coyle) sees them preparing to welcome another child to their family.

Both Anna and Bates leave working at Downton to work at the Dower house in their roles as the lady's maid and butler, respectively, for the Earl and Countess of Grantham.

Before leaving Downton, Anna asks her former mistress and friend, Lady Mary, to be the godmother to her future child, and a delighted Mary agrees.

What happens to Thomas Barrow in Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale?

The former scheming valet Thomas Barrow (Rob James-Collier) returns to Downton with his new boss – and lover – hit actor Guy Dexter (Dominic West).

Guy visits as a guest of the Crawleys for a get-together after they previously were shown seeing his latest work in a Noël Coward (Arty Froushan) play, bringing Coward with them.

Barrow visits initially as just an employee and visits his old colleagues downstairs, but Lady Mary insists on Barrow joining Dexter upstairs with the family, and he does, despite the prejudices around homosexuality being rampant at the time.

Coward, meanwhile, is inspired by Lady Mary's tumultuous personal life to write a play, which the film reveals will be his real-life hit Private Lives.

Is there an end credits scene in Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale?

Yes, the film shows off the various central characters in their new, happy personal lives with their families, and all are happy and well.

Read More:

• Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale cast and creator talk saying goodbye to beloved franchise - and the potential for spin-offs
• Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale first reviews are in - and its early Rotten Tomatoes score has been revealed
• Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale star reveals whether fan-favourite couple are due a happy ending

Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale will be released in UK cinemas on 12th September 2025. All seasons of Downton Abbey are available to stream on Disney Plus, ITVX, and Netflix.

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