Does anyone else find the conclusion of the Vera Bates plot line to be absolutely ridiculous? What kind of person would actually be so bitter, they’d take their own life just to get the final jab at their ex? Just seems way way extreme to me.
Posted Jul 29, 2022, 7:23 PM UTC
I agree. The plot seemed silly to me too. The only plausible explanation I can think of is that she already had suicidal ideation. She probably figured “Hey, I may as well take him down with me.”
Clearly she was an unhappy person because only someone that miserable would cause all that trouble for an ex. (I’m talking about before she killed herself.)
That’s the best explanation I’ve been able to give myself to accept this storyline. 🤷♀️
I always thought that she didn't actually intend to die, but that she was trying to set him up for attempted murder. Revenge isn't any fun if you're not there to watch it.
That would make a lot of sense! Let’s hope that’s the case.
I looked in the script book for season two. She was absolutely intended to die.
I agree about the plot for sure, but boy, do I love the actress who played her. She was a spectacular villain!!
Yes! She was so good in The Tudors as well.
Oooh, I will have to check that out. Something about her really draws me in. I had never watched her in anything before Downton, but I want to see her in more things now.
Outlander! She's so compelling
Thank you so much!
Tudors s1 and 2 are great then it kinda just peters out
She is an amazing actress. I love her voice
Me too!
Maria Doyle Kennedy. She also famous played Catherine of Aragon in The Tudors with a fantastic classical Spanish accent.
I agree it was extreme. I spend a fair amount of time on true crime and I've yet to come across a case where somebody took their own life solely to try and frame someone else for their murder. Maybe there are cases like that out there in the world, but they'd be very unusual. Normally if somebody wants to frame someone else for their murder, they'll just fake their own death and go into hiding.
It's just a show, but I assume Vera Bates was not well. She clearly was already suicidal or she wouldn't have gone through with it at all. Makes you feel quite sorry for her really, since mental health was barely even a concept back in the 1910/20s and the best term going around for women suffering mental health problems was "hysteria."
Yep that’s my theory too. She was already suicidal and probably suffered from some form of mental illness or personality disorder.
Or maybe she had a terminal illness like cancer and decided on an early exit...and why not being Bates down at the same time?
That’s what happened in the old 1940s movie, Rebecca, which coincidentally, was remade not too long ago and starred the actress who plays Rose.
I don't like how they ended things definitively. If I was in charge I'd have left the audience wondering if he really did kill her. They gave him a mean streak but never really did anything with it besides trying to intimidate Thomas a few times.
I'd want the fan divided on whether Bates was wrongly accused or a crafty murderer.
I'd want the fan divided on whether Bates was wrongly accused or a crafty murderer.
That'd have been much more fun than the stupid shit we got.
And am I the only one who burst out laughing when Anna awkwardly cried hearing Bate's sentence. 🤣
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I like to think that Bates killed her and got away with it...
He hints that he had a darker side while they were together, and he really does have some shady skills.
Bates would be a more interesting character if he actually killed Vera. I would like to see his written confession found after his death at the age of 80.
Ooo I like this twist.
Hahahahahaahaha oh I’ve known some people who would totally try something similar. If you don’t know any narcissists then yeah, it might seem silly.
Yes. Love Downton for everything else. Anything Bates gets skipped.
But, I Love You, Mr. Bates!
It’s extreme.. but it led to another storyline for Bates (Mr)
However- if she was getting poorer, reputation was getting worse and worse then maybe it was the only escape? She was crazy..
Honestly, I assumed Bates killed her!
I always expected them to come out and announce that Bates was a serial killer, so when I first watched it didn’t seem too strange. Now? Totally and completely ridiculous.
I have actually known a woman like this. She didn't unalive herself. She was exceptionally toxic and bitter.
Which is why I don't go near her
Agreed, Vera was far too manipulative and self-centered to hurt herself in trying to get back at her ex. People like her want to be around to watch their victims suffer. Revenge is no fun w/o the spectacle.
I always thought it was supposed to be obvious to the audience that Mr. Bates did kill her, and he got away with it because everyone was cool with him and thought she was nasty.
I’m not so sure about that. They made it pretty clear she poisoned the pie herself. Even early on when they were talking to witnesses, one of them said she was scrubbing her hands really hard trying to get them clean (to try to get rid of any trace of the poison on her hands).
They need to bring Vera back in the next movie. Back from the dead to send Johnny B to jail!
But she's been dead for almost ten years
I think she was mentally ill. It's either that or Bates actually killed her. They showed his darker side on a few occasions.
everything about the Vera plot line was ridiculous.
“Hahaha, as if.”
That line always bothers me. It feels so anachronistic. Perhaps it is from that era, but it's weird being reminded of Clueless while watching a period drama
While the character was ridiculous, Maria Doyle Kennedy's acting is fantastic, though it was hard to shake her Spanish accent from The Tudors, which was equally good.
I really felt it was just another way to manufacture distance between Bates and Anna. It's soap opera-ish in it's execution.
Yes… but, Downton is a soap opera, so…
Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh........ No. It's a period piece historical fiction. That's how we justify it. It's not a soap. It's history
Sure it's soapy, but it also moisturizes and has a lovely floral scent, so it's all good!
We shall have none of this discourse at this fine establishment! :clutchespearls:
Now wait a minute...
Hahaha so true. It’s honestly unbearable. This in particular is just the icing on the cake I suppose.
Yup. Terrible plot.