1840: The Empty Collinwood

[Joeytrom]

Has anyone noticed that at the end of this storyline, there aren't anyone left to live in Collinwood other then the servants?

[spoiler] Gabriel, Edith, & Samantha are dead. Quentin, Daphne, & Tad, Desmond & Leticia move away.  Flora & Carrie are at Rose Cottage. [/spoiler]

I don't recall anyone mentioning this before, but there aren't any Collinses left at Collinwood itself. 

Talk about a plothole!

[arashi]

LOL! I never noticed that before! Good catch!

[DarkLady]

Almost every story line does seem to end with a corpse-littered stage, but yes, this one takes the cake!

[Gothick]

You're right, Joey!  What a hoot!

One thing I have been enjoying about Downton Abbey (I just started episode 3 a few nights ago) is that it shows realistically how many people were required to keep a big manor house going.  At its height Collinwood in the 18th and 19th centuries would have had a staff of at least 20 I am sure.  This was hinted at only in the original 1966 storyline when discussion of just how many domestic staff Liz had fired was mooted in a few episodes.

G.

[PennyDreadful]

That's funny!  I never realized that before, but you're right Joey.  I guess the servants must send for Gabriel and Edith's children to occupy the house. 

I like to think Edith somehow made a bargain with Judah to come back from the dead though.  Her absence in 1897 would radically alter the events of that storyline.

~Penny~

[Taeylor Collins]

I didn't hear Quentin say he was leaving permanently.  He and Daphne were going to get Tad in Boston and get married.  Or that is the impression I got and then come home. 

I think with Edith she wasn't truly dead and was in waiting somewhere. Back in those days they did mistake death sometimes.

[quentincollins]

I don't think Quentin and Daphne were moving away, so there would be those two, plus Tad. Edith one way or another may have still been alive, and at some point her children would come home.
Where were Desmond and Leticia moving to, I don't remember that.

[Joeytrom]

Quentin & Daphne were moving to Boston with Tad weren't they? I have to check the 1840 Concordance.
Desmond & Letitica were moving to New York.

[Taeylor Collins]

Maybe MB will come along and clear it up; however, I just watched 1840 two weeks ago and I am pretty sure that Quentin and Daphne were just going to retrieve Tad and get married.  Just a little tip; much like Pom Press books, sometimes the concordances have minor information that isn't correct.

[Midnite]

I didn't hear Quentin say he was leaving permanently.  He and Daphne were going to get Tad in Boston and get married.

Yes, but it's left open if they planned to return as a family.  It seemed a lot less likely to me that Desmond and Leticia would want to come back anytime after their New York nuptials, but as I recall that's not exactly stated either way either.

[Taeylor Collins]

Thanks Midnite.  I couldn't remember if it was left open ended or not. Nevertheless, I was pretty sure they didn't say they were not returning.  I agree about Desmond and Leticia being less likely to return. 

That is another fun thing to speculate on.  I personally don't think Quentin would leave his family's ancestral home.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I agree about Desmond and Leticia being less likely to return.

Though even if they did return, how likely would it be that they would live at Collinwood? Desmond didn't live at Collinwood before marrying, he lived at Rose Cottage, So, it would seem more likely that he would move back into Rose Cottage or possibly even buy a house where he and Leticia could start anew and raise a family.

That is another fun thing to speculate on.  I personally don't think Quentin would leave his family's ancestral home.

That's quite possible. If the Collins abandoned Collinwood every time something terrible had taken place there, none of them would have ever been living there for long. 

[Miss_Winthrop]

The reason for the even greater decline in the number of servants Liz had was to keep her little secret in the basement intact.  Burke talks about the decline in the Collins family fortune as well.  I've never understood why Roger was so adamant about Liz not adding to the staff and was real upset about Vicki coming on board.  Did Roger also have some secrets that was to be part of the storyline but never written in to it?