Warning: SPOILERS for Downton Abbey: A New Era
In Downton Abbey: A New Era, Robert Crawley, the Earl of Grantham's (Hugh Bonneville) story was one of the best of the film, exceeding what was seen of Lord Grantham in the Downton Abbey TV series. While Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) oversees Downton as a British film company shoots a movie at the castle, Robert leads a contingent of the Crawley family to the South of France. Robert needs to investigate why a Marquis left a villa on the Riviera to his mother, Lady Violet, the Dowager Countess (Maggie Smith), before he was born. The answers Lord Grantham uncovers shake him to his core and reveal a deeper understanding of Robert Crawley.
Robert is one of the central characters of Downton Abbey but he hasn't always been shown in the best light. A man who struggles between maintaining proud tradition while still accepting the changes of the world around him, Robert is, at heart, a good man and a loving husband and father. But Robert has made his share of mistakes; Lord Grantham has financially mismanaged Downton Abbey with poor investments, and perhaps Lord Grantham's gravest sin was the affair he secretly had with one of his maids, Jane Moorsum (Clare Calbraith), in Downton Abbey season 2. Robert was also fiercely opposed to his chauffeur, Tom Branson (Allen Leech) marrying his youngest daughter, Lady Sybil (Jessica Brown-Findlay), although he eventually grew to accept and love Tom as well. Then again, Robert also infamously didn't recognize he had an ulcer in Downton Abbey season 6 until he literally vomited blood at dinner and was hospitalized.
Downton Abbey: A New Era laudably showed Robert Crawley in his best light, maybe ever. Lord Grantham already feared the fact that his mother was dying, but he was especially driven to learn the reason why the Marquis left the French villa to Lady Violet in his will. When Robert realized that Marquis de Montmirail's son (Jonathan Zaccai) believed that they had the same father and that they were half-brothers, it sent Lord Grantham into an existential crisis because that would mean he was a fraud who was never the Earl of Grantham. Meanwhile, Robert's wife, Cora (Elizabeth McGovern), confessed that she believed she was dying of cancer, and it all was too much for Robert to take. In one of Downton Abbey: A New Era's most touching scenes, Lord Grantham had an emotional breakdown as he felt his entire life and all he knew that was true was being shredded to pieces.
Indeed, Hugh Bonneville delivered perhaps his most textured and resonant performance as Lord Grantham, and he was met in equal measure by Elizabeth McGovern. Lord Grantham dreading Lady Violet's death, fearing that he was never the Earl of Grantham, and forlorn that he could lose Cora as well is the most nakedly vulnerable Robert Crawley has ever been, and it was his finest moment in Downton Abbey: A New Era. The sequel shifted the focus back to Lord Grantham in a powerful way, especially since both Robert and Cora essentially played supporting roles when the King and Queen visited their castle in the previous Downton Abbey film in 2019. Downton Abbey: A New Era reinforced the importance of Robert and Cora to the saga, and it also touchingly examined the very nature of their marriage as Cora reminded Robert, who was ashamed, that she loved him from the start and he only married her for her money so he could save Downton from financial ruin. Yet, as Cora reminded Robert, love came and they had many happy years together.
At the end of Downton Abbey: A New Era, both Violet and Isobel Merton (Penelope Wilton), who was enlisted to get to the truth about the late Marquis via the many love letters he sent the Dowager Countess, were able to assure Robert that "you are your father's son." Robert's title as the Earl of Grantham was reaffirmed by Downton Abbey: A New Era's ending, and he was also relieved that Cora isn't dying from cancer, after all. Although Lady Violet sadly passed away, but Downton Abbey: A New Era ended on a hopeful note that the Crawleys will continue on, as ever. Thankfully, Downton Abbey: A New Era also reminded audiences of what a wonderful character Robert Crawley truly is.