The new trailer for Downton Abbey: A New Era reveals that Maggie Smith's Dowager Countess is alive, missing the perfect, albeit tragic, opportunity to explore her death. A New Era welcomes many returning characters back, but none are more surprising than Lady Violet, the Dowager Countess of Grantham. Her appearance in the trailer doesn't quite align with her heartbreaking announcement at the end of the 2019 film Downton Abbey, which, if followed through, would have likely made for a more impactful sequel teaser revolving around Lady Violet's death.
Following the critically acclaimed television series and film, Downton Abbey: A New Era hints at more mischief and mystery surrounding the Crawley family. The Dowager Countess teases her relatives with a "mysterious past" and a Crawley family adventure to France, where Lady Violet has come to acquire a villa. So little is known about Lady Violet's youth, so it'll be interesting to see how much Downton Abbey: A New Era delves into that part of her life.
The teaser for A New Era would have been so much more effective if it had not included the Dowager Countess (Maggie Smith). At the end of 2019's Downton Abbey, Lady Violet reveals to her granddaughter Mary that she is dying, which comes as a great shock to Mary. She assures Mary that she has had a life well-lived and her legacy will live on with the younger Crawley. This exchange is a poignant and perfect ending to Lady Violet's story, as she entrusts the next generation with taking up her mantle. By including the Dowager Countess in the Downton Abbey: A New Era teaser trailer, the impact of her fate is not as strong. Downton Abbey: A New Era implies growth and opening a new chapter in the Crawleys' lives; it could have instead opened on the family grieving and subsequently moving on from Lady Violet's death.
This is not to say that the appearance of Maggie Smith's iconic Dowager Countess in the teaser means she survives her diagnosis. The timeline of Downton Abbey: A New Era isn't yet apparent, so it's possible that the scenes featuring Lady Violet come directly after the events of the first film or factor in as flashbacks. Perhaps she delivers the news of the villa in southern France and dies shortly after, leaving the family to uncover the secrets of her past. If this is the case and her presence in the teaser trailer is a misdirect, Lady Violet's death could be even more devastating, considering the finality of her scene in 2019's Downton Abbey.
Downton Abbey doesn't typically shy away from killing off fan-favorite characters, sometimes in gut-wrenching ways, and it could very well do the same to Lady Violet in the sequel. Downton Abbey: A New Era's teaser does miss an opportunity to focus on the family in the wake of Lady Violet's death, since the likelihood of her demise is very high at the end of the first film. Only time will tell how significant Lady Violet's role is in the next film and how the sequel will further honor her character.
