sexton said:

No comments yet about the finale? To me this was more expected than the other thing. Still

Cheap, very cheap. It's a reminder that this is just a glorified soap opera

I enjoyed how thrilled Anna was with her own dancing though

sexton said:

I thought it was hilarious in the second to last episode when Robert suggested other ways of increasing profits like investing with Charles Ponzi in the states.

That was pretty funny.

Nothinbutjoy said:

* * Just watched the last two episodes. They sure know how to rip a heart out!

Blame the actor who wanted to leave the series. Because that is definitely not how the season would have ended otherwise.

The ending does leave Mary an opportunity to become a strong woman with a eye on business and running the estate since her child will be heir apparent. Id like that route cause it seemed in season 1 Sybil was going to be the strong independent woman and rally to the political cause but since she got married that was dropped. It would be nice to see Mary take on that role.

sexton said:

Nothinbutjoy said:

* * Just watched the last two episodes. They sure know how to rip a heart out!

Blame the actor who wanted to leave the series. Because that is definitely not how the season would have ended otherwise.

Yeah, I've read about it. Entertainment Weekly had a really good article on the topic that pointed out the difference between tv shows in the UK and tv shows in the USA. In the UK they don't contract actors for 5+ years and the actors don't get the HUGE increase in salaries as a series goes on. The contracts are kept short so as to not lock actors to a show and give them a chance to explore other opportunities.

Coincidentally, it saves the showrunners TONS of money.

I'm paraphrasing the article of course and my spin of how it saves $$ is my own interpretation.