Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale teaser ushers in a new decade to end an era

The Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale teaser doesn’t give much else away in terms of plot. According to the synopsis, the film “follows the Crawley family and their staff as they enter the 1930s. As the beloved cast of characters navigates how to lead Downton Abbey into the future, they must embrace change and welcome a new chapter.” We’ve heard that the movie will pay tribute to the late Maggie Smith, as evidenced by Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) gazing at a portrait of the Dowager Countess in the teaser. We’ve also heard that Paul Giamatti, who played a minor role as Cora Crawley’s (Elizabeth McGovern) brother Harold Levinson in the original series, will return for a more substantial plot: “I do something quite important in this [movie]. I was like, wow, this is random, I have a lot to do with the end of this whole series,” Giamatti shared with Entertainment Weekly. “I do something of real significance—good or bad, I’m not going to say! But, I do something that makes a big difference to how everything ends.”

We know that Matthew Goode is not returning for the film (he wasn’t in the second one, either) as Lady Mary’s husband, Henry Talbot. Perhaps that means Mary will have one final love story in the film, or perhaps this will be a story about her independence. One thing seems certain, which is that both the Crawleys and the audience are saying goodbye to Downton for good. At the end of the teaser, the family watches on as the Earl of Grantham (Hugh Bonneville) presses a kiss into the stone of the grand manor, seemingly in farewell. Get ready for an emotional goodbye!