The writing is flat from the first. One by one, the characters return in the opening episode in a way that feels as if they’ll be greeted upon entry by Lenny-and-Squiggy-style applause. Plots unfold clumsily, and relationships are teased out past the point of believability. A few hours in, you’ll become able to say a character’s lines seconds before he or she says them. You’ll no sooner think of a question or historical point (what about the Spanish flu of 1918?) than it is suddenly addressed. And a couple of deathbed scenes would give soap-opera writers a fit of the giggles. It’s as if the United Kingdom has finally returned a gift America gave it years ago: ‘Knots Landing.’
Hank Stuever on season 2 of “Downton Abbey,” which premieres Sunday. (via washingtonpoststyle)