Downton Abbey: Season 2
  • Network: PBS , ITV1 , ITV
  • Series Premiere Date: Jan 9, 2011
  • Season #: 1 , 2 , 3
User Score
7.7 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 100 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 83 out of 100
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 100
  3. Negative: 9 out of 100

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  1. maclaughlin
    Oct 8, 2012
    3
    Much like the first season, the second season creates a captivating world in its sets and costumes, but the writing is lazy and cartoonish. Eight years pass from the beginning of the first season to the end of the second season, and no attempt whatsoever is made to age the characters. In one episode, some attempt is finally made to give the villains some depth and motivation, but it's fleeting, and many of the characters remain one-dimensional. For a soap opera, this is probably the best of its kind, but the writing is too weak to validate all the accolades.… Expand
  2. georgeblomme
    Jan 8, 2012
    3
    Not a bad show, but another of he endless glimpses of British history that the British TV and film execs cannot seem to shake, and get to modern times. But this is what the people of the British Isles relish too, like those old Music Hall shows. WWII seems to have put an end to the British quest to portray themselves as modern ambitious and talented people in a complex world. Instead every program, and so many movies, wallow in the Jane Austin's and counterintelligence groups that once did live in Britain and only stay on in some people's minds. Hooray to those viewers who like this material, but hey it might be time to move on.… Expand
  3. LucasCorso
    May 21, 2013
    2
    Downton Abbey was a solid period soap opera in its first season. Season two devolved into a lot of nonsense, almost like bad daytime soaps. Very disappointing.
  4. arrow1530
    Feb 1, 2012
    1
    This really isn't a bad show! It's just really boringâ

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
84 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 26 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 25 out of 26
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 26
  3. Negative: 0 out of 26
  1. Slant Magazine
    Reviewed by: Phillip Maciak
    Feb 17, 2012
    75
    Downton Abbey remains an extremely reliable television show. The appeal of the series is its pastness, its portrait of a completely foreign culture from a land before time.
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  2. The New Yorker
    Reviewed by: Emily Nussbaum
    Jan 17, 2012
    70
    The British series, about the aristocratic Crawley family and their titular home, goes down so easily that it's a bit like scarfing handfuls of caramel corn while swigging champagne.
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  3. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Ken Tucker
    Jan 13, 2012
    83
    Despite all the repetition and longueurs, this Downton Abbey frequently works, as the first one did, as a peppery little trifle.
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