At this point, Downton Abbey has been spoiled by a lot more than just one character. Yet for all the melodrama, poor writing, and convenient twists, nothing inspires more hatred in Downton Abbey fans than Mr. Bates. What is it about him? Is it his face? Is it his insistence of being noble and upstanding often at the cost of his wife's happiness? Is it the fact that Anna can do so much better than him? It it simply that his storylines always seem the most drawn-out and boring? It's probably a combination of all of these things but suffice it to say, when Mr. Bates comes on screen, we all groan. In the first season, we rooted for him. He wanted him to keep his job and prove himself to Mr. Carson and the rest of the staff. By the second season, he had done that and thus completed his purpose as a character. But the writers insisted on making him important to us by giving him a dead ex-wife and throwing him in jail for her suspected murder. The scenes of Anna visiting him in jail were torturous. They were so tedious and long that many viewers simply wanted him to hang for his wife's death despite his innocence. Mr. Bates has simply become dead weight on this show. He serves no purpose in this ensemble except act annoyingly self-sacrificing. If he actually sacrificed himself, then maybe he would become interesting again. Until then, he's simply taking up space. And really, Anna could do a lot better than him.
Kerry is a writer, feminist, and obsessive horror, scifi, video games, comics, literature, and history geek. She spends way too much time online and drinks too much tea. Her personal fandom and feminist blog can be found here: http://fangirlingdaily.blogspot.com/.
