Lady Sybil’s Death on ‘Downton Abbey’ Was Its Most Shocking Loss

The Big Picture

• Lady Sybil was a beloved character on Downton Abbey due to her spirited, rebellious, and feminist nature, as well as her avant-garde fashion sense.
• Sybil’s strong belief in equal rights between men and women led her to speak up and attend meetings and rallies, even against her family’s wishes.
• Sybil’s death had a profound impact on the characters and relationships in the show, particularly on her family, Branson, and the dynamic of Downton Abbey itself.

Downton Abbey hit our screens in 2010 and was an immediate success. It was created by Julian Fellowes, a master of the period drama genre who wrote Belgravia, Vanity Fair, The Young Victoria, and The Gilded Age, his latest show which is currently in the midst of its second season on HBO. Downton Abbey was an incredibly well-made historical and sociological fresco thanks to its very diverse, endearing, and complex characters.

The main trio of the series is obviously the Crawley sisters, made up of Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery), Lady Edith (Laura Carmichael), and Lady Sybil (Jessica Brown Findlay). Thanks to Fellowes’ writing, each sister has an elaborate story and above all, a very strong personal growth throughout the series. However, Lady Sybil was one of the most beloved characters and was often referred to as the favorite sister by fans. Sybil was spirited, rebellious, feminist, compassionate, strong, and a true avant-garde fashion icon. Brown-Findlay’s shocking departure left millions of fans completely heartbroken and Sybil’s death, out of many that transpired over the course of Downton Abbey, was one of its most shocking losses.

Lady Sybil Was Always the Most Spirited Crawley Sister on ‘Downton Abbey’

From the very first season, Lady Sybil appeared as the most lovely and kindest of the three sisters. She was the youngest of the family and not even out in society when the series started, so Sybil had plenty of room for character development. It became clear that Sybil was a free and independent spirit from the beginning, as she began a friendship with Gwen (Rose Leslie), a maid at Downton. The latter wanted to become a secretary, and she achieved her goal thanks to Lady Sybil’s help and support. Being inexperienced at that time, Gwen faced many setbacks. Yet, Sybil always pushed her to follow her dream and never let her give up on it. In Episode 2 of Season 1, she even applied on Gwen’s behalf for a secretary job because she didn’t want her to miss out on the opportunity. Through their friendship, Sybil rejected any restraint there must be between their social classes. They were equals, to the point where Sybil even hugged and congratulated Gwen during a social gathering after the girl landed her dream job.

Sybil was also a very vocal fighter for equal rights between women and men. She never hesitated to bring up the subject of women’s rights during family dinners. The youngest Crawley sister spoke up against women’s obligation to wear corsets, even going as far as being the first woman at Downton Abbey to wear pants for dinner, which left everyone in the house completely flabbergasted. Not only did Sybil make her opinions on women’s rights known, but she also attended meetings and rallies. She even expressed her desire to start canvassing. Her progressive views on the matter were particularly repressed by her father, Lord Grantham (Hugh Bonneville), and Lady Violet (Maggie Smith), her grandmother. They didn’t think that Sybil’s behavior was appropriate, and they feared these meetings were too dangerous for her. Even though she was forbidden to attend another rally, her rebellious spirit took over, and she lied to her father and Branson (Allan Leech), her chauffeur and soon-to-be husband, to go back to the counting of the votes. During the assembly, the crowd got rough and Sybil was hurt. When her father found out, he immediately blamed Branson. Sybil fully stood up for Branson, threatening her father to run away if he fired the chauffeur. This moment was probably one of her most defining scenes in the show. Sybil defending Branson in this way proved that she was the mistress of her own actions as well as her critical thinking and that she could not be dictated by her social status.

When the war started, Sybil found herself distraught by the situation. The day she received yet another letter informing her that a young man she knew had died, she said she felt like all the men she had ever danced with were dying. She decided to do something meaningful to help during the war. She rolled up her sleeves, learned how to cook and clean, and finally joined the hospital to become a nurse. Though her family was worried that she was too innocent to tend to wounded soldiers and to witness so much violence, they quickly realized how strong and selfless Sybil was.

Sybil and Branson’s Romance Changed ‘Downton Abbey’ Forever

The only time Sybil had a hard time forgetting about her social status was when she fell in love with Branson — although it was not so much about her class and her feelings for the chauffeur, but rather because she knew the impact it would have on her family. Sybil was afraid of falling out with her parents, which led to her pursuing a true relationship with him. After the war, Sybil had a chance to lead the life she had once dreamed of. The end of the conflict represented a possibility to erase the caste and conventions. After what she had witnessed at the hospital during the war, Sybil could not imagine going back to a life of goods, luxury, and small talk. When she announced that she was going to Dublin to marry Branson and wanted to continue her work as a nurse, she went up against her family — especially her father who threatened to cut off her finances and refused to attend her wedding. Of course, these threats only reinforced Sybil’s decision to leave her privileged life. The day Sybil and Branson returned to Downton, they were more than welcome into the family again, especially since Sybil was revealed to be pregnant. There had been a few highs and lows between Lord Grantham and Branson, but overall, tensions had eased.

However, their happiness was not meant to last; Sybil’s death right after giving birth to her and Tom’s baby girl was as extremely shocking as it was extremely violent. Surrounded by her family, Sybil died of eclampsia, in horrible suffering. After following Sybil’s adventures, rooting for her since the first episode, and finally seeing her happy with Tom and a baby, her death was a very hard pill to swallow. However, as difficult it was for longtime viewers to watch, Sybil’s departure from the series was apparently planned from the start. As Fellowes declared in an interview to Vanity Fair:

“It was tough really because Jessica had said she was going to leave right from the beginning. She said, ‘I’m doing three years, then I’m leaving.’ So that was all worked out.”

Sybil’s death had many consequences on the characters and on their relationships with each other. First, the fact that three men: Lord Grantham, Dr. Clarkson (David Robb), and Dr. Tapsell (Tim Pigott-Smith) were in charge of a woman’s health while she was giving birth and fully ignored the fears of Cora, Mary, and Edith, was deeply infuriating for the fans (though it was representative of women’s condition at that time). Lady Cora (Elizabeth McGovern) and Lord Grantham’s relationship was deeply affected after this terrible event. Cora partially blamed her husband for the loss of Sybil (and so did the fans), after he ignored Dr.Clarkson’s warnings about Sybil’s condition. Instead, he listened to the reputed and ‘’fashionable’’ Dr. Tapsell, who did not think that Sybil was in danger. This episode felt like the series we knew so far was gone. There was a deep sentiment of instability among the fans, watching the most solid couple of Downton on the verge of a point of no return. This uncertain phase between Lady Cora and Lord Grantham passed rapidly after the truth about Sybil’s death was re-established by Dr. Clarkson. However, this crisis proved how much Sybil’s death had shaken Downton.

Another impact of Sybil’s absence, this one more positive, was represented in Branson’s future taking a turn for the better, in a way. As a recent widower and father, Branson had a hard time finding his place at Downton. The Catholic christening of his daughter, Sybbie, led to new disagreements between him and Lord Grantham. However, it was also a thought-provoking event that pushed the family to become more open to different habits and customs. The most significant change was that Lord Grantham, pushed by Lady Violet, gave Branson the running of the estate alongside Matthew Crawley (Dan Stevens). Tom became more and more valued and a full member of the Crawley family. Sybil was always on his mind, but her absence made him change his perspective on things as well. Society was no longer all black and white for Branson. Where he only saw injustice before, Branson learned to see people for who they were. For Sybbie’s sake, and to honor her mother’s memory, Branson and the Crawleys learned to listen to each other more. Throughout the seasons (even though it was not always easy to bring social progressivism to Downton), they more or less tried to value people for what they were deep inside, instead of what they seemed to represent on the surface. They tried to see the world the way Sybil did.

Sybil’s death left a void in the critically acclaimed TV show. Her youth, independence, and open-mindedness were a hit with the public. The creator knew that such a personality had to find an echo in another character. When Lady Rose MacClare (Lily James) appeared in Season 3, fans could not help but find a lot of similarities with Lady Sybil, mainly their progressive opinions, willingness to embrace new and shocking ideas, and free way of thinking. Had Sybil survived, perhaps these two women would have become kindred spirits, fought for important causes, and changed the world together — and if not the world, at least at Downton Abbey.

Downton Abbey is currently available to stream on Prime Video in the U.S.

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