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You may not have a butler, a personal maid to do your hair, or a wisecracking granny who can eviscerate a dozen fools before her tea gets cold, but you can at least pretend you do when Downton Abbey returns tonight. As the fifth season gets underway, we can't help but feel a pang for one character who sadly left the show too soon.
No, not Matthew. Certainly not the scheming, sideburned O'Brien. It's Lady Sybil Crawley Branson, the feminist, politically active, sweet-as-sugar sister who tragically died in childbirth during series three. That leaves viewers with the squabbling Mary and Edith, two gals who somehow managed to not kill each other in the nursery before growing up to fling barbs, backstab, and pout, pout, pout.
Given the chance, we'd pull a Days of Our Lives and have poor Sybil resurrected and reunited with Tom and Sibby. Bar that, perhaps her ghost can pay a visit to Mary and Edith and remind them what a real good-as-gold sister is meant to be like? Then her spirit vanishes as her sisters embrace while Carson's jaw hits the floor and an embarrassed Anna tries to slowly creep out of the drawing room.
Until that happens, let's honor Sybil and all the other lovely TV sisters we always wanted in our families. Pity you can't adopt fictional characters.
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