Spoiler alert - don't read my post if you don't want to know what happened at the end of episode 3, which was just aired for the first time this Sunday here in the USA.
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I sheltered myself from all spoilers, so I was shocked when they killed off Matthew Crawley in the last episode. I could see something bad was coming when hearing Robert's voice-over declare how lucky he was at how well everything was going, and then a relaxed Matthew driving the open road...
I am reading that this ending cause a huge stir in Britain when it was broadcast on Christmas Day, spoiling the holiday for quite a number of Brits. I also read there is a big division - many of the show's fans were completely turned off by the ending, but others who can't wait for season 4.
I'm in the category of those who can't wait for January when season 4 will air here in the States. Now that Matthew nudged the estate into the 20th century and made it profitable, how will it go on without him? What power struggle might come to run things - because we know Robert really isn't cut out to run the operations himself. I think it'll make for good drama, even though I will miss Matthew's character.