Fans of the British drama "Downton Abbey" are waiting happily as the series premieres its sixth season this coming January 3, 2016. This season is the final installment of the series.
So far, rumors have been circulating as to what will happen. Here are the top five things that we know so far.
1. "Resolution" will be a major theme in season 6.
In an interview with The Wrap, producer Julian Fellowes says, "Well, Season 4 was about Mary's redemption. That series was really about personal choice, about watching Mary decide to come alive again after her husband's death. Series 5, you're right, was much more to do with the fact that change was going to overtake them. And in Series 6, I would say, the theme is resolution."
"I don't think everything has to be tied up, but I think there are main themes that have to be tied up. I mean, I want you to finish the last episode feeling contented, and not feeling cheated. Sometimes in a movie the clever twist at the end just leaves you feeling cheated, and I don't want that," adds Fellowes.
2. Michelle Dockery's character, Lady Mary, has to choose a suitor.
The International Business Times reports that after Mary, played by Michelle Dockery, lost her husband in season 3, grieved in season 4 and tried to get over her past in season 5, season 6 is the time for her to choose a suitor.
The one with Lady Mary and Henry Talbot "is the glamorous relationship that everyone's excited for, because it would wrap up Lady Mary's arc and would involve Matthew Goode," says Movie Pilot. "It's also a plot line that fans aren't even sure they're going to get!"
3. Mr. Carson and Mrs. Hughes' romance has got to be a big plot.
Movie Pilot also adds that Fellowes seem to have an "admirable intent" of giving older characters exposure.
"I like older characters to have emotional lives, because I think it's truthful," says Fellowes. "In movieland, everyone stops being a sexual creature at about 32, or at least the women do. The men are allowed to keep going until they are 78 -- I've never worked that out. In my world, on the whole older people have emotions like everybody else, and I think the show demonstrates that," he adds
4. Fans should expect at least one wedding and one funeral.
Rob James-Collier, who portrays butler Thomas Barrow, told Daily Mail, "I can probably guarantee a wedding, the odd funeral or two or nine."
5. For the final episode, Tom Branson (played by Allen Leech) will return.
Express reports that Leech was spotted at the filming in the Brooklands Museum, where the scene appears to be a motor race.
However, all of these are just rumors, and are yet to be confirmed when "Downton Abbey" season 6 airs on January 3, 2016.
