Some brilliant choices and a brilliant choice for chart.
And as always, I disagree with a few picks but only one outright–Bates is far more lawful good (boringly, crushingly, maddeningly so) than Lord Grantham.
Er… what values does Grantham represent that move him from Good to Neutral?
Remember, Grantham represents sort of an idealized version of an english aristocrat. Key word there being ‘idealized.’ He doesn’t represent the nasty, brutish side of it, but the ‘noblesse oblige’ side.
If he’s not Lawful Good, nobody who ever played Fighter in any of the far-more-medieval D&D settings was Lawful Good either.
That said, Bates WOULD probably be a better choice.
And the quote for Evil Mrs. Bates could be much better. The current one makes her seem almost justifiably hurt.
The problem with this chart is that you’ve left off one of the most important characters in the series: Matthew. The chart doesn’t feel complete without him. Honestly, I think you could probably do two charts for Downton: one for the upstairs, and one for the downstairs.
Robert is definitely out of “Good” by now — he’s cheated on his wife, he’s made so many comments throughout series three that have taken him right out (see: his resistance to Edith writing for the paper, his attitude towards “foreigners”, pretty much anything he says to Tom), and he can’t even hold a civil discussion with Matthew about the estate (though I am willing to concede that “yelling at people” isn’t exactly a moral issue, haha).
I’d agree that Bates or even Matthew (who has a similar “noblesse oblige” ideal but without a lot of Robert’s prejudices or major flaws) is a better choice for LG.
Related Articles
11 users responded in this post
Good one!
I think Abbey fans would like to have a word with you…
I’ve somehow managed to avoid seeing the series, though that hasn’t stopped me from writing up a blog for sometime in November skewering it….
Some brilliant choices and a brilliant choice for chart.
And as always, I disagree with a few picks but only one outright–Bates is far more lawful good (boringly, crushingly, maddeningly so) than Lord Grantham.
Anybody on here watching “Copper”? Could you do one for that show?
“Lawful Good” for Lord Grantham seems an extraordinary claim, given the values he represents. If ever a man is “Lawful Neutral”, I’d say it’s him.
Er… what values does Grantham represent that move him from Good to Neutral?
Remember, Grantham represents sort of an idealized version of an english aristocrat. Key word there being ‘idealized.’ He doesn’t represent the nasty, brutish side of it, but the ‘noblesse oblige’ side.
If he’s not Lawful Good, nobody who ever played Fighter in any of the far-more-medieval D&D settings was Lawful Good either.
That said, Bates WOULD probably be a better choice.
And the quote for Evil Mrs. Bates could be much better. The current one makes her seem almost justifiably hurt.
Alignment Chart for The X-Files is way overdue.
The problem with an alignment chart for the X-Files is what David Duchovny quote would be better than the one from the Simpsons?
There’s been another unsubstantiated UFO sighting in the Heartland of America. We’ve gotta get there right away.
My avid-Downton-fan wife has deemed this chart to be “pretty accurate”.
Carry on.
I agree that Bates is at least as good a Lawful Good as Grantham. Really, he’s Lawful Good to the point of being Lawful Stupid.
The problem with this chart is that you’ve left off one of the most important characters in the series: Matthew. The chart doesn’t feel complete without him. Honestly, I think you could probably do two charts for Downton: one for the upstairs, and one for the downstairs.
Robert is definitely out of “Good” by now — he’s cheated on his wife, he’s made so many comments throughout series three that have taken him right out (see: his resistance to Edith writing for the paper, his attitude towards “foreigners”, pretty much anything he says to Tom), and he can’t even hold a civil discussion with Matthew about the estate (though I am willing to concede that “yelling at people” isn’t exactly a moral issue, haha).
I’d agree that Bates or even Matthew (who has a similar “noblesse oblige” ideal but without a lot of Robert’s prejudices or major flaws) is a better choice for LG.