Lady Mary Crawley is going out in style. Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale, the cinematic return of the global phenomenon, sees the Crawley family and their staff navigating the 1930s. When Mary lands at the center of a public scandal and the family faces financial ruin, the entire household must rally to protect their legacy and embrace a new era. But in the process, Mary doesnt just secure her own place in historyshe cements her status as a queer icon.Michelle Dockery, who has embodied Lady Mary since 2010, couldnt agree more. Yeah. Well, shes a gay icon, isnt she? And I love that. In this movie, those characters are all being invited into the house, she tells Gayety.They being Marys former butler Thomas Barrow, his movie-star beau Guy Dexter, and none other than playwright legend Nol Coward.(L to R) Allen Leech stars as Tom Branson, Dominic West as Guy Dexter and Robert James-Collier as Thomas Barrow in DOWNTON ABBEY: The Grand Finale, a Focus Features release.Credit: Rory Mulvey / 2025 FOCUS FEATURES LLCMary and Barrow: An Unlikely DuoWeve seen Mary and Barrow, the closeted butler who found love with Dexter in the second Downton film, grow their friendship over the years. Dockery said Mary always sympathized with his struggles.She sees something in Barrow really early on, and I love that relationship between them in the series where she can see how much hes resisting and having to change who he is for the sake of the time and the society, she explained.And its such a great resolve that he ends up, obviously in this relationship with Guy Dexter and Marys thrilled for him.Their friendship has always been one of the shows most layered, and Dockery loves how it culminates here: Its such a great moment when she invites him up to have cocktails with everybody because why not? Hes now not working at the house and hes no longer a footman and he should be part of the environment.Michelle Dockery stars as Lady Mary in DOWNTON ABBEY: The Grand Finale, a Focus Features release.Credit: Rory Mulvey / 2025 FOCUS FEATURES LLCHappy EndingsDockery also imagines a fabulous future for Mary once the credits roll. I think that she, after the film ends, I think shes about to go into the library and write some letters to Nol Coward and Guy Dexter and say, are you up for a party this weekend? I like to think that the new generation is going to be more of a party for them.Who Knew Divorce Would Cause Such a ScandalEven with her own hardshipsmainly being shunned from society because shes going through a divorceMary always stands tall. Dockery noted, Reading the script for the first time, I was really shocked as to how she was treated and how a woman wouldve been shunned out of society. As a modern woman, I just couldnt believe it. Who cares?Downton Abbey may be ending, but Lady Marys reign as a gay icon is only just beginning. Plus a happy ending for the gays? What more could you ask for. Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale is now playing in theaters. Source