Series two was highly acclaimed. On
Rotten Tomatoes, it has fresh rating of 100% based on 24 reviews, with a
weighted average of 8.9/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "With its excellent cast and resplendent period trappings,
Downton Abbey continues to weave a bewitching, ingratiating spell." On
Metacritic, the series 2 has a
normalized score of 85 out of 100 based on 26 critics, indicating "Universal Acclaim". The series generally received overwhelming reviews from critics. Linda Stasi of the
New York Post wrote the second series "seamlessly moves between the horrors of war and the gentility of life in the show's titular 100-room manor." Writing for
TV Guide Magazine, Matt Roush said, "For those of us who hungered for a year to witness these new chapters, the appetite is insatiable."
The Wall Street Journals television critic
Dorothy Rabinowitz said, "The vibrant brew of upstairs-downstairs relationships is more savory now, the characters more complicated." Robert Bianco of
USA Today also lauded the series saying, "There's nothing in
Downton you won't recognize, and almost nothing you won't enjoy."
Varietys chief television critic Brian Lowry praised the series cast and said the creator had "created such a vivid group of characters and assembled such an impeccable cast--effortlessly oscillating from comedy to drama--that the hours fly by, addictively pulling viewers from one into the next." Tim Goodman of
The Hollywood Reporter said, "The characters are so beautifully and thoroughly rendered that we, as viewers, are caught up in their lives." Robert Lioyd of the
Los Angeles Times said, "It is big, beautiful, beautifully acted and romantic, its passions expressed with that particular British reserve that serves only to make them burn brighter." Some media outlets and critics were more critical towards the show.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette TV critic
Rob Owen wrote, "Writer/series creator Julian Fellowes weaves together an engrossing tapestry of stories, although some of them stretch credulity or peter out." Alessandra Stanley of
The New York Times also gave the series moderate reviews by comparison to the first series and said, "Season 2 is in many ways as captivating and addictive as the first, but this time around, the series comes off as a shameless throwback to itself." In a moderate review, Maureen Ryan of
The Huffington Post said, "Your investment in the many stories spun out by creator Julian Fellowes may take longer to develop this year, because the costume drama's pace is off in the early going and it's far more contrived and inconsistent than it was in its first season." In a less enthusiastic review for
The Washington Post,
Hank Stuever quipped that the series, "lacks surprise and is stretched precariously thin, a house full of fascinating people with not nearly enough to do, all caught in a loop of weak storylines that circle round but never fully propel." ==Awards and nominations==