“Throughout its first five seasons, Downton Abbey has subjected viewers to plenty of trauma, including one tour of duty, one deadly sex scandal, multiple childbirths, one rape, and one fatal car accident. As horrific as these events may have been, though,Downton producers have kindly (and, in a stroke of cost-effectiveness) shielded audience members from blood and gore—instead treating the most violent incidents with the finest white tea gloves by letting them unfurl offscreen. (Even, as we noted before, when Sybil died on-camera moments after giving birth, she was depicted convulsing in the crispest white sheets you’ve ever seen—her face pale but pristine.) So why, then, after five seasons’ worth of seemingly strict Downton dignity upkeep did producers decide to throw all decorum out the mullioned window during Sunday night’s episode, and show Lord Grantham going full-onExorcist, projectile-blood-spewing at the dinner table? We phoned the show’s producer to find out.”

Read more of the backstory on the #SundayBloodySunday‬ episode – from the concept to the cast reactions at the full article.