And Bates wonders why everyone thinks he's a creepy murderer...

I rewatched the last episode this week and have caught up with my recaps just in time for tonight. The final series of Downton Abbey starts tonight at 9pm and I'm not sure I'm ready. That said I do have a list of things I want to happen in this final series.

1. The Dowager Countess must die.
Hear me out. The Dowager Countess was born 1842. Series six is starting in 1925 making her 83. That's really old now, let alone back then. As much as I will sob for days it would an excellent, yet emotional, way to mark the end of an era and the end of Downton Abbey.
2. Carson and Mrs Hughes get married
And live happily ever after. The end.
3. Baxter and Molesley hook up
Just get on with it already.
4. Anna and Bates go be creepy else where
I used to love Anna. The hate for Bates has been there for a long time but last series it rubbed off on to Anna and now I don't care about either of them. Maybe they'll have the Amy Pond effect and I'll fall back in love with them just as we have to say goodbye but they need to go. They're clearly cursed.
5. Daisy gets her GCSEs
I asked my friend Sophia (@sophiasaywhaat for quality Downton tweet-a-longs) what she wanted from this final series in she summed up what I want to happen to Daisy in one sentence, Daisy needs to get her GCSEs. She's the owner of a farm when is she going to remember that? I'm hoping she'll finally find some self confidence and move out and up in the world and become boss lady of the farm. That or as they suggested in the last episode, write a cookbook. Either way I hope she stays close enough that Mrs Patmore can still come and hang out with her.
6. Edith and Marigold move to London
Much like Daisy, Edith needs to remember she's the owner of a newspaper company. She needs to move away from the shadow of Downton and more importantly Mary and make a life for herself. I can totally see her getting more involved in paper and doing really well for herself in London. She just needs to break free.
7. Branson comes back
We know he does come back at some point. He's in loads of the final days of filming photos but I really hope it's not just for the final episode. I want as much Branson time (and Sybbie/Donk time) as possible. That said I want him to be happy. I'd be zen with him living on the estate somewhere with Sybbie and maybe a new wife, as long as she was lovely.
8. Mary
To be honest I'm not exactly sure what I want from Mary. I have a horrible feeling she's going to fall for the racing driver from Christmas and then he's going to crash. It would be great if that didn't happen. She should have married Charles Blake.
9. Robert doesn't die
The angina/ulcer shenanigans of the Christmas episode were too much. If he drops dead leaving George as the new Earl of Grantham I'll be so cross. Yes a new Earl would be a new start but I'm not down. Especially if he died and the Dowager doesn't. Cora and Robert just need to grow old together. It would be good if he didn't loose the entire estate and all the money but this is Robert Crawley, who am I kidding? 
10. Thomas finds a man
I'm so glad Thomas is back to his sassy, evil ways. I'm hoping he'll fall in love with someone that loves him. Possibly an aristocrat and he can leave Downton to become his "valet".
11. BONUS - They get a puppy
I had this fantasy that in the last Christmas episode that they'd buy Robert a puppy for Christmas and the puppy and Sybbie would become best buds. They would go off on adventures together and be so inseparable that Branson and Sybbie would have to stay in Yorkshire. It didn't happen, the Branson's went off to America, but I still want a Downton puppy.