kindness is free

James looks gorgeous in that pic

I so want a serious love interest for him in S5 he deserves some love

Countess.

Well said. That's what we'd all be looking forward to.
Guys, Thomas needs somebody to love (and who loves him back, for the very first time in his life!)

Wes&FredFan

I'd like to see him find love with somebody in a different household. That would be interesting, IMO. Perhaps a chauffeur or a butler - this would put his ambition in conflict with his feelings for this other man. He's come so far at Downton, but if he finds love and happiness, would he give it up to go to a different household? I'd also like to see him change in an even more positive way as a result of this love. We saw him defend Jimmy and take the injuries to protect him, but then we saw him regress to scheming and plotting again. I want him to find somebody that brings out the best in him.

Humdinger

Or at least lets him plot to some purpose? I get some of his paranoia about Downton cutting staff in the future--certainly he heard at dinners what Blake and Napier were doing with all the country estates. And we know Thomas would like to be his own boss. Perhaps Thomas finding love with another man in service would inspire him to try and break free of Downton. Please let Gillingham have a gay valet in S5.

Wes&FredFan

That would be nice . I don't want any more backstabbing or Machiavellian tactics. No more bullying Baxter, etc. I'm all about him finding success, but by playing by the rules. The downstairs servants (and Robert himself) protected him from the police for being gay. They could've gotten rid of him that way, but they pulled together and Bates, who had plenty enough reason to carry a grudge, went to bat for him. It would've been great to show the seeds of a Thomas/Bates friendship if Thomas had found out about the rape and actually volunteered to go to America. Missed opportunities for character/friendship development.

L i N d $ @ y

Tbh, when I saw the promo pics of Ethan (Harold's valet), I thought he was going to be Thomas' new "love interest". I'm disappointed to find out he's not.

I thought it was classic Thomas to go and snoop about Tom's business with Sarah and then tell Robert about it. What I don't get is he's been already calling Tom "sir" for quite sometime now so why harp about it now? I don't get it.

I still feel that there is some untold story between Thomas & Baxter because I honestly don't get their animosity towards each other at this point.





x

I want this to happen too. But an open "slot" vacated by Alfred is making me think that it's setting up something big for Thomas in S5.

THIS. Only if they can't find a solution for Thomas to have a relationship outside of Downton and they would have Tom Cullen be in more episodes (if not all) next season.

looking at the stars

Thanks for sharing that gif set

Countess.

Thanks, Linds! One of my fav scenes this CS, actually.

Baxter has started to realize how much she likes Molesley and they've got to know each other much better over the months. Of course, it's sad for Thomas to be alone once again in some way, but everyone would like him so much better if he would just stop plotting behind everyone's back. Honestly, I totally see why Baxter decided to kind of separate from Thomas.

Humdinger

I think the issue with Tom may have been caused by the fact that Thomas was the one getting all of the orders--since Carson and the footmen were gone. Like in last year's CS Tom was the only one there, but he had 4 male servants to wait on him. And now Thomas is all alone with the former-chauffeur. If that makes sense?? Maybe

I'm really hoping that Baxter is a relative if only so we can get some more backstory on Thomas. I'd love a bit more about where all the servants came from really even if it's just a line. Like Daisy mentioning that no one in her family cared about her as much as Mr Mason.

Wes&FredFan

I was disappointed that he did what he did in 4x02 ... sabotaging Anna by inferring to Cora that Anna was jealous of Edna and destroyed the handkerchief herself. Of course, Robert goes to Bates and orders him to get his wife to behave herself ... lest they BOTH lose their jobs. I wish we'd seen Bates address Thomas on it, because it seemed to me that it got straightened out since Anna was no longer in trouble/under suspicion. Seemed that Thomas wanted more leverage against Anna/Bates if he was so determined to find out why Bates stayed and HE left with Robert to America ... as well as how Anna was "hurt" and Bates failed to protect her (overheard by Baxter when in the room with Cora). I'm hoping he can drop whatever grudge he has with Anna/Bates and the rest of the household.

I'd really like him to grow out of that type of behavior and start acting as a man who might, one day, become a butler of a household ... but who wants to be respected like Carson and not despised. He's a complicated character, but I really want to see him evolve more.

L i N d $ @ y

Alright. Although Tom did say a number of times that he doesn't need all the help but of course it is Thomas' job and Tom is part of the family now. I don't fault Thomas for acting that way, he's not really keen on Tom anyway. It just baffles me why now when he could've had opportunities to rant on him earlier on in the season. Unless they'll be doing a Thomas vs. Tom next season. They sort of did this with Thomas & Bates in S3 but obviously we had none of that.

I don't think the fallout of this was that big. All we got from Robert was a warning and it also showed us that he still trusted Bates/Anna over whatever Thomas might say to him. However, based on what we got from S3, I thought there was going to be repercussions with Thomas being under butler with Bates. I guess the rape SL overshadowed any SLs this season.

Wes&FredFan

Yeah, it did . I find it somewhat comical that poor Robert is always kept out of the loop ... he's pretty much on a need to know basis . He was never told by anybody about Anna's rape, or that the incident happened on his own property. Never told that it was the reason Bates was staying behind and Thomas went with him to America. He got "If you knew the reason, you'd agree" and that was it.

ediedoyle

The boss should always be on a need-to-know basis.

I have a question about Thomas & Baxter. Someone mentioned in the comments of a Guardian article that Baxter was actually instructed by Thomas to plant the train ticket in Bates' coat pocket. Now, I don't have time to go through the whole 2 hours of the CS again, but the idea is so intriguing I had to ask if anyone noticed evidence of this or if the comment was just speculation. If it's true, why do you think Thomas would do that? Other than the fact that he hates Bates?

L i N d $ @ y

In a way, I'm fine with Robert not knowing. Besides, Cora didn't know about Jane & that stint he pulled off with Sampson. Cora is the one who's always out of the loop, sadly.

Was Baxter in London, I forget but that would be interesting. Also, we don't exactly know if Baxter knows about this whole thing with Green so there are a lot of loopholes but in theory, that sounds intriguing.

Lauren60

Why would Mrs. Patmore think the worst of Thomas?

Thomas of course is a character we love to hate. Actually I don't hate him. I just shake my head at some of the things he does. He's such a bad boy!! I hope he gets more to do in season 5 with an emphasis on what makes him act the way he does. We know Thomas has a heart and I hope we get to see more of it!

Whenever I see Rob interviewed I just love him more and more. He's so funny and bright.