Barely visible next to the altar is the ghost of Lady Sybil, clad only in turquoise pantaloons and a suffragette sash. Jimmy says that he can never give Thomas what he wants, and Thomas says that he understands that, but would like them to be friends. As time passes, however, Thomas starts looking more and more sickly, spurring several people, including the Dowager Countess, to remark on his ill looking appearance. Mrs Patmore intercepts the telegrams and, using a unique steam-iron method, gets Daisy (bound for Harvard after securing the first Open University degree*) to help her read them. Lady Mary comes down with George and Sybbie to say a final goodbye, with George begging Thomas not to go, but Thomas tearfully insisting that he must. When Sybil dies in childbirth, Thomas is reduced to tears, and Anna comforts him outside. This is one of the first times Thomas is seen with a very kind and caring side. In Thomas' new job, he works for Mark Stiles and his wife, an elderly couple with a staff of only three. Editor's note: For the benefit of American readers who haven't yet seen Season 3 of Downton Abbey, please do your best to avoid spoilers when commenting.. June Thomas: Seth, you look so . When Mr. Carson continued to state that he is revolted and that Thomas has been twisted by nature into something foul, Thomas tells Mr. Carson that they are not the same, but he is not foul. Thomas Barrow may refer to: . They discuss their respective careers, and Thomas reassures Guy that he will be successful in talkies. Jimmy is talking to Thomas about how Mr. Carson seems to favour Alfred for the job of first footman. Alfred is a barely experienced footman, and Thomas sees it as an insult that he could just fall into the job in a matter of weeks. He then says goodbye to Lord Grantham and thanks him as Downton has helped him grow as a person and taught him many important things, an appreciation that Lord Grantham admires as he wishes him luck in the future. Manage all your favorite fandoms in one place! He arrived at Downton Abbey, a castle . Thomas still hopes that Lord Grantham will decide to retain him as valet. After Thomas's relationship with O'Brien ends away, Jimmy is the only member of the downstairs staff whom Thomas likes. He also guesses that "Guy Dexter" is a stage name, and teases him when he reveals that his birth name is Quentin Sidebotham. I dont believe for a second Robert would touch OBrien. She asks Thomas to teach Alfred to be a valet to Matthew Crawley. Meanwhile, almost all the staff except for Anna and Baxter are trying to warn Andy about Thomas due to Thomas' homosexuality and his previous advances on Jimmy, which results in Andy ignoring Thomas when he offers to help him. She says that Alfred has a nice manner unlike Thomas. Thomas, sometimes called Barrow, was originally the first footman, who had aspired to be a valet. Is this some weird fan fiction or something? Meanwhile, Thomas strikes up a friendship with Richard Ellis, the king's second dresser. Lord Grantham's lawyer and close confidante continues to aid the family. She has considered Thomas a friend, and even told her secrets to him. After Andy arrives the staff resent them from being friends in order to "protect" Andy from Thomas' sexuality. Thomas absolutely refuses. He is not so fond of the family as they appear to be fairly boring, and is lonely with such a small number of staff who he doesn't know, and he hates it. While Thomas isn't starstruck at the arrival of the actors and the film crew, he quickly strikes up a friendly relationship with Guy Dexter. Not to mention, he was inspired by real history. Despite finding love with Richard Ellis (Max Brown) in the . Isis has gone missing from where he'd hidden her, and he spends all night looking for her. Thomas is still hoping to remain a valet, as he is told that Carson is "sorting things out", but Robert just wants Bates to rest before he returns to work. I'm not foul, Mr Carson. Thomas tightens his grip over Baxter, threatening to go to Lady Grantham and reveal her secret. Carson is not pleased, as this makes Thomas his superior. She warns him that his job, as well as Baxter's, is now in question, especially now that Cora knows he has been using this knowledge for his own benefit. Thomas later makes an advance on Kemal Pamuk, a Turkish envoy, who threatens to tell Lord Grantham if Thomas does not tell him where Mary Crawley's room is. Mr. Carson calls Thomas "foul" because of his attraction to men, but despite everything, Thomas sticks up for himself saying "I'm not the same as you, but I'm not foul". Thomas believes that he is beaten. James is uncomfortable with Thomas's familiarity, but he goes along with it, as Sarah leads him to believe his position could be in jeopardy if he doesn't. Later on, Baxter hears a grunt coming from the bathroom. He had an affair with the Duke of Crowborough, who then refused to hire him as his personal valet, telling him that one swallow does not make a summer. The drastic measures involved in this (such as electroconvulsive therapy and investing a lot of money in this) show a certain level of pain, desperation, and determination towards changing himself behind his usually well-maintained behaviour. After securing a new job, he reveals to Miss Baxter that his impertinence and malicious behaviour is what made him so low as no-one liked him because of it. They spot Lady Mary having secretly spoken to Lord Gillingham. They also learned to appreciate the modern direction their life was headed, with Cora modernizing her Lady Grantham title by running the hospital. It is only the intervention of John Bates who not only takes the matter to Lord Grantham, but also uses information he gets from Thomas to force Sarah O'Brien to make Jimmy take back his threat, that allows Thomas to keep his job. Jimmy says that Thomas was "brave" and that he feels bad for leaving him. Thomas Barrow (Rob James-Collier) is perhaps one ofDownton Abbey'smost polarizing figures; originally a solid villain of the piece, over the course of six seasons, he gradually became one of the most beloved members of the Crawley family staff, eventually taking over Carson's position as a butler. He was played by UK actor, Robert James-Collier. After the war, Thomas tries to make it as a black market businessman, but he foolishly spends all of the money he had saved buying from a man he had only briefly met in a bar. The Crawleys are a wealthy aristocratic family who live in and hold rights to the Downton Abbey estate (which they have held since at least 1772, when the 1st Earl of Grantham was raised to the earldom). Ill put two of the links below. Due to Anna's arrest, Bates wants to stay at Downton to be close to her so Thomas acts as temporary valet to Lord Grantham when 0 the family travel to Brancaster Castle in Northumberland for a shooting party during the grouse season and to visit Lord Sinderby and Lady Sinderby, Rose and Atticus. Each time its the exact same wording like part of a story. Thomas agrees but is clearly hurt that he won't get to spend as much time with Andy. Offers may be subject to change without notice. To make matters worse, Alfred sees it and tells Mr. Carson who says that Thomas will have to leave Downton, but that he will be given a good reference. Thomas instigates Daisy to go on strike over the fact that a new kitchen maid hasn't been hired, but tells her not to say that he put her up to it. this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines. He remains a proud man, however, not welcoming pity even when he was ill from the quack homosexuality cure. Neame says they explored several different ideas before landing on the central plot of a royal visit. He tells Lady Grantham that he thinks Nanny West is neglecting the children, leaving them unsupervised. He fetches Dr. Richard Clarkson and some of the other staff to help Thomas and stays silent whilst Thomas fails to say what really happened, and so avoids telling everyone that Jimmy left him alone to face the two men and gets beaten. John Bates is imprisoned after being found guilty at the murder trial for his wife's death, and Lord Grantham needs a replacement valet. Thomas is playing in the yearly match when the police come to question him. . God bless you. Entertainment Weekly is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation All Rights Reserved. Thomas agrees and takes him to her room that night. There is a revelation that he has been injecting an expensive saline placebo while using unsterilised needles, making him ill. He spends all night looking for her, getting muddied and frustrated; but it turns out that she was found and has been returned by a child from the village. That night Thomas goes into Jimmy's room when he is asleep and kisses him passionately, thinking his feelings will be returned. Later, it is implied that he falls in love with Edward Courtenay, who dies by suicide. Lady Grantham poisons Lord Grantham (already nearly dead anyway after contracting a rare form of slow-acting rabies from Isis) and on his deathbed he acknowledges Thomas as his son. "They made the decision, even though it was a great scene, to remove that and it was the wise decision. When he confronts her about it, she tells him to keep his histrionics to himself, and later when the shirts mysteriously are returned, she just tells him to go and get his lordship into his pajamas and dismisses Thomas's threats about if anything like this happens again (Thomas after this hides a couple so as not to be caught out again). Later in the episode, when Lady Anstruther shows up and lures Jimmy to her room, Thomas agrees to stand guard for him. Speaking about Thomas's relationship to Sarah O'Brien, Rob James-Collier calls her Miss O.B. He tries to reason he wanted to give her another chance, but Cora reminds him that should've been her decision, not his. Thomas and Andy know each other during the preparations for Lady Rose's wedding, when Andy was hired as a temporary footman due to the sumptuousness of the event and the limited staff. However, Thomas notices that Andy is having difficulty reading a book that Mr Mason gave him to aid with his work on the farm. He feels that even if Thomas were able to forgive her and tried to reconcile it would not be in her to do it. Thomas is not affected by Edna's words, and calls her a "manipulative little witch" and expresses his happiness that her schemes have come to nothing. Masterpiece Series Three promo "Downton Abbey: Robert James-Collier speaks on Thomas and O'Brien". I'm not the same as you, but I'm not foul.Thomas defending himself to Mr Carson. But the shows finale took a delightfully happy turn, with an ending that even left the Dowager Countess smiling. Thomas and O'Brien attempt to get him fired for theft by planting one of Robert's snuff boxes in his room, but Anna warns him, and he replaces it without informing them. The subsidiary title of the Earl of Grantham is Viscount Downton. At the fair in Thirsk, Thomas follows Jimmy, as he knows that he has had too much to drink and is carrying the money he won in a bet. He claims to Carson that he has to go see his father who is ill, but instead uses his time off to go to London to receive what is later revealed to be electroconvulsive therapy in order to change his sexuality. In Series 3, Thomas still feels animosity toward Bates. Thomas says he felt an attraction to Jimmy and thought that he felt the same, but he was wrong. Thomas impulsively says, "Well, I love you." Alfred is a barely experienced footman, and Thomas sees it as an insult that he could just fall into the job in a matter of weeks. Thomas also lends a hand when Jimmy has difficulty lifting a heavy trunk. Thomas' deep unhappiness and expectation of having no future job causes him to attempt suicide by slashing his wrists in the bathtub. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. Thomas reports on Nanny West out of spite at her presuming to give him orders when he greets Sybbie in her pram. She tells James that he must insist that Thomas be made to leave without a reference, otherwise, he is to threaten to tell the police of what Thomas has done, and have him sent to prison. Thomas repeatedly insults Alfred, and Sarah and Thomas each repeatedly try to damage the reputation of the other. She is the only one who does not see Thomas as an unkind person, just that he acts unkindly sometimes (sometimes meaning nearly always). Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our, Digital Cookie Notice Thomas is still in love with Jimmy, despite everything that has occurred. Making a splash: A deep dive into the live-action Little Mermaid with a new generation's Ariel. He asks Carson if this is true, and Carson's manner suggests that it is true, and tells the staff that "it is not something for the here and now". He and Ms O'Brien get Daisy to lie to Mr Carson. Later, whilst Jimmy is walking alone, two men attempt to rob him. He makes the comment that "It's Barrow now, Mr. Bates. He arrived at Downton in 1910, indicating in 1920 he had worked there for ten years. Sobbing, Thomas opens the door and states that there's isn't a man in the house who'd help him. Mr Moseley marries OBrien, with whom he has had a secret, cupboard-based affair for years. But most importantly, she asked him to keep it quiet until after Ediths wedding. Entertainment Weekly may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Yes, Thomas Barrow (Robert James-Collier) resigns as a butler at Downton Abbey and leaves. Andy admits to Thomas that he cannot read or write anything but his own name, which was all he needed to get into service. Gladys Denker, the Dowager Countess' lady's maid, uses Andy to get free drinks at The Velvet Violin, a basement club. Violet confides in Denker that there might be upcoming staff cuts and tells her to keep quiet. 1868), usually called Lady Grantham, is the wife of Robert and mother of Mary, Edith and Sybil. In the end, it was Lord Granthams idea to bring Barrow back, giving the tortured serviceman something to finally smile about. She knows that Thomas is the illegitimate son of O'Brien and Lord Grantham - and the rightful heir to the house. She then begins acting as if their feud is now in the past. During the second series, the animosity between Thomas and Bates is not seen much, due to many reasons, one being that Thomas was in the Army Medical Corps for a short time and then Bates is arrested, tried, and sentenced to hang, for the murder of his ex-wife Vera. When the staff and the family travel to London for Lady Rose's wedding to Atticus Aldridge, Carson hires a temporary footman, Andrew. Alfred is demoted back to being a footman. After Andy's secret is revealed in front of Mr. Mason, Mr Dawes, Mrs. Patmore, and Daisy, Mr. Dawes volunteers to teach him how to read and write properly, dismissing Thomas' suggestion that he and Andy still continue with their lessons, as that may interfere with his teaching method and confusion for Andy. When he enraged Bates by asking Daisy out on a date to embarrass William in his footman days, Bates slammed him into a wall in the hall of the upstairs bedrooms. Reports are rife that the end is nigh for the Crawleys and chums. He throws Thomas out of his room leaving him with tears in his eyes standing in the hallway. Carson sees no option but to refuse a reference, as otherwise, the intervention of the police would cause gossip and scandal. When Carson tells her of the rumour, she later learnt from Molesley that Thomas told him she was leaving, she knows it wasn't a mistake. She points out that it is not unusual for gay men to marry as a cover, and that Ellis is not to be blamed for it; Thomas agrees but remains upset and comments that he wants a different sort of life. The only clue as to his age is that in. Although it appears that he has grown bitter from always having to keep his sexuality a secret for fear of prison and his failed romances, outwardly he remains a very proud man, not ashamed of who he is. Bates overhears bits of what is going, and he goes to Mrs. Hughes for the whole story. Thomas defends Jimmy, saying none of this was his fault and that he was an innocent victim. She tells Jimmy that unless he insists that someone like Thomas cannot be allowed to go to another respectable position, people will think that he is sympathetic and then they might suspect him of encouraging Thomas's advances. He does relate what he knows to O'Brien. This is partly wishful thinking and mostly O'Brien's efforts to lead Thomas to believe that Jimmy returns these feelings, in an attempt to get revenge on Thomas by getting him fired. The staff continued to treat him horribly mostly for actions he made over 10 years before, just out of his teen years. Internally however, he seems to harbor a lot of self hatred and insecurity, proven by his attempt to fix himself through conversion therapy. Thomas had struggled, worked and schemed for 9 years to rise to the level of valet in a noble house. He even loses the will to fight for himself, as he later tells Bates, he feels as if he has been "well and truly beaten". Going Downton is the end near for the award-winning period drama. The new heir, Matthew Crawley, and his mother, Isobel Crawley, arrive. At the beginning of the series, Thomas the footman has been working toward being a valet, and the position of valet to Lord Grantham looks like it will be his, when suddenly Lord Grantham hires John Bates, who has not been a valet before and walks with a cane. O'Brien encourages Alfred to tell Mr. Carson. Thomas is still in love with Jimmy, despite everything that has occurred. Thomas, along with the rest of the staff who remain at the house, prepares to welcome the film crew to Downton, although he comments that he would have preferred to visit France. The shows final shots saw Edith exchange vows with Bertie, making her the Marchioness of Hexham. He was also friendly with Lady Sybil at the time, never showing any unkindness towards her. He begins to behave very uncharacteristically. In an episode that was all about job prospects lost and found, let's get right to the business of Bates, Thomas, Jimmy, and the late night lip-locking that made so many lines of dialogue . After going to Dr. Clarkson together when Thomas tried to cure his sexuality, Baxter commented that she thought he was very brave to put himself through all that pain just to get what he wants, and that he could achieve great things if he only set his mind to it. To Mr Bates. Anna is renting out Vera's residence that was Bates's mother's house, but Thomas says that a murderer shouldn't profit from his crimes. ", How We Can Learn to Live with COVID-19 After Vaccinations. Downton Abbey closed its doors to fans on Christmas 2015, after six seasons unfurling the story of the Crawley family. Can't have you wobbly at both ends. He gives samples to Daisy to cook a cake for Mrs Patmore. We decided to cut it this way in the end. Both Lord and Lady Grantham have blue eyes, but their eldest daughter, Mary, has brown eyes. "We decided this was the right thing," he notes. Robert Crawley, 7th Earl of Grantham, is a patriarch and co-owner of Downton Abbey. By 1920, Thomas is working as a valet to Lord Grantham and is angry when he is told by Molesley that Matthew will not be bringing a valet to Downton. There is a reward and Thomas anticipates that, as well as the glory of "being a hero by finding her". Sarah tells Thomas that Jimmy has a crush on him and that he won't stop gushing to Alfred about Thomas. Later Alfred is serving a valet for Matthew, and, despite the fact that Thomas hadn't wanted the extra work, he is angry that he wasn't asked to do it. Sarah O'Brien is fond of her nephew, and wants to see him succeed. Andy also gambles at the club and has to spend his savings in order to pay for his losses. He competed on behalf of the Virgin Islands at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where he participated in the one-person Laser-class .