Aug 12
Do you ship it?
Anna Smith/John Bates (Downton Abbey)
I ship it!
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I don't ship it
I don't know the characters
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Do you ship it?
Anna Smith/John Bates (Downton Abbey)
I ship it!
Neutral
I don't ship it
I don't know the characters
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And Mr. Bates, while a good guy, is so frustrating with his silence I can’t root for him until he tells Robert the truth whatever it actually is.
Anna’s no better for all that her husband won’t tell her everything because she won’t tell anyone else anything!
Thomas Barrow described himself as envious and would undoubtedly resort to blackmail to achieve his goals. How sad that he thought he had to blackmail Baxter to get her help, when that kind woman loved him unconditionally. He believed he had to force her because he assumed no one would help him willingly. The system had convinced him he didn't deserve help: what a tragedy!
Furthermore, Thomas isn't manipulative; he lacks the capacity to be. To manipulate, one needs respect, acceptance, and affection, and Thomas lacked all of those. Even in the first season, it was O'Brien who manipulated Daisy twice.
Thus, Thomas was a constant victim of a type of manipulation that happened right before our eyes, but that we didn't see: gaslighting. This method aims to make the victim doubt their own perception of reality. It turns out that the Downton Abbey staff functioned like a dysfunctional family, where all the members were allied to protect the "myth" of the perfect home, forcing Thomas to assume the role of scapegoat. Mr. Carson was considered a fair and kind father, but he bullied and humiliated Thomas, knowing that the system had his back and that Thomas had no voice or right to respond.
Moreover, as in real life, bullies are never alone; they are accompanied by accomplices, people the aggressor uses to socially isolate the victim. In Downton Abbey, that role is played by Anna and Mr. Bates.
Anna employed textbook passive-aggressive cruelty. First, she would tell Thomas that he "just needed to be nicer," then she would warn new employees about Thomas and advise them to stay away from him. By poisoning the well, she robbed Thomas of the chance to start over.
Bates, for his part, imposes the silent treatment and a code of silence with that passive-aggressive moral superiority that I find unbearable.
Of this group, Mrs. Hughes's case is perhaps the one that pains me the most, because she was mature enough to see the injustice, but she opted for institutional comfort. Her manipulation occurred through omission. She was only kind to Thomas in private and never publicly in the face of Carson's merciless attacks; she even justified her husband's behavior when he tried to comfort Thomas.
This dynamic of psychological manipulation destroys anyone's mind, and as I've mentioned in other posts, the scapegoat system in Downton Abbey wasn't limited to gaslighting alone.
This is how Fellowes used a character's psychological suffering for entertainment, conveying the dangerous corporate message that an employee's mental health is a strictly individual matter and not a collective responsibility of the workplace. Thomas Barrow is a reflection of millions of real people who suffer harassment in silence, with the enormous difference that, in the real world, the system doesn't have a happy ending written by a conservative baron.
Furthermore, I should point out that terms like gaslighting, "flying monkeys," or "institutional narcissism" are modern concepts in clinical psychology. Fellowes writes from a conservative and aristocratic mindset where these dynamics aren't recognized as abuse, but rather as "characteristics," "discipline," "work standards," "workplace friction," or "consequences of misconduct." That's why we never hear the cast (and even less so RJC) use that terminology; for them, the class system simply "worked that way," and history must be understood in that way and no other.
Bates Set Free in 3x07 Deleted Scene
Downton Abbey Deleted Scenes [19/?]
Downton Abbey 3x07
I love the intense stare-off Bates and the prison officer have here!
Tagging under the cut:
ok I've watched 2x08 and 2x09. I HAVE soooo many thoughts.
Are we supposed to like Robert? This man gives no thought to his family's feelings. He didn't even think about Mary when he said Lavinia and Matthew could get married in his daughter's home :( It's not Matthew's yet. And then to yell at Cora for defending her daughter. No wonder Sybil wants to leave and not look back.
I did love Mary, Edith, and Anna all rushing to save Sybil, though.
I don't know; this whole Ethel side story is sad and annoying. But man, Charlie's grandfather is a bully.
I'm kinda enjoying Thomas getting screwed over by his own hand. CAN'T blame Bates for that one. Daisy, I get she doesn't feel she was in love with William, but they were friends, and I think she loved her friend. I hope she and his dad can connect. Sir Richard, can he die cause wtf, him trying to get Anna to spy, then Carson pulling out on going. Mary feeling abandoned and being mean. I know she didn't mean it, butlers were easy to come by. :(
Matthew can stand!!!! The whole dinner scene was so buzzzzy Matthew seems to forget people are in the room when Mary is there. Also, Violet telling him what everyone BUT him knows: that Mary's in love with him. Classic!
My babies got married!
Robert is a cheating pos, and Jane can go. HIS WIFE WAS SO SICK, and he kissed her again and then again. After he doesn't lose her, he can fuck all the way off.
I am still not sure what I feel about Branson and Sybil. But they have Robert's blessing.
And Sir fuck face can stop grabbing Mary yesterday...
Lavina, this sums up how I feel about her dying.
And OFC, my babies can't be happy. I knew Vera set him up :(
Also, what is Cora's problem with im she's so hateful to Bates :(
I will talk about my babies (Matthew and Mary) in another post.
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Ahhhhh Anna and Bates got married!! 🫶🏽🥹😭🥰
Both Lady Mary and Thomas Barrow fell victim to the same predator, Kemal Pamuk, who weaponized strict social codes and moral standards to blackmail them—exploiting Thomas’s homosexuality and the scandal of Mary being seen with a man in her bedroom. Pamuk placed both characters in an extreme predicament where doing the right thing meant their destruction, forcing them to choose between their own ruin and yielding to his demands. In fact, Fellowes consistently employs the false dilemma fallacy to construct his narrative, compelling us to "choose" between the "good" and the "bad." He pits Bates—who has resolved problems with violence since the very first season—against Thomas, who lacks anyone's support simply for "not being nice." The danger of the false dilemma is that it is the simplest way to teach us to hate.
I was thinking about the paradox of justice, Downton-style. When Mr. Bates was suspected of pushing Mr. Green onto the train tracks out of revenge, the "good guys'" response was complicity: they burned the train ticket, lied to the police, and made sure to shield him from any suspicion. In that instance, the narrative chose to romanticize a criminal loyalty shown "to one of our own." In contrast, when Thomas stole wine in the first season, Carson invoked the Downton penal code with relentless puritanism. To the system, violating the master's property is an unforgivable sin, whereas eliminating an "outsider" (Mr. Green) beyond the estate walls does not disrupt the corporate order. Good heavens! To me, that seems like an ethical monstrosity.
