Heyyy, comrade)
For give me a character thingy:
Dembe or Aram from TBL
Tom Branson or Henry Talbot from Downtown Abbey.
Happy summer <3
Oooh, you’ve watched Downton Abbey? Well, we will need to discuss that sometime, won’t we? 😏
Anyways. Let’s do this.
ARAM MOJTABAI:
I feel pretty great about this character—a sense of kinship, if you will. The similarities Aram and I share are so specific that I could, for once, relate to a fictional character in a creative medium. It felt nice, seeing my personality being played out on the screen.
The only person I ship with him is Samar Navabi. They were a match made in heaven and I am so sad that Samar had to go. Their romance was so wholesome and tumultuous, and they went through so much…it’s almost like how Matthew and Mary danced around each other in Downton Abbey. Or how steadfast Anna and Bates were in that same show. Saram (the ship name for Aram x Samar) is like a mix of M&M and Anna/Bates.
My non-romantic OTP with Aram has to be him and Reddington. Even though Red is a criminal, Aram still holds him in high regard and respects him deeply. I also love how Red respects Aram in return and never takes advantage of his innocence. They as a non-romantic OTP are perfect! My favorite scene was when Red told Aram that he owed him a life debt because of how Aram saved Liz from danger. That scene was so powerful, it made my heart swell.
I don’t know whether it’s an unpopular opinion or not, but it is of my opinion that Aram should’ve kept Agnes away from Liz. Agnes didn’t need to be moved around from place to place and be traumatized for life. She needed to be under the care of someone who Liz knew and trusted, and that person was Aram. Aram would have taken way better care of Agnes than this mysterious Mrs. French. Aram would’ve been able to tell Agnes lovely stories about Liz and Tom, and he would’ve been able to give Agnes what Mrs. French couldn’t: safety and stability. It’s ironic, seeing as Aram is an FBI agent, but Mrs. French had a notorious connection to Liz as opposed to Aram, who was on the side of the good.
I wish that Aram had taken Agnes and stood up for himself for once. He needed to make Liz understand that she wouldn’t have fit as a good mother for her daughter at the time. He needed to not bend to the will of others. It’s very sad that the narrative gave Aram a chance, but he blew it.
TOM BRANSON:
I like him. He’s quite energetic, and though we disagree politically, he’s a good man. His character growth in the show is something that makes me smile, because of how much he actually grew.
I ship him with Sybil Crawley and only Sybil Crawley. Any other ship with him just makes me cringe. I suppose I’m also open to a friends-to-lovers type of romance with Tom and Mary, but only in fanfics (and even then, I’m iffy). Maybe I wouldn’t have minded if that happened when I first watched the show at age 11, but now, my beliefs are more hardened and solid. I wouldn’t be able to even stomach Tom x Mary. On the other hand, Tom x Sybil are a match made in heaven (like Saram is in TBL). That’s the good thing about this show. They leave you no room to wonder about any other ships because the canon ones are written so bloody well! When it came to romance, this show always hit it right on the money. It had the initial attraction, the development, and then the final product. It also helps that all the actors had such wonderful chemistry with one another. I guess that’s the Downton Abbey charm, isn’t it?
The non-romantic OTP question has an easy answer: Tom and Matthew. They were friends, comrades, and brothers in everything but blood. The on-screen chemistry they had was beyond excellent. One of my favorite scenes was when Matthew jumped up to Tom’s defense after the latter was drugged by Larry Grey, and I loved how Matthew announced that Tom would be his best man. I thoroughly enjoyed how Tom was the one who convinced Matthew to not call off the wedding with Mary. I will always remember when he said, “You won’t be happy with anyone else while Lady Mary walks the Earth.” It makes me bubble up inside to know that it was Tom who convinced Matthew in the end. I also love when Matthew said an episode or two later, “We’re brothers-in-law with high-minded wives. We’d better stick together.” This makes me really want to know how Tom reacted to Matthew’s death. Did he cry? Did he brood? Because I know he’s the emotional type for sure.
I don’t have any unpopular opinion regarding Tom, I don’t think. I also don’t have anything that I wish happened in canon.
Thank you so much for the asks, @skiesfallithurts! It was so terribly fun to answer them!
