Downton Abbey/Characters: Difference between revisions

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[[File:robjkop_6205.gif|frame|"You see a million bricks that may crumble, a thousand gutters and pipes that may block and leak, and stone that will crack in the frost...I see my life's work."]]

 

* [[Benevolent Boss]]: He presents a firm but fair approach to managing his staff.

* [[Blue Blood]]

* [[Gold Digger]]: He married Cora purely for her fortune, in order to save his ailing estate. He subsequently came to love Cora and feels very ashamed about his motives in marrying her.

** This was quite common in [[Real Life]]. During the nineteenth century, many impoverished British aristocrats married American heiresses to maintain their wealth. One of these heiresses was [[Winston Churchill]]'s mother.

* [[Good Old Ways]]: He derides Sir Richard Carlisle's modernisation plans for Haxby Park, including all mod-cons and an ensuite bathroom in every bedroom, as "like living in a hotel."

* [[Happily Married]]

* [[The Patriarch]]

* [[Succession Crisis]]: He has no son of his own, meaning that his first and second cousins, James and Patrick, were to inherit the estate - until they were killed on the Titanic in the first episode. As a result, distant relation Matthew is the new heir, a development that drives much of the series' plot.

 

[[File:coracra_3464.gif|frame]]

* [[Ambiguously Jewish]]: While this may or may not have been intended by the writers...her father's name is ''Isadore Levinson''. A more stereotypically 19th-century Ashkenazi Jewish name could not be imagined (and indeed, it's hard to imagine ''anyone'' named Levinson being anything but Jewish, even if only ethnically). Given that a Catholicism plot is planned for Series 3, this may pop up, too.

* [[Blue Eyes]]: Of the piercing kind.

* [[Gorgeous Period Dress]]

* [[The Matchmaker]]

* [[Proper Lady]]

* [[Sacred Hospitality]]

* [[Shiny Midnight Black]]: Her hair is a very deep black.

* {{spoiler|[[Surprise Pregnancy]]: Which ends in a tragic miscarriage - see O'Brien's entry below.}}

* [[Token Minority]]: She's American, a fact that her mother-in-law and even her own daughters rarely let her forget.

 

 

[[File:marycra_7538.gif|frame|"When you laugh with me or flirt with me, is that a duty? Are you conforming to the fitness of things?"]]

 

* [[Big Brother Instinct|Big Sister Instinct]]: She exhibits this to Sybil in spades, refering to her as "my darling" most of the time and sticking up for her to their parents. ''Never'' to Edith, however.

* [[Blue Blood]]

* [[Break the Haughty]]: Following the scandal over {{spoiler|the death of Kemal Pamuk....in her bed}}.

* [[Christmas Cake]]: She's on the cusp, and this is the reason why the family wants her (in her early 20s) to be married off as quickly as possible, "before the bloom is quite gone off the rose," as the Dowager Countess puts it.

* [[Defrosting Ice Queen]]

* [[Femme Fatale]]

* [[The Glorious War of Sisterly Rivalry]]: She and Sybil appear very close, but her and Edith are at each other's throats constantly.

'''Mary''': I'll admit that if I ever wanted to attract a man, I'd steer clear of those clothes and that hat. }}

* [[Gorgeous Period Dress]]

* [[Kissing Cousins]]: She was [[Arranged Marriage|engaged]] to Patrick Crawley, her 2nd cousin, and Matthew is her 4th cousin.

* [[Lady in Red]]

* [[Prophetic Name]]: The old Hebrew translation of Mary includes "bitterness" and "rebelliousness."

* [[Rebellious Spirit]]: Mary does not crave advice.

'''Mary:''' '''[[Hypocritical Humor|I might!]]''' }}

* [[Rich Bitch]]

* [[Single Woman Seeks Good Man]]: Sort of. Mary is nothing if not picky.

* [[Spirited Young Lady]]

* [[Volleying Insults]]: With her sister Edith, constantly.

 

[[File:edithcra_130.gif|frame]]

* [[Blue Blood]]

* [[The Dog Bites Back]]: {{spoiler|Having endured Mary's taunts for most of the early part of series one, she takes revenge by writing to the Turkish Embassy to explain Mary's direct involvement in the circumstances surrounding Pamuk's death.}}

* [[The Glorious War of Sisterly Rivalry]]: Her and Mary. Whereas Mary is derisive about Edith's appearance and fashion sense, Edith is as equally snide and disapproving of Mary's behavior and attitude.

'''Edith''': No, I don’t believe you would. }}

* [[I Just Want to Be Special]]

* [[Malicious Slander]]

* [[Plain Jane]]: Probably the politest way to describe Edith.

* [[Sliding Scale of Beauty]]: While not exactly ''ugly'', poor Edith isn't a patch on sexy, sultry Mary and downright adorable Sybil.

'''Robert''': What a ghastly prospect. }}

 

[[File:sycra_5574.gif|frame|"We shouldn't laugh, it's so unkind."]]

 

* [[Beauty Equals Goodness]]

* [[Blue Blood]]

* [[Gorgeous Period Dress]]

** [[Of Corset Hurts]]

* [[Purity Personified]]: Arguably the nicest person on the show.

* [[Rebellious Princess]]: Well, rebellious daughter of an earl.

* [[Shiny Midnight Black]]: As noted above, her hair is a deep black.

* [[Spirited Young Lady]]: When it comes to politics, and fashion - the harem-style culottes she has tailored ''shock'' her family, and in series 2 she {{spoiler|goes so far as to--''shudder''--actually get a ''job'' as a nurse.}}

 

[[File:viocr_1467.gif|frame|"No Englishman would dream of dying in someone else's house, especially someone they didn't even know."]]

 

* [[Blue Blood]]

* [[Brutal Honesty]]

* [[Cool Old Lady]]

* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: Possibly the finest in the series.

* [[Good Old Ways]]: She even backs away in horror from electric lighting.

* [[Gorgeous Period Dress]]

* [[The Matchmaker]]

 

[[File:MatthewCrawley_5517.jpg|frame]]

* [[Audience Surrogate]]: Arguably. As he experiences the particulars and peculiarities of the English aristocracy, so do we.

* [[Dogged Nice Guy]]: When it comes to Mary.

* [[Fee Fi Faux Pas]]: Initially.

* [[Fish Out of Water]]

* [[The Hero]]

* [[Kissing Cousins]]: He and Lady Mary.

* [[Rags to Royalty]]: He goes from being a Mancunian lawyer to the heir of the Earl of Grantham and his estate. Not that he's thrilled about it at first.

 

[[File:IsobelCrawley_7479.jpg|frame]]

* [[Control Freak]]: Present in series 1, but by the 4th episode of series 2, her bossy attitude reaches its zenith and causes huge ructions between her and Cora.... {{spoiler|which sees her up sticks and leave for France.}}

'''Lady Grantham''': Well, we could always start with Mrs Crawley and Lady Grantham. }}

* [[Nosy Neighbor]]

* [[Samaritan Syndrome]]: Which the Dowager Countless [[Exploited Trope|exploits]] to boot her from the house.

 

* [[Blue Blood]]

* [[Brutal Honesty]]: She always says whatever is on her mind, which greatly annoys her mother.

* [[No Sympathy]]

 

* [[Easy Amnesia]]: Or so he claims.

* [[Face Revealing Turn]]

* [[The Grotesque]]

* [[Morality Pet]]: For Lady Edith, who is the only one it seems to believe his story.

* [[Mystery of the Week]]

* [[Quest for Identity]]

* [[Spot the Imposter]]: Lord Grantham and Lady Mary in particular are not taken in by his claims to be Patrick ''Crawley''....

*** [[Leave the Plot Threads Hanging]]: So far...

* [[You Have to Believe Me]]

 

 

[[File:char_lg_carson_1897.jpg|frame]]

* [[British Stuffiness]]

* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: Deadpan everything, actually.

* [[The Eeyore]]

* [[Grumpy Bear]]

* [[The Jeeves]]

* [[Old Retainer]]

* [[Platonic Life Partners]]: With Mrs Hughes.

* [[Principles Zealot]]

 

[[File:MrsHughes_1462.jpg|frame]]

* [[Kindly Housekeeper]]

* [[Old Maid]]: The "Mrs." is a courtesy title, because the housekeeper is ''always'' a "Mrs." She could have had a chance at marital bliss, though...see [[The Stoic]], below.

* [[Stiff Upper Lip]]

* [[The Stoic]]: She sacrifices her own personal happiness when given the opportunity of marriage to continue serving the family.

 

[[File:MrsPatmore_2401.jpg|frame]]

* [[Apron Matron]]: She runs the kitchen with a rod of iron.

* [[Fiery Redhead]]

* [[Kick the Dog]]: She's fairly beastly to poor Daisy.

 

[[File:Mr__Bates_5740.jpg|frame]]

* [[Being Good Sucks]]: And how!

* [[Cannot Spit It Out]]: For a variety of reasons, the man refuses to explain ''anything''.

* [[Can't Stay Normal]]: Attempted to correct his limp, but the prosthetic proved rather less effective than advertised.

* [[Honor Before Reason]]

** [[Blackmail]]: He is forced to come back to his wife when she finds out about {{spoiler|the Kemal Pamuk scandal. Yes, he's blackmailed with someone else's dirty secret.}}

* [[Manly Tears]]

* [[Mysterious Past]]: Which is only revealed {{spoiler|midway through series one, where it is revealed that he was imprisioned for theft.}}

** [[You Didn't Ask]]

* [[The Stoic]]

* [[Team Dad]]: To the younger staff.

 

[[File:Downton_Obrien_415.jpg|frame]]

* [[Consummate Liar]]: O'Brien's all honey around around Lady Cora. ...and arsenic with everyone else.

* [[Deadpan Snarker]]

* [[Didn't See That Coming]]: A reckless plan to save her job turned into a Type 5 situation. {{spoiler|After miscarrying, Cora's baby was revealed to be male}}. Furthermore, Cora had planned to keep O'Brien on anyway. And Downton is in just as bad financial shape as its ever been.

** Type 2 occurs when she summons Vera to collect Bates. Instead of focusing her wrath on Bates himself, Vera finds out about Mary's dalliance with Kamel Pamuk and threatens to tell the newspapers. Mary is forced to accept Sir Richard's proposal of marriage in order to kill the story. Whoops.

* [[Evil Duo]]: With Thomas

* [[For the Evulz]]: Some of her malice is inexplicable, such as disseminating info about Mary's sexual dalliances to Edith. It's possible that O'Brien enjoys the game of exploiting secrets for its own sake.

* [[Gossipy Hens]]

* [[Hazy Feel Turn]]: The business with the soap obviously preys on her. She is even {{spoiler|softening towards Bates, testifying in his defense at trial.}}

* [[Karma Houdini]]: Cunningly, she has remained Cora's most beloved and trusted servant.

* [[Maid]]

* [[Manipulative Bastard|Manipulative Bitch]]: Her schemes include trying to get Bates fired {{spoiler|and to expose Lady Mary's affair with Pamuk, riling Cora up against Sybil becoming a nurse, repeatedly sending Ethel on fool's errands, getting Thomas transferred to the Downton hospital, and then getting him placed in charge of the convalescents in order to take Isobel down a peg, trying to get Mrs. Bird and Mrs. Patmore in trouble for feeding the indigent veterans and telling Vera that Bates is back at Downton.}} So far.

* [[Mirror Monologue]]: Briefly, just before she regretfully {{spoiler|realises the implications of placing a bar of soap on the floor of Lady Cora's bathroom....}}

* [[Old Maid]]

* [[Perpetual Frowner]]

* [[Resenter]]

* [[Two Rights Make a Wrong]]: For all her lecturing at Thomas about playing it smart, O'Brien's schemes have an uncanny knack of blowing up in her face.

* [[Ultimate Job Security]]: Carson comes down a lot harder on other servants for smaller offenses. Mrs. Hughes catches O'Brien ransacking her room in search of a stolen snuff box, which seems pretty damming, but nothing comes of it.

* [[Zany Scheme]]

 

[[File:Thomas_1909.jpg|frame]]

* [[All Love Is Unrequited]]: He appears genuinely crushed when {{spoiler|Crowborough spurns his affections, dimissing him as no more than a "youthful dalliance". }}

* [[But Not Too Gay]]: Although the first episode showed that Thomas certainly was able to have a love life, there's been barely a trace of it since

* [[Deadpan Snarker]]

* [[Depraved Homosexual]]: His encounters with {{spoiler|Pamuk and Crowborough}}.

* [[Dirty Coward]]: Intentionally got his hand shot by a German sharpshooter in order to be shipped back home.

* [[Establishing Character Moment]]: "You're late when '''I''' say you're late."

** He also tells O'Brien she shouldn't have written to Vera, telling the latter Bates was back at Downton, and genuinely doesn't seem to want to see Bates {{spoiler|hanged for murder.}}

* [[Evil Duo]]: With O'Brien.

* [[Freudian Excuse]]: He was picked on for being "different," and that's why he's so mean.

** [[Gayngst]]

* [[Gossipy Hens|Gossipy Hen]]

* [[Manipulative Bastard]]: Eager to be promoted to butler or valet as soon as possible, even if it means kidnapping pets.

* [[Red Right Hand]] / [[Scars Are Forever]]: Wears a black glove on his injured hand.

* [[Shiny Midnight Black]]

* [[Smug Snake]]

* [[Tyrant Takes the Helm]]: Promoted to first footman after weaseling his way out of service.

* [[Ultimate Job Security]]: Can be as rude as he pleases, and no one bats an eyelash. Bates catches him stealing wine, but [[Good Is Dumb|can't bring himself]] to have Thomas fired. So what does Thomas do? Pin the stolen wine on Bates!

* [[Villain Ball]]: With the onset on World War I, he plots to have himself signed up to the medical corps for an easy ride, but in reality {{spoiler|he ends up on the front line.}}

* [[Zany Scheme]]

 

[[File:Wiiliam_766.jpg|frame]]

* {{spoiler|[[Anyone Can Die]]: Having bravely saved the life of Mathew during the final push at Amiens.}}

** [[Tear Jerker]]: {{spoiler|His death-bed wedding to Daisy is particularly upsetting.}} Even the Dowager Countess is moved by it.

* [[Beware the Nice Ones]]

* [[Break the Cutie]]: He tries to be positive, but Thomas's cruel teasing eventually causes him to snap.

* [[Dogged Nice Guy]]: He's clearly in love with Daisy....although she doesn't want to know with Thomas in the picture.

* [[Heroic Wannabe]]: At the start of Series 2, he's desperate to sign up to the army.

** [[Jumped At the Call]]

* [[Nice Guy]]

 

[[File:AnnaSmith_1488.jpg|frame]]

* [[Amateur Sleuth]]

* [[Bully Hunter]]: She doesn't take any shit from Thomas or O'Brien, and frequently calls them out on their dreadful behavior.

* [[I Will Wait for You]]

* [[Maid]]

** [[Ninja Maid]]: Anna takes to the role of plucky girl detective like a duck to water.

* [[Nice Guy|Nice Girl]]

* [[Plucky Girl]]

* [[Single Woman Seeks Good Man]]

 

* [[Maid]]

* [[Wish Fulfillment]]

 

* [[Fiery Redhead]]

* [[Inferiority Superiority Complex]]

* [[Maid]]

** [[Servile Snarker]]

* [[Small Town Boredom]]

* [[Suspiciously Similar Substitute]]: Let's see, an ambitious redhead that doesn't want to stay in service but go out and make it big. Hmm. Where have we heard that before?

* [[Trash Talk]]: Easily amongst the gobbiest of the staff.

 

* [[Maid]]

* [[Suspiciously Similar Substitute]]: For another [[Suspiciously Similar Substitute]], Ethel.

* [[The Mistress]]: Grantham considers an affair with her.

* [[Widow Woman]]

[[File:Daisy_1348.jpg|frame]]

* [[Butt Monkey]]

* [[Horrible Judge of Character]]: She's in love with ''Thomas'' of all people.

* [[Scullery Maid]]

* [[He Knows Too Much|She Knows Too Much]]: Having {{spoiler|witnessed Lady Mary, her mother and Anna moving Pamuk's body across the landing..}}

* {{spoiler|Widow Woman}}: Becomes one after {{spoiler|William's death, only a few hours after their marriage}}.

 

[[File:Tom_Branson_6230.jpg|frame]]

* [[Dogged Nice Guy]]: He's ''really'' determined to win Lady Sybil.

* [[Fan Service]]: His medical exam for entrance to the army features three! whole! buttons undone on his shirt. (Hey, you take what you can get with these period pieces.)

* [[Token Minority]]: Token Irishman.

 

* [[Butt Monkey]]

* [[Hopeless Suitor]]: Nice try, Molesley, but Anna's taken.

 

* [[The Quiet One]]

* [[War Is Hell]]

* [[Morality Pet]]: For O'Brien.

 

 

* [[Dr. Jerk]]: He won't give a patient one grain of hope if it contradicts his medical dogmas.

* [[Dressed to Heal]]

** [[Face Palm]]: Constantly.

 

* [[Dark Secret]]: Revealed when {{spoiler|she admits to having stolen papers from her uncle, who was in the government, and giving them to a reporter to clear her father's debts to Richard Carlisle}}.

* {{spoiler|[[Death of the Hypotenuse]]}}

* [[Fragile Flower]]

* [[I Want My Beloved to Be Happy]]: {{spoiler|After hearing that Violet wanted Matthew to marry Mary and then seeing them kiss, Lavinia tries to convince him to go back to Mary for that reason, but [[Death of the Hypotenuse|she dies of Spanish flu]] before Matthew can argue with her.}}

* {{spoiler|[[Killed Off for Real]]}}

* [[Mysterious Past]]

* [[Replacement Love Interest]]: For Matthew, following Lady Mary's dithering over his proposal.

 

* [[Blackmail]]: {{spoiler|Angry at Mary's seeming reluctance to stay away from Mathew, he threatens to reveal and publish the Kemal Pamuk scandal, should she not toe the line and obey him.}}

* [[Blond Guys Are Evil]]

* [[Da Editor]]

* [[Dark Secret]]: {{spoiler|Lavinia's father owed him large sums of money, so in order to clear his debts, he forced Lavinia to steal confidential government papers.}}

'''Rosamund''': Lady ''Rosamund''. }}

* [[Guttural Growler]]

* [[Mysterious Past]]

* [[Old Media Are Evil]]: His influence runs throughout England like an oil slick.

* {{spoiler|[[Romantic False Lead]]}}: Though the show did play with this a bit; everyone expected Mary to leave him after {{spoiler|Lavinia's death}}, but it {{spoiler|still took her an episode or so to do it}}.

* [[The Scrooge]]: Sir Richard doesn't see any reason to give the staff time off for Christmas.

* [[Smug Snake]]

* [[Straw Character]]: Not fond of Liberals, or liberals more generally. Not surprising (especially the former: he had, after all {{spoiler|broken a major scandal in the Liberal government}}.

 

* [[Abhorrent Admirer]]

* {{spoiler|[[Asshole Victim]]: She takes her own life in order to frame Bates, as a last desperate act of revenge.}}

** {{spoiler|[[Divorce Requires Death]]}}

* [[Evil Laugh]]

* [[Greed]]: Mr. Bates' [[Unexpected Inheritance|inheritance]] brings Vera out of the woodwork.

* [[I Lied]]: Vera's response to Bates when he reminds her of their deal. Big surprise.

* [[I Will Punish Your Friend for Your Failure]]: When threats of exposing Bates's past fail to dislodge him from Downton, Vera decides to ruin Mary's name and destroy the whole family. Why not?

* [[Manipulative Bitch]]: She suddenly appears at Downton Abbey to [[Blackmail]] Mr. Bates into coming back to her.

* {{spoiler|[[Thanatos Gambit]]}}

* [[Woman Scorned]]

 

* [[Aristocrats Are Evil]]

** Considering the time period, he may just be gay and [[The Beard|feigning interest in women]]; the fact that he seems to be selecting them purely based on money/connections doesn't help matters.

* [[Blue Blood]]

* [[Entitled Bastard]]

* [[Experimented in College]]: An older variant of this - see [[Bi the Way]] above.

* [[Manipulative Bastard]]: He flirts with Mary, purely to gain access to the servants quarters {{spoiler|to retrieve potentially scandalous letters he has written to Thomas, his lover.}}

 

* [[Asshole Victim]]

* [[Dies Wide Open]]: {{spoiler|Whilst shagging Lady Mary.}}

* [[Estrogen Brigade Bait]]: In-universe example.

* [[Handsome Lech]]

* [[I Kiss Your Hand]]

* [[Temporary Love Interest]]: For Lady Mary.

 

* [[Blue Blood]]

* [[Geeky Turn On]]: For Edith.

* [[I Want My Beloved to Be Happy]]: He clearly still has feelings for Edith, but declares that Edith is too young and pretty to spend her life as his nurse (his arm was injured in the war). She's not impressed by this argument, and their storyline is left inconclusive in the Christmas special.

* [[Second Hand Storytelling]]: Mary rather cruelly puts him off proposing to Edith, relaying to him (untruthfully) how her sister mentioned "some stuffy old bore that won't leave her alone" in clear reference to his courting of Edith.