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Mrs Anna Bates (née Smith)
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Portrayed by: Joanne Froggatt
"It’s always sad when you love someone who doesn’t love you back, no matter who you are."
Amateur Sleuth: In her efforts to prove Bates' innocence.
Big "NO!": At Bates' trial, when the guilty verdict is read out.
Break the Cutie: Following her Series 4 rape ordeal detailed below, the normally confident, vivacious Anna becomes (understandably) withdrawn and full of self-loathing.
Bully Hunter: She will always tenaciously leap to the defense of anyone being harassed or picked on — even Thomas and O'Brien keep her at a respectful arms-length, never targeting her directly.
The Confidant: For Lady Mary, who leans on Anna a lot. Along with her mother, she is the only one she can trust when Kemal Pamuk scandalously dies in her bed.
Clear My Name: After it is revealed at the end of Series 5 that Bates wasn't involved in Green's murder, suspicion shifts to Anna. By the finale, she finds herself summoned to a Police Line Up, and is subsequently arrested on suspicion of murder as the series comes to a close. During the Christmas Day special, she is freed from prison after Bates confesses to the crime in her place, despite a witness placing him in York at the time the murder took place. Ultimately, her accuser's testimony wobbles, and in the Series 6 premiere, the real guilty party is identified, confesses her crime, and the case against Anna finally collapses. The entire staff celebrates with a Dance Party Ending.
Clear Their Name: Her quest throughout Series 3 is to help prove Bates' innocence. By episode 6, she manages to coerce Vera's friend Audrey Bartlett into giving a testimony, which clears his name and secures his release.
Earn Your Happy Ending / Babies Ever After: She and Bates have been through some of the series' most gruelling dramas, what with psycho ex-wives turning up, false murder charges (twice for Bates, once for Anna), imprisonment, and Anna's traumatic rape experience, so when their much longed-for son is born during the series' grand finale (in Lady Mary's bed!), he represents a well-deserved happy ending for the couple.
Good Is Not Soft: Although she's sweet, kind and compassionate, Anna is absolutely not a walk-over and doesn't take any s**t from Thomas or O'Brien, frequently calling them out on their dreadful behavior.
Anna: Fight fire with fire, that's what my mum says.
I Will Wait for You: Confirms this to Bates, just before he is hauled off by the police.
Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Thomas directly describes her as such.
Thomas: She's not an enemy, but she's incorruptible, so we have nothing in common.
Law of Inverse Fertility: In Series 6, Anna is desperate to start a family with Bates, but following three miscarriages, she despairs over the fact that she may never be able to bear children. Luckily, Lady Mary is on hand to provide the services of her own personal physician, who makes his diagnosis and a plan to operate — she falls pregnant soon after.
Maid: Anna takes to the role of plucky girl detective like a duck to water.
Morality Pet: For Lady Mary. No matter how nasty Mary may be to others, she's unfailingly kind to Anna, genuinely valuing her opinion and going far above and beyond what a lady of the time might be expected to for their Lady's Maid.
Nice Girl: She's well liked and respected by the family and staff alike.
Parental Incest: In the Series 5 Christmas day special, she reveals to Bates that she was systematically molested by her step-father, to the point where she had to defend herself and eventually stabbed him with a kitchen knife. Her mother tried to hush it up, but not before the police were informed. This incident forms part of the prosecution's case against her.
Plucky Girl: Anna flatly refuses to have "no proper place" in Mr Bates' life when Vera's final scheme takes effect, and orders him to marry her despite his protests. He doesn't want to drag her into his troubles, but she swears that they "will face [this crisis] as man and wife" and finally lays down the law.
Rank Up: As of Series 3 Episode 5, she is officially promoted to Lady Mary's lady's maid. This change heralds a simpler, more mature style of dress for her, more akin to the plain black outfits of Mrs Hughes and O'Brien.
Rape as Drama: In Series 4, she is attacked and raped by Green, Lord Gillingham's valet, in harrowing scenes whilst the rest of the household is distracted upstairs during the Nellie Melba concert. After Mrs Hughes finds her in a broken, sobbing state, Anna insists she must tell no one. The repercussions for her marriage are clear when Bates turns up (not knowing what has happened) and she won't let him touch her or walk her home. Even when he does find out the truth, Anna suggests that she is Defiled Forever, and it takes some time for her to be comfortable with Bates again.
Secret Keeper: See Undying Loyalty, below.
Single Woman Seeks Good Man: John Bates fits the bill perfectly, luckily for her.
Team Mom: For the younger staff.
Trojan Gauntlet: In preparation for Mary's illicit weekend away with Anthony Foyle in Series 5, poor Anna is dispatched to the local chemist and is mortified by the whole experience, especially as the chemist is something of a disapproving Sour Prude.
Chemist: There is always abstinence!
Turn the Other Cheek: Despite the fact that Thomas actively tried to get Bates fired all throughout Series 1 & 2, she is shown to possess a dignified level of compassion, lending him a shoulder to cry on and hushing Alfred when he insensitively tells him to cheer up following Sybil's death.
Undying Loyalty: Anna knows enough secrets that, if she ever truly desired to do so, she could sink the Crawley family easily. Fortunately, Anna is too kind to do that, and she and Mary are friends.
Will They or Won't They?: With Bates. They Do — finally.
Gwen
Mrs Gwen Harding (née Dawson)
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Portrayed by: Rose Leslie
"Dad will think I'm a fool to leave a good place and Mum will say I'm getting above myself, but... but I don't believe that."
Back for the Finale: She returns to Downton for a brief moment in episode 4 of Series 6, having left the Abbey staff at the end of Series 1.
Happily Married: In the second episode of Series 4, Mrs Hughes receives a letter from her, and apparently she's doing well and married.
I Just Want to Be Special: She's determined not to follow the prescribed path for women of her social status (essentially service or farm work) and strives to make a better life for herself.
Gwen: We're not like that. We don't think our dreams are bound to come true... because they almost never do.
Interclass Friendship: She's a maid, a girl from the working class. Lady Sybil befriends her and they become fairly close as their relationship goes far beyond what an Earl's daughter would normally do to help her maid leave her father's service. Lady Sybil is very sweet when she helps her to sneak out of the house for job interviews.
Maid: Her job. She works as a maid in the great house for the upper class family but she dreams of having a better job.
Mood-Swinger: She's combative and feisty one minute, the next she's wallowing in self-pity.
Plucky Girl: She even shows something of a Fiery Redhead nature, especially when O'Brien steals her type-writer and presents it to Carson.
Gwen: Why's that down here? Who's been in my room? They had no right!
Pursue the Dream Job: She's desperate to become a secretary, and eventually, towards to the end of Series 1, her determination (and Sybil's support) pays off when she lands the position of secretary for a fledgling telephone company. In Series 6, it is revealed that she has made a successful career in government alongside her husband, and helps to support young women from similarly disadvantaged backgrounds to progress their careers.
Put on a Bus: She lands a job as a secretary at the end of Series 1.
The Suffragette: Gwen Dawson, later Mrs Harding, reappears in season 6. It is revealed that she has made a successful career in government alongside her husband John, and helps to support young women from similarly disadvantaged backgrounds to progress their careers. John is named as a trustee at a woman's college for middle-class girls who want to do other jobs aside from service.
You Go, Girl!: She’s breaking every rule — In 1912, women were not expected or encouraged to have a profession and work in an office, so she represents the pioneering new wave of female independence coming through at that time.
Daisy
Mrs Daisy Mason (née Robinson)
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Portrayed by: Sophie McShera
"Thomas is lovely in every way. He’s funny and handsome, and he’s got such lovely teeth."
All Girls Want Bad Boys: Her crush on Thomas early in the series (which he exploits to make William jealous).
Because You Were Nice to Me: She bonds with Mr Mason (following initial reservations - see below), William's widowed father, after he tells her how special she is to him following William's death.
Be Careful What You Wish For: In Series 3, she bugs Mrs. Patmore to hire a kitchen maid for months. Just when she's finally about to tell Alfred that she fancies him, she's introduced to new kitchen maid Ivy, who he immediately starts flirting with.
Better as Friends: She and Alfred, although it's a tough, upsetting decision for her as she did love him.
Break the Cutie: A couple of instances cause her great upset — notably the guilt she felt at marrying William on his death-bed, and in Series 3, Alfred's disinterest in her and pursuit of Ivy breaks her heart.
Butt-Monkey: Due to being one of the youngest, most junior staff members, and for having a rather gullible personality.
Clingy Jealous Girl: In season 3, she's very jealous of Ivy, due to Alfred's crush on the latter.
The Cutie: Especially in the first season, she's vulnerable and innocent.
Call to Agriculture: In the Series' grand finale, she finally decides to take up her father-in-law Mr Mason's offer, and moves onto the farm with him.
Cannot Spit It Out: Where Alfred is concerned, but in general she has this problem on most matters.
Dark and Troubled Past: She is stated to have had a tough childhood and is from the very lowest, dysfunctional end of the working classes.
Hero's Muse: For William, who always says he will bear anything if she is with him.
Horrible Judge of Character: In Series 1, she's in love with Thomas of all people, which seems less forgivable in light of the revelation in Series 3 that just about everyone else knew that Thomas was gay.
Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: With William.
Green-Eyed Epiphany: In Series 3, her interest in newcomer Alfred is only piqued when she sees him enjoying Miss Reed's attentions.
Green-Eyed Monster: She's furious that Ivy is the subject of Alfred's affections, and takes her anger out on the poor girl.
History Repeats:
In Series 3, her aggressive attitude towards junior member of staff Ivy draws parallels with her own poor treatment at the hands of Mrs Patmore during Series 1.
Jimmy flirting with Ivy, supposedly to bully Alfred who is genuinely interested in her, parallels the former Love Triangle between Daisy, William and Thomas. Especially if we consider Jimmy as Armoured Closet Gay...
Limited Advancement Opportunities: It's likely down to the series's Comic-Book Time, but she remains a lowly scullery maid for a good 8 years before she is promoted to Assistant Cook. She has to complain to make it happen.
Literal-Minded: Not quite as extreme as the trope usually suggests, but she does get ridiculously stuck on the fact that she didn't quite feel for William what he felt for her, and acting like that completely invalidates their marriage. There's also the fact that, as the Dowager Countess points out to her later, her marrying him in order to "keep his spirits up at the end" was actually a very strong expression of love.
Love Triangle: In Series 3, she's part of the Love Quadrilateral of herself -> Alfred -> Ivy -> Jimmy, with Thomas also making his own moves on the latter.
Massive Numbered Siblings: She's one of eleven, as her mother was a true Victorian and produced a vast brood of children.
My Significance Sense Is Tingling: In the war years of Series 2, a dramatic scene of William (and Matthew) getting caught in an explosion quickly cuts to Daisy back at Downton, who is visibly shaken and falters mid-task.
Naïve Everygirl: Although she has toughened up a lot since the first series, Daisy still, at times, reveals herself to be a highly impressionable young woman. In Series 5, she falls under the influence of socialist firebrand Sarah Bunting, who, as well as teaching her rudimentary mathematics, fills Daisy's head with revolutionary ideas.
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero!: In the first episode of Series 6, Daisy's father-in-law Mr Mason faces eviction from his farm at the hands of a newly-rich couple, the Hendersons, who have bought the whole estate. Daisy, outraged at this situation, lays into Mr Henderson at the estate sale with an impassioned speech, but he instantly shuts her down, making it very clear that she has now made her father-in-law's situation far worse. Daisy decides that she Must Make Amends, and campaigns to have Mr Mason re-housed thereafter.
Pair the Spares: In the Series' grand finale, she decides to give Andy a chance (following initial reservations) and begins a proper relationship with him.
Rank Up: As of Series 3, she is promoted to Assistant Cook.
Rear Window Witness: Whilst up early to light the bedroom fires, she catches Lady Mary, her mother and Anna moving Pamuk's body across the landing back to his own room in the bachelor's corridor, after he has scandalously died in Mary's bed.
Scullery Maid: Her role through Series 1, to the first part of Series 3.
She Knows Too Much: Having witnessed the corpse-related escapade above, it plays on her mind, and in the end it is she who informs Edith (after coaxing) of Mary's bedroom antics, thus starting the whole Kemal Pamuk scandal.
Supreme Chef: As early as the Series 2 Christmas special, Miss Shore remarks that Daisy could be a sous-chef in London or head cook of any house in England less grand than Downton. By Series 4, she's really come into her own in the kitchen, and her food is by all accounts excellent if a bit plain (but of course, that's what the English have prided themselves on since the 1700s). She even gets invited by Lady Grantham's brother Harold—who came to England fully expecting to hate English cooking—to become his cook in New York, but she turns him down.
Unwitting Pawn: In Thomas's Series 1 plan to get Bates sacked. The scheming footman convinces her to give a false report to Carson, incriminating Bates in the theft of wine.
Widow Woman: Becomes one after William's death, only a few hours after their marriage.
Branson
Mr Thomas "Tom" Branson
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Portrayed by: Allen Leech
"Sometimes a hard sacrifice must be made for a future that's worth having."
Actual Pacifist: While he might occasionally engage in personal violence when necessary (see: tackling that assassin) or when emotion overcomes him, he appears to be mostly genuinely opposed to hurting people for any cause (the Easter Rising may have caused him to question these principles, but it was all over before he had a chance to make a final decision). His horror at the effects of his one brush with destruction of property (the burning of the Anglo-Irish castle that triggered his return to Downton from Dublin in Series 3) seems to have strengthened these beliefs.
Affectionate Nickname: His big brother, Kieran, calls him "Tommy".
Best Friends-in-Law: With Matthew.
Big Damn Heroes: In the movie, Tom tackles an assassin, saves the life of the King of England, inadvertently persuades a princess to give her terrible marriage another try, and gets a big thank you from the king. Oh, and he also gets the girl, who is the heir to a wealthy estate.
Birds of a Feather: Begins a friendship with Sybil based on their shared interest in politics and women's rights. Later episodes reveal their rebellious natures and disregard for society's class divisions.
Blood on the Debate Floor: His conversations on political reform impress Lady Sybil, but land her in a dangerous situation at an aggressive rally in Ripon. (He's absolutely aghast when Sybil is injured; his anguished "Oh no, please God no" is the first overt clue to his feelings for her.)
Bromance: With Henry Talbot, throughout Series 6.
Character Development: He becomes much less dogmatic and prickly about his politics as time goes by, even eventually admitting that there might be some good things about capitalism.
Commonality Connection: He and Matthew bond and find mutual support over their both marrying Crawley girls, as well as the fact that Matthew recognizes that he, like Branson, was once an outsider at Downton.
Matthew: If we're mad enough to take on the Crawley girls, we've got to stick together.
Didn't See That Coming: He sings the praises of the Second Russian Revolution, and confidently insists the revolutionaries won't harm the Romanov family in captivity. In a later episode, his effusive, slightly smug passion for the revolution is drastically muted when he finds out that the Soviet government has executed the family, including putting This example contains a YMMV entry. It should be moved to the YMMV tab.innocent children to death...
Dogged Nice Guy: He's really determined to win Lady Sybil, having fallen head over heels in love, and spends a great deal of time trying to convince her that she should do the same.
Fanservice: 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.) And in the Series 3 Christmas Special, he is actually shirtless for roughly three seconds.
Fee Fi Faux Pas: Once married to Lady Sybil, he makes loads, from not changing for dinner to using the wrong forms of address — not that he gives a s**t.
Violet: He's still dressed as the man from the Prudential I see.
Fish out of Water: In Series 4, whilst attending a particularly glitzy party at the Abbey, he describes himself as such word-for-word.
Get Out!: After Larry Grey rears his ugly head again at a dinner in Series 5, and once more voices his disgust over Sybil marrying him (amongst other things), Tom explodes with rage, calls Larry a b*****d (which would be shocking for the period), and tells him to get the hell out.
Intergenerational Friendship: He forms a very unlikely one with Violet after Sybil dies; she gives him social advice at parties and dances with him, and also goes out of her way to find ways of including him in the family business.
Kissing Under the Influence: He enjoys an illicit one-night encounter with Edna in Series 4, but is quick to tell her the next day that It Doesn't Mean Anything. She, of course, has other ideas...
Like Brother and Sister: By about Series 5, Mary and Edith fully consider him their brother, due to his marriage to their late sister Sybil, and refer to him as such several times.
Mistaken for Terrorist: When an important general is dining at the Abbey in Series 2 during the war, he hatches a plot to attack him with something concealed inside a soup tureen. When the other staff catch onto his plan, they assume that he has a gun or a bomb and intends to murder the general. Instead, the tureen contains ink, engine oil, cow excrement and other icky substances to render the general Covered in Gunge.
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: After Edna is fired for coming on to him in Series 3, Tom asks Mrs. Hughes to write her a good reference, out of guilt that he may have led her on. This comes back to bite both of them hard in the fourth Series premiere, when Edna uses that reference to get herself back into Downton when Cora interviews her.
Not Helping Your Case: He doesn't exactly receive a red-carpet welcome (perhaps understandably) when he revisits Downton as Lady Sybil's husband, but he doesn't help himself with his tetchy, chippy attitude and over-zealous politicking. Matthew even calls him out on it:
Matthew: You don't make it easy for them. D'you really think you can recruit Cousin Robert for Sinn Féin?
Odd Friendship: With Mary of all people. After the deaths of Sybil and Matthew, they form a bond over their shared grief at having lost their spouse, close friend/sister, and at being single parents.
Panicky Expectant Father: As seen whilst Sybil is in labour — with good reason.
Patriotic Fervor: His storyline addresses this the most. He's very active in Irish Nationalism (although, as he points out, he's hardly limited to that in his politics) and he had a cousin killed in the Easter Rising. There's also a moment where he and Sybil spar over it when she doesn't understand (due to mostly being given the English side of things) why Tom has such a strong dislike of the English government and military.
Please Don't Leave Me: Says this to Sybil over and over again as she dies of post-partum eclampsia.
Principles Zealot: His high-minded ideals are often a little too inflexible.
Branson: (on wearing morning dress) You see I don't approve of these costumes, I see them as the uniform of oppression and I should be uncomfortable wearing them.
Violet: Have you quite finished?
Promotion to Opening Titles: In Series 3, finally.
Put on a Bus: At the end of the Series 5 Christmas special, after a suitably moving farewell speech led by Lord Grantham, he and Sybbie bid farewell to the family and leave Downton for good to start a new life in America.
Rags to Royalty: He starts out as the family chauffeur, but through dogged perseverence, he ends up married to Lady Sybil and a member of the noble Crawley family.
Rank Up: As of Series 3 Episode 7 he is made Estate Manager for Downton.
Rant-Inducing Slight: Don't bring up politics over dinner.
Saying Too Much: In the Series 6 finale, he is the one who tells Mary about Marigold's true parentage, thus kicking off the biggest row ever witnessed on the show between the Crawley sisters.
Screw the Money, I Have Rules!: When Robert offers him money to forget about Sybil, he refuses.
Second Love: Tom, widowed for seven years, falls for Lady Bagshaw’s lady’s maid Lucy Smith in the movie.
Ship Tease: A budding relationship with Edith's editor, Miss Edmunds, is teased in the grand finale.
Star-Crossed Lovers: Due to the veritable class-chasm between him and Lady Sybil.
Start My Own: In the grand finale, he and Henry Talbot open a car dealership — Branson & Talbot – as joint owners, which acts as an outlet for their shared love of cars.
Strawman Political: Used as a Plot Device to encourage Sybil's rebellious streak.
The Bus Came Back: In episode 3 of Series 6, he and Sybbie show up as surprise guests at Carson and Mrs Hughes' wedding. To the delight of all gathered, he vows to stay on at Downton for good.
"The Reason You Suck" Speech: He delivers an almighty one to Mary in the Series 6 finale, after she cruelly tells Edith's fiancé, Bertie Pelham, about Marigold's true parentage.
Tom: You're a coward Mary. Like all bullies you're a coward.
Token Minority: To some degree, a token Irishman. There might well be other Irish servants, and there are certainly Irish-descended ones (O'Brien for one, and Bates's mother was apparently Irish), but he's the only named character who is born in Ireland and a member of the Irish Nationalist movement.
Tsundere: Privately, Sybil reveals to Mary that he really isn't as anti their family as he appears to be — in fact, he's hoping for their approval.
Sybil: He puts a tough face on it and says things that make everyone angry, but he so wants your good opinion. I can't tell you how much.
What the Hell, Hero?: Mid-way through Series 3, his revolutionary ideals turn ugly and he arrives at Downton on the run from Ireland, having been present at the ransacking and burning of a noble Anglo-Irish family's castle. The Crawleys are disgusted, especially as he left the heavily pregnant Lady Sybil behind.
Will They or Won't They?:
With Sybil — They Do.
Then with Sarah Bunting in Series 4/5 — they don't; her over-zealous, firebrand behaviour puts even him off.
You Can't Go Home Again: Following his anarchic escapades in Ireland, detailed above, Lord Grantham uses his influence to call off the authorities, on the condition he does not set foot on Irish soil.
You Keep Telling Yourself That: How Robert, Carson and the more conservatively inclined residents of Downton generally react to his socialist diatribes.

Mrs Anna Bates (née Smith)
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/annasmith_7090.png
Portrayed by: Joanne Froggatt
"It’s always sad when you love someone who doesn’t love you back, no matter who you are."
Amateur Sleuth: In her efforts to prove Bates' innocence.
Big "NO!": At Bates' trial, when the guilty verdict is read out.
Break the Cutie: Following her Series 4 rape ordeal detailed below, the normally confident, vivacious Anna becomes (understandably) withdrawn and full of self-loathing.
Bully Hunter: She will always tenaciously leap to the defense of anyone being harassed or picked on — even Thomas and O'Brien keep her at a respectful arms-length, never targeting her directly.
The Confidant: For Lady Mary, who leans on Anna a lot. Along with her mother, she is the only one she can trust when Kemal Pamuk scandalously dies in her bed.
Clear My Name: After it is revealed at the end of Series 5 that Bates wasn't involved in Green's murder, suspicion shifts to Anna. By the finale, she finds herself summoned to a Police Line Up, and is subsequently arrested on suspicion of murder as the series comes to a close. During the Christmas Day special, she is freed from prison after Bates confesses to the crime in her place, despite a witness placing him in York at the time the murder took place. Ultimately, her accuser's testimony wobbles, and in the Series 6 premiere, the real guilty party is identified, confesses her crime, and the case against Anna finally collapses. The entire staff celebrates with a Dance Party Ending.
Clear Their Name: Her quest throughout Series 3 is to help prove Bates' innocence. By episode 6, she manages to coerce Vera's friend Audrey Bartlett into giving a testimony, which clears his name and secures his release.
Earn Your Happy Ending / Babies Ever After: She and Bates have been through some of the series' most gruelling dramas, what with psycho ex-wives turning up, false murder charges (twice for Bates, once for Anna), imprisonment, and Anna's traumatic rape experience, so when their much longed-for son is born during the series' grand finale (in Lady Mary's bed!), he represents a well-deserved happy ending for the couple.
Good Is Not Soft: Although she's sweet, kind and compassionate, Anna is absolutely not a walk-over and doesn't take any s**t from Thomas or O'Brien, frequently calling them out on their dreadful behavior.
Anna: Fight fire with fire, that's what my mum says.
I Will Wait for You: Confirms this to Bates, just before he is hauled off by the police.
Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Thomas directly describes her as such.
Thomas: She's not an enemy, but she's incorruptible, so we have nothing in common.
Law of Inverse Fertility: In Series 6, Anna is desperate to start a family with Bates, but following three miscarriages, she despairs over the fact that she may never be able to bear children. Luckily, Lady Mary is on hand to provide the services of her own personal physician, who makes his diagnosis and a plan to operate — she falls pregnant soon after.
Maid: Anna takes to the role of plucky girl detective like a duck to water.
Morality Pet: For Lady Mary. No matter how nasty Mary may be to others, she's unfailingly kind to Anna, genuinely valuing her opinion and going far above and beyond what a lady of the time might be expected to for their Lady's Maid.
Nice Girl: She's well liked and respected by the family and staff alike.
Parental Incest: In the Series 5 Christmas day special, she reveals to Bates that she was systematically molested by her step-father, to the point where she had to defend herself and eventually stabbed him with a kitchen knife. Her mother tried to hush it up, but not before the police were informed. This incident forms part of the prosecution's case against her.
Plucky Girl: Anna flatly refuses to have "no proper place" in Mr Bates' life when Vera's final scheme takes effect, and orders him to marry her despite his protests. He doesn't want to drag her into his troubles, but she swears that they "will face [this crisis] as man and wife" and finally lays down the law.
Rank Up: As of Series 3 Episode 5, she is officially promoted to Lady Mary's lady's maid. This change heralds a simpler, more mature style of dress for her, more akin to the plain black outfits of Mrs Hughes and O'Brien.
Rape as Drama: In Series 4, she is attacked and raped by Green, Lord Gillingham's valet, in harrowing scenes whilst the rest of the household is distracted upstairs during the Nellie Melba concert. After Mrs Hughes finds her in a broken, sobbing state, Anna insists she must tell no one. The repercussions for her marriage are clear when Bates turns up (not knowing what has happened) and she won't let him touch her or walk her home. Even when he does find out the truth, Anna suggests that she is Defiled Forever, and it takes some time for her to be comfortable with Bates again.
Secret Keeper: See Undying Loyalty, below.
Single Woman Seeks Good Man: John Bates fits the bill perfectly, luckily for her.
Team Mom: For the younger staff.
Trojan Gauntlet: In preparation for Mary's illicit weekend away with Anthony Foyle in Series 5, poor Anna is dispatched to the local chemist and is mortified by the whole experience, especially as the chemist is something of a disapproving Sour Prude.
Chemist: There is always abstinence!
Turn the Other Cheek: Despite the fact that Thomas actively tried to get Bates fired all throughout Series 1 & 2, she is shown to possess a dignified level of compassion, lending him a shoulder to cry on and hushing Alfred when he insensitively tells him to cheer up following Sybil's death.
Undying Loyalty: Anna knows enough secrets that, if she ever truly desired to do so, she could sink the Crawley family easily. Fortunately, Anna is too kind to do that, and she and Mary are friends.
Will They or Won't They?: With Bates. They Do — finally.
Gwen
Mrs Gwen Harding (née Dawson)
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Portrayed by: Rose Leslie
"Dad will think I'm a fool to leave a good place and Mum will say I'm getting above myself, but... but I don't believe that."
Back for the Finale: She returns to Downton for a brief moment in episode 4 of Series 6, having left the Abbey staff at the end of Series 1.
Happily Married: In the second episode of Series 4, Mrs Hughes receives a letter from her, and apparently she's doing well and married.
I Just Want to Be Special: She's determined not to follow the prescribed path for women of her social status (essentially service or farm work) and strives to make a better life for herself.
Gwen: We're not like that. We don't think our dreams are bound to come true... because they almost never do.
Interclass Friendship: She's a maid, a girl from the working class. Lady Sybil befriends her and they become fairly close as their relationship goes far beyond what an Earl's daughter would normally do to help her maid leave her father's service. Lady Sybil is very sweet when she helps her to sneak out of the house for job interviews.
Maid: Her job. She works as a maid in the great house for the upper class family but she dreams of having a better job.
Mood-Swinger: She's combative and feisty one minute, the next she's wallowing in self-pity.
Plucky Girl: She even shows something of a Fiery Redhead nature, especially when O'Brien steals her type-writer and presents it to Carson.
Gwen: Why's that down here? Who's been in my room? They had no right!
Pursue the Dream Job: She's desperate to become a secretary, and eventually, towards to the end of Series 1, her determination (and Sybil's support) pays off when she lands the position of secretary for a fledgling telephone company. In Series 6, it is revealed that she has made a successful career in government alongside her husband, and helps to support young women from similarly disadvantaged backgrounds to progress their careers.
Put on a Bus: She lands a job as a secretary at the end of Series 1.
The Suffragette: Gwen Dawson, later Mrs Harding, reappears in season 6. It is revealed that she has made a successful career in government alongside her husband John, and helps to support young women from similarly disadvantaged backgrounds to progress their careers. John is named as a trustee at a woman's college for middle-class girls who want to do other jobs aside from service.
You Go, Girl!: She’s breaking every rule — In 1912, women were not expected or encouraged to have a profession and work in an office, so she represents the pioneering new wave of female independence coming through at that time.
Daisy
Mrs Daisy Mason (née Robinson)
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/daisymason_3495.png
Portrayed by: Sophie McShera
"Thomas is lovely in every way. He’s funny and handsome, and he’s got such lovely teeth."
All Girls Want Bad Boys: Her crush on Thomas early in the series (which he exploits to make William jealous).
Because You Were Nice to Me: She bonds with Mr Mason (following initial reservations - see below), William's widowed father, after he tells her how special she is to him following William's death.
Be Careful What You Wish For: In Series 3, she bugs Mrs. Patmore to hire a kitchen maid for months. Just when she's finally about to tell Alfred that she fancies him, she's introduced to new kitchen maid Ivy, who he immediately starts flirting with.
Better as Friends: She and Alfred, although it's a tough, upsetting decision for her as she did love him.
Break the Cutie: A couple of instances cause her great upset — notably the guilt she felt at marrying William on his death-bed, and in Series 3, Alfred's disinterest in her and pursuit of Ivy breaks her heart.
Butt-Monkey: Due to being one of the youngest, most junior staff members, and for having a rather gullible personality.
Clingy Jealous Girl: In season 3, she's very jealous of Ivy, due to Alfred's crush on the latter.
The Cutie: Especially in the first season, she's vulnerable and innocent.
Call to Agriculture: In the Series' grand finale, she finally decides to take up her father-in-law Mr Mason's offer, and moves onto the farm with him.
Cannot Spit It Out: Where Alfred is concerned, but in general she has this problem on most matters.
Dark and Troubled Past: She is stated to have had a tough childhood and is from the very lowest, dysfunctional end of the working classes.
Hero's Muse: For William, who always says he will bear anything if she is with him.
Horrible Judge of Character: In Series 1, she's in love with Thomas of all people, which seems less forgivable in light of the revelation in Series 3 that just about everyone else knew that Thomas was gay.
Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: With William.
Green-Eyed Epiphany: In Series 3, her interest in newcomer Alfred is only piqued when she sees him enjoying Miss Reed's attentions.
Green-Eyed Monster: She's furious that Ivy is the subject of Alfred's affections, and takes her anger out on the poor girl.
History Repeats:
In Series 3, her aggressive attitude towards junior member of staff Ivy draws parallels with her own poor treatment at the hands of Mrs Patmore during Series 1.
Jimmy flirting with Ivy, supposedly to bully Alfred who is genuinely interested in her, parallels the former Love Triangle between Daisy, William and Thomas. Especially if we consider Jimmy as Armoured Closet Gay...
Limited Advancement Opportunities: It's likely down to the series's Comic-Book Time, but she remains a lowly scullery maid for a good 8 years before she is promoted to Assistant Cook. She has to complain to make it happen.
Literal-Minded: Not quite as extreme as the trope usually suggests, but she does get ridiculously stuck on the fact that she didn't quite feel for William what he felt for her, and acting like that completely invalidates their marriage. There's also the fact that, as the Dowager Countess points out to her later, her marrying him in order to "keep his spirits up at the end" was actually a very strong expression of love.
Love Triangle: In Series 3, she's part of the Love Quadrilateral of herself -> Alfred -> Ivy -> Jimmy, with Thomas also making his own moves on the latter.
Massive Numbered Siblings: She's one of eleven, as her mother was a true Victorian and produced a vast brood of children.
My Significance Sense Is Tingling: In the war years of Series 2, a dramatic scene of William (and Matthew) getting caught in an explosion quickly cuts to Daisy back at Downton, who is visibly shaken and falters mid-task.
Naïve Everygirl: Although she has toughened up a lot since the first series, Daisy still, at times, reveals herself to be a highly impressionable young woman. In Series 5, she falls under the influence of socialist firebrand Sarah Bunting, who, as well as teaching her rudimentary mathematics, fills Daisy's head with revolutionary ideas.
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero!: In the first episode of Series 6, Daisy's father-in-law Mr Mason faces eviction from his farm at the hands of a newly-rich couple, the Hendersons, who have bought the whole estate. Daisy, outraged at this situation, lays into Mr Henderson at the estate sale with an impassioned speech, but he instantly shuts her down, making it very clear that she has now made her father-in-law's situation far worse. Daisy decides that she Must Make Amends, and campaigns to have Mr Mason re-housed thereafter.
Pair the Spares: In the Series' grand finale, she decides to give Andy a chance (following initial reservations) and begins a proper relationship with him.
Rank Up: As of Series 3, she is promoted to Assistant Cook.
Rear Window Witness: Whilst up early to light the bedroom fires, she catches Lady Mary, her mother and Anna moving Pamuk's body across the landing back to his own room in the bachelor's corridor, after he has scandalously died in Mary's bed.
Scullery Maid: Her role through Series 1, to the first part of Series 3.
She Knows Too Much: Having witnessed the corpse-related escapade above, it plays on her mind, and in the end it is she who informs Edith (after coaxing) of Mary's bedroom antics, thus starting the whole Kemal Pamuk scandal.
Supreme Chef: As early as the Series 2 Christmas special, Miss Shore remarks that Daisy could be a sous-chef in London or head cook of any house in England less grand than Downton. By Series 4, she's really come into her own in the kitchen, and her food is by all accounts excellent if a bit plain (but of course, that's what the English have prided themselves on since the 1700s). She even gets invited by Lady Grantham's brother Harold—who came to England fully expecting to hate English cooking—to become his cook in New York, but she turns him down.
Unwitting Pawn: In Thomas's Series 1 plan to get Bates sacked. The scheming footman convinces her to give a false report to Carson, incriminating Bates in the theft of wine.
Widow Woman: Becomes one after William's death, only a few hours after their marriage.
Branson
Mr Thomas "Tom" Branson
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tomb_7821.png
Portrayed by: Allen Leech
"Sometimes a hard sacrifice must be made for a future that's worth having."
Actual Pacifist: While he might occasionally engage in personal violence when necessary (see: tackling that assassin) or when emotion overcomes him, he appears to be mostly genuinely opposed to hurting people for any cause (the Easter Rising may have caused him to question these principles, but it was all over before he had a chance to make a final decision). His horror at the effects of his one brush with destruction of property (the burning of the Anglo-Irish castle that triggered his return to Downton from Dublin in Series 3) seems to have strengthened these beliefs.
Affectionate Nickname: His big brother, Kieran, calls him "Tommy".
Best Friends-in-Law: With Matthew.
Big Damn Heroes: In the movie, Tom tackles an assassin, saves the life of the King of England, inadvertently persuades a princess to give her terrible marriage another try, and gets a big thank you from the king. Oh, and he also gets the girl, who is the heir to a wealthy estate.
Birds of a Feather: Begins a friendship with Sybil based on their shared interest in politics and women's rights. Later episodes reveal their rebellious natures and disregard for society's class divisions.
Blood on the Debate Floor: His conversations on political reform impress Lady Sybil, but land her in a dangerous situation at an aggressive rally in Ripon. (He's absolutely aghast when Sybil is injured; his anguished "Oh no, please God no" is the first overt clue to his feelings for her.)
Bromance: With Henry Talbot, throughout Series 6.
Character Development: He becomes much less dogmatic and prickly about his politics as time goes by, even eventually admitting that there might be some good things about capitalism.
Commonality Connection: He and Matthew bond and find mutual support over their both marrying Crawley girls, as well as the fact that Matthew recognizes that he, like Branson, was once an outsider at Downton.
Matthew: If we're mad enough to take on the Crawley girls, we've got to stick together.
Didn't See That Coming: He sings the praises of the Second Russian Revolution, and confidently insists the revolutionaries won't harm the Romanov family in captivity. In a later episode, his effusive, slightly smug passion for the revolution is drastically muted when he finds out that the Soviet government has executed the family, including putting This example contains a YMMV entry. It should be moved to the YMMV tab.innocent children to death...
Dogged Nice Guy: He's really determined to win Lady Sybil, having fallen head over heels in love, and spends a great deal of time trying to convince her that she should do the same.
Fanservice: 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.) And in the Series 3 Christmas Special, he is actually shirtless for roughly three seconds.
Fee Fi Faux Pas: Once married to Lady Sybil, he makes loads, from not changing for dinner to using the wrong forms of address — not that he gives a s**t.
Violet: He's still dressed as the man from the Prudential I see.
Fish out of Water: In Series 4, whilst attending a particularly glitzy party at the Abbey, he describes himself as such word-for-word.
Get Out!: After Larry Grey rears his ugly head again at a dinner in Series 5, and once more voices his disgust over Sybil marrying him (amongst other things), Tom explodes with rage, calls Larry a b*****d (which would be shocking for the period), and tells him to get the hell out.
Intergenerational Friendship: He forms a very unlikely one with Violet after Sybil dies; she gives him social advice at parties and dances with him, and also goes out of her way to find ways of including him in the family business.
Kissing Under the Influence: He enjoys an illicit one-night encounter with Edna in Series 4, but is quick to tell her the next day that It Doesn't Mean Anything. She, of course, has other ideas...
Like Brother and Sister: By about Series 5, Mary and Edith fully consider him their brother, due to his marriage to their late sister Sybil, and refer to him as such several times.
Mistaken for Terrorist: When an important general is dining at the Abbey in Series 2 during the war, he hatches a plot to attack him with something concealed inside a soup tureen. When the other staff catch onto his plan, they assume that he has a gun or a bomb and intends to murder the general. Instead, the tureen contains ink, engine oil, cow excrement and other icky substances to render the general Covered in Gunge.
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: After Edna is fired for coming on to him in Series 3, Tom asks Mrs. Hughes to write her a good reference, out of guilt that he may have led her on. This comes back to bite both of them hard in the fourth Series premiere, when Edna uses that reference to get herself back into Downton when Cora interviews her.
Not Helping Your Case: He doesn't exactly receive a red-carpet welcome (perhaps understandably) when he revisits Downton as Lady Sybil's husband, but he doesn't help himself with his tetchy, chippy attitude and over-zealous politicking. Matthew even calls him out on it:
Matthew: You don't make it easy for them. D'you really think you can recruit Cousin Robert for Sinn Féin?
Odd Friendship: With Mary of all people. After the deaths of Sybil and Matthew, they form a bond over their shared grief at having lost their spouse, close friend/sister, and at being single parents.
Panicky Expectant Father: As seen whilst Sybil is in labour — with good reason.
Patriotic Fervor: His storyline addresses this the most. He's very active in Irish Nationalism (although, as he points out, he's hardly limited to that in his politics) and he had a cousin killed in the Easter Rising. There's also a moment where he and Sybil spar over it when she doesn't understand (due to mostly being given the English side of things) why Tom has such a strong dislike of the English government and military.
Please Don't Leave Me: Says this to Sybil over and over again as she dies of post-partum eclampsia.
Principles Zealot: His high-minded ideals are often a little too inflexible.
Branson: (on wearing morning dress) You see I don't approve of these costumes, I see them as the uniform of oppression and I should be uncomfortable wearing them.
Violet: Have you quite finished?
Promotion to Opening Titles: In Series 3, finally.
Put on a Bus: At the end of the Series 5 Christmas special, after a suitably moving farewell speech led by Lord Grantham, he and Sybbie bid farewell to the family and leave Downton for good to start a new life in America.
Rags to Royalty: He starts out as the family chauffeur, but through dogged perseverence, he ends up married to Lady Sybil and a member of the noble Crawley family.
Rank Up: As of Series 3 Episode 7 he is made Estate Manager for Downton.
Rant-Inducing Slight: Don't bring up politics over dinner.
Saying Too Much: In the Series 6 finale, he is the one who tells Mary about Marigold's true parentage, thus kicking off the biggest row ever witnessed on the show between the Crawley sisters.
Screw the Money, I Have Rules!: When Robert offers him money to forget about Sybil, he refuses.
Second Love: Tom, widowed for seven years, falls for Lady Bagshaw’s lady’s maid Lucy Smith in the movie.
Ship Tease: A budding relationship with Edith's editor, Miss Edmunds, is teased in the grand finale.
Star-Crossed Lovers: Due to the veritable class-chasm between him and Lady Sybil.
Start My Own: In the grand finale, he and Henry Talbot open a car dealership — Branson & Talbot – as joint owners, which acts as an outlet for their shared love of cars.
Strawman Political: Used as a Plot Device to encourage Sybil's rebellious streak.
The Bus Came Back: In episode 3 of Series 6, he and Sybbie show up as surprise guests at Carson and Mrs Hughes' wedding. To the delight of all gathered, he vows to stay on at Downton for good.
"The Reason You Suck" Speech: He delivers an almighty one to Mary in the Series 6 finale, after she cruelly tells Edith's fiancé, Bertie Pelham, about Marigold's true parentage.
Tom: You're a coward Mary. Like all bullies you're a coward.
Token Minority: To some degree, a token Irishman. There might well be other Irish servants, and there are certainly Irish-descended ones (O'Brien for one, and Bates's mother was apparently Irish), but he's the only named character who is born in Ireland and a member of the Irish Nationalist movement.
Tsundere: Privately, Sybil reveals to Mary that he really isn't as anti their family as he appears to be — in fact, he's hoping for their approval.
Sybil: He puts a tough face on it and says things that make everyone angry, but he so wants your good opinion. I can't tell you how much.
What the Hell, Hero?: Mid-way through Series 3, his revolutionary ideals turn ugly and he arrives at Downton on the run from Ireland, having been present at the ransacking and burning of a noble Anglo-Irish family's castle. The Crawleys are disgusted, especially as he left the heavily pregnant Lady Sybil behind.
Will They or Won't They?:
With Sybil — They Do.
Then with Sarah Bunting in Series 4/5 — they don't; her over-zealous, firebrand behaviour puts even him off.
You Can't Go Home Again: Following his anarchic escapades in Ireland, detailed above, Lord Grantham uses his influence to call off the authorities, on the condition he does not set foot on Irish soil.
You Keep Telling Yourself That: How Robert, Carson and the more conservatively inclined residents of Downton generally react to his socialist diatribes.

Mrs Anna Bates (née Smith)
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Portrayed by: Joanne Froggatt
"It’s always sad when you love someone who doesn’t love you back, no matter who you are."
Amateur Sleuth: In her efforts to prove Bates' innocence.
Big "NO!": At Bates' trial, when the guilty verdict is read out.
Break the Cutie: Following her Series 4 rape ordeal detailed below, the normally confident, vivacious Anna becomes (understandably) withdrawn and full of self-loathing.
Bully Hunter: She will always tenaciously leap to the defense of anyone being harassed or picked on — even Thomas and O'Brien keep her at a respectful arms-length, never targeting her directly.
The Confidant: For Lady Mary, who leans on Anna a lot. Along with her mother, she is the only one she can trust when Kemal Pamuk scandalously dies in her bed.
Clear My Name: After it is revealed at the end of Series 5 that Bates wasn't involved in Green's murder, suspicion shifts to Anna. By the finale, she finds herself summoned to a Police Line Up, and is subsequently arrested on suspicion of murder as the series comes to a close. During the Christmas Day special, she is freed from prison after Bates confesses to the crime in her place, despite a witness placing him in York at the time the murder took place. Ultimately, her accuser's testimony wobbles, and in the Series 6 premiere, the real guilty party is identified, confesses her crime, and the case against Anna finally collapses. The entire staff celebrates with a Dance Party Ending.
Clear Their Name: Her quest throughout Series 3 is to help prove Bates' innocence. By episode 6, she manages to coerce Vera's friend Audrey Bartlett into giving a testimony, which clears his name and secures his release.
Earn Your Happy Ending / Babies Ever After: She and Bates have been through some of the series' most gruelling dramas, what with psycho ex-wives turning up, false murder charges (twice for Bates, once for Anna), imprisonment, and Anna's traumatic rape experience, so when their much longed-for son is born during the series' grand finale (in Lady Mary's bed!), he represents a well-deserved happy ending for the couple.
Good Is Not Soft: Although she's sweet, kind and compassionate, Anna is absolutely not a walk-over and doesn't take any s**t from Thomas or O'Brien, frequently calling them out on their dreadful behavior.
Anna: Fight fire with fire, that's what my mum says.
I Will Wait for You: Confirms this to Bates, just before he is hauled off by the police.
Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Thomas directly describes her as such.
Thomas: She's not an enemy, but she's incorruptible, so we have nothing in common.
Law of Inverse Fertility: In Series 6, Anna is desperate to start a family with Bates, but following three miscarriages, she despairs over the fact that she may never be able to bear children. Luckily, Lady Mary is on hand to provide the services of her own personal physician, who makes his diagnosis and a plan to operate — she falls pregnant soon after.
Maid: Anna takes to the role of plucky girl detective like a duck to water.
Morality Pet: For Lady Mary. No matter how nasty Mary may be to others, she's unfailingly kind to Anna, genuinely valuing her opinion and going far above and beyond what a lady of the time might be expected to for their Lady's Maid.
Nice Girl: She's well liked and respected by the family and staff alike.
Parental Incest: In the Series 5 Christmas day special, she reveals to Bates that she was systematically molested by her step-father, to the point where she had to defend herself and eventually stabbed him with a kitchen knife. Her mother tried to hush it up, but not before the police were informed. This incident forms part of the prosecution's case against her.
Plucky Girl: Anna flatly refuses to have "no proper place" in Mr Bates' life when Vera's final scheme takes effect, and orders him to marry her despite his protests. He doesn't want to drag her into his troubles, but she swears that they "will face [this crisis] as man and wife" and finally lays down the law.
Rank Up: As of Series 3 Episode 5, she is officially promoted to Lady Mary's lady's maid. This change heralds a simpler, more mature style of dress for her, more akin to the plain black outfits of Mrs Hughes and O'Brien.
Rape as Drama: In Series 4, she is attacked and raped by Green, Lord Gillingham's valet, in harrowing scenes whilst the rest of the household is distracted upstairs during the Nellie Melba concert. After Mrs Hughes finds her in a broken, sobbing state, Anna insists she must tell no one. The repercussions for her marriage are clear when Bates turns up (not knowing what has happened) and she won't let him touch her or walk her home. Even when he does find out the truth, Anna suggests that she is Defiled Forever, and it takes some time for her to be comfortable with Bates again.
Secret Keeper: See Undying Loyalty, below.
Single Woman Seeks Good Man: John Bates fits the bill perfectly, luckily for her.
Team Mom: For the younger staff.
Trojan Gauntlet: In preparation for Mary's illicit weekend away with Anthony Foyle in Series 5, poor Anna is dispatched to the local chemist and is mortified by the whole experience, especially as the chemist is something of a disapproving Sour Prude.
Chemist: There is always abstinence!
Turn the Other Cheek: Despite the fact that Thomas actively tried to get Bates fired all throughout Series 1 & 2, she is shown to possess a dignified level of compassion, lending him a shoulder to cry on and hushing Alfred when he insensitively tells him to cheer up following Sybil's death.
Undying Loyalty: Anna knows enough secrets that, if she ever truly desired to do so, she could sink the Crawley family easily. Fortunately, Anna is too kind to do that, and she and Mary are friends.
Will They or Won't They?: With Bates. They Do — finally.
Gwen
Mrs Gwen Harding (née Dawson)
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Portrayed by: Rose Leslie
"Dad will think I'm a fool to leave a good place and Mum will say I'm getting above myself, but... but I don't believe that."
Back for the Finale: She returns to Downton for a brief moment in episode 4 of Series 6, having left the Abbey staff at the end of Series 1.
Happily Married: In the second episode of Series 4, Mrs Hughes receives a letter from her, and apparently she's doing well and married.
I Just Want to Be Special: She's determined not to follow the prescribed path for women of her social status (essentially service or farm work) and strives to make a better life for herself.
Gwen: We're not like that. We don't think our dreams are bound to come true... because they almost never do.
Interclass Friendship: She's a maid, a girl from the working class. Lady Sybil befriends her and they become fairly close as their relationship goes far beyond what an Earl's daughter would normally do to help her maid leave her father's service. Lady Sybil is very sweet when she helps her to sneak out of the house for job interviews.
Maid: Her job. She works as a maid in the great house for the upper class family but she dreams of having a better job.
Mood-Swinger: She's combative and feisty one minute, the next she's wallowing in self-pity.
Plucky Girl: She even shows something of a Fiery Redhead nature, especially when O'Brien steals her type-writer and presents it to Carson.
Gwen: Why's that down here? Who's been in my room? They had no right!
Pursue the Dream Job: She's desperate to become a secretary, and eventually, towards to the end of Series 1, her determination (and Sybil's support) pays off when she lands the position of secretary for a fledgling telephone company. In Series 6, it is revealed that she has made a successful career in government alongside her husband, and helps to support young women from similarly disadvantaged backgrounds to progress their careers.
Put on a Bus: She lands a job as a secretary at the end of Series 1.
The Suffragette: Gwen Dawson, later Mrs Harding, reappears in season 6. It is revealed that she has made a successful career in government alongside her husband John, and helps to support young women from similarly disadvantaged backgrounds to progress their careers. John is named as a trustee at a woman's college for middle-class girls who want to do other jobs aside from service.
You Go, Girl!: She’s breaking every rule — In 1912, women were not expected or encouraged to have a profession and work in an office, so she represents the pioneering new wave of female independence coming through at that time.
Daisy
Mrs Daisy Mason (née Robinson)
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Portrayed by: Sophie McShera
"Thomas is lovely in every way. He’s funny and handsome, and he’s got such lovely teeth."
All Girls Want Bad Boys: Her crush on Thomas early in the series (which he exploits to make William jealous).
Because You Were Nice to Me: She bonds with Mr Mason (following initial reservations - see below), William's widowed father, after he tells her how special she is to him following William's death.
Be Careful What You Wish For: In Series 3, she bugs Mrs. Patmore to hire a kitchen maid for months. Just when she's finally about to tell Alfred that she fancies him, she's introduced to new kitchen maid Ivy, who he immediately starts flirting with.
Better as Friends: She and Alfred, although it's a tough, upsetting decision for her as she did love him.
Break the Cutie: A couple of instances cause her great upset — notably the guilt she felt at marrying William on his death-bed, and in Series 3, Alfred's disinterest in her and pursuit of Ivy breaks her heart.
Butt-Monkey: Due to being one of the youngest, most junior staff members, and for having a rather gullible personality.
Clingy Jealous Girl: In season 3, she's very jealous of Ivy, due to Alfred's crush on the latter.
The Cutie: Especially in the first season, she's vulnerable and innocent.
Call to Agriculture: In the Series' grand finale, she finally decides to take up her father-in-law Mr Mason's offer, and moves onto the farm with him.
Cannot Spit It Out: Where Alfred is concerned, but in general she has this problem on most matters.
Dark and Troubled Past: She is stated to have had a tough childhood and is from the very lowest, dysfunctional end of the working classes.
Hero's Muse: For William, who always says he will bear anything if she is with him.
Horrible Judge of Character: In Series 1, she's in love with Thomas of all people, which seems less forgivable in light of the revelation in Series 3 that just about everyone else knew that Thomas was gay.
Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: With William.
Green-Eyed Epiphany: In Series 3, her interest in newcomer Alfred is only piqued when she sees him enjoying Miss Reed's attentions.
Green-Eyed Monster: She's furious that Ivy is the subject of Alfred's affections, and takes her anger out on the poor girl.
History Repeats:
In Series 3, her aggressive attitude towards junior member of staff Ivy draws parallels with her own poor treatment at the hands of Mrs Patmore during Series 1.
Jimmy flirting with Ivy, supposedly to bully Alfred who is genuinely interested in her, parallels the former Love Triangle between Daisy, William and Thomas. Especially if we consider Jimmy as Armoured Closet Gay...
Limited Advancement Opportunities: It's likely down to the series's Comic-Book Time, but she remains a lowly scullery maid for a good 8 years before she is promoted to Assistant Cook. She has to complain to make it happen.
Literal-Minded: Not quite as extreme as the trope usually suggests, but she does get ridiculously stuck on the fact that she didn't quite feel for William what he felt for her, and acting like that completely invalidates their marriage. There's also the fact that, as the Dowager Countess points out to her later, her marrying him in order to "keep his spirits up at the end" was actually a very strong expression of love.
Love Triangle: In Series 3, she's part of the Love Quadrilateral of herself -> Alfred -> Ivy -> Jimmy, with Thomas also making his own moves on the latter.
Massive Numbered Siblings: She's one of eleven, as her mother was a true Victorian and produced a vast brood of children.
My Significance Sense Is Tingling: In the war years of Series 2, a dramatic scene of William (and Matthew) getting caught in an explosion quickly cuts to Daisy back at Downton, who is visibly shaken and falters mid-task.
Naïve Everygirl: Although she has toughened up a lot since the first series, Daisy still, at times, reveals herself to be a highly impressionable young woman. In Series 5, she falls under the influence of socialist firebrand Sarah Bunting, who, as well as teaching her rudimentary mathematics, fills Daisy's head with revolutionary ideas.
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero!: In the first episode of Series 6, Daisy's father-in-law Mr Mason faces eviction from his farm at the hands of a newly-rich couple, the Hendersons, who have bought the whole estate. Daisy, outraged at this situation, lays into Mr Henderson at the estate sale with an impassioned speech, but he instantly shuts her down, making it very clear that she has now made her father-in-law's situation far worse. Daisy decides that she Must Make Amends, and campaigns to have Mr Mason re-housed thereafter.
Pair the Spares: In the Series' grand finale, she decides to give Andy a chance (following initial reservations) and begins a proper relationship with him.
Rank Up: As of Series 3, she is promoted to Assistant Cook.
Rear Window Witness: Whilst up early to light the bedroom fires, she catches Lady Mary, her mother and Anna moving Pamuk's body across the landing back to his own room in the bachelor's corridor, after he has scandalously died in Mary's bed.
Scullery Maid: Her role through Series 1, to the first part of Series 3.
She Knows Too Much: Having witnessed the corpse-related escapade above, it plays on her mind, and in the end it is she who informs Edith (after coaxing) of Mary's bedroom antics, thus starting the whole Kemal Pamuk scandal.
Supreme Chef: As early as the Series 2 Christmas special, Miss Shore remarks that Daisy could be a sous-chef in London or head cook of any house in England less grand than Downton. By Series 4, she's really come into her own in the kitchen, and her food is by all accounts excellent if a bit plain (but of course, that's what the English have prided themselves on since the 1700s). She even gets invited by Lady Grantham's brother Harold—who came to England fully expecting to hate English cooking—to become his cook in New York, but she turns him down.
Unwitting Pawn: In Thomas's Series 1 plan to get Bates sacked. The scheming footman convinces her to give a false report to Carson, incriminating Bates in the theft of wine.
Widow Woman: Becomes one after William's death, only a few hours after their marriage.
Branson
Mr Thomas "Tom" Branson
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tomb_7821.png
Portrayed by: Allen Leech
"Sometimes a hard sacrifice must be made for a future that's worth having."
Actual Pacifist: While he might occasionally engage in personal violence when necessary (see: tackling that assassin) or when emotion overcomes him, he appears to be mostly genuinely opposed to hurting people for any cause (the Easter Rising may have caused him to question these principles, but it was all over before he had a chance to make a final decision). His horror at the effects of his one brush with destruction of property (the burning of the Anglo-Irish castle that triggered his return to Downton from Dublin in Series 3) seems to have strengthened these beliefs.
Affectionate Nickname: His big brother, Kieran, calls him "Tommy".
Best Friends-in-Law: With Matthew.
Big Damn Heroes: In the movie, Tom tackles an assassin, saves the life of the King of England, inadvertently persuades a princess to give her terrible marriage another try, and gets a big thank you from the king. Oh, and he also gets the girl, who is the heir to a wealthy estate.
Birds of a Feather: Begins a friendship with Sybil based on their shared interest in politics and women's rights. Later episodes reveal their rebellious natures and disregard for society's class divisions.
Blood on the Debate Floor: His conversations on political reform impress Lady Sybil, but land her in a dangerous situation at an aggressive rally in Ripon. (He's absolutely aghast when Sybil is injured; his anguished "Oh no, please God no" is the first overt clue to his feelings for her.)
Bromance: With Henry Talbot, throughout Series 6.
Character Development: He becomes much less dogmatic and prickly about his politics as time goes by, even eventually admitting that there might be some good things about capitalism.
Commonality Connection: He and Matthew bond and find mutual support over their both marrying Crawley girls, as well as the fact that Matthew recognizes that he, like Branson, was once an outsider at Downton.
Matthew: If we're mad enough to take on the Crawley girls, we've got to stick together.
Didn't See That Coming: He sings the praises of the Second Russian Revolution, and confidently insists the revolutionaries won't harm the Romanov family in captivity. In a later episode, his effusive, slightly smug passion for the revolution is drastically muted when he finds out that the Soviet government has executed the family, including putting This example contains a YMMV entry. It should be moved to the YMMV tab.innocent children to death...
Dogged Nice Guy: He's really determined to win Lady Sybil, having fallen head over heels in love, and spends a great deal of time trying to convince her that she should do the same.
Fanservice: 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.) And in the Series 3 Christmas Special, he is actually shirtless for roughly three seconds.
Fee Fi Faux Pas: Once married to Lady Sybil, he makes loads, from not changing for dinner to using the wrong forms of address — not that he gives a s**t.
Violet: He's still dressed as the man from the Prudential I see.
Fish out of Water: In Series 4, whilst attending a particularly glitzy party at the Abbey, he describes himself as such word-for-word.
Get Out!: After Larry Grey rears his ugly head again at a dinner in Series 5, and once more voices his disgust over Sybil marrying him (amongst other things), Tom explodes with rage, calls Larry a b*****d (which would be shocking for the period), and tells him to get the hell out.
Intergenerational Friendship: He forms a very unlikely one with Violet after Sybil dies; she gives him social advice at parties and dances with him, and also goes out of her way to find ways of including him in the family business.
Kissing Under the Influence: He enjoys an illicit one-night encounter with Edna in Series 4, but is quick to tell her the next day that It Doesn't Mean Anything. She, of course, has other ideas...
Like Brother and Sister: By about Series 5, Mary and Edith fully consider him their brother, due to his marriage to their late sister Sybil, and refer to him as such several times.
Mistaken for Terrorist: When an important general is dining at the Abbey in Series 2 during the war, he hatches a plot to attack him with something concealed inside a soup tureen. When the other staff catch onto his plan, they assume that he has a gun or a bomb and intends to murder the general. Instead, the tureen contains ink, engine oil, cow excrement and other icky substances to render the general Covered in Gunge.
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: After Edna is fired for coming on to him in Series 3, Tom asks Mrs. Hughes to write her a good reference, out of guilt that he may have led her on. This comes back to bite both of them hard in the fourth Series premiere, when Edna uses that reference to get herself back into Downton when Cora interviews her.
Not Helping Your Case: He doesn't exactly receive a red-carpet welcome (perhaps understandably) when he revisits Downton as Lady Sybil's husband, but he doesn't help himself with his tetchy, chippy attitude and over-zealous politicking. Matthew even calls him out on it:
Matthew: You don't make it easy for them. D'you really think you can recruit Cousin Robert for Sinn Féin?
Odd Friendship: With Mary of all people. After the deaths of Sybil and Matthew, they form a bond over their shared grief at having lost their spouse, close friend/sister, and at being single parents.
Panicky Expectant Father: As seen whilst Sybil is in labour — with good reason.
Patriotic Fervor: His storyline addresses this the most. He's very active in Irish Nationalism (although, as he points out, he's hardly limited to that in his politics) and he had a cousin killed in the Easter Rising. There's also a moment where he and Sybil spar over it when she doesn't understand (due to mostly being given the English side of things) why Tom has such a strong dislike of the English government and military.
Please Don't Leave Me: Says this to Sybil over and over again as she dies of post-partum eclampsia.
Principles Zealot: His high-minded ideals are often a little too inflexible.
Branson: (on wearing morning dress) You see I don't approve of these costumes, I see them as the uniform of oppression and I should be uncomfortable wearing them.
Violet: Have you quite finished?
Promotion to Opening Titles: In Series 3, finally.
Put on a Bus: At the end of the Series 5 Christmas special, after a suitably moving farewell speech led by Lord Grantham, he and Sybbie bid farewell to the family and leave Downton for good to start a new life in America.
Rags to Royalty: He starts out as the family chauffeur, but through dogged perseverence, he ends up married to Lady Sybil and a member of the noble Crawley family.
Rank Up: As of Series 3 Episode 7 he is made Estate Manager for Downton.
Rant-Inducing Slight: Don't bring up politics over dinner.
Saying Too Much: In the Series 6 finale, he is the one who tells Mary about Marigold's true parentage, thus kicking off the biggest row ever witnessed on the show between the Crawley sisters.
Screw the Money, I Have Rules!: When Robert offers him money to forget about Sybil, he refuses.
Second Love: Tom, widowed for seven years, falls for Lady Bagshaw’s lady’s maid Lucy Smith in the movie.
Ship Tease: A budding relationship with Edith's editor, Miss Edmunds, is teased in the grand finale.
Star-Crossed Lovers: Due to the veritable class-chasm between him and Lady Sybil.
Start My Own: In the grand finale, he and Henry Talbot open a car dealership — Branson & Talbot – as joint owners, which acts as an outlet for their shared love of cars.
Strawman Political: Used as a Plot Device to encourage Sybil's rebellious streak.
The Bus Came Back: In episode 3 of Series 6, he and Sybbie show up as surprise guests at Carson and Mrs Hughes' wedding. To the delight of all gathered, he vows to stay on at Downton for good.
"The Reason You Suck" Speech: He delivers an almighty one to Mary in the Series 6 finale, after she cruelly tells Edith's fiancé, Bertie Pelham, about Marigold's true parentage.
Tom: You're a coward Mary. Like all bullies you're a coward.
Token Minority: To some degree, a token Irishman. There might well be other Irish servants, and there are certainly Irish-descended ones (O'Brien for one, and Bates's mother was apparently Irish), but he's the only named character who is born in Ireland and a member of the Irish Nationalist movement.
Tsundere: Privately, Sybil reveals to Mary that he really isn't as anti their family as he appears to be — in fact, he's hoping for their approval.
Sybil: He puts a tough face on it and says things that make everyone angry, but he so wants your good opinion. I can't tell you how much.
What the Hell, Hero?: Mid-way through Series 3, his revolutionary ideals turn ugly and he arrives at Downton on the run from Ireland, having been present at the ransacking and burning of a noble Anglo-Irish family's castle. The Crawleys are disgusted, especially as he left the heavily pregnant Lady Sybil behind.
Will They or Won't They?:
With Sybil — They Do.
Then with Sarah Bunting in Series 4/5 — they don't; her over-zealous, firebrand behaviour puts even him off.
You Can't Go Home Again: Following his anarchic escapades in Ireland, detailed above, Lord Grantham uses his influence to call off the authorities, on the condition he does not set foot on Irish soil.
You Keep Telling Yourself That: How Robert, Carson and the more conservatively inclined residents of Downton generally react to his socialist diatribes.

Mrs Anna Bates (née Smith)
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Portrayed by: Joanne Froggatt
"It’s always sad when you love someone who doesn’t love you back, no matter who you are."
Amateur Sleuth: In her efforts to prove Bates' innocence.
Big "NO!": At Bates' trial, when the guilty verdict is read out.
Break the Cutie: Following her Series 4 rape ordeal detailed below, the normally confident, vivacious Anna becomes (understandably) withdrawn and full of self-loathing.
Bully Hunter: She will always tenaciously leap to the defense of anyone being harassed or picked on — even Thomas and O'Brien keep her at a respectful arms-length, never targeting her directly.
The Confidant: For Lady Mary, who leans on Anna a lot. Along with her mother, she is the only one she can trust when Kemal Pamuk scandalously dies in her bed.
Clear My Name: After it is revealed at the end of Series 5 that Bates wasn't involved in Green's murder, suspicion shifts to Anna. By the finale, she finds herself summoned to a Police Line Up, and is subsequently arrested on suspicion of murder as the series comes to a close. During the Christmas Day special, she is freed from prison after Bates confesses to the crime in her place, despite a witness placing him in York at the time the murder took place. Ultimately, her accuser's testimony wobbles, and in the Series 6 premiere, the real guilty party is identified, confesses her crime, and the case against Anna finally collapses. The entire staff celebrates with a Dance Party Ending.
Clear Their Name: Her quest throughout Series 3 is to help prove Bates' innocence. By episode 6, she manages to coerce Vera's friend Audrey Bartlett into giving a testimony, which clears his name and secures his release.
Earn Your Happy Ending / Babies Ever After: She and Bates have been through some of the series' most gruelling dramas, what with psycho ex-wives turning up, false murder charges (twice for Bates, once for Anna), imprisonment, and Anna's traumatic rape experience, so when their much longed-for son is born during the series' grand finale (in Lady Mary's bed!), he represents a well-deserved happy ending for the couple.
Good Is Not Soft: Although she's sweet, kind and compassionate, Anna is absolutely not a walk-over and doesn't take any s**t from Thomas or O'Brien, frequently calling them out on their dreadful behavior.
Anna: Fight fire with fire, that's what my mum says.
I Will Wait for You: Confirms this to Bates, just before he is hauled off by the police.
Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Thomas directly describes her as such.
Thomas: She's not an enemy, but she's incorruptible, so we have nothing in common.
Law of Inverse Fertility: In Series 6, Anna is desperate to start a family with Bates, but following three miscarriages, she despairs over the fact that she may never be able to bear children. Luckily, Lady Mary is on hand to provide the services of her own personal physician, who makes his diagnosis and a plan to operate — she falls pregnant soon after.
Maid: Anna takes to the role of plucky girl detective like a duck to water.
Morality Pet: For Lady Mary. No matter how nasty Mary may be to others, she's unfailingly kind to Anna, genuinely valuing her opinion and going far above and beyond what a lady of the time might be expected to for their Lady's Maid.
Nice Girl: She's well liked and respected by the family and staff alike.
Parental Incest: In the Series 5 Christmas day special, she reveals to Bates that she was systematically molested by her step-father, to the point where she had to defend herself and eventually stabbed him with a kitchen knife. Her mother tried to hush it up, but not before the police were informed. This incident forms part of the prosecution's case against her.
Plucky Girl: Anna flatly refuses to have "no proper place" in Mr Bates' life when Vera's final scheme takes effect, and orders him to marry her despite his protests. He doesn't want to drag her into his troubles, but she swears that they "will face [this crisis] as man and wife" and finally lays down the law.
Rank Up: As of Series 3 Episode 5, she is officially promoted to Lady Mary's lady's maid. This change heralds a simpler, more mature style of dress for her, more akin to the plain black outfits of Mrs Hughes and O'Brien.
Rape as Drama: In Series 4, she is attacked and raped by Green, Lord Gillingham's valet, in harrowing scenes whilst the rest of the household is distracted upstairs during the Nellie Melba concert. After Mrs Hughes finds her in a broken, sobbing state, Anna insists she must tell no one. The repercussions for her marriage are clear when Bates turns up (not knowing what has happened) and she won't let him touch her or walk her home. Even when he does find out the truth, Anna suggests that she is Defiled Forever, and it takes some time for her to be comfortable with Bates again.
Secret Keeper: See Undying Loyalty, below.
Single Woman Seeks Good Man: John Bates fits the bill perfectly, luckily for her.
Team Mom: For the younger staff.
Trojan Gauntlet: In preparation for Mary's illicit weekend away with Anthony Foyle in Series 5, poor Anna is dispatched to the local chemist and is mortified by the whole experience, especially as the chemist is something of a disapproving Sour Prude.
Chemist: There is always abstinence!
Turn the Other Cheek: Despite the fact that Thomas actively tried to get Bates fired all throughout Series 1 & 2, she is shown to possess a dignified level of compassion, lending him a shoulder to cry on and hushing Alfred when he insensitively tells him to cheer up following Sybil's death.
Undying Loyalty: Anna knows enough secrets that, if she ever truly desired to do so, she could sink the Crawley family easily. Fortunately, Anna is too kind to do that, and she and Mary are friends.
Will They or Won't They?: With Bates. They Do — finally.
Gwen
Mrs Gwen Harding (née Dawson)
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Portrayed by: Rose Leslie
"Dad will think I'm a fool to leave a good place and Mum will say I'm getting above myself, but... but I don't believe that."
Back for the Finale: She returns to Downton for a brief moment in episode 4 of Series 6, having left the Abbey staff at the end of Series 1.
Happily Married: In the second episode of Series 4, Mrs Hughes receives a letter from her, and apparently she's doing well and married.
I Just Want to Be Special: She's determined not to follow the prescribed path for women of her social status (essentially service or farm work) and strives to make a better life for herself.
Gwen: We're not like that. We don't think our dreams are bound to come true... because they almost never do.
Interclass Friendship: She's a maid, a girl from the working class. Lady Sybil befriends her and they become fairly close as their relationship goes far beyond what an Earl's daughter would normally do to help her maid leave her father's service. Lady Sybil is very sweet when she helps her to sneak out of the house for job interviews.
Maid: Her job. She works as a maid in the great house for the upper class family but she dreams of having a better job.
Mood-Swinger: She's combative and feisty one minute, the next she's wallowing in self-pity.
Plucky Girl: She even shows something of a Fiery Redhead nature, especially when O'Brien steals her type-writer and presents it to Carson.
Gwen: Why's that down here? Who's been in my room? They had no right!
Pursue the Dream Job: She's desperate to become a secretary, and eventually, towards to the end of Series 1, her determination (and Sybil's support) pays off when she lands the position of secretary for a fledgling telephone company. In Series 6, it is revealed that she has made a successful career in government alongside her husband, and helps to support young women from similarly disadvantaged backgrounds to progress their careers.
Put on a Bus: She lands a job as a secretary at the end of Series 1.
The Suffragette: Gwen Dawson, later Mrs Harding, reappears in season 6. It is revealed that she has made a successful career in government alongside her husband John, and helps to support young women from similarly disadvantaged backgrounds to progress their careers. John is named as a trustee at a woman's college for middle-class girls who want to do other jobs aside from service.
You Go, Girl!: She’s breaking every rule — In 1912, women were not expected or encouraged to have a profession and work in an office, so she represents the pioneering new wave of female independence coming through at that time.
Daisy
Mrs Daisy Mason (née Robinson)
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Portrayed by: Sophie McShera
"Thomas is lovely in every way. He’s funny and handsome, and he’s got such lovely teeth."
All Girls Want Bad Boys: Her crush on Thomas early in the series (which he exploits to make William jealous).
Because You Were Nice to Me: She bonds with Mr Mason (following initial reservations - see below), William's widowed father, after he tells her how special she is to him following William's death.
Be Careful What You Wish For: In Series 3, she bugs Mrs. Patmore to hire a kitchen maid for months. Just when she's finally about to tell Alfred that she fancies him, she's introduced to new kitchen maid Ivy, who he immediately starts flirting with.
Better as Friends: She and Alfred, although it's a tough, upsetting decision for her as she did love him.
Break the Cutie: A couple of instances cause her great upset — notably the guilt she felt at marrying William on his death-bed, and in Series 3, Alfred's disinterest in her and pursuit of Ivy breaks her heart.
Butt-Monkey: Due to being one of the youngest, most junior staff members, and for having a rather gullible personality.
Clingy Jealous Girl: In season 3, she's very jealous of Ivy, due to Alfred's crush on the latter.
The Cutie: Especially in the first season, she's vulnerable and innocent.
Call to Agriculture: In the Series' grand finale, she finally decides to take up her father-in-law Mr Mason's offer, and moves onto the farm with him.
Cannot Spit It Out: Where Alfred is concerned, but in general she has this problem on most matters.
Dark and Troubled Past: She is stated to have had a tough childhood and is from the very lowest, dysfunctional end of the working classes.
Hero's Muse: For William, who always says he will bear anything if she is with him.
Horrible Judge of Character: In Series 1, she's in love with Thomas of all people, which seems less forgivable in light of the revelation in Series 3 that just about everyone else knew that Thomas was gay.
Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: With William.
Green-Eyed Epiphany: In Series 3, her interest in newcomer Alfred is only piqued when she sees him enjoying Miss Reed's attentions.
Green-Eyed Monster: She's furious that Ivy is the subject of Alfred's affections, and takes her anger out on the poor girl.
History Repeats:
In Series 3, her aggressive attitude towards junior member of staff Ivy draws parallels with her own poor treatment at the hands of Mrs Patmore during Series 1.
Jimmy flirting with Ivy, supposedly to bully Alfred who is genuinely interested in her, parallels the former Love Triangle between Daisy, William and Thomas. Especially if we consider Jimmy as Armoured Closet Gay...
Limited Advancement Opportunities: It's likely down to the series's Comic-Book Time, but she remains a lowly scullery maid for a good 8 years before she is promoted to Assistant Cook. She has to complain to make it happen.
Literal-Minded: Not quite as extreme as the trope usually suggests, but she does get ridiculously stuck on the fact that she didn't quite feel for William what he felt for her, and acting like that completely invalidates their marriage. There's also the fact that, as the Dowager Countess points out to her later, her marrying him in order to "keep his spirits up at the end" was actually a very strong expression of love.
Love Triangle: In Series 3, she's part of the Love Quadrilateral of herself -> Alfred -> Ivy -> Jimmy, with Thomas also making his own moves on the latter.
Massive Numbered Siblings: She's one of eleven, as her mother was a true Victorian and produced a vast brood of children.
My Significance Sense Is Tingling: In the war years of Series 2, a dramatic scene of William (and Matthew) getting caught in an explosion quickly cuts to Daisy back at Downton, who is visibly shaken and falters mid-task.
Naïve Everygirl: Although she has toughened up a lot since the first series, Daisy still, at times, reveals herself to be a highly impressionable young woman. In Series 5, she falls under the influence of socialist firebrand Sarah Bunting, who, as well as teaching her rudimentary mathematics, fills Daisy's head with revolutionary ideas.
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero!: In the first episode of Series 6, Daisy's father-in-law Mr Mason faces eviction from his farm at the hands of a newly-rich couple, the Hendersons, who have bought the whole estate. Daisy, outraged at this situation, lays into Mr Henderson at the estate sale with an impassioned speech, but he instantly shuts her down, making it very clear that she has now made her father-in-law's situation far worse. Daisy decides that she Must Make Amends, and campaigns to have Mr Mason re-housed thereafter.
Pair the Spares: In the Series' grand finale, she decides to give Andy a chance (following initial reservations) and begins a proper relationship with him.
Rank Up: As of Series 3, she is promoted to Assistant Cook.
Rear Window Witness: Whilst up early to light the bedroom fires, she catches Lady Mary, her mother and Anna moving Pamuk's body across the landing back to his own room in the bachelor's corridor, after he has scandalously died in Mary's bed.
Scullery Maid: Her role through Series 1, to the first part of Series 3.
She Knows Too Much: Having witnessed the corpse-related escapade above, it plays on her mind, and in the end it is she who informs Edith (after coaxing) of Mary's bedroom antics, thus starting the whole Kemal Pamuk scandal.
Supreme Chef: As early as the Series 2 Christmas special, Miss Shore remarks that Daisy could be a sous-chef in London or head cook of any house in England less grand than Downton. By Series 4, she's really come into her own in the kitchen, and her food is by all accounts excellent if a bit plain (but of course, that's what the English have prided themselves on since the 1700s). She even gets invited by Lady Grantham's brother Harold—who came to England fully expecting to hate English cooking—to become his cook in New York, but she turns him down.
Unwitting Pawn: In Thomas's Series 1 plan to get Bates sacked. The scheming footman convinces her to give a false report to Carson, incriminating Bates in the theft of wine.
Widow Woman: Becomes one after William's death, only a few hours after their marriage.
Branson
Mr Thomas "Tom" Branson
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Portrayed by: Allen Leech
"Sometimes a hard sacrifice must be made for a future that's worth having."
Actual Pacifist: While he might occasionally engage in personal violence when necessary (see: tackling that assassin) or when emotion overcomes him, he appears to be mostly genuinely opposed to hurting people for any cause (the Easter Rising may have caused him to question these principles, but it was all over before he had a chance to make a final decision). His horror at the effects of his one brush with destruction of property (the burning of the Anglo-Irish castle that triggered his return to Downton from Dublin in Series 3) seems to have strengthened these beliefs.
Affectionate Nickname: His big brother, Kieran, calls him "Tommy".
Best Friends-in-Law: With Matthew.
Big Damn Heroes: In the movie, Tom tackles an assassin, saves the life of the King of England, inadvertently persuades a princess to give her terrible marriage another try, and gets a big thank you from the king. Oh, and he also gets the girl, who is the heir to a wealthy estate.
Birds of a Feather: Begins a friendship with Sybil based on their shared interest in politics and women's rights. Later episodes reveal their rebellious natures and disregard for society's class divisions.
Blood on the Debate Floor: His conversations on political reform impress Lady Sybil, but land her in a dangerous situation at an aggressive rally in Ripon. (He's absolutely aghast when Sybil is injured; his anguished "Oh no, please God no" is the first overt clue to his feelings for her.)
Bromance: With Henry Talbot, throughout Series 6.
Character Development: He becomes much less dogmatic and prickly about his politics as time goes by, even eventually admitting that there might be some good things about capitalism.
Commonality Connection: He and Matthew bond and find mutual support over their both marrying Crawley girls, as well as the fact that Matthew recognizes that he, like Branson, was once an outsider at Downton.
Matthew: If we're mad enough to take on the Crawley girls, we've got to stick together.
Didn't See That Coming: He sings the praises of the Second Russian Revolution, and confidently insists the revolutionaries won't harm the Romanov family in captivity. In a later episode, his effusive, slightly smug passion for the revolution is drastically muted when he finds out that the Soviet government has executed the family, including putting This example contains a YMMV entry. It should be moved to the YMMV tab.innocent children to death...
Dogged Nice Guy: He's really determined to win Lady Sybil, having fallen head over heels in love, and spends a great deal of time trying to convince her that she should do the same.
Fanservice: 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.) And in the Series 3 Christmas Special, he is actually shirtless for roughly three seconds.
Fee Fi Faux Pas: Once married to Lady Sybil, he makes loads, from not changing for dinner to using the wrong forms of address — not that he gives a s**t.
Violet: He's still dressed as the man from the Prudential I see.
Fish out of Water: In Series 4, whilst attending a particularly glitzy party at the Abbey, he describes himself as such word-for-word.
Get Out!: After Larry Grey rears his ugly head again at a dinner in Series 5, and once more voices his disgust over Sybil marrying him (amongst other things), Tom explodes with rage, calls Larry a b*****d (which would be shocking for the period), and tells him to get the hell out.
Intergenerational Friendship: He forms a very unlikely one with Violet after Sybil dies; she gives him social advice at parties and dances with him, and also goes out of her way to find ways of including him in the family business.
Kissing Under the Influence: He enjoys an illicit one-night encounter with Edna in Series 4, but is quick to tell her the next day that It Doesn't Mean Anything. She, of course, has other ideas...
Like Brother and Sister: By about Series 5, Mary and Edith fully consider him their brother, due to his marriage to their late sister Sybil, and refer to him as such several times.
Mistaken for Terrorist: When an important general is dining at the Abbey in Series 2 during the war, he hatches a plot to attack him with something concealed inside a soup tureen. When the other staff catch onto his plan, they assume that he has a gun or a bomb and intends to murder the general. Instead, the tureen contains ink, engine oil, cow excrement and other icky substances to render the general Covered in Gunge.
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: After Edna is fired for coming on to him in Series 3, Tom asks Mrs. Hughes to write her a good reference, out of guilt that he may have led her on. This comes back to bite both of them hard in the fourth Series premiere, when Edna uses that reference to get herself back into Downton when Cora interviews her.
Not Helping Your Case: He doesn't exactly receive a red-carpet welcome (perhaps understandably) when he revisits Downton as Lady Sybil's husband, but he doesn't help himself with his tetchy, chippy attitude and over-zealous politicking. Matthew even calls him out on it:
Matthew: You don't make it easy for them. D'you really think you can recruit Cousin Robert for Sinn Féin?
Odd Friendship: With Mary of all people. After the deaths of Sybil and Matthew, they form a bond over their shared grief at having lost their spouse, close friend/sister, and at being single parents.
Panicky Expectant Father: As seen whilst Sybil is in labour — with good reason.
Patriotic Fervor: His storyline addresses this the most. He's very active in Irish Nationalism (although, as he points out, he's hardly limited to that in his politics) and he had a cousin killed in the Easter Rising. There's also a moment where he and Sybil spar over it when she doesn't understand (due to mostly being given the English side of things) why Tom has such a strong dislike of the English government and military.
Please Don't Leave Me: Says this to Sybil over and over again as she dies of post-partum eclampsia.
Principles Zealot: His high-minded ideals are often a little too inflexible.
Branson: (on wearing morning dress) You see I don't approve of these costumes, I see them as the uniform of oppression and I should be uncomfortable wearing them.
Violet: Have you quite finished?
Promotion to Opening Titles: In Series 3, finally.
Put on a Bus: At the end of the Series 5 Christmas special, after a suitably moving farewell speech led by Lord Grantham, he and Sybbie bid farewell to the family and leave Downton for good to start a new life in America.
Rags to Royalty: He starts out as the family chauffeur, but through dogged perseverence, he ends up married to Lady Sybil and a member of the noble Crawley family.
Rank Up: As of Series 3 Episode 7 he is made Estate Manager for Downton.
Rant-Inducing Slight: Don't bring up politics over dinner.
Saying Too Much: In the Series 6 finale, he is the one who tells Mary about Marigold's true parentage, thus kicking off the biggest row ever witnessed on the show between the Crawley sisters.
Screw the Money, I Have Rules!: When Robert offers him money to forget about Sybil, he refuses.
Second Love: Tom, widowed for seven years, falls for Lady Bagshaw’s lady’s maid Lucy Smith in the movie.
Ship Tease: A budding relationship with Edith's editor, Miss Edmunds, is teased in the grand finale.
Star-Crossed Lovers: Due to the veritable class-chasm between him and Lady Sybil.
Start My Own: In the grand finale, he and Henry Talbot open a car dealership — Branson & Talbot – as joint owners, which acts as an outlet for their shared love of cars.
Strawman Political: Used as a Plot Device to encourage Sybil's rebellious streak.
The Bus Came Back: In episode 3 of Series 6, he and Sybbie show up as surprise guests at Carson and Mrs Hughes' wedding. To the delight of all gathered, he vows to stay on at Downton for good.
"The Reason You Suck" Speech: He delivers an almighty one to Mary in the Series 6 finale, after she cruelly tells Edith's fiancé, Bertie Pelham, about Marigold's true parentage.
Tom: You're a coward Mary. Like all bullies you're a coward.
Token Minority: To some degree, a token Irishman. There might well be other Irish servants, and there are certainly Irish-descended ones (O'Brien for one, and Bates's mother was apparently Irish), but he's the only named character who is born in Ireland and a member of the Irish Nationalist movement.
Tsundere: Privately, Sybil reveals to Mary that he really isn't as anti their family as he appears to be — in fact, he's hoping for their approval.
Sybil: He puts a tough face on it and says things that make everyone angry, but he so wants your good opinion. I can't tell you how much.
What the Hell, Hero?: Mid-way through Series 3, his revolutionary ideals turn ugly and he arrives at Downton on the run from Ireland, having been present at the ransacking and burning of a noble Anglo-Irish family's castle. The Crawleys are disgusted, especially as he left the heavily pregnant Lady Sybil behind.
Will They or Won't They?:
With Sybil — They Do.
Then with Sarah Bunting in Series 4/5 — they don't; her over-zealous, firebrand behaviour puts even him off.
You Can't Go Home Again: Following his anarchic escapades in Ireland, detailed above, Lord Grantham uses his influence to call off the authorities, on the condition he does not set foot on Irish soil.
You Keep Telling Yourself That: How Robert, Carson and the more conservatively inclined residents of Downton generally react to his socialist diatribes.

Series 1
"What is a week-end?"
And, of course, nearly falling over in the swivel-chair:
Lady Grantham: Good heavens, what am I sitting on!?
Matthew Crawley: Er..swivel..chair.
Lady Grantham: Another modern brainwave?
Matthew Crawley: Hardly. They were invented by Thomas Jefferson.
Lady Grantham: Why does every day involve a fight with an American?
"In situations such as this one can normally find an Italian who isn't too picky."
Let's not forget this gem, after Pamuk's death:
Lady Grantham: Of course it would happen to a foreigner. It's typical. No Englishman would dream of dying in someone else's house - especially somebody they didn't even know.
And when discussing the scandal with Cora
Lady Grantham: We can't have him assassinated. . .I suppose.
Daisy (the lowest ranking servant) actually believing she'll meet the Duke of Crowborough back in the first episode.
The Crawley's totally over the top reactions to Sybil wearing pantaloons. Downton's known for it's long reaction shots, but this scene really lingers on everyone: Cora seems on the verge of fainting, Violet is decidedly not impressed, Matthew is clearly enjoying the fun while poor Robert is just confused. Then of course you've got Branson grinning at the window, hinting he was in on Sybil's plan.
Mary's reaction is one of shock - but less "she's wearing pantaloons" shock and more a "you crazy idiot, you actually did it!" shock.
When Mary tells Matthew the story of Perseus, Sybil can be seen intently listening.
The darkly comic Mood Whiplash caused by Pamuk's death. From a passionate love scene to "He's dead. I think he's dead".
The reaction of Cora being woken up in the middle of the night to be told that she has to help Mary and Anna move a body halfway across the house. It's Black Comedy but the whole scene is awkwardly hilarious.
About Cora's pregnancy:
Robert: How could this happen?
Cora: The doctor will tell you the details by a glass of whiskey.
In the very next scene he appears in, he and the doctor are drinking whiskey!
The Dowager Countess' mini-rivalry with Mrs. Crawley is almost too much fun to watch. Their constant one-upping of each other often provides much-needed comic relief in an otherwise very dramatic series.
Violet: You are quite wonderful the way you see room for improvement wherever you look. I never knew such reforming zeal.
Isobel: I take that as a compliment.
Violet: I must have said it wrong.
After Mrs. Crawley accuses the Dowager of telling Mary to refuse Matthew until Cora's baby is born.
Dowager Countess: Your quarrel is with my daughter Rosamund. I told her to accept him, so put that in your pipe and smoke it.
Made even better by the quick shot of Carson's rather pleased reaction.
Mr. Carson's reveal of his shameful past as a stage performer, which to him seems to be on the same level as murdering someone.
And when he expects to be fired over it, Robert instead says he's rather impressed.
That said, Carson's stuffy nature can become so hilarious that it's an inside joke among some of Downton's residents. Among one of his more memorable moments is his practicing using the new telephone and getting in an argument with the operator.
Well, I dare say a lot of the things you do sound stupid to other people! *hangs up*
When Cora suggests Mary visit New York to cool off from the Pemuk scandal, Violet says she's not that desperate.
Mrs. Patmore unsuccessfully trying to inform Daisy that Thomas isn't interested in her. Daisy doesn't seem to understand what "He's not a ladies' man" and "he's a troubled soul" are supposed to mean.
"Daisy, may I ask why you are holding Lady Sybil's biscuit jar?"
When Cora says "Things are different in America", Violet says its because Americans live in wigwams.
Robert managing to say without a hint of irony how great it would be to have people serve your every need, while Carson is serving him dinner.
Miss O'Brien and Thomas get worried that Bates has planted the snuff box they stole in one of their rooms. Cut to O'Brien's room turned apart trying to find it. And Mrs Hughes at the door.
"Well you've been busy."
Violet is quite puzzled as to why Mary's so troubled by the Turkish man's death.
"One can't go to pieces at the death of every foreigner. We'd all be in a state of collapse whenever we opened a newspaper."
Mrs Patmore's cataracts cause her to accidentally put salt in the dessert. Despite the family being mortified at dinner, Mary immediately starts snorting into her napkin with laughter.
Cora tells Violet that Mary doesn't want to marry Matthew without telling him about Pamuk's death as it would be dishonorable.
Violet: She reads too many novels. One way or another, everyone goes down the aisle with half the story hidden.
Mrs Patmore's reprimands of Daisy are always priceless.
"Daisy! I sent you for a drink of water, not a trip up the Nile!"
Right before Mrs Patmore goes for her operation, she suggests that Daisy sabotage Mrs Bird's cooking so as not to upstage her own. Daisy obliges...by putting soap in the soup. And Mrs Bird switched the upstairs food with the servants', catching Daisy red-handed.
Mrs Bird also finds it Actually Pretty Funny, compliments Daisy on her loyalty and then sends her to get tomorrow's dinner.
Mrs Bird: You've not had a chance to spoil that yet, I suppose?
Daisy: I was gonna mix in some syrup of figs in but I've not done it yet.
At the last revelation you can see Gwen and Bates cracking up.
Thomas finds a silver lining in what almost happened.
"At least we'd have all been regular."
Series 2
Right after Matthew and Sir Richard have a fight, following Mary ending the engagement, and deciding to leave Downton Abbey first thing in the morning:
Sir Richard: (to Lady Grantham) I doubt we'll meet again.
Lady Grantham: Do you promise?
In the same exchange discussing the vase broken in the fight. Matthew apologizes for breaking it.
Matthew: Sorry about the vase.
Lady Grantham: Oh, don't be, don't be - it was a wedding present from a frightful aunt. I have hated it for half a century.
About Sir Richard:
Lady Grantham: It's not that I dislike him, I just don't like him.
O'Brien hazing Ethel.
Mrs Patmore and Daisy are at Sybil's request teaching her how to cook so she might be better prepared for her upcoming nursing/caretaker training. When Mrs. Patmore sees her first attempt she responds as she normally would as if she was talking to another servant.
Mrs. Patmore What in wonderland do you call that!? (Remembers who she is talking to)..I mean I do not fully understand what you are trying to do M'lady.
When Mrs. Hughes reveals that a person standing in the airing cupboard can listen to a conversation in the kitchen through a vent, so she knows why Bates suddenly left with his wife, Vera.
Carson: If I were a gentleman, I would not wish to know.
Mrs. Hughes: But you're not.
Carson: Fortunately. [closes door]
Carson, Anna and Mrs. Hughes stopping Tom's plot to throw slop on Gen. Strutt. They thought he was going to kill him!
Presumably, this was unintentional but it gets a few childish sniggers.
Robert: Still in one piece, thank God.
Matthew: Touch wood.
Robert: I never stopped touching it.
Tom arriving so he and Sybil can announce their engagement, unknown to everyone.
Tom: I'm here.
Lord Grantham: So, I can see.
Cora's increasingly horrified expression as the lovers explain their future plans.
Sybil gasping at Mary when she walks out of the sitting room when they were talking about Pamuk's death.
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Series 3
When Coras' mother is visiting, Lady Grantham has this gem.
Lady Grantham: I'm so looking forward to seeing your mother again. When I'm with her, I'm reminded of the virtues of the English.
Matthew: But isn't she American?
Lady Grantham: Exactly.
Martha arriving in Series 3 Episode 1 and unleashing the bells of hell onto Downton with her American ways. Tis very funny.
While it happens in the middle of a very serious scene, this troper found it hilarious that Robert was commended for being smart enough to use modern methods to handle the finances at Downton, thus saving it from future financial ruin, after he spent several episodes fighting tooth and nail whenever Matthew tried to implement said methods.
New footman Jimmy is irritated when Carson introduces him to the Crawleys as James:
Jimmy: I was Jimmy to Lady Anstruther.
Carson: I don't care if you were Father Christmas to Lady Anstruther!
The clash between The Dowager Countess and Cora's mother, Martha Levinson. Played to absolute perfection by Dame Maggie Smith and Shirley MacLane. A proper, aristocratic British Matriarch + An eccentric rich American matriarch = fun for everyone!
This exchange between Lady Grantham and Sybil, right before Edith's wedding:
Lady Grantham: I really think you should go to bed. No bride wants to look tired on her wedding, that means she’s anxious or up to no good.
Edith: I won't sleep a wink.
Sybil: Tonight or tomorrow?
Lady Grantham: Sybil, vulgarity is no substitute for wit.
Sybil: You started it.
It's EVERYTHING that Sybil does in this scene that sells it. She raises an eyebrow, smiles to herself when she hears "I won't sleep a wink", looks straight at camera, says her line then drinks her tea while looking away. ITS HILARIOUS.
Although this is a little sad in hindsight, when one realizes that Edith is once again the least fortunate sister even in this regard. Consider that Sybil's marriage to Tom, a handsome and fiery rebel is clearly passionate, considering how quickly she got pregnant, Mary has married the dashing and romantic Matthew and the first two episodes of season 3 made it clear that their relationship certainly does not lack passion. This impending marriage, on the other hand, does not seem likely to yield much in that department.
Becomes a "Funny Aneurysm" Moment after Edith is jilted at the altar
As everyone discusses the deadly serious topic of Branson's involvement in the burning of an English family's castle in Ireland, Violet can't help repeatedly bringing up how ugly the place was.
This exchange (about Thomas after he was outed)
Mrs Hughes: Do you think he's the first of. . .that type I've met?
Carson: I should hope so!
The Dowager Countess' disdain for the new-fangled dinner jackets.
Violet: Certainly not! Oh, do you think I might have a drink? (turns and sees it's Robert) Oh, I'm so sorry. I thought you were a waiter.
Robert Crawley, Earl of Nonchalance:
Robert: If I'd screamed blue murder every time someone tried to kiss me at Eton, I'd have gone hoarse in a month.
The look on Bates's face afterwards isn't too bad either.
Robert cementing himself as not the brightest man by suggesting he invest the family's finances with an American chap named Ponzi.
Even better, you can see Matthew facepalming at the suggestion.
Molseley dancing like a maniac after being hit by the liquor meant for O'Brien.
Robert and Violet awkwardly trying to pose for a photo with the Catholic priest who baptized Sybbie.
Cora: Are you afraid you will be converted while your back is turned?
How utterly obsessed with the cricket match Robert becomes. Thomas is allowed to keep his job mostly because he's good at the game and he is only willing to get on board with Matthew and Tom's plan to save Downton if Tom plays for the house team. He is making major decisions with long lasting repercussions purely based on fielding a team.
The following sentence comes out of Violet Crawley's mouth: "You've been reading those communist newspapers again".
Edith knows what the Scarlet Letter is. This isn't shocking - she's young and yearning for love. But the fact that Isobel (as she doesn't query the meaning like Violet does) and Mrs Hughes have read it is rather funny.
The Running Gag of Violet constantly, basically as a reflex, calling Tom "Branson" instead of by his first name. Branson is how one would properly address a chauffeur but as Tom is family now it is proper to call him by his first name. When Violet suggest Tom be made the estates agent she points out the added benefit being she can now go back to calling him Branson.

Series 1
"What is a week-end?"
And, of course, nearly falling over in the swivel-chair:
Lady Grantham: Good heavens, what am I sitting on!?
Matthew Crawley: Er..swivel..chair.
Lady Grantham: Another modern brainwave?
Matthew Crawley: Hardly. They were invented by Thomas Jefferson.
Lady Grantham: Why does every day involve a fight with an American?
"In situations such as this one can normally find an Italian who isn't too picky."
Let's not forget this gem, after Pamuk's death:
Lady Grantham: Of course it would happen to a foreigner. It's typical. No Englishman would dream of dying in someone else's house - especially somebody they didn't even know.
And when discussing the scandal with Cora
Lady Grantham: We can't have him assassinated. . .I suppose.
Daisy (the lowest ranking servant) actually believing she'll meet the Duke of Crowborough back in the first episode.
The Crawley's totally over the top reactions to Sybil wearing pantaloons. Downton's known for it's long reaction shots, but this scene really lingers on everyone: Cora seems on the verge of fainting, Violet is decidedly not impressed, Matthew is clearly enjoying the fun while poor Robert is just confused. Then of course you've got Branson grinning at the window, hinting he was in on Sybil's plan.
Mary's reaction is one of shock - but less "she's wearing pantaloons" shock and more a "you crazy idiot, you actually did it!" shock.
When Mary tells Matthew the story of Perseus, Sybil can be seen intently listening.
The darkly comic Mood Whiplash caused by Pamuk's death. From a passionate love scene to "He's dead. I think he's dead".
The reaction of Cora being woken up in the middle of the night to be told that she has to help Mary and Anna move a body halfway across the house. It's Black Comedy but the whole scene is awkwardly hilarious.
About Cora's pregnancy:
Robert: How could this happen?
Cora: The doctor will tell you the details by a glass of whiskey.
In the very next scene he appears in, he and the doctor are drinking whiskey!
The Dowager Countess' mini-rivalry with Mrs. Crawley is almost too much fun to watch. Their constant one-upping of each other often provides much-needed comic relief in an otherwise very dramatic series.
Violet: You are quite wonderful the way you see room for improvement wherever you look. I never knew such reforming zeal.
Isobel: I take that as a compliment.
Violet: I must have said it wrong.
After Mrs. Crawley accuses the Dowager of telling Mary to refuse Matthew until Cora's baby is born.
Dowager Countess: Your quarrel is with my daughter Rosamund. I told her to accept him, so put that in your pipe and smoke it.
Made even better by the quick shot of Carson's rather pleased reaction.
Mr. Carson's reveal of his shameful past as a stage performer, which to him seems to be on the same level as murdering someone.
And when he expects to be fired over it, Robert instead says he's rather impressed.
That said, Carson's stuffy nature can become so hilarious that it's an inside joke among some of Downton's residents. Among one of his more memorable moments is his practicing using the new telephone and getting in an argument with the operator.
Well, I dare say a lot of the things you do sound stupid to other people! *hangs up*
When Cora suggests Mary visit New York to cool off from the Pemuk scandal, Violet says she's not that desperate.
Mrs. Patmore unsuccessfully trying to inform Daisy that Thomas isn't interested in her. Daisy doesn't seem to understand what "He's not a ladies' man" and "he's a troubled soul" are supposed to mean.
"Daisy, may I ask why you are holding Lady Sybil's biscuit jar?"
When Cora says "Things are different in America", Violet says its because Americans live in wigwams.
Robert managing to say without a hint of irony how great it would be to have people serve your every need, while Carson is serving him dinner.
Miss O'Brien and Thomas get worried that Bates has planted the snuff box they stole in one of their rooms. Cut to O'Brien's room turned apart trying to find it. And Mrs Hughes at the door.
"Well you've been busy."
Violet is quite puzzled as to why Mary's so troubled by the Turkish man's death.
"One can't go to pieces at the death of every foreigner. We'd all be in a state of collapse whenever we opened a newspaper."
Mrs Patmore's cataracts cause her to accidentally put salt in the dessert. Despite the family being mortified at dinner, Mary immediately starts snorting into her napkin with laughter.
Cora tells Violet that Mary doesn't want to marry Matthew without telling him about Pamuk's death as it would be dishonorable.
Violet: She reads too many novels. One way or another, everyone goes down the aisle with half the story hidden.
Mrs Patmore's reprimands of Daisy are always priceless.
"Daisy! I sent you for a drink of water, not a trip up the Nile!"
Right before Mrs Patmore goes for her operation, she suggests that Daisy sabotage Mrs Bird's cooking so as not to upstage her own. Daisy obliges...by putting soap in the soup. And Mrs Bird switched the upstairs food with the servants', catching Daisy red-handed.
Mrs Bird also finds it Actually Pretty Funny, compliments Daisy on her loyalty and then sends her to get tomorrow's dinner.
Mrs Bird: You've not had a chance to spoil that yet, I suppose?
Daisy: I was gonna mix in some syrup of figs in but I've not done it yet.
At the last revelation you can see Gwen and Bates cracking up.
Thomas finds a silver lining in what almost happened.
"At least we'd have all been regular."
Series 2
Right after Matthew and Sir Richard have a fight, following Mary ending the engagement, and deciding to leave Downton Abbey first thing in the morning:
Sir Richard: (to Lady Grantham) I doubt we'll meet again.
Lady Grantham: Do you promise?
In the same exchange discussing the vase broken in the fight. Matthew apologizes for breaking it.
Matthew: Sorry about the vase.
Lady Grantham: Oh, don't be, don't be - it was a wedding present from a frightful aunt. I have hated it for half a century.
About Sir Richard:
Lady Grantham: It's not that I dislike him, I just don't like him.
O'Brien hazing Ethel.
Mrs Patmore and Daisy are at Sybil's request teaching her how to cook so she might be better prepared for her upcoming nursing/caretaker training. When Mrs. Patmore sees her first attempt she responds as she normally would as if she was talking to another servant.
Mrs. Patmore What in wonderland do you call that!? (Remembers who she is talking to)..I mean I do not fully understand what you are trying to do M'lady.
When Mrs. Hughes reveals that a person standing in the airing cupboard can listen to a conversation in the kitchen through a vent, so she knows why Bates suddenly left with his wife, Vera.
Carson: If I were a gentleman, I would not wish to know.
Mrs. Hughes: But you're not.
Carson: Fortunately. [closes door]
Carson, Anna and Mrs. Hughes stopping Tom's plot to throw slop on Gen. Strutt. They thought he was going to kill him!
Presumably, this was unintentional but it gets a few childish sniggers.
Robert: Still in one piece, thank God.
Matthew: Touch wood.
Robert: I never stopped touching it.
Tom arriving so he and Sybil can announce their engagement, unknown to everyone.
Tom: I'm here.
Lord Grantham: So, I can see.
Cora's increasingly horrified expression as the lovers explain their future plans.
Sybil gasping at Mary when she walks out of the sitting room when they were talking about Pamuk's death.
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Series 3
When Coras' mother is visiting, Lady Grantham has this gem.
Lady Grantham: I'm so looking forward to seeing your mother again. When I'm with her, I'm reminded of the virtues of the English.
Matthew: But isn't she American?
Lady Grantham: Exactly.
Martha arriving in Series 3 Episode 1 and unleashing the bells of hell onto Downton with her American ways. Tis very funny.
While it happens in the middle of a very serious scene, this troper found it hilarious that Robert was commended for being smart enough to use modern methods to handle the finances at Downton, thus saving it from future financial ruin, after he spent several episodes fighting tooth and nail whenever Matthew tried to implement said methods.
New footman Jimmy is irritated when Carson introduces him to the Crawleys as James:
Jimmy: I was Jimmy to Lady Anstruther.
Carson: I don't care if you were Father Christmas to Lady Anstruther!
The clash between The Dowager Countess and Cora's mother, Martha Levinson. Played to absolute perfection by Dame Maggie Smith and Shirley MacLane. A proper, aristocratic British Matriarch + An eccentric rich American matriarch = fun for everyone!
This exchange between Lady Grantham and Sybil, right before Edith's wedding:
Lady Grantham: I really think you should go to bed. No bride wants to look tired on her wedding, that means she’s anxious or up to no good.
Edith: I won't sleep a wink.
Sybil: Tonight or tomorrow?
Lady Grantham: Sybil, vulgarity is no substitute for wit.
Sybil: You started it.
It's EVERYTHING that Sybil does in this scene that sells it. She raises an eyebrow, smiles to herself when she hears "I won't sleep a wink", looks straight at camera, says her line then drinks her tea while looking away. ITS HILARIOUS.
Although this is a little sad in hindsight, when one realizes that Edith is once again the least fortunate sister even in this regard. Consider that Sybil's marriage to Tom, a handsome and fiery rebel is clearly passionate, considering how quickly she got pregnant, Mary has married the dashing and romantic Matthew and the first two episodes of season 3 made it clear that their relationship certainly does not lack passion. This impending marriage, on the other hand, does not seem likely to yield much in that department.
Becomes a "Funny Aneurysm" Moment after Edith is jilted at the altar
As everyone discusses the deadly serious topic of Branson's involvement in the burning of an English family's castle in Ireland, Violet can't help repeatedly bringing up how ugly the place was.
This exchange (about Thomas after he was outed)
Mrs Hughes: Do you think he's the first of. . .that type I've met?
Carson: I should hope so!
The Dowager Countess' disdain for the new-fangled dinner jackets.
Violet: Certainly not! Oh, do you think I might have a drink? (turns and sees it's Robert) Oh, I'm so sorry. I thought you were a waiter.
Robert Crawley, Earl of Nonchalance:
Robert: If I'd screamed blue murder every time someone tried to kiss me at Eton, I'd have gone hoarse in a month.
The look on Bates's face afterwards isn't too bad either.
Robert cementing himself as not the brightest man by suggesting he invest the family's finances with an American chap named Ponzi.
Even better, you can see Matthew facepalming at the suggestion.
Molseley dancing like a maniac after being hit by the liquor meant for O'Brien.
Robert and Violet awkwardly trying to pose for a photo with the Catholic priest who baptized Sybbie.
Cora: Are you afraid you will be converted while your back is turned?
How utterly obsessed with the cricket match Robert becomes. Thomas is allowed to keep his job mostly because he's good at the game and he is only willing to get on board with Matthew and Tom's plan to save Downton if Tom plays for the house team. He is making major decisions with long lasting repercussions purely based on fielding a team.
The following sentence comes out of Violet Crawley's mouth: "You've been reading those communist newspapers again".
Edith knows what the Scarlet Letter is. This isn't shocking - she's young and yearning for love. But the fact that Isobel (as she doesn't query the meaning like Violet does) and Mrs Hughes have read it is rather funny.
The Running Gag of Violet constantly, basically as a reflex, calling Tom "Branson" instead of by his first name. Branson is how one would properly address a chauffeur but as Tom is family now it is proper to call him by his first name. When Violet suggest Tom be made the estates agent she points out the added benefit being she can now go back to calling him Branson.

Series 1
"What is a week-end?"
And, of course, nearly falling over in the swivel-chair:
Lady Grantham: Good heavens, what am I sitting on!?
Matthew Crawley: Er..swivel..chair.
Lady Grantham: Another modern brainwave?
Matthew Crawley: Hardly. They were invented by Thomas Jefferson.
Lady Grantham: Why does every day involve a fight with an American?
"In situations such as this one can normally find an Italian who isn't too picky."
Let's not forget this gem, after Pamuk's death:
Lady Grantham: Of course it would happen to a foreigner. It's typical. No Englishman would dream of dying in someone else's house - especially somebody they didn't even know.
And when discussing the scandal with Cora
Lady Grantham: We can't have him assassinated. . .I suppose.
Daisy (the lowest ranking servant) actually believing she'll meet the Duke of Crowborough back in the first episode.
The Crawley's totally over the top reactions to Sybil wearing pantaloons. Downton's known for it's long reaction shots, but this scene really lingers on everyone: Cora seems on the verge of fainting, Violet is decidedly not impressed, Matthew is clearly enjoying the fun while poor Robert is just confused. Then of course you've got Branson grinning at the window, hinting he was in on Sybil's plan.
Mary's reaction is one of shock - but less "she's wearing pantaloons" shock and more a "you crazy idiot, you actually did it!" shock.
When Mary tells Matthew the story of Perseus, Sybil can be seen intently listening.
The darkly comic Mood Whiplash caused by Pamuk's death. From a passionate love scene to "He's dead. I think he's dead".
The reaction of Cora being woken up in the middle of the night to be told that she has to help Mary and Anna move a body halfway across the house. It's Black Comedy but the whole scene is awkwardly hilarious.
About Cora's pregnancy:
Robert: How could this happen?
Cora: The doctor will tell you the details by a glass of whiskey.
In the very next scene he appears in, he and the doctor are drinking whiskey!
The Dowager Countess' mini-rivalry with Mrs. Crawley is almost too much fun to watch. Their constant one-upping of each other often provides much-needed comic relief in an otherwise very dramatic series.
Violet: You are quite wonderful the way you see room for improvement wherever you look. I never knew such reforming zeal.
Isobel: I take that as a compliment.
Violet: I must have said it wrong.
After Mrs. Crawley accuses the Dowager of telling Mary to refuse Matthew until Cora's baby is born.
Dowager Countess: Your quarrel is with my daughter Rosamund. I told her to accept him, so put that in your pipe and smoke it.
Made even better by the quick shot of Carson's rather pleased reaction.
Mr. Carson's reveal of his shameful past as a stage performer, which to him seems to be on the same level as murdering someone.
And when he expects to be fired over it, Robert instead says he's rather impressed.
That said, Carson's stuffy nature can become so hilarious that it's an inside joke among some of Downton's residents. Among one of his more memorable moments is his practicing using the new telephone and getting in an argument with the operator.
Well, I dare say a lot of the things you do sound stupid to other people! *hangs up*
When Cora suggests Mary visit New York to cool off from the Pemuk scandal, Violet says she's not that desperate.
Mrs. Patmore unsuccessfully trying to inform Daisy that Thomas isn't interested in her. Daisy doesn't seem to understand what "He's not a ladies' man" and "he's a troubled soul" are supposed to mean.
"Daisy, may I ask why you are holding Lady Sybil's biscuit jar?"
When Cora says "Things are different in America", Violet says its because Americans live in wigwams.
Robert managing to say without a hint of irony how great it would be to have people serve your every need, while Carson is serving him dinner.
Miss O'Brien and Thomas get worried that Bates has planted the snuff box they stole in one of their rooms. Cut to O'Brien's room turned apart trying to find it. And Mrs Hughes at the door.
"Well you've been busy."
Violet is quite puzzled as to why Mary's so troubled by the Turkish man's death.
"One can't go to pieces at the death of every foreigner. We'd all be in a state of collapse whenever we opened a newspaper."
Mrs Patmore's cataracts cause her to accidentally put salt in the dessert. Despite the family being mortified at dinner, Mary immediately starts snorting into her napkin with laughter.
Cora tells Violet that Mary doesn't want to marry Matthew without telling him about Pamuk's death as it would be dishonorable.
Violet: She reads too many novels. One way or another, everyone goes down the aisle with half the story hidden.
Mrs Patmore's reprimands of Daisy are always priceless.
"Daisy! I sent you for a drink of water, not a trip up the Nile!"
Right before Mrs Patmore goes for her operation, she suggests that Daisy sabotage Mrs Bird's cooking so as not to upstage her own. Daisy obliges...by putting soap in the soup. And Mrs Bird switched the upstairs food with the servants', catching Daisy red-handed.
Mrs Bird also finds it Actually Pretty Funny, compliments Daisy on her loyalty and then sends her to get tomorrow's dinner.
Mrs Bird: You've not had a chance to spoil that yet, I suppose?
Daisy: I was gonna mix in some syrup of figs in but I've not done it yet.
At the last revelation you can see Gwen and Bates cracking up.
Thomas finds a silver lining in what almost happened.
"At least we'd have all been regular."
Series 2
Right after Matthew and Sir Richard have a fight, following Mary ending the engagement, and deciding to leave Downton Abbey first thing in the morning:
Sir Richard: (to Lady Grantham) I doubt we'll meet again.
Lady Grantham: Do you promise?
In the same exchange discussing the vase broken in the fight. Matthew apologizes for breaking it.
Matthew: Sorry about the vase.
Lady Grantham: Oh, don't be, don't be - it was a wedding present from a frightful aunt. I have hated it for half a century.
About Sir Richard:
Lady Grantham: It's not that I dislike him, I just don't like him.
O'Brien hazing Ethel.
Mrs Patmore and Daisy are at Sybil's request teaching her how to cook so she might be better prepared for her upcoming nursing/caretaker training. When Mrs. Patmore sees her first attempt she responds as she normally would as if she was talking to another servant.
Mrs. Patmore What in wonderland do you call that!? (Remembers who she is talking to)..I mean I do not fully understand what you are trying to do M'lady.
When Mrs. Hughes reveals that a person standing in the airing cupboard can listen to a conversation in the kitchen through a vent, so she knows why Bates suddenly left with his wife, Vera.
Carson: If I were a gentleman, I would not wish to know.
Mrs. Hughes: But you're not.
Carson: Fortunately. [closes door]
Carson, Anna and Mrs. Hughes stopping Tom's plot to throw slop on Gen. Strutt. They thought he was going to kill him!
Presumably, this was unintentional but it gets a few childish sniggers.
Robert: Still in one piece, thank God.
Matthew: Touch wood.
Robert: I never stopped touching it.
Tom arriving so he and Sybil can announce their engagement, unknown to everyone.
Tom: I'm here.
Lord Grantham: So, I can see.
Cora's increasingly horrified expression as the lovers explain their future plans.
Sybil gasping at Mary when she walks out of the sitting room when they were talking about Pamuk's death.
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Series 3
When Coras' mother is visiting, Lady Grantham has this gem.
Lady Grantham: I'm so looking forward to seeing your mother again. When I'm with her, I'm reminded of the virtues of the English.
Matthew: But isn't she American?
Lady Grantham: Exactly.
Martha arriving in Series 3 Episode 1 and unleashing the bells of hell onto Downton with her American ways. Tis very funny.
While it happens in the middle of a very serious scene, this troper found it hilarious that Robert was commended for being smart enough to use modern methods to handle the finances at Downton, thus saving it from future financial ruin, after he spent several episodes fighting tooth and nail whenever Matthew tried to implement said methods.
New footman Jimmy is irritated when Carson introduces him to the Crawleys as James:
Jimmy: I was Jimmy to Lady Anstruther.
Carson: I don't care if you were Father Christmas to Lady Anstruther!
The clash between The Dowager Countess and Cora's mother, Martha Levinson. Played to absolute perfection by Dame Maggie Smith and Shirley MacLane. A proper, aristocratic British Matriarch + An eccentric rich American matriarch = fun for everyone!
This exchange between Lady Grantham and Sybil, right before Edith's wedding:
Lady Grantham: I really think you should go to bed. No bride wants to look tired on her wedding, that means she’s anxious or up to no good.
Edith: I won't sleep a wink.
Sybil: Tonight or tomorrow?
Lady Grantham: Sybil, vulgarity is no substitute for wit.
Sybil: You started it.
It's EVERYTHING that Sybil does in this scene that sells it. She raises an eyebrow, smiles to herself when she hears "I won't sleep a wink", looks straight at camera, says her line then drinks her tea while looking away. ITS HILARIOUS.
Although this is a little sad in hindsight, when one realizes that Edith is once again the least fortunate sister even in this regard. Consider that Sybil's marriage to Tom, a handsome and fiery rebel is clearly passionate, considering how quickly she got pregnant, Mary has married the dashing and romantic Matthew and the first two episodes of season 3 made it clear that their relationship certainly does not lack passion. This impending marriage, on the other hand, does not seem likely to yield much in that department.
Becomes a "Funny Aneurysm" Moment after Edith is jilted at the altar
As everyone discusses the deadly serious topic of Branson's involvement in the burning of an English family's castle in Ireland, Violet can't help repeatedly bringing up how ugly the place was.
This exchange (about Thomas after he was outed)
Mrs Hughes: Do you think he's the first of. . .that type I've met?
Carson: I should hope so!
The Dowager Countess' disdain for the new-fangled dinner jackets.
Violet: Certainly not! Oh, do you think I might have a drink? (turns and sees it's Robert) Oh, I'm so sorry. I thought you were a waiter.
Robert Crawley, Earl of Nonchalance:
Robert: If I'd screamed blue murder every time someone tried to kiss me at Eton, I'd have gone hoarse in a month.
The look on Bates's face afterwards isn't too bad either.
Robert cementing himself as not the brightest man by suggesting he invest the family's finances with an American chap named Ponzi.
Even better, you can see Matthew facepalming at the suggestion.
Molseley dancing like a maniac after being hit by the liquor meant for O'Brien.
Robert and Violet awkwardly trying to pose for a photo with the Catholic priest who baptized Sybbie.
Cora: Are you afraid you will be converted while your back is turned?
How utterly obsessed with the cricket match Robert becomes. Thomas is allowed to keep his job mostly because he's good at the game and he is only willing to get on board with Matthew and Tom's plan to save Downton if Tom plays for the house team. He is making major decisions with long lasting repercussions purely based on fielding a team.
The following sentence comes out of Violet Crawley's mouth: "You've been reading those communist newspapers again".
Edith knows what the Scarlet Letter is. This isn't shocking - she's young and yearning for love. But the fact that Isobel (as she doesn't query the meaning like Violet does) and Mrs Hughes have read it is rather funny.
The Running Gag of Violet constantly, basically as a reflex, calling Tom "Branson" instead of by his first name. Branson is how one would properly address a chauffeur but as Tom is family now it is proper to call him by his first name. When Violet suggest Tom be made the estates agent she points out the added benefit being she can now go back to calling him Branson.

Series 1
"What is a week-end?"
And, of course, nearly falling over in the swivel-chair:
Lady Grantham: Good heavens, what am I sitting on!?
Matthew Crawley: Er..swivel..chair.
Lady Grantham: Another modern brainwave?
Matthew Crawley: Hardly. They were invented by Thomas Jefferson.
Lady Grantham: Why does every day involve a fight with an American?
"In situations such as this one can normally find an Italian who isn't too picky."
Let's not forget this gem, after Pamuk's death:
Lady Grantham: Of course it would happen to a foreigner. It's typical. No Englishman would dream of dying in someone else's house - especially somebody they didn't even know.
And when discussing the scandal with Cora
Lady Grantham: We can't have him assassinated. . .I suppose.
Daisy (the lowest ranking servant) actually believing she'll meet the Duke of Crowborough back in the first episode.
The Crawley's totally over the top reactions to Sybil wearing pantaloons. Downton's known for it's long reaction shots, but this scene really lingers on everyone: Cora seems on the verge of fainting, Violet is decidedly not impressed, Matthew is clearly enjoying the fun while poor Robert is just confused. Then of course you've got Branson grinning at the window, hinting he was in on Sybil's plan.
Mary's reaction is one of shock - but less "she's wearing pantaloons" shock and more a "you crazy idiot, you actually did it!" shock.
When Mary tells Matthew the story of Perseus, Sybil can be seen intently listening.
The darkly comic Mood Whiplash caused by Pamuk's death. From a passionate love scene to "He's dead. I think he's dead".
The reaction of Cora being woken up in the middle of the night to be told that she has to help Mary and Anna move a body halfway across the house. It's Black Comedy but the whole scene is awkwardly hilarious.
About Cora's pregnancy:
Robert: How could this happen?
Cora: The doctor will tell you the details by a glass of whiskey.
In the very next scene he appears in, he and the doctor are drinking whiskey!
The Dowager Countess' mini-rivalry with Mrs. Crawley is almost too much fun to watch. Their constant one-upping of each other often provides much-needed comic relief in an otherwise very dramatic series.
Violet: You are quite wonderful the way you see room for improvement wherever you look. I never knew such reforming zeal.
Isobel: I take that as a compliment.
Violet: I must have said it wrong.
After Mrs. Crawley accuses the Dowager of telling Mary to refuse Matthew until Cora's baby is born.
Dowager Countess: Your quarrel is with my daughter Rosamund. I told her to accept him, so put that in your pipe and smoke it.
Made even better by the quick shot of Carson's rather pleased reaction.
Mr. Carson's reveal of his shameful past as a stage performer, which to him seems to be on the same level as murdering someone.
And when he expects to be fired over it, Robert instead says he's rather impressed.
That said, Carson's stuffy nature can become so hilarious that it's an inside joke among some of Downton's residents. Among one of his more memorable moments is his practicing using the new telephone and getting in an argument with the operator.
Well, I dare say a lot of the things you do sound stupid to other people! *hangs up*
When Cora suggests Mary visit New York to cool off from the Pemuk scandal, Violet says she's not that desperate.
Mrs. Patmore unsuccessfully trying to inform Daisy that Thomas isn't interested in her. Daisy doesn't seem to understand what "He's not a ladies' man" and "he's a troubled soul" are supposed to mean.
"Daisy, may I ask why you are holding Lady Sybil's biscuit jar?"
When Cora says "Things are different in America", Violet says its because Americans live in wigwams.
Robert managing to say without a hint of irony how great it would be to have people serve your every need, while Carson is serving him dinner.
Miss O'Brien and Thomas get worried that Bates has planted the snuff box they stole in one of their rooms. Cut to O'Brien's room turned apart trying to find it. And Mrs Hughes at the door.
"Well you've been busy."
Violet is quite puzzled as to why Mary's so troubled by the Turkish man's death.
"One can't go to pieces at the death of every foreigner. We'd all be in a state of collapse whenever we opened a newspaper."
Mrs Patmore's cataracts cause her to accidentally put salt in the dessert. Despite the family being mortified at dinner, Mary immediately starts snorting into her napkin with laughter.
Cora tells Violet that Mary doesn't want to marry Matthew without telling him about Pamuk's death as it would be dishonorable.
Violet: She reads too many novels. One way or another, everyone goes down the aisle with half the story hidden.
Mrs Patmore's reprimands of Daisy are always priceless.
"Daisy! I sent you for a drink of water, not a trip up the Nile!"
Right before Mrs Patmore goes for her operation, she suggests that Daisy sabotage Mrs Bird's cooking so as not to upstage her own. Daisy obliges...by putting soap in the soup. And Mrs Bird switched the upstairs food with the servants', catching Daisy red-handed.
Mrs Bird also finds it Actually Pretty Funny, compliments Daisy on her loyalty and then sends her to get tomorrow's dinner.
Mrs Bird: You've not had a chance to spoil that yet, I suppose?
Daisy: I was gonna mix in some syrup of figs in but I've not done it yet.
At the last revelation you can see Gwen and Bates cracking up.
Thomas finds a silver lining in what almost happened.
"At least we'd have all been regular."
Series 2
Right after Matthew and Sir Richard have a fight, following Mary ending the engagement, and deciding to leave Downton Abbey first thing in the morning:
Sir Richard: (to Lady Grantham) I doubt we'll meet again.
Lady Grantham: Do you promise?
In the same exchange discussing the vase broken in the fight. Matthew apologizes for breaking it.
Matthew: Sorry about the vase.
Lady Grantham: Oh, don't be, don't be - it was a wedding present from a frightful aunt. I have hated it for half a century.
About Sir Richard:
Lady Grantham: It's not that I dislike him, I just don't like him.
O'Brien hazing Ethel.
Mrs Patmore and Daisy are at Sybil's request teaching her how to cook so she might be better prepared for her upcoming nursing/caretaker training. When Mrs. Patmore sees her first attempt she responds as she normally would as if she was talking to another servant.
Mrs. Patmore What in wonderland do you call that!? (Remembers who she is talking to)..I mean I do not fully understand what you are trying to do M'lady.
When Mrs. Hughes reveals that a person standing in the airing cupboard can listen to a conversation in the kitchen through a vent, so she knows why Bates suddenly left with his wife, Vera.
Carson: If I were a gentleman, I would not wish to know.
Mrs. Hughes: But you're not.
Carson: Fortunately. [closes door]
Carson, Anna and Mrs. Hughes stopping Tom's plot to throw slop on Gen. Strutt. They thought he was going to kill him!
Presumably, this was unintentional but it gets a few childish sniggers.
Robert: Still in one piece, thank God.
Matthew: Touch wood.
Robert: I never stopped touching it.
Tom arriving so he and Sybil can announce their engagement, unknown to everyone.
Tom: I'm here.
Lord Grantham: So, I can see.
Cora's increasingly horrified expression as the lovers explain their future plans.
Sybil gasping at Mary when she walks out of the sitting room when they were talking about Pamuk's death.
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Series 3
When Coras' mother is visiting, Lady Grantham has this gem.
Lady Grantham: I'm so looking forward to seeing your mother again. When I'm with her, I'm reminded of the virtues of the English.
Matthew: But isn't she American?
Lady Grantham: Exactly.
Martha arriving in Series 3 Episode 1 and unleashing the bells of hell onto Downton with her American ways. Tis very funny.
While it happens in the middle of a very serious scene, this troper found it hilarious that Robert was commended for being smart enough to use modern methods to handle the finances at Downton, thus saving it from future financial ruin, after he spent several episodes fighting tooth and nail whenever Matthew tried to implement said methods.
New footman Jimmy is irritated when Carson introduces him to the Crawleys as James:
Jimmy: I was Jimmy to Lady Anstruther.
Carson: I don't care if you were Father Christmas to Lady Anstruther!
The clash between The Dowager Countess and Cora's mother, Martha Levinson. Played to absolute perfection by Dame Maggie Smith and Shirley MacLane. A proper, aristocratic British Matriarch + An eccentric rich American matriarch = fun for everyone!
This exchange between Lady Grantham and Sybil, right before Edith's wedding:
Lady Grantham: I really think you should go to bed. No bride wants to look tired on her wedding, that means she’s anxious or up to no good.
Edith: I won't sleep a wink.
Sybil: Tonight or tomorrow?
Lady Grantham: Sybil, vulgarity is no substitute for wit.
Sybil: You started it.
It's EVERYTHING that Sybil does in this scene that sells it. She raises an eyebrow, smiles to herself when she hears "I won't sleep a wink", looks straight at camera, says her line then drinks her tea while looking away. ITS HILARIOUS.
Although this is a little sad in hindsight, when one realizes that Edith is once again the least fortunate sister even in this regard. Consider that Sybil's marriage to Tom, a handsome and fiery rebel is clearly passionate, considering how quickly she got pregnant, Mary has married the dashing and romantic Matthew and the first two episodes of season 3 made it clear that their relationship certainly does not lack passion. This impending marriage, on the other hand, does not seem likely to yield much in that department.
Becomes a "Funny Aneurysm" Moment after Edith is jilted at the altar
As everyone discusses the deadly serious topic of Branson's involvement in the burning of an English family's castle in Ireland, Violet can't help repeatedly bringing up how ugly the place was.
This exchange (about Thomas after he was outed)
Mrs Hughes: Do you think he's the first of. . .that type I've met?
Carson: I should hope so!
The Dowager Countess' disdain for the new-fangled dinner jackets.
Violet: Certainly not! Oh, do you think I might have a drink? (turns and sees it's Robert) Oh, I'm so sorry. I thought you were a waiter.
Robert Crawley, Earl of Nonchalance:
Robert: If I'd screamed blue murder every time someone tried to kiss me at Eton, I'd have gone hoarse in a month.
The look on Bates's face afterwards isn't too bad either.
Robert cementing himself as not the brightest man by suggesting he invest the family's finances with an American chap named Ponzi.
Even better, you can see Matthew facepalming at the suggestion.
Molseley dancing like a maniac after being hit by the liquor meant for O'Brien.
Robert and Violet awkwardly trying to pose for a photo with the Catholic priest who baptized Sybbie.
Cora: Are you afraid you will be converted while your back is turned?
How utterly obsessed with the cricket match Robert becomes. Thomas is allowed to keep his job mostly because he's good at the game and he is only willing to get on board with Matthew and Tom's plan to save Downton if Tom plays for the house team. He is making major decisions with long lasting repercussions purely based on fielding a team.
The following sentence comes out of Violet Crawley's mouth: "You've been reading those communist newspapers again".
Edith knows what the Scarlet Letter is. This isn't shocking - she's young and yearning for love. But the fact that Isobel (as she doesn't query the meaning like Violet does) and Mrs Hughes have read it is rather funny.
The Running Gag of Violet constantly, basically as a reflex, calling Tom "Branson" instead of by his first name. Branson is how one would properly address a chauffeur but as Tom is family now it is proper to call him by his first name. When Violet suggest Tom be made the estates agent she points out the added benefit being she can now go back to calling him Branson.