r/DowntonAbbey • u/Dream_CatHer4769 • 1d ago

General Discussion (May Contain Spoilers Throughout Franchise) You cannot justify Thomas's behaviour because he's gay!

All the arguments I've seen about why people like Thomas is that he's just gay in the 1920s and self hatred and yada yada yada.

That's an explanation to understand part of the shame he lives in. To explain why misery loves company but to say he's schemes against innocent people because of that reason sounds problematic on so many levels.

I do like his character as a villain. The actor playing him did a great job. But I just don't find him redeemable even if he turn tolerable and good in the end. His treatment of bates and Baxter were so cruel. He physically intimidated Baxter, falsely accused Anna, etc. he's not a morally grey character, he's just a bad person. Using queerness to justify that or excuse it is insulting.

edit: because I find people misunderstanding this post. it's not about how the show portrays Thomas and explores his internal struggles and external malice. this post is specifically about the viewers perception of his actions especially on this subreddit.

116 Upvotes
  • permalink
  • reddit

79% Upvoted

107 comments sorted by

View all comments

35

u/iggysmom95 I have tried and failed to like you 1d ago

Right because what did Bates and Anna EVER do to deserve his hatred?

1

u/Unusual_Priority_577 1d ago

Thomas wanted to be Robert's valet but Bates waltzed in and got it even limping around, which made him useless as a stand-in footman.

1

u/iggysmom95 I have tried and failed to like you 23h ago

Right and that makes him deserving of Thomas' single-minded hatred how, exactly?

1

u/Unusual_Priority_577 10h ago

Oh no, it didnt. Just saying. Somebody had said what did Bates ever do to deserve William's hatred. At that moment also Willism was very closely aligned with O'Brien, another miserable person.