clairetonkers:

Okay so I see all this “eww Branson is awful for leaving his family for a revolution” and well, first of all, this has not happened. Not yet, and most likely not ever. 

Secondly, I would call this a knee-jerk reaction. He’s been exiled from his country. Branson loves Ireland. He wants its freedom, desperately. He’s angry. At himself, at the authorities. He’s told that he can never go back, never see the place he loves again. He’s upset and he’s hurt and he wants to lash out.  He’s saying things like that on impulse. Branson is not a saint.  

He is not going to leave Sybil or their baby. 

He is upset. It may pass, it may not. But he would never abandon her. He would never not do anything in his power to devote every moment to Sybil’s happiness/well-being. 

That yes, Tom wasn’t really against violence against property, but he wasn’t the instigator of that plot and he didn’t set fire to the castle. It’s a bit like when you know there’s going to be a fight, and you go along, not because you want to get involved, but just because you’re curious. I mean, he’s a journalist, he’s aloud to be curious surely? Anyway, he made the mistake in not telling Sybil about those meetings and turning up to this castle, but if he wasn’t against violence against property before, then he is now. He learnt the hard way.

We shouldn’t be judgemental about what happened and about him, otherwise we’re no better than Mr Bryant. He made a rather costly mistake; a mistake he’ll be careful not to do again. You could see just how worried he was about the situation and about how this would affect Sybil. He’s trying to walk a very thin line between these two worlds, we can’t expect him to never put a foot wrong. He’s only human after all.

That Julian or Allen said somewhere (can’t remember where) that if he had to choose between his political activism for a while and his family, he’d choose his family.

Yes, sadly he will have to stop fighting for the cause, but at least the haters won’t be ablt to accuse him of being heartless and having the wrong priorities.

Idiots. I mean…haven’t they heard of innocent until proven guilty? And they accused him of what they’d suspected all along: wanting to go back to Ireland and fight the British yoke even if it meant giving up Sybil and her unborn child. Note the “her”.

Are we even watching the same show here Radio Times??

Sorry, but think for a moment. If he’d gone back to the flat to get her then she would’ve been in even more danger, and he knows that Sybil can manage by herself. Why don’t you?

And yes, Tom should’ve told Sybil about those meetings, but if he’s interested in the cause then you can’t blame him for being interested in what they talk about at these meetings. He knows he’s not going to get involved in violence, and he didn’t. The only mistakes he made was being at that place at that time, and not telling Sybil about those meetings.

In reply to a post saying that “Tom doesn’t change for Sybil, yet Sybil has to run away for him”.

There’s no reason for Tom to change. Tom doesn’t need to change to be like the aristocracy. That’s not who he is or ever will be and he shouldn’t have to try and be like them. Yes, he might have to go along with a couple of their traditions whilst they’re at Downton, but he shouldn’t have to change. Nobody should have to change if there’s nothing wrong with how they are. Secondly, Sybil doesn’t want him to change. If he did then he wouldn’t be the man she fell in love with. She doesn’t want an aristocrat as a husband, she wants him. She wants him for all his virtues and vices. If he changed then he would break her heart. Thirdly, yes Sybil did have to run away with him for them to be together, but that was her choice and that was something she willing did. She wanted to make that sacrifice in the end, because she knew that she would be getting something so much better in return. Don’t forget that Tom has made sacrifices for her too. He’s had to endure the hurtful comments he no doubt would’ve received from his friends and acquaintances in Dublin, the harsh judgement of all his family and friends. Many would’ve seen this as a betrayal and treated him badly as a result. He’s now having to be put in incredibly difficult social situations whilst staying at Downton, and he’s having to endure the endlessly patronising comments and remarks from her family. It’s no piece of cake for him either.

I think this comment is him basically thinking that Sybil is asking him to change into something he shouldn’t have to change into, and he’s hurt by that. He knows that he shouldn’t have to change, and he thought that Sybil knew that too, but he read  her comment to mean the opposite, and that hurts. That hurts when you think you know someone, but they turn out to disappoint you. This is what’s happening. He’s worried that she thinks he should change, when he shouldn’t change really.

(submitted by musee-hades)

Yet another piece of Sybil/ Tom defense

When it comes to Downton Abbey, I have always felt that Tom Branson and Sybil Crawley are two of the most likeable characters, with or without their relationship.  I am always surprised when I encounter so much Tom Branson hate.  I have been reading some fantastic Tom and Sybil defense pieces, and I thought it was time that I threw my hat into the ring.  I have trouble with a lot of the anti-Tom arguments that circle about the web and wanted to bolster my argument, and the standing of my OTP with one more supportive article.

A lot of anti-Tom sentiment comes from Downton lovers who say that he was far too pushy about starting the relationship and convincing Sybil that he was who she should be betting on.  I couldn’t disagree more.  Tom wasn’t pushy—he was confident, something that none of the other housestaff are allowed to be in front of the upstairs set.  When Tom confesses his love of Sybil at the hospital in York he spoke in such a way to take responsibility for what he was about to do, and also because he couldn’t afford to be wishy-washy.  While Tom knows that Sybil is a progressive, he isn’t under any illusions about who she is or who she was raised to be or the state of the world when he does his confessing.  He has to show Sybil that he is a contender right out of the gate, and that he is strong enough to be open with her, and strong enough to fight for her love.  Men are still expected to take care of their wives and he knows that if he marries her he’ll have to take care of her.  At this point he doesn’t even know if she’ll be successful in nursing.  He’s puffing up his feathers to prove to her that he isn’t just a chauffer, but that he is a capable man who will succeed and work for her happiness.

When he does this he has already known her for some time: they aren’t strangers, and they’ve shared a few things.  Tom already knows the state of Sybil’s mind and ideas.  He watched her help Gwen get a job, and he was the one who had to pull her out of the political rally, not the other way around.  (I am still annoyed that Matthew got all of the credit for saving Sybil.  I’d rely on Tom before I relied on Matthew for my life.(was that Matthew and Tom time a indicator of bromance to come??))  He has also seen her buck the system by wearing pants, (and inexplicably show up the window grinning like a dork.  How did no one see him?) and begin to cook (once again, Tom Branson stops to stare) and give up her life at Downton to become a nurse.  These are things that Sybil has done by herself.  She also speaks openly to Tom and respects his mind.  Tom Branson didn’t start playing headgames with her to force her to love him, he fell in love with who she was already.  More about the political rallys: when Sybil and Tom are at the first rally, watch Tom’s body language when Sybil talks to cousin Isobel.  He steps in to keep any of the men around her from grabbing or shoving at her.  He shoves at a few of them himself, struggling them off while he talks to her.  He is glued to her while aware of their surroundings.  She is able to enjoy the event and think and feel the excitement while her bears the burden of the threat around them—and he does so in a way which is friendly and kind, not over protective and overbearing.  Afterwards, in the car, the two have a good dialogue in which Branson can be honest with Sybil about his feelings on class discrepancies and she encourages him to be more than just a chauffer.  Of course he sees what she can’t yet—they are bonding.

Speaking of their past interactions: Sybil has already allowed Branson to become more intimate than a friend or a servant would be allowed to do.  At the garden party, when Gwen is given the news about her job, Sybil is holding Branson’s hand when Mrs. Hughes approaches.  You can see for yourself.  At 53:57 Sybil is clearly holding Tom’s hand after they’ve all hugged, and he’d put his hand on her waist when they ran to tell Gwen to the good news.  This is a good indicator for Tom that Sybil is in fact keen.  Tom would never have acted that way around Lady Edith or Lady Mary, that is for sure.  After Mrs. Hughes breaks up the celebration there is a moment when Tom and Sybil both look positively gaga for one another.

So, Tom tells Sybil to bet on him at York and she refuses.  Of course she refuses and of course it will take her some time to make her mind up.  The fact that she doesn’t run and tell her papa about Tom’s offer indicates that she at least cares about him on some level—and the fact that she keeps approaching him after she has sorta rejected him is a good indicator of her feelings rather than his.  He never corners her or is forceful.  Sybil returns to the garage over and over again to speak to him, not the other way around. 

I’ve always been really annoyed that Lord Grantham was so uptight about Sybil and Tom’s impending marriage—especially since he has been having an affair with a housemaid.  He can go and fool around with the help, but when one wants to be with his daughter that is just too much to bear.  The way he treated Tom was truly awful—he acted so righteous when all of us know that he was running about with another girl!  I am probably hitting the mark when I say that ever Tom Sybil shipper was disgusted. 

Anyhow, I have rambled enough. 

(blogger note: Great defense here! Just to say, I agree that it’s very irritating that Lord Grantham couldn’t accept his daughter marrying the chauffeur whom she loved, yet was having an affair with the housemaid. Sadly, it was very common for married Earls and Lords to have affairs, let alone affairs with the help. So whilst it’s still very bad of Robert to do such a thing, it shouldn’t be shocking when considering the hypocritical standards of the time. A rich man could cheat on his wife and get a divorce if his wife cheated on him, yet a poorer woman like Vera couldn’t cheat on her husband and couldn’t divorce him if he cheated on her.)

Just saw someone say that “it’s fine to have principles, but no one asked you to marry into the family, and now you have to live by some of their rules. What a prick.”

True, no one asked him, “hey would you like to come and become part of this aristocratic family?” but come on, he would’ve much preferred that Sybil was from a “common” family. He didn’t chose her family, and neither did she. Yes he has to live with the decision to marry her and consequently become part of that family, but nobody wants to change who they are when it’s not necessary. He doesn’t want to assimilate into this way of life, and that’s fine. Nobody should be made to. Yes, he may have to go along with a few of their traditions while he’s at Downton, but he shouldn’t be made to follow their “rules”. If their “rules” come into direct opposition to his principles and values then he shouldn’t be made to change them. I doubt if they came round and visited them in their life in Ireland, Tom would ask them to change who they are.

I fail to see how standing by their character and making sure that no one tries to turn them into something they don’t want to be suddenly makes them “a prick”.