One moment Matthew Crawley is in a horrific car crash, feeling his neck snap and his life end. The next he is years in the past, before he came to Downton and given a second chance to relive his life. But Matthew refused to be passive and decides to alter history itself to ensure he, and those that call Downton Abbey their home, their happy ending.
Authors of Our Own Fate is a Downton Abbey Peggy Sue fic written by Mr. Chaos and can be found here
. Told using revolving POV chapters, it focuses on how Matthew will alter the events of the series to prevent the heartbreak and drama that came about in the previous timeline. The story is now one of the most popular Downton Abbey fanfics on Fanfiction.net
Spoilers will be unmarked through the end of "Series 1" (Chapters 1–30) except for the major twist.
Authors of Our Own Fate provides examples of:
- Adorably Precocious Child: Lillian Crawley is barely over two years old, but she makes every effort to speak clearly and properly, and gets visibly annoyed if anyone speaks Baby Talk or points out the obvious to her.
- Actually Pretty Funny:
- In the past, Thomas once confessed to Matthew (when he was on the wheelchair) how he got his hand shot so they would send him home, thinking Matthew would get angry. And he did - because he couldn't believe he didn't try to do that himself.
- This bit from Chapter 11:Sybil: So… the price for saving William, keeping Thomas from being maimed, and you out of that wheelchair is dealing with Larry Grey?
Matthew: I'm afraid so.
(Beat)
Sybil: Was the wheelchair really that bad? It looked rather comfortable…
Matthew: (laughs)
- Adaptational Villainy: Both here and in canon, Richard Carlisle is an Affably Evil newspaperman with a taste for blackmail. But in canon, it was slightly tempered by his genuine love for Mary; here, due to Matthew courting Mary much more smoothly and Michael’s newspaper overshadowing his, he’s trouble for all three sisters. Especially when it comes out that he lied to Lavinia about having leverage over her family.
- Affectionate Nickname: Subverted. It is revealed that ‘Sybie’ was a nickname Cora used for Sybil that she hated. When Matthew reveals to her that her daughter went by that, she’s less than thrilled and takes every chance afterwards to insist that she's not naming her daughter that.
- Alcohol-Induced Stupidity: The story has a tendency of showing characters nursing a bottle at their lowest points. For example, Robert's argument with Matthew over the war might have gone better without his previous drinking.
- All for Nothing: Robert's shunning of most of his family was in part brought on because he thought that with Cora's pregnancy, he'd finally have the son to inherit Downton he always wanted. Then we cut to mid-war, and instead, he got a fourth daughter.
- Altar the Speed: Mary declares her intention to marry Matthew the very next day, because after her father decided to disown Matthew as his heir for not going to the front lines of the war, she doesn't want her father to preemptively betroth her to someone else. The Lothrops are more than happy to arrange things.
- Alternate Universe Fic: Becomes this in the very first chapter when Matthew returns to the night the Titanic sank. As soon as that event proves that he hadn't gone mad and dreamed everything up, he quickly decides to change things, and the changes quickly spiral.
- And That's Terrible: Matthew points out if Allen goes to Downton instead of him, the confrontation would end with he and Robert throwing punches at each other. Then he notices Mary starting to hum at the idea.Matthew: And that would be bad, Mary, that would be very bad.
- Armchair Military:
- One of the things General Lothrop hates about Robert is how he acts pissant about people not joining the war effort when he hasn't left Downton since the beginning of the war, enjoying the benefits of being an officer while not having the responsibilities of actually being one.
- A solider who has gotten fat in recovery doesn't take kindly to Matthew commenting that he needs to exercise and lose weight, calling him one of these for staying off the front lines. Matthew calmly removes his jacket and starts doing push-ups, and after the soldier realizes the challenge and subsequently fails to keep up, Matthew tells him and his friends that he understands everything the men are going through and is doing everything on his end to get them the best equipment they can get.
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: In Chapter 7, Sybil remarks on Matthew flinching at her saying ‘Turkish prick’ (Kemal Pamuk) when they had “survived a war, our own deaths, and Mrs. Patmore putting salt in the pudding”.
- Ask a Stupid Question...: In Chapter 14, when Mary is wanting to be alone and Sybil enters her room:Sybil: Mary?
Mary: No Sybil, I'm really Edith in disguise. I finally decided that I wanted to be Mary so much I'd change my appearance to look like her. (sigh) I'm sorry, darling, that was rude of me. - As You Know: Averted.
Word of God states he disliked this trope in the Downton Christmas special and thus decided to handle the information dump more naturally. - Badass Family: Lt. General Allen Lothrop and his family definitely count. When the General is almost murdered, his wife, his sons and daughter, and their in-laws all grab guns and prepares for a bloody confrontation.
- Bait-and-Switch: Tom's Irish drinking buddies, after ribbing him for his relationship with a proper "English tart", are dumbfounded when their honorable friend calls over a hard-drinking lass in the bar and snogs her in front of everyone. Said lass, after laughing at their shock, switches her Irish brogue for a cultured English accent, and introduces herself as Sybil Crawley.
- Balancing Death's Books: In Chapter 49, Sybil fears this might be the case with herself, Matthew and Michael, as they all seem to have died in the previous timeline at the same time their children were born, meaning that the price for their resurrection might be the non-existence of their children in this new timeline. It's reinforced further with Violet, whose own journey to the past was the day of her granddaughter's birth and her own death at her son's hand.
- She also fears this when Mary, Edith and Tom all fall sick with the Spanish Flu.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: Thomas to Sybil and Anna starting in Chapter 14, when they stop Pamuk’s attempt to out Thomas as gay. Thomas realizes they both know and don’t care, and he makes it clear to Anna he won’t forget the kindness they’ve shown him.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Matthew getting to go back and correct the mistakes of his past? Great! Having to see his wife hate him all over again? Not so great.
- Berserk Button:
- For Sybil, it is Mary and Edith bickering, as it finally gets on her last nerve and causes her to yell at them to knock it off.Sybil: Oh, would you two just bloody spit it out! We're all sick of you dragging these stupid games on! Other people have lives you know and the entire universe doesn't center around you two and your constant bickering!
(Beat)
Thomas: Glad someone finally said it. - For Mr. Carson, it is insulting Mary. When Pamuk calls her a whore, he immediately punches him.
- For Sybil, it is Mary and Edith bickering, as it finally gets on her last nerve and causes her to yell at them to knock it off.
- Beta Couple: Anna and Bates, then Sybil and Tom, as well as Edith and Michael.
- Beware the Nice Ones:
- Future!Sybil. She drugs Larry Grey with the same pill he, in the future, used on Tom as revenge and later plans Pamuk’s murder, hiring Bates to do it. She states she would have done it herself, but didn’t know how to find time alone with him.
- Matthew as well. He's quite the nice chap, but threaten someone he loves, and he will be very willing to smash your head with a fire poker.
- Big Fancy House: Kind of comes with the story.
- Blackmail: Pamuk does this to Thomas, just like in canon. When Pamuk tries to use it as blackmail against Robert so he won't reveal his attempted rape of Mary, Sybil laughs it up and defuses the situation.
- Blind Mistake: Mrs. Patmore's eyesight problems start to appear in the lead-up to the Winter Dinner.
- Bloodier and Gorier: In the show, Pamuk dies offscreen, and we just see his bloodless corpse. Here? Chapter 16 shows every moment of how Bates assassinates him at Sybil's behest by not only giving him a heroin overdose but also making sure there is an air bubble in the syringe. To make it worse, Pamuk is the POV character for the chapter, and we get to experience his death with him in horrid detail.
- Bluff the Impostor: Bates acts charming towards the false Patrick and gets him to say that he knew Bates well... and then Bates reveals that he joined Downton's staff the same day that the news broke of the Titanic sinking, and since Patrick Crawley was on board, there is no way for even the real Patrick to know or be familiar with Bates.
- Break the Haughty: From the end of Series 1 to halfway through Series 2, Robert refuses to consider the possibility that he was wrong for disowning Matthew due to the latter's unwillingness to fight on the front lines of the war. This despite having his daughters, Thomas, and eventually even Cora choosing the latter over him. But in Chapter 45, at a gathering of his high society friends, he rants about Matthew and his daughters for the umpteenth time. And it is not until every single person there scorns him for despising that he not only still has his entire family alive and well and unbroken by the war, but is the only one out of all of them who does, that he finally realizes exactly what his pride and stubbornness had cost him.
- Break Them by Talking: Matthew and Thomas, working for General Lothrop's War Economics office, double-team an automotive factory owner named Rutter, who tried to take the funds given to him to produce military vehicles and use it instead to line his own pockets and prepare for when he can produce luxury cars again, by pointing out a clause in his contract that forces him to refund half their down payment if he doesn't meet a quota of produced vehicles by a certain deadline (which is coming up in 12 days) while still keeping him on the hook to manufacture all the equipment. Not only do they intimidate him into soiling himself, but shortly after they leave, Rutter decides to eat his gun instead.
- Butterfly of Doom: Matthew realizes that upon averting his being sent to the front lines of World War I, Larry Grey was sent there instead, went crazy with paranoia, and ordered his squad to charge against the British lines, directly leading to the loss of several men, Grey getting paralyzed, and William Mason getting mortally wounded.
- Butt-Monkey:
- The author REALLY doesn’t like
Daisy, showing her as little more than an annoyance to everyone, including normally friendly servants like Anna. Though aside from one part in Chapter 15, the worst of it comes when Mrs. Patmore is taking out her growing blindness on everyone around her, a problem that's later fixed. - Ethel appears to take Daisy's place in Series 2, due to being far less dedicated to her job and far more bold about it. O'Brien's perspective even shows her respecting Daisy far more than Ethel.
- The author REALLY doesn’t like
- Call-Back: In Chapter 39, Bates has a policy of locking the Gratham Arms' doors at night because a certain Turkish diplomat showed him people were at their most vulnerable when they thought themselves safe. He'd know better than anyone, as the assassin in question.
- Calling the Old Man Out: Matthew to Robert after the latter calls him a coward for not wanting to go to the front. Then Mary, Edith, and Sybil to their father after Matthew leaves.
- Card-Carrying Villain:
- Pamuk, BY FAR. The author notes that he sees Pamuk’s encounter with Mary as pure and utter rape. And when Pamuk is revealed to be a rapist, he goes completely mad.
- Carlisle is this as well with his abundant blackmailing schemes.
- Vera, as Chapter 60 makes clear, does absolutely everything out of pure hatred, mostly pointed toward John.
- Character Death: None that didn't happen in canon, but...
- The very premise is Matthew dying only to wake up alive and well in the past the day the Titanic sank. The same goes for Sybil and Michael.
- Kemal Pamuk, only this time, Bates assassinates him on Sybil’s command for his attempted rape of Mary.
- Character Development: Not as much for the returned, but after the war argument, all those who leave Downton for London undergo further arcs of growing independence, openness to the plight of others, and self-sufficiency.
- Chekhov's Skill:
- Matthew's experience with contract law gives him a way to avert his canon fate, as he hopes to be able to work for the Army to prevent them from being taken advantage of.
- Similarly, Matthew offers Thomas a job because he knows Thomas is precisely the sneaky kind of person who would be able to detect those of his type.
- Comic-Book Time: HIGHLY averted. The author has stated that the timeline, compared to the cast's actions, makes no sense and frustrates him to no end. He has stated he will take his time to explore the events of the story and let time move at a slower and more natural pace. This explains why the story takes over 20 chapters to reach even the halfway point of Series 1.
- Conflicting Loyalty: Mr. Carson suffers this after the falling-out between Robert and his daughters, torn between loyalty to his employer and loyalty to his dear Mary, trying to write explanatory letters to her but never finding the words.
- Confound Them with Kindness: Anna shows just how little she's affected by an imprisoned Vera O'Malley spitting vengeance against her and John Bates by simply saying, "It was lovely to meet you" with a smile and walking away. Even the Dowager is impressed while Vera can only rage impotently after them.
- Cool and Unusual Punishment: There isn't a law against Major Bryant having a secret tryst with a consenting Downton maid, but after he is caught in the act, Matthew declares that he has shown that he has fully recovered from his injuries, so he'll be shipped back to the front lines post-haste.
- Dare to Be Badass: After Carlisle finishes raging at Michael and Edith for Mary duping him into publishing false headlines and buying land in America that turned out to have no oil on it, Edith points out that this is an opportunity to be a big landowner and make his own destiny, and tells him to see it as such instead of raging at nobility he both scorns and wants to join.
- Darker and Edgier: Invoked yet also subverted. While the story is avoiding several of the major dramas of the series, these changes are causing NEW dramas to pop up, which tend to be rather graphically described.
- Deadpan Snarker: Mary, just as in canon.
- Deathbed Confession: With some prompting from his father, William Mason testifies to witnesses that his commanding officer Larry Gray went mad with paranoia, thought his commanding officers were sabotaging him, and turned his squad against the British lines to "kill the traitors".
- Death Glare: When Matthew realizes that Pamuk raped his wife in the previous timeline, he gets a glare that reminds the readers of Bates’ death glare to Mr. Greene from the series.
- Defrosting the Ice Queen: Much of the first two ‘arcs’ are about Matthew getting Season 1 Mary to see him as her Season 2 and 3 self did. By the time Matthew saves her from Pamuk before he can rape her, he has succeeded, and the two are now on much better terms, even sharing a kiss.
- In the aftermath, Mary becomes a lot happier and open, apologizes to Edith for being such a horrible sister and resolves to do better.
- Matthew also takes the time and effort to get Edith to become nicer, while also ensuring she won't try to go after him.
- Description Cut: After a debacle of a convalescing soldier and a Downton maid being caught in flagrante delicto, Mr. Carson laments Lady Sybil having been exposed to such vile, immoral things. The scene briefly switches to a nude Sybil seducing Tom in their bathtub.
- The Diaper Change: Anna is astonished when she finds her guest, General Allen Lothrop, nonchalantly changing her and John's son Noah's nappy after commenting that John was doing it wrong. He even manages to intercept Noah's Tinkle in the Eye attempt, saying that he has experience from changing his own two sons as he and his wife didn't want to hire a maid at the time.
- Dissonant Serenity: When she meets Kemal Pamuk, Sybil is all a cold mask on the outside, but inside she struggles not to rip out the man's intestines with her bare hands. As is, she (barely) restrains herself to "accidentally" cutting his hand with one of her (purposefully-sharpened) nails, and then dropping a Stealth Insult on him while acting "concerned".
- Also, Bates while he kills Pamuk in a way that looks like an accidental overdose.
- Allen Lothrop manages to hold himself together quite well during the Army dinner in Downton when all he wants to do is to punch the daylights out of Robert Crawley for what he has done to his daughters and Matthew.
- Double Standard: Sybil brings this up concerning Kemal Pamuk’s "relationship" with Mary. She states that people forgive men for having sex outside of marriage as they can’t control themselves while women who do the same are shunned... yet women are seen as the weaker of the species.
- Thomas thinks Carson engages in this when he tells him not to bully William, whereas back when Thomas joined the household, he underwent the same thing at the hands of the older men.
- The issue of women's growing role in society is discussed, as many characters point out that women are usually held up to standards that are not applied to men.
- Draft Dodging: In order to avoid being sent to the frontlines during the War (which ended with him getting paralyzed for several months in the original timeline), Matthew manages to meet General Allen Lothrop, who is a member of the War Economic Board, and gets himself and Thomas jobs as part of the war effort to inspect potential swindlers. Unfortunately, this causes a rift between him and Robert (who thinks War Is Glorious, doesn't realize the horrors that are about to be unleashed in Europe, and calls Matthew a coward for not enlisting) which leads to Matthew and Robert's daughters leaving Downton Abbey.
- Driven to Madness: When things come undone for Pamuk, he devolves into ranting and raving.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: The whole point of the story is Matthew working to get him and Mary together, preventing all the drama that happened, and save himself, Sybil, and William.
- Easy Logistics: Averted. Matthew works for Lt. General Lothrop's office of military supply and reclamation, working hard to make sure all the required military equipment, from thick-soled boots to cooking oil, is produced to required standards and sent to where it needs to go. Given his memories on the front lines in the previous timeline, Matthew knows the agony of the rank-and-file of having insufficient/substandard supplies, and as a result he has very little patience for any scalper or cheapskate trying to do a slapdash job and skim off the top.
- Establishing Character Moment: It's rather well-established before this, but Sybil arranging Pamuk’s death in Chapter 16 cements that she isn’t the Sybil of Season 1.
- Everyone Has Standards: Two muggers try to accost Isobel on her walk home in the early morning, but stop when they see her nurse's uniform and just tell her to get home quickly instead.
- Everyone Can See It: After Isobel invites Richard "Dickie" Grey to live with her for company in order for him to process one of his sons murdering the other, Catherine points out how painfully obvious it is that the two of them are courting.
- Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!:
- Thomas and Jonsey, while discussing the actions of Thomas's jumped-up subordinate Corporal Gregory Dunning and his new paramour Millie who just tried seduce/blackmailing him and Bertie, eventually work out that they are trying to gain access to his job at General Lothrop's war requisitions office, with all its important contracts detailing what equipment needs to be requisitioned and where it needs to be sent, because the woman is most likely an enemy spy.
- Anna, Mary and Jenny Lothrop are wondering what Allen Lothrop was doing on the top floors of the manor before he got pushed off the second floor balcony, when they realize the only other thing on this floor is the children's nursery. When they run in, they find an unconscious maid and an absence where Lillian Crawley is supposed to be.
- Faint in Shock: Carson does this upon seeing Lady Sybil after two years of her living in London, not knowing she was coming back to Downton to be the head matron of its new convalescence center.Matthew: I get the feeling not everyone knew we were coming.
- Family Honor:
- On his deathbed, Allen Lothrop's uncle told him that it was now up to him to restore the family honor as Lord Oakheart, since his own daughters (Allen's cousins) had utterly sullied it by being a vain, arrogant and violent snob in one case and a promiscuous harlot in the other's. The General is very reluctant, and half-wishes the War will go on longer so he doesn't have to take the title, but he will do so as is his duty, and will keep the title out of his sons' lives for as long as he can to spare them the pressure of noble life.
- Foreign-Language Tirade: Or in this case, "Foreign Accent Tirade". Whenever Sybil loses her temper enough to become Lady Swears-a-Lot, she always does so in a rough Irish brogue that she got from her Irish radical husband in the old timeline, even in the privacy of her mind.
- Foreshadowing: Several readers noticed that Sybil was acting differently in the first few chapters. She soon reveals that she also traveled back in time at the moment of her death and has been doing the same thing Matthew is doing.
- Four-Temperament Ensemble: The Crawley girls.
- Mary is Choleric.
- Edith is Melancholic.
- Sybil is Sanguine.
- Lillian is Phlegmatic.
- From the Mouths of Babes: Played for laughs; the Crawley household gets in a tizzy when they realize they haven't told Cora's mother Martha about Mary and Matthew's wedding for two whole years, and they hit on the idea of using the young Lillian Crawley as a distraction. The Wise Beyond Their Years girl in question doesn't appreciate being used as such, and the moment she meets her grandmama, immediately says "I'm the distraction".
- Grammar Correction Gag: As Gregory Dunning tries to impress to General Lothrop that he is meant for bigger things, his colleague Bertie Pelham takes the opportunity to correct his grammar and give him a good needling in the process.
- Genre Shift:
- For the subplot regarding Bates's ex, it becomes a revenge/spy thriller with the P.O.V. of the villain.
- The arc of Chapters 86-91 turns the plot into a Ten Little Murder Victims-style Murder Mystery that could be titled "Murder at Cavenham Park", involving the attempted murder of Allen Lothrop and the actual murder of Larry Grey, with storms cutting off the phone lines and making travel and rescue treacherous.
- Get Out!:
- Robert yells this at General Allen Lothrop during his “The Reason You Suck” Speech at how he doesn't understand the horrors of war and how his stubborn refusal to understand has driven his daughters and heir away. Allen gladly does so... and all of the military men that Robert wanted to curry favor with go with him.
- Tom tells the fake Patrick to "Run" after he and John catch out the confidence man in his lies, at gunpoint for good measure.
- Getting Sick Deliberately: Variant; as General Lothrop changes Anna and Bates's son's diaper, John points out that he was hoping that baby Noah would mess up his uniform, give him an excuse to return to London and "conveniently" miss the train back, since he really doesn't want to attend Robert Crawley's party on account of what he did to his daughters and Matthew. Lothrop isn't happy at being called out, while Anna is frankly surprised that the General didn't just bounce Noah until he vomited.
- Gilligan Cut: Anna and John agree that having even an hour or two for themselves at the fair would be great. The scene then cuts to Mary telling her that no, they are to have at least an entire morning to themselves.
- Giver of Lame Names: The first item on Matthew’s Grand List Of What To Change Now That He Has Found Himself In The Past is to find a better name for the list. He hasn't really bothered with that one.
- Gondor Calls for Aid: The Pamuk Incident. Future!Sybil purposely placed herself in Mary’s room and hid when Pamuk arrived. When he tries to rape Mary, Sybil brains him with a vase and then screams, summoning an already waiting Future!Matthew along with William, who then summon the rest of the family, Mr. Carson, Mrs. Hughes, Anna, and Thomas.
- Good Old Fisticuffs: Carson when Pamuk calls Mary a whore. William joins in when Pamuk gets Carson on the ground.
- Groin Attack: Sybil delivers one to a handsy soldier named Major Charles Bryant back from the front lines who seems to think Downton is a place for seducing maids and nurses. She later refers to the event as "striking him in his Minor Bryant".
- Handicapped Badass:
- Bates. He uses his handicap to his advantage, allowing him to sneak about places and, when caught, claim he was merely trying to find the quickest way out due to his limp. Most people just feel sorry for him and let him go, not realizing he now knows how to get in and out of every building in the village and at the house.
- Violet is a lesser case, but aside from how unwise it is to cross her to begin with, she plays up her disability in a similar vein to Bates: she needs a walking stick to move, but she doesn't need to bang it as hard as she tends to do. It makes it far easier to sneak up on people when they expect that they'd hear you coming halfway across the house.
- Heel Realization: Cora realizes how rotten her behavior towards Matthew has been when she hears Mrs O'Brien speak scornfully about him.
- She later has another during the Winter Dinner, when she realizes that her pushing Edith and Sybil to marry now that Mary is engaged is a sign that she has not been the best mother for the two girls.
- Henpecked Husband: Downplayed. In Chapter 25, during the Winter Dinner, some of the male attendants agree that their wives are usually the ones who rule at home.
- He Was Right There All Along: During the Cavenham Park Murder arc, there is a frantic search for the young Lillian Crawley, as a witness to the murder that had occurred. In the end, they find her hiding under the unconscious General Lothrop's bed, while everyone was at his side, since she knew that even unconscious, he would protect her.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: When Millicent Travers kisses Thomas and cops a feel, purring that she knows his secret, Thomas is floored and paranoid about how she knows about his homosexuality. But when he overhears her kissing, feeling up, and saying the exact same things to his coworker, the guileless Bertie Pelham with not a secret to hide, his paranoia is replaced with confusion and suspicion that she is just pretending to know secrets and wonders what her agenda actually is, leading to him and Jonsey working out that she is a German spy.
- How They Treat the Help:
- In Chapter 8, Cora remembers once her mother quietly complaining about the food at a restaurant. When she hears another customer loudly yelling and embarrassing the waiter, she immediately leaps to his defense. Why?Cora: Why did you do that? You were complaining about the same things she was.
Martha: Yes. And then I got to see my own words and thoughts coming from another person and I found myself disgusted. - Matthew is also this, becoming extra-nice to Molesley to make up for his past life's mistakes and actually thanking Thomas when he corrects him on how dinner is served.
- Allen Lothrop as well: during the Army dinner at Downton, he thinks that the music is quite dull, but when leaving takes a moment to thank the musicians for their performance.
- In Chapter 8, Cora remembers once her mother quietly complaining about the food at a restaurant. When she hears another customer loudly yelling and embarrassing the waiter, she immediately leaps to his defense. Why?
- Hypocrite: Allen tells the women from the Order of the White Feather that appear in the Army dinner they are this, because, for all their proclamation about helping in the war, neither of them has enlisted to help as a nurse, to work in a factory, or to do any of the many jobs that men have been leaving to enlist. All they are doing is handing white feathers to unenlisted men and calling them cowards to shame them.
- Hypocritical Humor: Catherine jokes about Mary working out her stress by baking and kneading dough by saying that envisioning the faces of her nemeses in the dough wouldn't be very lady-like. Her husband Allen then asks if Catherine's method of handling things (putting characters in her novels that resemble people she dislikes) is lady-like.
- If Only You Knew: Upset at how his father is about to send him into exile for war crimes while holding up the common Tom Branson as a worthwhile man, Larry Grey snarks to his father that if he cares for Tom so much he should make him his heir. Later on, after Larry is murdered by his brother Tim, Richard Grey needs to find a new heir, and after some hard investigation, finds out that Tom Branson is in fact his closest male heir.
- If You Ever Do Anything to Hurt Her...: Anna is one of very, very few people in the world that Thomas Barrow cares about, as she is one of the very, very few people in the world who have shown him kindness. Thus, he has a few choice words for John Bates when he’s about to take her to the fair on their first date:Thomas: I haven't a sister to watch over, Mr. Bates. And I think she could do much better than you. But… for now you are the one she wishes to be with. I won't claim I am beloved in this house… but Anna is. I know you don't fear me, Mr. Bates, as I don't fear you… but you should fear what all of us will do if you hurt her in any way.
John: (nods) The only peace I'll know if I do hurt her is that she will have all of you to heal her. - I'll Kill You!: It would be far more comical if not for the fact that the time-travelers are very willing to kill to protect what they already lost once before.
- Matthew has every desire to kill Pamuk after learning he raped Mary, and may have done so had he had the opportunity. However, Sybil believes he has too much honor in the end, so she arranges for Bates to assassinate Pamuk. And the only reason she didn't do it herself is that she couldn't find an excuse to be alone with him.
- Carlisle elicits this response from Sybil late in series two, when she learns how he's blackmailing her once-and-future husband.
- Matthew silently vows this regarding Robert's apparent change of heart, since investigating as much is going to be separating him and Mary across the country.
- Inadequate Inheritor: When Tom Branson expresses distaste at inheriting the title of Baron Merton from Lord Richard Grey, Richard suggests that his brother Liam could inherit instead. Tom and Sybil's reaction is a Blunt "No", since for all that Tom gets called an "Irish Radical", Liam is worse, with too much love for drink and too little care for money, and would all too quickly accept the inheritance just to cause chaos.
- In-Joke: The incident of Sir Anthony getting fed a salty pudding at dinner (this was when Mrs. Patmore was losing her eyesight) at uttering "Good God!" becomes this for Mary and Matthew, as when they get served a pudding at a restaurant, Matthew passes Mary the saltshaker and she mimics Sir Anthony's gruff exclamation.
- In Spite of a Nail:
- Matthew and Sybil can change a lot. But they're simply too small to prevent World War I; the most that they can do is prepare for the inevitable.
- Despite vastly different war experiences, Downton Abbey still becomes a war hospital later on, or more accurately, a convalescence home for injured soldiers.
- Of the 16 tasks on Matthew’s Grand List Of What To Change Now That He Has Found Himself In The Past, he accomplishes twelve of them perfectly, with two more taken out of his hands since Sybil and Michael also returned to the past. Only two were complete failures: coming up with a better name for the list, and saving William from dying in the War.
- Instantly Proven Wrong: In Chapter 56, Anna is trying to keep her temper, saying she has handled the worst fashion and clothing mishaps the sisters Crawley had to offer, and she will not be bested by her current challenge. Then her infant son Noah kicks off his socks yet again and Anna can only sigh in defeat.
- Interrupted Intimacy:
- Chapter 75 has the staff of Downton catch Major Bryant in the act of fornicating with Sophie, one of their maids (in front of her rival Ethel).
- One time a maid pops into Sybil's bedroom to tell her that the war is ending, and after the maid leaves, Tom pops up from behind the bed with only a pillow covering his nethers.
- I Resemble That Remark!:
- In Chapter 14:Sybil: Whenever something happens that doesn't fit into your carefully constructed model of how your life should go, you seal yourself away in your room, thinking that you are working through what happened when, in reality, all you are doing is repressing the pain and confusion, letting it fester in your heart till all you can do for the next few weeks is snap at people with cutting little insults, questioning their intelligence and claiming that you are nothing like that.
Mary: Oh, now you are just being silly. If you think that I do that, then…I…Ah. Quite.
Sybil: (smirks victoriously) - In Chapter 52:Matthew: You are being contradictory just to be contradictory again, my love.
Mary: I am not–(scowls) Very funny.
- In Chapter 14:
- Ironic Echo:
- In Chapter 8, Matthew has a verbal spar with Mary over the tale of Andromeda and Perseus, mentioning that the one thing that always invited the wrath of the Greek gods was hubris. Forty chapters later, Robert finds himself revisiting the same lesson, having experienced the consequences of hubris firsthand.
- A pair of quotes from the ends of Chapter 29 and Chapter 45:
- In Chapter 79, Carlisle calls Mary an arrogant fool of a noble that thinks the world revolves around her, assuming she was insulted that she was only periphery to his schemes of targeting Edith and blackmailing Tom and Lavinia to do so. Later in the conversation, Mary throws his idea back at him after The Reveal of her plot to discredit and bring down Carlisle's reputation.Mary: Did I? But how could I? I am merely the spoilt daughter of an Earl and now a mild-mannered house wife to a man of some small importance to the British Army. To believe that I would attempt to destroy a man of your standing because you dare lie to my friend and trick her into becoming your informant? Preposterous. Nearly as much as assuming that I would craft a plot that involved the creation of a play because you tried to blackmail Tom Branson. Or you sought to destroy my sister Edith. I think you should try your hand at fiction, Mr. Carlisle. Me doing such things... why... I'd have to believe I was the center of the universe to be bold enough to attempt such a thing.
- Irony: When Mary thinks about what her dream first kiss would be, it is described just like Matthew’s proposal in the Second Season Christmas Special.
- When talking with Violet, Cora expresses the idea of leaving for the United States for a time, but when Violet presses her to go visit her daughters in London, she mentions she couldn't go because of Robert and her daughter Lillian. Violet is quick to point out the irony in her statement.
- Robert feared that his friends would pity or scorn him because his heir Matthew wouldn't be fighting heroically on the frontlines. They scorn him, all right, but it's a painfully long time before he learns the real reason: he doesn't realize how lucky he is for still having all of his family alive and healthy.
- It's All About Me: Matthew, as much as he loves Mary, acknowledges that this is one of her most disagreeable traits. Breaking her out of it is part of her Character Development.
- It's Not You, It's Me: How Matthew lets Edith down in Chapter 9. He does, however, tell her that he thinks she is meant for much more than just being a countess, and having her eyes opened to the possibility of her future as a modern woman of business neatly buries any negative feelings towards her future brother-in-law.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Some reviewers pointed out that Pamuk’s rant about how women are forced to be sexually repressed in England can come off as this. Of course, it still rings as a subversion since he's using it as justification for being a serial rapist.
- Kill and Replace: Subverted; Mary is momentarily alarmed when during her Near-Death Experience, the Mary from Matthew's old timeline says that she wants her second chance too, thinking that this trope is in effect. Her other self reassures her that this isn't the case and merges with her, giving Mary all of her memories from the other timeline.
- Know-Nothing Know-It-All: Corporal Gregory Dunning of Southsire is one of Thomas's subordinates in General Lothrop's office of supply and equipment, and as someone of noble blood, chafes at working under someone who he sees as lowborn. He constantly thinks he knows better than Thomas and tries to bypass him to give his suggestions directly to General Lothrop, leading to both Thomas and Allen getting annoyed with him and spelling out exactly why his logistical suggestions don't work. It doesn't help that a German spy named Millicent Finch noticed his Inferiority Superiority Complex and Honey Trapped him into stealing contracts from the office.
- Laugh Themselves Sick: Allen Lothrop laughs until his ribs hurt at Isobel's expression as she thinks about telling her son that she is courting Richard Grey.
- He also howls like a drunken sailor when Richard Grey, Lord Merton, finds out who will be his new heir now that his sons are both indisposed: Tom Branson. The idea of his dear friend's heir being a class-hating Irish radical who is also the son-in-law to one of his surrogate daughters almost makes him fall out of his chair with laughter.
- Like Brother and Sister: Matthew feels this way towards Edith and Sybil, and the feeling is mutual. Observers who see how in sync Matthew and Sybil are often assume that they are a married couple, an idea that
Squicks both of them out. - Make It Look Like an Accident: Attempting serious harm against the Crawley family or anyone they care for is a fatal mistake.
- Pamuk, who raped Mary in canon and tried it here, gets a nice Humiliation Conga at Downton before being kicked out. Sybil, however, doesn't leave it at that: she surreptitiously arranges for John Bates to assassinate him while framing him for drug use, making it look like an overdose.
- Vera "accidentally" dies on her way to the courthouse for her trial, falling into a bear trap and suffering for five hours before finally passing.
- The Missus and the Ex: Matthew still gets the awkward feelings in his mind when he sees his wife Mary being best friends with Lavinia Swire, his ex-wife from the previous timeline, even though this doesn't apply in this current timeline.Matthew: [thinking] This is all my worst nightmares rolled into one.
- Mock Surprise Reaction: While Thomas is talking with his roommate and lover Jonsey about what a woman named Millie could know about his secret, Jonsey plays dumb as to what the secret could be.Jonsey: And said that she knew your secret.
Thomas: At first I assumed that she had learned that I…
Jonsey: That you what?
Thomas: You know what.
Jonsey: Oh… right. That you snore. Yes, that would be something you'd need to hide. Wouldn't want others finding out about that. Not that? Perhaps then your appalling use of a knife and fork. For someone who worked at a great estate the fact that you hold your knife like you are about to fight off a Hun invasion…
Thomas: You know what I mean.
Jonsey: I swear I don't.
Thomas: That I am a homosexual!
Jonsey: [gasping] You… you never told me that! How could you not tell me something so important! All the time we spent together, kissing and fondling each other and making love and I never knew you secretly enjoyed the company of men! What will the Men's Gay Choir of London do now!? - Mood Whiplash:
- Sybil goes from beaming like the sun after sharing her first real kiss with Tom in this timeline, to frowning like a thundercloud when she sees Richard Carlisle in the same establishment watching them.
- The air is tense and triumphant when Tom and Bates chase the false Patrick out of Grantham Arms... and then Anna asks about Tom's admission that he and Sybil were married (in spirit), to Tom's horror.
- Mundane Utility: Chapter 21 shows that, at Carson's suggestion, Matthew repurposed skills he'd honed during the war for peacetime activities. For example, he'd honed his skills in lobbing grenades, and now repurposes them for Cornhole—sorry, Parlor Quoits, and that skill also translates into tossing rice bags at milk bottles at a carnival.
- Near-Death Experience: Mary goes through one after she falls ill with the Spanish Flu, briefly seeing the Pearly Gates and having a long talk with herself from Matthew's alternate timeline, gaining that set of memories in the process. It's implied the same thing happened to Edith and Tom.
- Never My Fault: Robert's introspective chapter post-Time Skip reveals he blames Matthew for everything that has gone wrong since their fight. Something that continues until his eyes are finally forced open to the truth.
- Nightmare Fetishist: Thomas's partner Jonsey has a rather odd sense of humor; he finds all the betrayal and death in Hamlet absolutely hilarious and doesn't quite get why Thomas isn't laughing too.
- Ninja Maid: Anna jokes that if Mary’s life is like a fictional tale, that makes her Mary’s plucky sidekick, and the two of them would spend their time solving mysteries.
- Noodle Incident: In Chapter 51:Matthew: It's just... you have to admit that you aren't the best when it comes to dressing.
Mary: We agreed never to mention that incident with the shoe.
Matthew: I still don't understand how you got it stuck in your—
Mary: Matthew... - Officer and a Gentleman: Lt. General Allen Lothrop is this. In addition to being the Ministry of Defense's head of Supply and Reclamation, he is in line to take the lordship of Lord Oakheart (despite his obvious reluctance), is willing to take in the Crawley sisters when their father kicks them out, and nonchalantly changes the diaper of his host's baby when visiting someone, calling it less messy and vulgar than the battlefield injuries he's seen.
- Oh, Crap!: In Chapter 93, the entire Downton household has a collective panic attack when they realize that in all the commotion of the feud, the war and everything else, none of them in the two or so years had told Cora's mother, Martha Levinson, that Mary and Matthew were married.
- One Drink Will Kill the Baby: Downplayed; Sybil, after winning a drinking contest, announces to the bar that since they're celebrating her pregnancy and her and Tom getting married that night, tonight will be the last night for her to get properly drunk for a while. No-one else in the bar seems to be bothered by her consuming alcohol while currently pregnant, even if she is stopping that night.
- Original Character: The key figure in Matthew’s plan to keep from going to the front lines of the war is one Lieutenant-General Allen Lothrop, to-be Lord Oakwood and the Ministry of Defense's head of Supply and Reclamation, meaning he oversees the contracts between the military and their equipment suppliers. Naturally, this makes him one of the single most important people in the country when the War begins, and with Matthew planning to use his skills to help him…
- Open-Minded Parent: General Lothrop turns out to be this when it's revealed that Jonsey, Thomas's gay lover and roommate, is his son. After hearing his son talk about Thomas the same way his other son Franklin talks lovingly about his wife Audrey, the General decided that he couldn't call himself a father if he didn't accept his son or the people he truly loved.
- Out-Gambitted: Vera Bates née O'Malley, Tom's ex-wife, gets two doses of this.
- Chapter 56 reveals that after evading the Pinkertons through the American West for more than two years, one particular hunter got the drop on her by hiding with a troupe then feigning injury from falling out on a wagon until he could shoot her companion in the foot and force her to comply at gunpoint, getting her shipped back to England.
- Vera escapes the prison ship in Chapter 60 as they near the shore, her only ambition being to ruin John's life. She schemes to kidnap his son, flee to the Continent, and raise the boy poisoned against his father so that one day he would kill him. Here's how that goes: as she's about to enact her plan, she's sold out by the companion who'd escaped with her, who had been a Boxed Crook all along, and is re-arrested for good. John and Anna face her for closure as she's going to trial, and Anna, completely unfazed by the woman's bitterness after dealing with Mary and O'Brien for so long, simply says it was nice to meet her before re-entering the house. And the last that Anna ever thinks of her is when she skims over a headline the following day about how Vera 'accidentally' died on the way to trial.
- Out-of-Character Alert: Sybil acts a bit oddly during the first dinner. It turns out she was also sent a decade into the past, and Matthew having his own Alert is clued her in that he’d gone back too.
- Parental Substitute: Lt. General Allen Lothrop and his wife Catherine become this to the three Crawley girls after their father kicks Matthew out and they leave Downton in solidarity. They put them up in their London home since their own adult children have all moved out, and when Mary decides to marry Matthew immediately, Catherine arranges things with their own family minister and the General walks Mary down the aisle. This even extends to Thomas after he starts dating Lothrop's son Jonsey, and when Robert finally mends fences with his daughters, he even starts to see Allen like a brother.
- Passive-Aggressive Kombat: The greeting exchange between Lord Robert Crawley and General Allen Lothrop at the former's military fundraising party is full of ire restrained by politeness, on account of how 2 years ago, Robert kicked Matthew and his daughters out of Downton for their opinions over the war, and the General was the one who took them in and housed them in London.
- Peggy Sue: The premise for Matthew, of course. Chapter 6 revealed Sybil was also sent back. And Chapter 26 reveals that so was Michael.
- This trope is even discussed in Chapter 74 after William's death, with Matthew and Sybil easing their feelings by imagining that he is waking up in the past and doing a better job of changing his destiny and improving the world than they are.Matthew: William would ensure there was no war at all! In fact, right now in his world there is a new era of peace and happiness! We should be rather humbled he has done better than us.
- This trope is even discussed in Chapter 74 after William's death, with Matthew and Sybil easing their feelings by imagining that he is waking up in the past and doing a better job of changing his destiny and improving the world than they are.
- Pet the Dog:
- One of Anna’s P.O.V. chapters has O’Brien taking charge of the downstairs since Mrs. Hughes is bone tired and Carson is in bed after Pamuk beat him up. She does so without being asked and tells Mrs. Hughes to go and get some rest. When Bates offers to fill in as butler, O’Brien has no complaints.
- Thomas then offers to take over William’s duties since he has injured his hand, so he doesn’t risk losing his job.
- Plot Bunny: After the author listed one of the alternate ideas for the story (focusing on a 100-year-old Mary traveling back in time to her young body instead) and it was picked up by another writer, Mr. Chaos began to include at least one plot bunny at the end of every chapter.
- Pranking Montage: Chapter 74 has Matthew and Sybil needling each other at breakfast with petty pranks for Sybil knocking Matthew out with sedative before he could kill Larry Gray, with Matthew over-browning Sybil's toast and putting the paper into the water pitcher when Sybil asks for it, and Sybil using up the cream before Matthew can make his coffee.
- Pre-Mortem One-Liner: Chapter 16 has John Bates give Pamuk the following line before injecting him with a lethal overdose of heroin:John: For all the fathers whose daughters you hurt. All the brothers who saw their sisters ruined. All the loves that were shattered because of your greed.
- Rage Breaking Point: Sybil gets her temper up when Dr. Clarkson says she needs to make a formal apology to Major Bryant (who she Groin Attacked for trying to hook up with Downton's maids) because his well-connected family is complaining, telling him she will do no such thing. Later, she runs into Sir Anthony, who says it's good of her to play some small role in the war effort (wrongly assuming she is just playing the hostess as a Downton lady) and she, remembering how he cowardly left Edith at the altar in the old timeline, blows up at him for his assumption, telling him she is the Head Matron of the convalescence home and that she doesn't need any respect or pity for being a woman, just space to do her hard work. Later, after accepting her father's change of heart and apology, she feels bad for berating Sir Anthony for nothing more than an innocent comment and finds him to apologize.
- Really Royalty Reveal: Chapter 101 has Richard Grey, looking for a new heir to the Barony of Merton now that his sons are indisposed, finding one in Tom Branson, former chauffeur of Downton.
- “The Reason You Suck” Speech: General Allen Lothrop to the women presenting white feathers to non-enlisted men (ostensibly calling them cowards), calling them out for their hypocrisy because it is obvious they aren't doing anything to help the ones that are actually fighting in the war or working to support it. Then at Robert, which he has wanted to do for a long time, for getting all gung-ho over the war when he has not been anywhere close to the frontlines to see what's going on while Allen knows the actual destruction and death the war is causing.
- In Chapter 45, Martin Edgecliff, one of Robert's friends, calls him out for choosing to rage about Matthew not being in the war and fighting with his family on the matter, not realizing how precious it is that his whole family is alive and healthy. He points out that everyone else at Robert's party has lost someone in the war, and they all wish their sons, brothers, fathers and loved ones had been as clever cowards as Matthew since it would've meant they'd still be around and well, while Robert could choose to see his daughters and heir but refuses out of pride.Martin: I kindly ask you... never talk to me again... if your greatest pain in life... is that your family lives.
- In Chapter 45, Martin Edgecliff, one of Robert's friends, calls him out for choosing to rage about Matthew not being in the war and fighting with his family on the matter, not realizing how precious it is that his whole family is alive and healthy. He points out that everyone else at Robert's party has lost someone in the war, and they all wish their sons, brothers, fathers and loved ones had been as clever cowards as Matthew since it would've meant they'd still be around and well, while Robert could choose to see his daughters and heir but refuses out of pride.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Matthew goes into this after witnessing William's death, having heard his testimony that Larry Grey's mad command of his squad had sent him against British lines. He smashes a chair against the wall, grabs a fire poker and goes to 'slay the monster', only to be stopped by Sybil and a syringe-full of sedative.
- Running Gag:
- It's rather understandable since the author is American, but for each of the first few dozen chapters, you see some variation of the phrase "as the Americans would put it..." at least once.
- Mary and Anna teasing about how they’re truly a detective and her plucky assistant solving crimes. It doesn’t come up often, but often enough to be noteworthy. Also foreshadows when Anna and Mary investigate the attempted murder of Allen Lothrop.
- Schmuck Bait: Once they find out that Richard Carlisle is sniffing around for a scandal and blackmailing their friends to get one, Mary Crawley and her circle lay a trap for him. 1. Stage a meeting that they know will be eavesdropped on between Cora Crawley and an American woman about how they are fleecing other nobles to get money to buy some oil-rich land in the American West. 2. Get Catherine Lothrop to write a farcical theater play about the very premise he overheard and send it to a theater director to be produced. 3. Wait until Carlisle has posted headlines in his paper about how the Crawleys are swindling the upper class. 4. Confront Carlisle and reveal that the "American" was Mary changing her accent and Cora was auditioning for a part in the play that will be opening soon, leaving Carlisle with headlines that can't differentiate between truth and fiction, a defamation lawsuit if he doesn't publish a retraction and apology, a spent fortune and acres of completely worthless land (since he actually bought up the "oil-rich" land for himself), and a henhouse's worth of egg on his face.
- Secret-Keeper: There aren't as many secrets as in canon, but by the very premise, there are some huge ones.
- Matthew and Sybil become this to each other, as they are the first two to recognize that they traveled back in time. Michael later enters their circle as well.
- Not even Matthew knows that Bates killed Pamuk nor that Sybil arranged it; the truth of his death is known only to those two.
- The end of Series 2 introduces Mary, Edith, and Tom into the secret circle as they were given some memories from the last timeline without forgetting this one.
- Violet confides in Albert Mason, William's father, that she is also a time traveller, sent back from the moment of her death, albeit in a way that makes him assume it was All Just a Dream.
- Secret Secret-Keeper: Chapter 49 reveals that Isobel wasn't as fooled as Matthew thought, keeping a record of every little inconsistency as it became clearer and clearer that he had somehow traveled through time; that chapter has her realize that Sybil came back as well. She has no intention of disclosing the secret, but has every intention of helping them.
- Selective Obliviousness: Robert comes up with any and every excuse that he possibly can, bending over backwards to rationalize his logic, rather than consider that he's wrong that Matthew is a coward for avoiding the front lines and his daughters still long to return to Downton.
- Sex Montage: Chapter 51 is also called "The Three Eldest Crawley Girls Get Laid" by the author, depicting the three sisters having their own nights of passion with their partners. And Mary also comments that Catherine Lothrop is doing the same to her husband.
- Sexy Secretary: Discussed and averted. Matthew notes that a common perception of the war office is that the upper brass has buxom secretaries waiting on their every action to go with their lavish, furnished offices, but in reality, his utilitarian, practical war office has the old, tough battle-ax Mrs. Reynolds as their secretary, who does a great job at chasing off any trivial meetings.
- Shell-Shocked Veteran: Matthew gets a flashback to his time as a captain on the front lines in the old timeline, but Robert thinks that Matthew was more affected by the news of William's severe injuries than he thought.
- Shipper on Deck: Sybil is one for both Mary and Matthew, and Anna and Bates. Mary joins in the latter after she realizes her own feelings for Matthew.
- Sibling Murder: Tim Gray is the one to murder his brother Larry Gray so that there is no chance he can regain his position as heir, as well as trying to grab Lillian Crawley for seeing him and throwing Allen Lothrop off the balcony for intercepting him.
- Significant Name Shift: After a Heel Realization, Robert encourages his former servants who have left his service and whom he is trying to reconnect with, like Bates and Tom, to call him by his first name.
- Slipping a Mickey: Larry Gray is once again involved, except this time Future!Sybil puts it in his glass as revenge for what he did to Tom in the future.
- Sneeze Cut: In Chapter 66, Matthew is reflecting on how Mary is the keystone when it comes to reconciling with Robert, equating her to an ogre guarding a bridge before vanishing the thought from his mind, lest Mary ever find out. Cut to London:Cora: Mary, are you all right?
Mary: (puzzled) Quite fine, mama. I suddenly had the strangest image of me guarding a bridge… and slamming Matthew against it for being a fool. - Stereotype Flip: Meta Version. Downton Abbey fanfiction is mostly written by women. Mr. Chaos is decidedly male (and often jokes that he is writing POV's for 60-year-old British women). Furthermore, he is writing a decidedly romance-focused story as well. Several reviewers have expressed shock at him being a male, stating he might be the only male Downton-fanfic writer on the website.
- Stranger in a Familiar Land: Sybil and Matthew admit to feeling this way when coming back to Downton being converted into a soldier's convalescence center, after spending two years in self-imposed exile living in London.
- Time Skip: While they do occur, it is nowhere near as bad as the show. Then Chapter 31 happens two years after Chapter 30.
- Time Travel for Fun and Profit: Taken seriously. Matthew decides to take advantage of his foreknowledge to first secure Downton's money so it won't be lost and then find a way to avoid going to the front for when the war begins.
- Took a Level in Badass: Matthew and Sybil, thanks to time travel.
- Matthew threatens Pamuk with a fire poker and makes it clear that he will kill him if he comes near Mary again.
- Sybil quietly arranges for Pamuk to be assassinated in such a way that not only looks like an accidental suicide but also causes him great pain and destroys his reputation forever.
- Let’s not forget William and Carson: When Pamuk calls Mary a whore, Carson punches him in the face. Pamuk gets him down, which leads to William tackling Pamuk and beating him so hard that William nearly breaks his hand.
- Took a Level in Kindness: Matthew strives to be a lot nicer to everyone else than the first time around. One of his first actions is to establish a closer relationship with Molesley, apologizing in advance for anything he may do that would be Molesley's job. During the first dinner, he actively tries to be friendly with them and engages in conversation with everyone. He is also much more open to understanding how important Downton is to Robert.
- Thomas becomes nicer, and while he still butts heads with Bates, it's more of a game of wits for the two of them. This also spreads to Mrs. O'Brien.
- To the Pain: When confronting a valet who might know who threw his father off a balcony, Jonsey tells someone to get Dr. Clarkson, since the valet is suffering a large series of injuries... or rather, he will be in a moment.Jonsey: Tell him it is rather serious. Broken clavicle. Shattered ribs. Perhaps a punctured lung. Seems he's rather clumsy... made so in his grief. Fell down some stairs.
- Touché:
- From Chapter 12, about Larry Grey:Matthew: Is there anyone who likes that man?
Molesley: Himself?
Matthew: Touché. - From Chapter 27, concerning how Sybil can become Lady Swears-a-Lot at the drop of a hat:Matthew: You'll get used to her being like this. Dying has made her more… open to expressing herself.
Michael: How long did it take you to get used to her?
Matthew: …touché.
- From Chapter 12, about Larry Grey:
- Tranquil Fury: After hearing from Lady Eleanor that her family is more than rich enough to pay off any debts and Carlisle was lying about having leverage over them to blackmail her, Lavinia goes into this state in realizing how badly Carlisle has hurt her life and will hurt others as well. So, she resolves to tear him down to ensure he can never hurt another again.
- Trust Password: Sybil tells Tom she's come from the future, and says all she knows about him, but Tom thinks Lord Grantham had someone do a background check on him. Then she drops the Wham Line about his father, and Tom ends up fainting.
- Undercover Cop Reveal: When Thomas is wondering what to do after working out that a spy is trying to access his office and all its important military contracts, his lover Jonsey goes to a nearby chest, pulls out a radio and starts talking in Spy Speak. Later, it's revealed he's an SIS agent assigned to find enemy spies.
- Verbal Backspace: In Chapter 100, Mrs. Patmore is snappish at Sybil coming downstairs and invading her kitchen, until Sybil points out that as long as she is down here, Mary (who has developed a love and talent for baking) has no excuse to come down herself and 'assist'. Mrs. Patmore pauses in thought, then sweetly says "Thank you for the company," much to the other maids' amusement.
- War Is Glorious: Robert believes this. Matthew knows it is not. This difference of opinions ends up causing a terrible row between them in Chapter 29, with Robert pretty much disowning Matthew and leading to the girls and Thomas leaving Downton to join Matthew.
- Wham Episode:
- Chapter 29: Some final fine points are being laid out before World War I begins. Sybil finishes her plan to get Gwen a secretary position, and Matthew hires Thomas on as his assistant in preparation for the war to keep him off the front. But Tom warned that when pushing time, it might push back. And with the war party winding down, time pushes back HARD. Robert accuses Matthew of cowardice by just helping with supplies rather than going to the front, and in their disagreement, Robert claims that once he has a proper son, he'll kick Matthew out of his life. In outrage, Matthew and his mother storm off, leading Mary to push back, angry at her father trying to cut a good man out of their life. And when Robert insists he'll never allow Mary to marry him and threatens to cut her off from his fortune if she doesn't accept that, Mary denounces him and Edith and Sybil do the same. Finally, Thomas quits on the spot and joins the sisters as they leave, having received a job opportunity from Matthew that will keep him safe during the war. Thus, going into the war, instead of a shaken family, it's a broken one.
- In Chapter 41, it turns out that Violet also came back in time, but decades ago, long before the 'trinity' of Matthew, Sybil, and Michael. Enchanted by a foreign prince, she abandoned her husband for fifteen years and lived as a royal paramour. When she finally attempted to return home, her son, molded into a monster by her husband's abuse, was so livid that he killed her. This being after he had killed her husband and moments after he'd killed his wife for giving birth to a daughter, nearly killing the infant as well. When she woke up, horrified at what her children had become, she ensured that that future never came to pass.
- In Chapter 49, it turns out that Isobel has figured out that Matthew and Sybil may have time-traveled.
- Chapter 72: Violet has figured out that Matthew relived his life too.
- Chapter 84: After fighting off the Spanish Flu, Mary, Edith, and Tom all wake up with memories of the last timeline, but with a merged consciousness rather than a continuous one.
- Wham Line: Several:
- Sybil gets two at the end of Chapter 6, toward Matthew.Sybil: When did you die?...My name is Sybil Branson. I died May 22nd, 1920... and I would very much like to know what happened to my baby.
- Chapter 15:Dr. Clarkson: Mr. Pamuk is dead... of a drug overdose.
- Chapter 19:Sybil: (to Tom) "You lied about how your father died."
- Chapter 26:Violet: It seems that Sir Michael had been seeing a Lady Elizabeth Moorehouse quite exclusively a year or two ago but he broke it off quite suddenly.
- From the same chapter shortly thereafter, when we learn there's a third time-traveler:Sybil: After all... it isn't like Matthew died in a car crash after returning from Duneagle.
Matthew: Or Sybil here died in childbirth.
Michael Gregson: (shocked, quietly) Or were murdered in Germany while seeking a divorce so I might marry Edith. - At the end of Chapter 39:"Sanctuary," Cora Crawley whispered, clutching a sleeping Lillian to her chest.
- At the end of Chapter 78, when Thomas is talking with General Lothrop about Jonsey, Thomas's lover and SIS agent:General Lothrop: I'd say he takes after me but honestly he gets it from Catherine. My boy... he is a cunning one.
- Chapter 83. After awakening following being struck by the Spanish flu, Mary finds herself wearing a dress someone claims is her favorite.Past Timeline Mary: I never said it was YOUR favorite memory.
- Sybil gets two at the end of Chapter 6, toward Matthew.
- What the Hell, Hero?:
- The first row between Matthew and Sybil occurs when the former hears that the latter had just outright told Tom about her coming back from the future.
- Most of the two years between Chapters 30 and 31 have been full of this for Robert.
- Wild Goose Chase: Lavinia gives Carlisle a ciphered message ostensibly from Lady Mary that might hold some important information, but as Mary discusses with Lavinia later, not only is the key to that cipher a book that Carlisle would never think to obtain, all that message contains is a recipe for blueberry pie.
- Wise Beyond Their Years: Young Lillian Crawley, despite being not even double digits in years, understands people in unique and cutting ways. It's her who identifies how tired Mary is at everything that has happened over the past few years.
- Sybil falls into this too after her return, with the extra decade of experience meaning that she thinks like a woman rather than a young woman.
- Yank the Dog's Chain: Thankfully averted with Molesley. Matthew makes sure to treat the man with respect, and by the time of the Fox Hunt, Molesley has gained plenty of self-respect and talks with Matthew much like how Robert and Bates do.
