‘Downton Abbey’ season 5 character debate: Allen Leech and Tom Branson

When Tom Branson first surfaced on “Downton Abbey,” he was not anywhere near the same man that he is now. He was a man of lesser status who Sybil fell in love with, married, and then had a baby girl with. Unfortunately, this birth also ended up being the death of the character, which threw Tom headfirst into a situation where he was forced to question just who he was, what he stood for, and if he would ever be accepted.

We’re not going to sit here and say that Allen Leech’s character had the most eventful story of all during season 4, but there were some interesting developments. (In case you didn’t get the hint, there are spoilers for Americans below.) The path that was established for him at times during the Christmas Special in particular suggest that there are some great things ahead, and they are very much worth looking forward to.

When we last saw him – Tom was in a tricky position in that he was starting to develop feelings for a local teacher, but Thomas Barrow, feeling like he was not worthy of being a member of the upstairs family, took it upon himself to squeal to Robert about Tom taking the woman up to the gallery for a quick look around. He has started to also ponder a future in politics, and is continuing on his duties in helping to run the estate.

What could happen next – You have to believe that the story for Tom, Thomas, and Robert is far from over, as Tom will be forced to defend himself against accusations, and this could be hard given that Tom first had a relationship with Robert’s daughter. This could be one of the more interesting romantic storylines of the fifth season, as we also finally expect Tom to figure out just what his place in the world is … and whether or not that includes continuing to live at the Abbey with everyone who once took him in.

What we’d like to see happen next – This is one of those stories that we actually feel like is completely moving in the right direction as it is. The show is smart to show us questions of identity, and by the time the season 5 finale rolls around, we’d like to see him using some of the tools that he learned at the Abbey to help himself and establish a name beyond just the family that he married into. There is quite a big part of us that feels like this would be what Sybil wanted from him in the first place.

As always with this series, this is where we want to hear from you. Is there anything that you are hoping to see from Tom in season 5? Let us know your thoughts below.