baxter and thomas's relationship is so interesting and multifaceted.
thomas has a bleeding heart. he denies and denies and denies it, but just look at the way he interacts with sybbie and george. romantically, he falls hard and he falls fast - see the duke in season 1, or edward courtenay in season 2, and he is devastated when things end (the way he cries when edward dies... then when sybil dies... my heart).
he also helps phyllis find a job at downton.
and he says it's for blackmail purposes, and manipulation purposes, and it's like... sure, he does do that. but there's such an ache of kindness and fondness to his relationship with phyllis, that he decided to help a friend of his sister's he hadn't spoken to in years, and covers that up and is like 'well it's all just part of my dastardly plan'.
and the thing is. phyllis 'you won't let me be fond of you' IS fond of thomas, even when he is a bastard, and she doesn't let him push her away: she persists, and her persistence and kindness quite literally saves his life.
phyllis and thomas' friendship makes me soft and is one I adore; phyllis is in many ways a foil to mrs o'brien; she has thomas' best interests at heart and cares for him unconditionally, even when he makes him hard, whereas mrs o'brien's - who did care for thomas, don't get me wrong - care for thomas was conditional and tied in large part to what thomas could do for her.
phyllis, who knew thomas as a child, knew that he was a person worth fighting for and eventually broke through his mask.
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