When Thomas (Rob James-Collier) purposefully allowed himself to be shot in the hand in the war, he returned to Downton to resume his scheming ways with Cora's lady's maid Ms. O'Brien (Siobhan Finneran). After assuming an imperious amount of power over his former colleagues, Thomas eventually returned to work downstairs, finally climbing the ladder to fill in as Lord Grantham's valet for the jailed Bates. Thomas and O'Brien quickly reverted to their nasty tricks, occasionally showing their humanity — although those moments have been few and far between.