#the thomas thorne affair

[almondcroissantsandink]

The Thomas Thorne Affair

[natjennie]

bbc ghosts without faces - s2e4 "the thomas thorne affair"

[ailendolin]

"He waited and waited. But she never came."

I always thought this line was about Thomas's dying moments but what if there's more to it?

Thomas, very noticably, barely moves after he dies. He lifts his head to look at the others but that's pretty much it. His reaction, of course, could be the result of shock - the pain from his wound, the realisation that he's dead and ghosts are real and he's one of them, and the pain of Isabelle's absence are quite a lot to deal with, after all - but I wonder if perhaps Kitty's words imply that Thomas stayed under that tree even after he died. At that point he still believed Francis was going to fetch Isabelle so why wouldn't he continue to wait for her?

So imagine him sitting under that tree next to his body, gazing towards the house with hopeful eyes. Imagine the minutes ticking by, turning into an hour. Imagine the other ghosts urging him to come inside and when he doesn't, leaving him there. Imagine the flare of hope inside his chest when someone finally comes, and the disappointment when he realises that it's only the servants. Imagine him watching them carry his body away and hearing them call him a fool. Imagine him staying behind, still waiting, still hoping for Isabelle to come. Imagine the sun setting and night falling and it dawning on him that she won't. Imagine him getting to his feet after all these hours and finding his way to Robin's nook because he can't bear to go into the house and face Isabelle there. Imagine him curling up on the bench and waiting for the sun to rise. Imagine him returning to the tree the moment it does on the off chance that Isabelle might want to say goodbye to him after all.

Imagine him waiting and waiting.

[undescribed1mage]

Btw

[sco07ut]

at the peak of his villainy, francis is still literally just some guy, curled up on the stairs in the dark. he’s everything

[ghostsbestepisodetournament]

Once again, the pairs have been done by a random picker wheel… it’s a tough round but may the best episode win!! :)

[parttimesarah]

Watch out for those cousins today…

[thornethepoet]

francis button defenders dni 🥱

[chaoticstemporaryname]

Listen I love classic BBC Ghosts episode The Thomas Thorne Affair with my whole heart but HOW does Thomas remember what kind of shoes his cousin was wearing?

[sinister-things]

The benefits of my dad being a former Lieutenant is that:

1. I know the majority of the military lingo the Captain uses

2. I know what type of guns were used in the Thomas Thorne Affair

3. The inaccuracy of the guns usage now PISSES ME OFF FOR NO REASON

4. I know how to OPERATE the aforementioned gun

[sparklingrainbow]

Thomas and Mary friendship

 I always loved all of his interactions with Mary as he was quite thoughtful with his words the time she wished to open up about her death, as well as not even once ridicule or call her out on her "imagination spots" like on "Thomas Thorne Affair" where he found ridiculous the idea of his audience being bored by his poetry rather than any of the other stuff Mary mentioned. Also, if I recall correctly, so far he was the only one who actively seeked for her 'pinion asides from Alison, to the point of sharing with her his least favorite authors. Would have loved to see that friendship developed.

[natjennie]

genuinely insane that they put the thomas thorne affair, an episode about the unreliability of memory and the bias of nostalgia and the art of spin and the fact that the person telling the story always irrevocably influences how the story is told, about being unable to adequately express your love to the right person, being separated from the person you most want to be with by trifling forces outside your control, about a fateful letter bait and switch. about being alone in the hour of your greatest need. right after the captain/havers story. are you fucking kidding me.

[ailendolin]

ive seen you discuss that scene in the thomas thorne affair where alison isnt paying attention to thomas as he tries to tell her about his death, and i think it's worth discussing the scene prior too. it's broad daylight when they unearth the musketball and thomas runs off, and it's night by the time he comes to talk to alison.

i can only imagine he's been alone that entire time since he ran off and clearly no one went to find him since theyre all just like "oh youre talking about his death? i'll join in!"

and when he says he wants to apologise for his outburst earlier that day and she goes "which one" and he responds that she's kind to make light of it, i feel SO bad for him cuz it's not like she was just trying to make light of it to lighten the mood, she was just actively annoyed he was there

i get that she probably finds him really annoying but like come on man have some tact, the dude was shot to death for crying out loud?? surely if ever he had a right to be dramatic about something, it's that??

Thank you for this ask, anon, and for giving me an excuse to talk about The Thomas Thorne Affair again!

I think the post you're referring to is this one where I wrote about how dismissive Alison is when Thomas comes to talk to her about his death and how she isn't even really listening to him when he starts his retelling of it. But you're right, we should absolutely talk about what happens earlier because the time jump is significant and says so much about him and his relationship with Alison and the ghosts. I think it's safe to assume that Thomas spent the time that passed between the opening scene and him seeking out Alison on his own. We know the ghosts don't go after him when he runs off upset - they didn't in 1x04 when he finds out the documentary is about Byron, and neither later in the same episode when he goes to 'drown himself in the lake'. In fact, they don't even bother to tell him that the film crew left and just leave him there. It's a recurring pattern with Thomas - run off, wait for someone to come, realise no one will, go back to the others. So I'd say it's highly likely it repeats here which means he probably spent hours waiting for someone to come looking for him and eventually gave up hope and set out to find Alison.

And next we get the apology scene (which I've always found interesting because Thomas doesn't just barge into the bedroom like you'd maybe expect him to. No, he waits outside the door until Alison and Mike have finish talking and then announces his presence). He's obviously, desperately in need of someone to talk to in that moment and Alison just ... doesn't care. At all. It's one thing to chalk his apology up to him being dramatic (even though like you I feel bad for him every time I watch it) but when he asks if he can give her an 'account of the unhappy events of that fateful day', there is not a hint of drama in his tone. It's a genuine request, and it breaks my heart that Alison doesn't even pretend she wants to hear it. And this is what I mean when I say that she and the ghosts don't extend the same gentle understanding and patience towards Thomas they extend towards each other. He is always considered a nuisance, even in moments like this when he is genuinely upset and looking for comfort and a willing ear to listen.

And then, of course, the episode unfolds and everyone else takes over his story. The moment Robin enters the room, Alison's whole demeanor changes. All of a sudden, she becomes invested and Thomas gets pushed into the background as one by one, the other ghosts tell their version of his death and turn the whole thing into a spectacle - the evening's entertainment, as I've called it before. They treat it as one of their clubs and once the excitement is over, they eave for the next bit of entertainment (which parallels the spectators of the duel going back inside in the flashback). Not a single one of them stays behind and asks him if he would like some company. They know he's not okay - 'it's worse' says it all. Thomas has just had his world turned upside down and no one cares. He died alone and unloved, and he ghosts that way too. There is no comfort for him in the afterlife, and it's no wonder that he's the character who keeps insisting that 'you stay how you die.' Because for him, it's true. He keeps waiting and waiting, and no one ever comes.

The Thomas Thorne Affair really highlights how little the others care about him. Even in the very beginning of the episode, he's sitting away from everyone else (something that is also a recurring pattern - one day I will make a post about it). It's a visual reminder that he's not really a part of the group, and everything else going on in the episode underlines that. But no matter how annoying Thomas may be - and Alison certainly has a right to feel annoyed by his romantic advances - he deserves to be shown a little more kindness by the others. There's no excuse for them to be treating his death like a joke and leaving him to deal with the fallout of the truth coming to light on his own. They should have rallied around him in that moment and been there for him just like they're there for each other when anyone else falters and struggles. Thomas has been alone for too long already, and it's heartbreaking that no one can or wants to see that.

[undescribed1mage]

She's everything <33 He's just Ken.

[sco07ut]

normal kinda guy

guy who has never thought about committing parricide ever