Downton Abbey sees the intertwining of two very different worlds, the upstairs and the downstairs, and somehow, they live and work harmoniously and effortlessly in one household. No matter their class, those who live in Downton are content, going about their lives in a relatively uncomplicated bubble, but they have no idea it'll burst soon. Their tranquility sinks along with the Titanic; from there, they are thrust into the unknown. They experience many changes even as they try to cling to the world they lost. The Earl and Countess of Grantham (Hugh Bonneville and Elizabeth McGovern) and their three daughters (Michelle Dockery, Laura Carmichael, and Jessica Brown Findlay) hesitate to see their dynasty into the modern world after being so comfortable in the past, and most of their staff would agree with being content in the bygone era. So, does the upper class throw all of their protocol out the window to modernize and survive, and will the lower class let it?

Throughout six seasons, two movies, and beyond, Downton Abbey has intrigued viewers with every character, whether they come from upstairs or downstairs. From Carson (Jim Carter) to Violet (Maggie Smith), they're all relatable and endearing in their own way, but they bring something different and interesting to the table, literally. They experience and feel the same things as us, but they also teach viewers an important lesson along the way: no matter what life throws at us, we must always soldier on.

10 Edith Crawley

Played by Laura Carmichael

Edith has one of the most brutal story arcs in Downton Abbey. Initially, she's full of jealousy and contempt, at least towards Mary. She is so wretchedly unhappy that she tries to ruin Mary's life too by exposing her night with Kemal Pamuk (Theo James), but Mary gets revenge by interfering with Anthony Strallan's proposal. During the war, she tries to be useful and, for once, is recognized for her efforts. However, her fortune doesn't last. After Strallan jilts her at the altar, she's back to being belittled and treated like a failure by her family for wanting to become a writer. Happiness still doesn't arrive when her editor, Michael (Charles Edwards), is willing to do anything just to be with her. He's killed in Germany, leaving her heartbroken and pregnant. Initially, she gives Marigold up for adoption but can't bear it. It's even harder for her when she gives her to a local family. Eventually, Edith takes Marigold, invents a story, and takes her in as her ward. She's pleasantly surprised when Bertie (Harry Hadden-Paton) shows interest in her but keeps Marigold's parentage a secret. Once he proposes, Mary reveals who Marigold really is, ruining Edith's happiness again. Thankfully, Bertie loves her enough to keep his proposal, and they marry during the season finale.

It isn't revealed when Edith started hating Mary so much, but it could have started when Mary and Patrick got engaged. Edith loved him and saw that Mary would only marry him if no one better appeared. Edith resents her sister for simply being the oldest child, which is not a good enough reason. She goads Mary and says some brutal things to her unprovoked and without reason. She's often left alone and desperate for attention and happiness, while Mary seemingly gets everything; from glowing looks to personality. Her story is heartbreaking, and it's hard not to want to see her gain happiness. Yet, maybe if she were a little kinder to everyone, especially Mary, she would've earned it sooner. She's dealt blow after blow, but her story gets slightly stale after a while. Ultimately, she learns to make better choices on all fronts, and happiness follows. Edith is too worried about her own happiness and, therefore, doesn't exactly add anything to the family or story except drama.

9 Charles Carson

Played by Jim Carter

Carson is Downton's ever-present, dutiful butler, who orchestrates everything that goes on behind the scenes efficiently and without a hiccup. He takes his work seriously and repels change even more than Robert or Violet. He's judgmental and highly skeptical, but a man of integrity and honor. He takes the family's succession crisis very personally, unwilling to stand back while the family is threatened with losing everything they hold dear. The Crawleys are the only family he's got, after all. Carson's worst nightmares are a scratch on the silver, a maid serving a Duke, and a chauffeur marrying a lady. However, no matter what, he keeps on a straight path of diligence, even when faced with blackmail and scandal, but sometimes goes overboard with his work, jeopardizing his health. Even as he complains, Carson takes every challenge in his stride. He's firm and commanding when he needs to be but treats everyone with the fairness and kindness they deserve. He does not welcome the modern world as it represents everything he hates. Carson is content doing his duty serving his family, and anything that changes that or gets in the way makes him uneasy. When he eventually takes a minute to think about his life and future, he realizes that Mrs. Hughes has been his companion all along. Accepting her as his wife is the biggest change of his life, and he welcomes it.

Carson is essential to Downton and its way of life. He's a constant, always keeping things in check and caring for the family with severe loyalty. When Mary is catatonic following Matthew's (Dan Stevens) death, only Carson can bring her back to the land of the living. When they dash protocol to the wind, Carson is there to refuse or at least grumble about it. Once the Crawleys enter the modern world fully, he recognizes it's time for him to step down as butler and help usher in a new generation. That says a lot about his character, especially when his successor is Thomas (Rob James-Collier).

8 Anna Bates

Played by Joanne Froggatt

Anna (Joanne Froggatt) is one of the most selfless, hardest-working, gentle, kind, and caring staff members. That's why watching the things she goes through is extremely hard. She quickly shows her compassion by being the only one who befriends and cares for Mr. Bates when he arrives. Having a softhearted, altruistic personality, Anna acts like an older sister to her fellow housemaids and fellow staff, supporting them and even keeping their secrets that she inadvertently discovers. She falls in love with Mr. Bates, and despite being locked in a loveless marriage, he falls in love with her, too, and plans to ask his wife for a divorce. Things get hairy with his wife, and Bates is wrongfully imprisoned for her death. Anna vows to get him out, and she eventually does after a lot of detective work. The couple's happiness is once again short-lived once Bates returns. A valet, Mr. Green, violently rapes Anna during an opera concert. The aftermath nearly breaks them as Anna distances herself from Bates, scared he'll discover what happened and kill Green. Then, the police arrest Anna on suspicion of Green's murder. Thankfully, Anna is released, and after one more hurdle, she gives birth to their son on New Year's Eve.

Anna is a breath of fresh air when it comes to the downstairs. She's not uptight or critical like Carson and isn't nasty like Thomas. The housemaid isn't like any of the staff, which makes her story more enjoyable. Her happiness is infectious, but it's incredibly sad when she's dealt blow after blow. However, all her troubles make her stronger and even more resilient. She doesn't leave service because she already knows her worth; she doesn't have to leave to find something better. Anna accepts the life she thinks she deserves while others come and go, unsatisfied. Like Carson, she's a reliable constant and Mary's friend, confidante, and, on some occasions, conscious. It's pleasing to see her relationship with Mary grow; she ends up more of a sister to her than Edith. However, her story is just one chapter of the greater Downton story.

7 Tom Barrow

Played by Robert James-Collier

After accepting a job as Downton's chauffeur, Tom (Allen Leech) shocks Robert with his interest in politics and history, but the Earl of Grantham isn't quite used to the lower class being interested in such topics. Eventually, Tom and Sybil bond over their love of politics, though Sybil is more reckless when it comes to going to rallies. During the war, their relationship strengthens, and they eventually fall in love. Sybil realizes she doesn't want to go backward and is ready to start her life with him. They don't exactly begin their romance the right way, and things get even hairier when they tell the family. However, Robert eventually gives them his blessing, even though he doesn't attend their wedding in Dublin. After putting Sybil in terrible danger following his brush with the law, Tom is forced to accept the help of Downton. He has bigger issues, as the imminent birth of their daughter spurs the family into chaos. Sybil sadly dies from childbirth complications, but it ushers in a new era for Tom. Robert makes him the estate's agent, which he does impeccably well. After feeling out of place for years, though, Tom takes Sybbie to America, only to discover Downton is his home and the Crawleys are his family.

Tom experiences many changes throughout the show, going from a chauffeur, revolutionist, and socialist to a father and an agent. However, he never forgets where he comes from or his beliefs. Tom comes in and shakes up the family by marrying Sybil, but that is not all he does. Robert realizes Tom could be useful to the family and later bonds with him over their common goal of keeping Downton afloat. Before the Titanic's sinking, Robert would've never imagined opening his family and home up to a chauffeur. Accepting Tom into the family means the Crawleys are changing, just as Tom changes in his own way. He is integral to Downton's survival and even becomes a brother figure to Mary and Edith, who initially opposed him marrying Sybil.

6 Isobel Crawley

Played by Penelope Wilton

Isobel (Penelope Wilton) and Matthew's lives are turned upside down when they discover Matthew is Robert's new heir. When they arrive at Downton, Isobel makes Matthew accept all the changes, even though she soon makes her thoughts on the aristocracy known. The Crawleys are expecting them not to fit in, so Isobel vows to accept the changes and pretend she knows how to act to prove them wrong. It shows a little bit of her stubbornness. However, Isobel's full personality shines through quickly when she gets involved in the hospital and village affairs. Isobel is unsurprisingly useful in whatever she does, though constantly butting heads with Violet and Cora during the war and beyond. However, after Matthew dies, she feels purposeless. Violet helps her find herself, and Lord Merton falls in love with her along the way.

It's evident from the start that Isobel is a complex character. It's very smart of her to accept the changes she and Matthew experience in the beginning while disagreeing with most of them. However, she can't keep her opinions to herself for long. Like Tom and Sybil, Isobel stirs the Crawleys up and questions almost everything they do, which helps them become better acquainted with the modern world and, therefore, more welcoming to it when the time comes for full integration. Her relentlessness and stubbornness get things done. Still, Isobel means well, and her persistence earns her what she wants most in life, purpose, which is respectable. Having a prominent position at the hospital, she eventually changes it from within, which not many women did in the 1910s and 20s.

5 Sybil Cawley

Played by Jessica Brown Findlay

Sybil quickly proves she's the family's black sheep when she starts helping Gwen (Rose Leslie) find a secretary job. She then starts making even bigger waves with her interest in politics and learns that it can sometimes be dangerous. However, she stays true to her values and opinions, and they strengthen into the war. Learning her friends are dying on the front spurs her into action, and she decides to become a wartime nurse, which shocks the family, of course. She bonds with Tom more, and they fall in love, which is another blow to the Crawleys. However, her story sadly and tragically ends when she returns to Downton and gives birth to their daughter, Sybbie. She dies of complications from childbirth, and her death shakes her family to its core.

Sybil's time might have been brutally cut short, but she accomplishes so much in a short amount of time. It also doesn't take too long for her to shake up her family with her modern ideals, leaving a lasting impression on them. Thanks to her and her views, the Crawleys can eventually welcome modernization. In a way, she, along with Tom and Isobel, prepares them for it, and they come out stronger by doing what Sybil would've wanted. It saves Downton, too.

4 Mrs. Hughes

Played by Phyllis Logan

Mrs. Hughes (Phyllis Logan) is always the dutiful housekeeper, but her talents and skills go beyond looking after the house. She cares for everyone in her charge, even at great personal cost, and, like Anna, knows how to keep a secret. She does her job efficiently, so she gets along well with Carson. However, she's different from the head butler in that she treats her job at Downton as just that. Mrs. Hughes is loyal to the Crawleys and will do anything they need, but she doesn't consider them family like Carson does. She lets them be all while caring for things behind the scenes, whereas Carson sometimes meddles. Mrs. Hughes sometimes longs for another life, but leaving service is hard for her. Eventually, she gets what she always wanted when she marries Carson.

Like Carson, Mrs. Hughes is the rock that keeps Downton standing. She's caring and kindhearted in everything she does. Outside Downton and the Crawleys, Mrs. Hughes does a pretty admirable job of helping Ethel for years when she doesn't have to. She doesn't even judge her for her choice of work later on, which was unheard of then. She's also extremely instrumental the night Anna gets raped by Mr. Green and is even more helpful in the long aftermath. Ultimately, Mrs. Hughes is the warm and loving motherly figure everyone craves to have. She's a claiming balm on top of a harsh Carson. And make no mistake; she can be firm and even scary when needed. Without her, the story of Downton would crumble.

3 Robert Crawley

Played by Hugh Bonneville

Robert, the Crawley's patriarch, isn't a pretentious, rich Earl and estate owner. He rules his little kingdom fairly and justly. Robert is more loyal to Downton than anyone else. He understands better than anyone what it stands for and defends it no matter what. At the beginning of Downton Abbey, Robert is faced with a succession crisis and has to start getting to know his new heir, Matthew. He can't save Cora's dowry because it would break up the estate and everything he's given his life for. Robert faces another succession crisis when Matthew is seemingly paralyzed in war. Fortunately, Matthew isn't paralyzed and later marries Mary, killing two birds with one stone: Cora's fortune can stay in the family, and Robert will have a safe and sound line of heirs. However, he isn't the greatest at modernizing the estate and doesn't make the best investment decisions. He nearly destroys the estate and forces the family to relocate after going bankrupt. Still, he works hard, and with help from Mary, Matthew, and Tom, he ensures that Downton survives for many more years. He and the family endure many tragedies, including Sybil and Matthew's deaths, but they all shape him and change him.

Robert might not be enthusiastic about the changes in the world, but he isn't exactly like many Earls or landowners. He knew his duty from when he became the Earl of Grantham and likely before that. After all, it's his third parent and fourth child, and he's given his life to it. Still, he can be a walking contradiction most of the time. Robert doesn't exactly like it when his daughters try to better themselves or do things no ordinary lady would do. He makes his sentiments known when Sybil becomes a nurse, Edith becomes a columnist, and Mary takes on estate responsibilities. Yet when a maid has to serve dinner, he chastises Carson for being unable to swallow it. Still, when the family is being mistreated, he swiftly defends them with passion and intimidation. There are indications that Robert isn't as against modern ideals as he portrays. He supports Mary after discovering Pamuk and easily accepts Marigold after realizing she's his granddaughter. By the show's end, Robert has endured war, a few family deaths, succession crises, blackmail, and bankruptcy. He realizes a little modernization can't hurt after all that. It's a pretty big pill to swallow but no less enjoyable to watch.

2 Violet Crawley

Played by Maggie Smith

Violet, the Dowager Countess of Grantham and Robert's mother, took interfering mother-in-law to a whole new level. She is especially biting and high-handed at the beginning of Downton Abbey, stopping at nothing to ensure Mary inherits the estate. When Matthew and Isobel arrive at Downton, Violet doesn't make their lives easy. She injects her opinions of them and the situation, but nothing can be done: Matthew will get everything as heir. Once Violet and Isobel butt heads more than once, they become close friends, even if it's an odd friendship. The pair squabbles about various things throughout the show, but they care deeply for one another. Meanwhile, Violet is always there for her family's every major event, from weddings to funerals, but she also shows up unannounced to meddle in things, leaving a witty remark in her wake.

Violet is another stabilizing figure in the Crawley family. She's their matriarch who always knows exactly what to say or what advice to give, even if her family doesn't want to hear it. Virtually every decision the family makes must go through her, even if it isn't up to her, which might seem controlling and irksome. Violet just has to state her opinion; it's who she is. She is also willing to do anything to prove a point, from letting Mr. Molesley win the flower show to taking an extended trip after being booted as hospital president. While being highly critical and opinionated about everything, Violet can sometimes be extremely gentle, caring, and understanding. However, sentimentality isn't her strong suit.

1 Mary Crawley

Played by Michelle Dockery

Mary is somewhat unfeeling during the aftermath of the Titanic's sinking, but she's not totally void of emotion. She didn't want her fiancé Patrick (her cousin and Robert's second heir) to die, but there is no mistaking she's glad to be relieved of their engagement. As she says, her life is like one big waiting room until she gets married, which annoys her. When Matthew arrives, she snubs him even though the family wishes for them to marry. He's the hideous sea monster, and she's Andromeda, waiting for her Perseus. She thinks that's Evelyn Napier, but Kamal Pamuk seems more than ready to become her knight and shining armor. He seduces Mary, to her shock and surprise, and something in her relents to him. However, she learns a very valuable lesson when he dies in her bed that night. Later, she falls in love with Matthew but ruins their relationship when she doesn't give him an answer quickly enough. Still in love with Matthew, she ties herself to an uncaring man while Matthew gets engaged. After the tragic death of Lavinia, Matthew realizes he can't see a life without Mary by his side, and the pair marry and later have a son. However, their happiness is short-lived when Matthew dies in a car crash. Mary, living a mournful life, is almost dead herself, but Tom and Carson usher her back to the world of the living, and she takes on ownership of half the estate like she was born to do it. Everything is neat and tidy, well "ish." She meets Henry Talbot (Matthew Goode), and after some heartwrenching moments, the pair set aside their differences and marry. Mary's relationship with Edith even improves after their biggest fight.

Many of Downton Abbey's characters are complex in their own way, but Mary is the definition of the word. Many would call her snobbish, conceited, spoiled, disagreeable, or, as Mrs. Hughes surprisingly calls her, "an uppity minx." However, she isn't any of those things. Mary speaks her mind, and her words, which sometimes come across as biting and unfeeling, are exactly what everyone in the room thinks but is too afraid to say. Everything she endures changes her, but her personality stays as strong as iron. Despite what Edith thinks, Mary is kind and caring in every situation. She has a solid friendship with Anna and even acts motherly toward Rose (Lily James). Running the estate, she's just as fair as Robert. It's just sad that her husband has to die for her to come into her own and discover what she was always meant to do with her life. Mary is the essence of Downton Abbey and her storyline drives the entire show.

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