Downton Abbey: Why Lady Sybil Was Killed Off From The Show

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Here's why fan-favorite character Lady Sybil (Jessica Brown-Findlay) was killed off in Downton Abbey season 3. The youngest daughter of Robert Crawley, the Earl of Grantham (Hugh Bonneville), and Lady Cora (Elizabeth McGovern), Sybil's death was one of Downton Abbey's most shocking twists, coming in the middle of season 3. However, despite what some people might have theorized at the time or since, Lady Sybil's exit from the show was planned from the inception of Downton Abbey.

Among the Crawley family and the servants of Downton Abbey, Lady Sybil was arguably the most beloved person in the great house. While Sybil was undoubtedly born a great lady who had much wealth and status, she was at heart kind and a sort of rebel, who became interested in progressive politics, and the possibility of improving the lives of others. One of the prime examples of this comes from Downton Abbey season 1, during which Sybil personally helped one of the family's maids, Gwen (Rose Leslie), leave the house to secure a job working as a secretary – entirely unbeknownst to the rest of the family. She fell in love with and married the family chauffeur, Tom Branson (Allen Leech), which was against societal norms and resisted by the Crawley family.

Related: Why Lily James Left Downton Abbey (& Why She's Not In The Movie)

Tom and Sybil ran away together, but returned to Downton eventually, and the wider family came to accept her decision. The couple went on to have a daughter, who they named after Sybil (Sybbie for short), but it all came undone when Sybil sadly and tragically died from complications during childbirth in 1920. But there were behind-the-scenes reasons for Sybil’s shock Downton Abbey death and Jessica Brown Findlay’s exit from the