I think one of the things I like so much about “It can mean as little or as much as you like” is that it’s the first time we see Thomas genuinely get to define his romantic relationship in the show? Like, starting right off the bad with the Duke, Thomas says he wants to be his valet. He wants to live in his lover’s house, in close quarters, and have a proper, established romance—and the Duke says nope, occasional trysts and letters (and also, no more letters), that’s all I’m offering, you have to take it or leave it, and Thomas has to leave it. Jimmy says something similar in the Christmas special, when he explicitly makes it clear that he can’t give Thomas some of what he wants, and the only thing on the table is friendship, and Thomas says yes, he can settle for friendship.
Then we get to Richard, and it’s a little more complicated here because we don’t get Thomas’s own perspective on when his feelings towards Richard take on a deliberate, romantic turn—does he think York is a date from the start? (My personal opinion is no, given how quickly he accepts Chris’s offer, but I could totally accept a reading that he thinks it is, then loses confidence as he’s waiting.) Does he mean it when he says Richard is a “friend” in the scene in his office, or is he hedging his bets?
Regardless, I do think it’s interesting that he does explicitly call Richard a friend, and then Richard is the one to say “Is that all you’ve found?”, and he goes in for a kiss before waiting for confirmation—iirc the script, or an interview with the director, actually says that the kiss is meant to be a “surprise” to Thomas. And it does seem to be a welcome surprise, of course, and they end on a romantic note, but Thomas is clearly reacting in that scene, rather than making the deliberate choice.
And it seems to me that, in a way, the office/dining room proposal almost mirrors the first conversation Guy and Thomas have, in the library? Guy makes a flirty offer, immediately walks it back and apologizes at the slightest hint Thomas is uncomfortable. In the office he makes a heavily coded offer of romance, comparing it to marriage. Thomas comes back and says “did I get this right?” and Guy leaves it to him to define his own boundaries. Does he want the marriage proposal? That would be fantastic. Does he want to travel and work in California but balks at the romance? Well, that was part of the offer, Guy isn’t going to withdraw it just because it’s not what he was hoping for. Does he want to start as friends and see what happens? Sure, it’s all on the table.
Which means Thomas gets to be the one who says “I’d like it to mean a great deal.” In that wonderful warm, sincere delivery that RJC gives, with the eye contact and the slight smile—gah, one of my favorite lines in the films. And Guy grins back and says “Then you’re in luck,” driving home the fact that that was exactly what he wanted, he wanted everything Thomas could offer—was willing to offer anything of his own—even if he would have settled for something else, the position that Thomas was left in the first episode. It’s just such a clever, subtle play on where he started the series (even before you get to the other contrasts with the Duke—pretending to forget Thomas’s name, while Guy is deliberate in asking for it, scoffing at the idea that Mary would apologize to a servant, while Guy is preemptive in apologizing).
I love it. It’s so good. They pack so much into Guy’s character in just a few scenes… and don’t even get me started on the mutual giddiness in their last scene together. I adore them.
