Start typing "Miss Bunting" into Google, and the search engine's second guess at where your mind is headed is "Miss Bunting annoying." The character, played by Daisy Lewis, was introduced in Season 4 of Downton Abbey to remind Tom (Allen Leech), the chauffeur-turned-widowered estate manager, of his rebel spirit. But in Season 5, the schoolteacher seems to exist to keep Downton's dinners lively with conversation that a woman of her intelligence and wit should know is grating. To quote the Dowager Countess, as one should always do, "Principles are like prayers: noble, of course, but awkward at a party."

As seen in the montage of some of Miss Bunting's greatest hits below, the cast of Downton agrees that the outspoken character is a mismatch for Tom:

So why do we feel guilty for wishing Miss Bunting less screentime? Because we know we should support her freedom of speech, even at Lord Grantham's table. Whether or not you watch Downton to follow the politics, Sarah Bunting is a woman who wants to know the staff's names, takes undercook Daisy's desire to learn seriously, and encourages Tom to stay true to his pre-dinner jacket roots. She says what most viewers are thinking when Rose's friend proudly proclaims to Sarah that writing has always been beyond her and she wouldn't know where to start with mathematics ("Well then, you must marry someone rich enough to insure you never need to"). Daisy's testimonial in the Jan. 25 episode, when Lord Grantham summoned her and Mrs. Patmore mid-meal and demanded to know if her studies were disrupting her work, was one of the season's brightest moments: "I'm sorry if I've made trouble downstairs," Daisy told Lord Grantham. "But I must say this, my lord: Miss Bunting here has opened my eyes to a world of knowledge I knew nothing of. Maybe I'll stay a cook all my life, but I have choices now, interests, facts at my fingertips. And I'd never had any of that if she hadn't come here to teach me."

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The problem is Miss Bunting never knows when to quit. Robert gracefully put a pin in that conversation — "Obviously, the lessons have proved succesful. I'm pleased to hear it," he said — only to have Sarah stick him with it: "Are you, Lord Grantham? [Insert Mary's eyeroll and plea for Miss Bunting to let it go now that she'd made her point.] Have I though? All I've proved is that Lord Grantham would like us serfs to stay in our allotted place from cradle to grave."

That was it. Robert stood up and shouted that the only thing he would like is for her to leave his home and never return. Watch the scene — and the cast discuss it — at 2:22 in the video below.

Carson would later refer to the showdown as "The Battle of the Little Minx." Could viewers be the real winners here? Is it the last we'll see of Miss Bunting at Downton? (Stop inviting her, Rose!)

View photos Mary and Tom have an intimate chat. More

At this point, the character has served her purpose: We've watched Tom find his backbone again while struggling with his genuine love for the Crawley clan. His conversation with Mary in which he all but guessed that Mary had become "unsettled" with the idea of marrying Tony after sleeping with him — and she essentially said she loves Tom (as a brother-in-law, shippers) so she'll have to support his life decisions — was so lovely. Presumably, it sets the stage for Mary to confide in Tom again now that Tony has refused to accept her rejection.