Let me clarify right away: I haven't watched Peaky Blinders — it's too big and interesting a project to have on in the background. That's why I went to Guinness House without any special expectations.
The series begins with a disclaimer that everything that happens in the series is inspired by real events. And this is confirmed almost immediately – the audience is told about the death of one of the most famous Irish brewers, Sir Benjamin Guinness. His funeral is attempted to be ruined by republican revolutionaries from the Fenian Brotherhood, but they fail thanks to the intervention of the faithful steward Sean Raffirty (played by James Norton).
Benjamin Guinness left behind four children – three sons and one daughter. He divided his inheritance in a rather strange way, linking the eldest sons with each other. He left nothing to his daughter, since she is dependent on her husband, and his youngest son, the irresponsible drunkard Benjamin, received extremely modest monthly payments. As a result, none of the heirs to the Guinness fortune are unhappy with what happened, but now they are connected to each other and are forced to try to establish contact in order to get out of the situation in which their father placed them.
Judging by the way the series is developing, we should have seen the family gradually come together, but if that was the original intention, it didn't work out. Stephen Knight tried to create something between “The Heirs” and “The Peaky Blinders,” but, as they say, you can't chase two birds with one stone — and that seems to have let him down in the series. In “The Heirs,” we saw enough expressive characters with understandable motivations, here almost every action of any of the main characters raises questions and surprised looks. If you watch series for interesting plots, you can safely skip “The Guinness House,” because you won't find that in it.
On the other hand, the undeniable plus of the series is the visual style and musical design. Everything, from the costumes to the acting and camera work, looks not just cool, but truly impeccable. This alone kept my attention until the very end of the series. So if you like that kind of thing, then feel free to watch “Guinness House”. At first, the storyline of Raffirty and what he went through on the path of his development as a hero seemed very good. And although the writers tried their best to make him more human, they never succeeded. At the end, he frankly rolled back to what he was at the very beginning. In general, almost none of the characters have changed so much that it could be noticed. And although the characters themselves talk about improving relationships in the family, I personally do not notice this. The caustic jokes remained unchanged, and the feeling of kinship was noticeable in them from the very beginning.
However, the most interesting moment for me personally is that throughout the series they flaunt to the viewer that the Guinness family is different from other people. However, closer to the end of the series it becomes clear that, in fact, the differences, if there are any, are barely noticeable. The vague finale with a clear hint of a cliffhanger also left a bad impression. Apparently, the series will be continued for at least a second season. But I am unlikely to watch it. Although, if the picture and sound turn out to be just as bright and attractive, then anything is possible.
Джерело: ukr.media