Rebellion

Superb cast and production value, with adequate direction severely undermined by character and plot disconnects between the two seasons. Why in heaven's name were more than half the strong players and storylines of season 1 disgarded for season 2? Pivotal, well drawn characters simply disappeared into an Irish fog. Obviously some producer or writer decided to fix what was not broken. Nevertheless Gleason is marvelous carrying the the disjointed storyline through the final season.

I am from Northern Ireland, so I have to declare an interest in watching this series. After what I felt was a shaky start, I found myself being drawn into the personalities and the events. Episode by episode it seemed to improve. The sets and characterisations were convincing. If there is the odd historical inaccuracy well, this is not a documentary, it is entertainment ... and in that it succeeds.

I saw this on Netflix and it starts in 1914 where we meet a group of Dubliners, some of whom are still loyal to an ever distant British Crown and others who are confined by the bonds of a colonial power that has abused and neglected its closest colony for hundreds of years – rebellion is in the air.

This has many of the real people at the time being portrayed including Padraig Pearse and James Connolly to name but two. But it is really told through the eyes and experiences of three women – a touch I liked very much. We have five succinct episodes that chart the road to the 1916 uprising and the consequences and I have to say I thought it was excellent.

Now there are some critics who say this is a trivialised account by the state owned RTE television company and as such has airbrushed a lot of the important details. It may well have done but there is still enough here to give a real flavour of what the times were like.

It is a big budget affair too with some stellar performances including Brian Gleeson and Ruth Bradley but no one does a bad job at all. I loved the period detail and the use of Gaelic in parts added to the authenticity and made me realise my Gaelic is sorely rusty. The action scenes are excellent too with all the tense atmosphere and raw emotion pouring off the screen. Historical licence aside this is still an ambitious and well realised TV series. My only real complaint is I wanted it to go much farther and would love a second season or maybe even a third – truly recommended.

The most important things to know about the Easter Rising were that it marked the return to violent rebellion in Ireland and the way that the English dealt with it started the turning the sympathies of the Irish at large against the English and the idea of home-rule as part of the Empire. Those two things are very well demonstrated in Rebellion, from the brutal dealing of the British military with both the rebellion and Irish civilians, the complete lack of due process for those arrested and executed, creating martyrs and setting the stage for the War of Independence and the Irish Civil War.

Beautifully made. But they replaced three perfectly good female characters with three others, while keeping many of the other (male?!) players in situ for season 2. Not only did this complicate and confuse but frankly dissolved my enthusiasm. I think it undermines the story itself, since everything other than the headlines are fictional.