Rebellion

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.

There were so many actor changes in Season 2 that cliff notes should be provided. Best to watch it as if it is a new series otherwise, it will drive you bonkers trying to figure out the characters.

Has anyone else noticed ? I'm enjoying it as a history lesson that was never even mentioned in school when I was growing up in Liverpool. Strange, because half the population was Irish (as was my own Grandmother). Strange too, because it's only now that I'm learning that the English aristocracy treated the peasants in much the same way as they treated the natives in their colonies. We in Liverpool were too busy trying to eke out a life to be concerned with what was going on in the rest of the dominion. But as I get older and see what mentality drove that same aristocracy, then I have no boundaries for my distaste for them. First of all they take all of the land, then they take all of the resources the land has to offer, then they sequester the crops, then they charge rents for the properties they've stolen. You want more? They call you up to fight their battles for them.

Even that's not enough, they lay ownership to all of the wildlife, birds, beasts, fish and fowl, and pass laws that allow for beatings and execution for any transgressions. Then they turn their attention to the winsome young lasses who grow up in the villages and decide that they should have the right to be the first one to screw them if they so desire.

All of this without a peep of protest to be countenanced............ no wonder the peasants got mad and rebelled.

It's not stellar stuff but it's interesting enough to keep you watching.

I can't get over how I've suddenly realised that there is something that can be called an "Irish" face.

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.

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.