“Gunpowder” Recap, Episode 3: The Damned Die Hard

When the Gunpowder series finale opens, the conspirators’ plan is working—but that isn’t going to last for long. Loading 6,000 pounds of gunpowder in barrels into the undercroft directly beneath the House of Lords, Robert Catesby (Kit Harington) and fellow plotters Thomas Wintour (Edward Holcroft), Guy Fawkes (Tom Cullen) and Thomas Percy (Daniel West) feel as if they have accomplished their mission. Catesby sends the men off, but Fawkes remains behind, locked in the undercroft with the gunpowder, ready to light the fuse when Parliament convenes a few days later.

The Constable of Castile (Pedro Casablanc) and his inquisitor, de Tassis (Andy Lucas) meet secretly with Father Henry Garnet (Peter Mullen) and attempt to convince him to expose the Papist plot, stating that they fear terrible reprisals against the English Catholic population if an attempt is made on the life of King James I (Derek Riddell). Garnet wishes no bloodshed, but he refuses to reveal what Catesby told him in confessional. He does, however, offer up the whereabouts of the hidden Father John Gerard (Robert Emms).

Catesby lingers in the undercroft with the taciturn Fawkes. The men bid each other farewell and Catesby meets with Anne Vaux (Liv Tyler), asking her to protect his son if he does not survive—he is especially concerned that, upon his death, Lord Cecil would attempt to make Young Robert (Tom Sweet) his ward, thus taking control of all the Catesby family lands and holdings. Vaux is distraught, and begs Catesby to reconsider his involvement in the plot. Catesby refuses. “[I] do God’s work now,” he says. “For the first time in my life, my purpose is clear and my heart is full for it.” Vaux finally accepts Catesby’s request, and they say goodbye.

The persistent de Tassis locates Father Gerard on the coast and speaks with him. Believing he is in the company of a good fellow Catholic, Father Gerard spills the beans, telling de Tassis that the conspirators plan to attack the opening of Parliament using gunpowder. Soon afterwards, de Tassis and the Constable meet with Lord Robert Cecil (Mark Gatiss) to warn him of the plotters’ designs.

Mark Gatiss as Lord Robert Cecil (C) Kudos – Photographer: Robert Viglaski

That night, Catesby and his men ride north to Warwickshire where they meet up with Sir Everard Digby (Philip Hill-Pearson), who informs them that hundreds of men have vowed to join their rebel army, and many muskets have been donated to a growing armory. Unfortunately, their undoing is already underway. Sir William Wade (Shaun Dooley) has been made aware of an anonymous letter sent to warn Lord Monteagle (Sean Rigby) away from the opening of Parliament. Wade takes the letter to Lord Cecil, who then presents it to King James. Frightened, the King orders Sir Wade and his men to search the Parliament grounds.

As Sir Wade’s soldiers scour the area around Parliament, Thomas Wintour barely escapes their notice, and watches them from afar. With Lord Cecil attending, Wade’s men break down the undercroft door to find Fawkes, armed, growling and ready, having defiantly lit the fuse leading to the stack of gunpowder barrels. Fawkes manages to cut down two men before Sir Wade himself subdues him, and Lord Cecil stomps the fuse out with his boot. Wintour witnesses Fawkes being dragged away. Later, the beaten and bloody Fawkes will be presented to the King, but he remains defiant.

On the morning of 5th November, Catesby, Digby and the conspirators wait in the foggy countryside at Pepperhill for their rebel compatriots to arrive and assemble, but no one appears. Thomas Wintour rides up, muddy and bedraggled from riding all night, and announces that Fawkes has been taken, the deed undone because he was captured before the Parliament was opened. Although many present want to run and try to escape England, Catesby decides he will stay and fight, to show all what they have “dared.” “Those who wish to fight to the end,” Catesby says as he spurs his horse, “follow me.” Most of the conspirators join Catesby, but Digby does not.

Wade and Lord Cecil brutally torture Fawkes in the Tower of London, but Fawkes refuses to give them anything but his name. With the news of Fawkes’ capture and the failure of the plot, Anne Vaux races to try to convince Father Garnet to flee England. Garnet refuses, but he convinces Vaux to hide so she is not captured when Sir Wade and his men show up to arrest him.

Catesby, Wintour and the conspirators ride to Holbeche House where they prepare for a last stand. “I see now that it was not God’s will that we succeed as we had planned,” Catesby says. “But we can honor him to the last.” The men agree to fight to the end, preparing their matchlocks and fortifying the house. They discover that the long ride in the fog has left their powder damp, so they lay it out on a blanket close to the fireplace (but not too close) to dry it out.

Sir Wade and his soldiers arrive at Holbeche House at dawn, with Sir Wade telling them to try to take the conspirators alive so they can be tried and executed in front of the King. A musket battle ensues, and amidst the chaos inside the house a candle is knocked from its stand and rolls into the gunpowder on the blanket, which explodes. Catesby and several of the rebels and burned and badly hurt. The house is on fire, and Catesby and Wintour lead a doomed charge out the front doors.

A slow-motion battle montage ensues, with most of the conspirators being shot dead, including Catesby, though Wintour is captured alive. Back in London, a brutalized Fawkes signs a confession, and the imprisoned Father Garnet refuses to tell Lord Cecil where Young Robert Catesby (and Anne Vaux) have disappeared to, for Lord Cecil seeks to make Young Robert his ward.

While Lord Cecil is rewarded and King James I signs his peace treaty with Spain, the surviving but badly tortured conspirators — Fawkes, Wintour, Digby and Garnet — are taken to the Old Palace Yard at Westminster to be hung (but not to the death) on the gallows and then drawn and quartered. Lord Cecil has Catesby’s head stuck atop a stake at the House of Lords. Anne Vaux escapes to the coast with Young Robert.

(C) Kudos – Photographer: Robert Viglaski

There we have it. “Episode 3” maintains the effective cinematography, atmosphere, acting and writing of the first two installments, but also suffers from the same occasional pacing drag, though not as much as its predecessors. And while the final showdown at Holbeche House is nicely directed, the whole dramatic-slow-motion battle thing is becoming cliche at this point, and the audience might have been better served without it. The musical score is well-done.

One of Gunpowder’s biggest strengths is the performances. Kit Harington delivers some of the best scenes I think I’ve seen him generate outside of Game of Thrones, such as on foggy Pepperhill when Catesby realizes the plot has failed and he must decide how he and his fellow conspirators will choose to meet their end. Tom Cullen is going to be a big star (if he isn’t already) as far as I’m concerned. The swordfight scene where Fawkes, grunting and bellowing, faces off with Sir William Wade and his soldiers in the undercroft is one I won’t soon forget.

Lacking in emotional attachment and constricting dramatic license a little too tightly in favor of historical accuracy, Gunpowder may not be an instant classic, but it is willing to deliver its story slowly, to lounge in its poetic dialog and to ask for empathy for characters who are often less than entirely heroic, and it does it all pretty well. If that’s your bag, you probably liked it.

Unsurprisingly, the gunpowder plot failed once again, but the Gunpowder mini-series is a success.

GRADE: A-

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