Fans of Game of Thrones should check out HBO’s historical epic Gunpowder, which currently has a 72% on Rotten Tomatoes. Game of Thrones ended about six years ago, and despite the drop in quality towards the end of the iconic series, plenty of viewers have spent the years afterward looking for similar series.
House of the Dragon has been a solid antidote, and there are a few other TV shows that have certainly satiated the appetite for epic series set in the past, either imagined ones or real ones. If you want something with the same riveting atmosphere, with HBO production budgets, starring a GOT alum, check out Gunpowder.
Gunpowder Is A Retelling Of Guy Fawkes’ Gunpowder Plot Starring Kit Harington
HBO’s Gunpowder is a British three-part miniseries that premiered in the UK on BBC One in October 2017, and then landed on HBO two months later in December. The series depicts the Gunpowder Plot in London in 1605, with Kit Harrington starring as Robert Catesby, the head of the English Catholics who planned the regicide.
The failure of the Gunpowder Plot is celebrated every year on November 5th in Britain and is called Guy Fawkes Night, in “honor” of one of the co-conspirators, played by Tom Cullen in the series. You may also recognize the plot for its significance in V for Vendetta, and for the “Guy Fawkes” masks popular with the hacktivist subculture.
Despite the significance of Fawkes in the legacy of the night, it was Catesby who planned it. The series depicts the run-up to the night, showing why Catesby decided to take such drastic action, and how a conflation of incidents eventually led to its downfall. It’s a thrilling and harrowing show that moves quickly and with purpose.
Gunpowder is a grim story, with scenes of brutal torture that can compete with any rat-in-a-barrel scene that Game of Thrones has to offer. The series has impeccable costuming and production design, and you’re immediately thrust into the era. Backed by an excellent ensemble cast, Gunpowder is a fantastic way to spend three hours.
How Jon Snow And Robert Catesby Compare
One of the standout performances of Gunpowder comes from its lead, Kit Harrington, an actor I’ve always considered underrated. In 2017, he was making noticeable improvements on Game of Thrones, holding his own against actors like Peter Dinklage and Liam Cunningham. It helps that Robert Catesby and Jon Snow have some similarities.
Both characters watch family members be persecuted and murdered by a royal family, and though they at first can’t find a way to strike back, eventually they galvanize a group to follow them into a situation that seems like suicide. Gunpowder is just the thing for people who wanted more Jon Snow in their Game of Thrones.
