Some Sort of Trick

The second chapter of The Forsytes, Debbie Horsfield's bold new take on The Forsyte Saga (also listed as The Forsyte Saga (2025)), ended on Sunday 18 October 2026 on Channel 5. The six-episode run started on 13 September. It confirmed that this adaptation of John Galsworthy's novels has found its own voice. Horsfield is the writer behind Poldark, and she again mixes period glamour with real emotional cruelty. This finale was the season's most pointed hour yet. If you've just finished it and are still thinking about that last stretch, this debrief is for you.

What worked: a season built around control

From the first episode, Season 2 had one clear theme: who gets to control a life, a body or a fortune. Soames, played with icy precision by Joshua Orpin, opened the season dreaming of fatherhood. That wish turned possessive once we learned that Irene (Millie Gibson) was secretly avoiding pregnancy. This was a smart change to the source material. Galsworthy's "man of property" has always treated his wife as an asset, and the show makes that hunger personal and frightening. It also gives Irene her own plans and her own secrets. Gibson, who became known worldwide as Ruby Sunday in Doctor Who, plays Irene's quiet resistance with great control. When the finale finally lets her try to escape Soames, it feels earned, not sudden.

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