If you go in with an open spirit and let yourself get swept up in the accents and facial hair, you'll almost certainly enjoy Harington. [15/22 Dec 2017, p.98]

The bulk of Gunpowder is a reasonably exciting costume drama combining history and suspense, with fine performances by Sherlock’s Mark Gatiss as the King’s vindictive secretary of state and Peter Mullan (Top of the Lake, Ozark) as Henry Garnet, a Jesuit priest sympathetic to Catesby’s efforts.

Gunpowder chooses to focus its energy on capturing the experience of the tale while economizing with regard to the time spent cracking on toward the plot’s denouement. The conspirators’ efforts may have come to naught, but the efforts of Bennett, Harington and his co-stars do justice to their history.

In an age in which thin stories are often stretched on the rack to produce 10 or 13 hours, Gunpowder lives fast, dies young, and doesn’t overstay its welcome.

While Gunpowder tells its story clearly and respectably--previously unaware British viewers will see Guy Fawkes Day differently--its handsome presentation and effective plotting don’t add up to more than a dutiful shrug.

[Gunpowder] takes its precious time with weighty moments yet still skims the surface of things in a way that never fully engages nor illuminates its key characters.

[Kit Harington's] a narcotized Jon Snow in a narcoleptic of a miniseries that nods off at times, and seems maddeningly unaware that viewers will be induced to do the same thing. ... A gluepot of a miniseries with good actors and no pulse.

Brilliant series. Fantastic costumes and overall production values. Kit harington has done amazing in his very first job as a producer and showrruner. Gunpowder is hands down one of the best minisseries of 207.

If anyone watched Wolf Hall, they should watch this. The religious fallout from Henry VIII breaking with the Church of Rome led to one of the bloodiest periods in our islands history. Catholics were hunted down and butchered mercilessly by Protestant zealots who were no better than witch finders. Even today, many 15th and 16th century homes in England have 'priest holes' where priests would hide if disturbed performing an illegal Catholic Mass. Yet in truth, it shaped our country, and conversely, it also helped to establish the United States. What a shame to see Sian Webber (Lady Dorothy) dispatched so early on. I'll be interested to see how Liv Tyler pans out, I suspect pretty good. I'll probably add to this review as I've only seen one very good episode, but I will say this. The acting, scenes, directing and script are top notch. If people complain about the execution scenes, don't watch them. England was a bloody place to live then, but through the reformation and our own religious revolution, we found ourselves and our identity in the world. I would have to rate this drama series very very highly indeed.

This is a story with many, many moving parts. In the wrong hands, the series could have so easily disintegrated into a bubbling mess of confusion, but it has been handled not only ably, but with astounding finesse. The overall story weaves with grace, each scene carries with it an almost tangible flavor. Characters are believable and acted with soul. But the most remarkable achievement, I'd say, is having been able to hold it all together, all the intricate little plots, all the rich characters, without letting any one story-line or character progression get lost. it will go down as one of the greatest television achievements of all time.

The show is not a total failure, with 3 episodes u really could not get invested in the characters or the story.Some of the actors were solid while some left much to be desired.I guess that is how i would best summarize the show Good to look at but it leaves much to be desired in the story department.

This series was a disappointment. This is unfortunate because the plot is an interesting one and the cast consist of some excellent actors. The problems are the lack of a backstory and the nonexistent character development. After all was said and done, I simply didn't care about anyone or their "my religion is better than your religion" battles. It was three episodes of drawn out speeches of no import or impact, a foiled plot and one exquisitely lame battle scene. In the end I felt like I had finished a poor meal. well, I paid for it, may as well finish it.