House of Guinness Season 2: Scandals, Secrets & Betrayals That Could Tear the Dynasty Apart

House of Guinness season 1 left us off with a cliffhanger, but we can guess what will happen next based on history. Though Netflix hasn’t yet greenlit a sophomore season, it seems only a matter of time. The Steven Knight series quickly climbed to Netflix’s Top 10 TV shows, claiming the #3 spot in its first week, and holds an impressive 90% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes.

While House of Guinness season 2 is all but guaranteed, we will have a significant wait before it officially arrives on Netflix. This means some built-up anticipation to discover how the Guinnesses will proceed with their story. Of course, since Knight’s fictional piece of work is based on the lives of the real Guinnesses of history (via Dictionary of Irish Biography), we can already anticipate certain events for the House of Guinness‘ next episodes.

Arthur Guinness Is Elected To Parliament In 1874

Ben Blackall / ©Netflix / Courtesy Everett Collection

Just as in House of Guinness, Sir Arthur Guinness made an initial attempt to be elected to Parliament for the City of Dublin, but the campaign ended in embarrassment. His position was voided when it was revealed that Arthur’s campaign team had rigged the election through bribery. Although he was barred from running again for a specific period, Arthur eventually reclaimed his chair.

House of Guinness season 1 ended in the middle of Arthur’s campaign, and history dictates that this run will end with victory in House of Guinness season 2. The real Arthur was officially elected to Parliament in 1874 and held his seat until 1880. Of course, in the Netflix TV show, Arthur will first have to survive Patrick Cochrane’s assassination attempt.

There was no real attempt on Arthur’s life, according to history. Patrick Cochrane’s assassination attempt is an invention of the House of Guinness. Therefore, we know that Arthur will survive the big cliffhanger of season 1. Still, the big question will be precisely how he survives and what will happen to Ellen and Patrick Cochrane when this event comes to a close.

Edward Guinness Buys Out Arthur’s Share Of The Business In 1876

House of Guinness season 1 makes it evident that Edward Guinness is the true businessman of the family, a fact that is also reflected in history. Arthur is the politician, while Edward is the business mastermind who transformed Guinness Brewery into the massively successful, global operation it became during his lifetime. House of Guinness season 2 should explore this continued success.

A couple of years after Arthur claimed his Parliament seat, he sold his share of the brewery to Edward for £600,000. This deal is guaranteed to be covered by House of Guinness season 2, where we can also expect to see the developments that quickly make Edward the official wealthiest man in Dublin City at the young age of 29.

Since House of Guinness season 2 is essentially guaranteed to pick up around the time of Arthur’s win in 1874, we should also see the arrival of Edward and Adelaide’s first child, Rupert Edward Cecil Lee Guinness, who was born that same year. Their second son, Arthur Ernest Guinness, was born in 1876, the same year that Edward bought out Arthur’s share of the brewery—so this will likely make it to the screen as well.

Anne Guinness Plunket Establishes The St. Patrick’s Nursing Home In 1876

Anne is the most interested in philanthropy in House of Guinness season 1, and this is a detail also supported by history. This first batch of episodes also reveals that Anne suffers from some mysterious physical ailment, which doctors can’t quite seem to explain. This is also true of her real-life counterpart, and, based on history, Anne’s ailment should take up a great deal of her House of Guinness season 2 story.

In 1876 (a very busy year for the Guinness family, apparently), Anne establishes the St. Patrick’s Nursing Home in Dublin city. This charitable medical facility becomes a place where the poor and elderly of Dublin can receive medical care. It also serves as a place of education for the Church of Ireland’s nurses. Finally, St. Patrick’s nursing home is where Anne’s own condition was researched.

Even today, it’s not entirely clear what condition Anne suffered from. It was likely a degenerative disorder, such as Parkinson’s Disease. Her lifelong journey of finding answers ultimately spread into her philanthropic work, and this will likely be a focus of House of Guinness season 2.

Unfortunately, Anne passed away in 1889 from her condition (aged 50). This is still a ways off from the probable setting of House of Guinness season 2, so hopefully this won’t happen on screen for several more seasons.

Benjamin Guinness’ Story Is A Historical Mystery

Ben Blackall/Netflix

Benjamin Guinness didn’t leave as significant a mark on history as his siblings. Just as in House of Guinness, the man was left a much smaller inheritance, with stipulations in his father’s will that the money would only be distributed in small amounts and only if Benjamin was in the military. He got married and had children, but little is known about his story beyond that.

Because of this, Benjamin is a bit of a wild-card character in House of Guinness. Knight can take some creative liberties with his story, so it will be interesting to see what happens with him in House of Guinness season 2. One thing is certain: this character is sure to create more drama for his family in the coming episodes.

How The Fenians Will Impact The Story In House Of Guinness Season 2

Another way that House of Guinness takes creative liberties with the Guinnesses’ story is through the use of the Fenians. The Fenian Brotherhood, also known as the Irish Republican Brotherhood, was a movement that spanned Ireland and the rest of the world, aiming to liberate Ireland from English control. They carried out several uprisings throughout the late 19th century, although they weren’t successful in achieving their goals until the early 20th century.

There is some record that the Fenians caused minor trouble for the Guinnesses, and that the family made attempts to bridge the divide with this organization. However, the significant conflict between this movement and the wealthy Irish family in House of Guinness is fiction. Therefore, it’s once again difficult to guess how this aspect of the story will progress in season 2.

Of course, we can guess that things will only get more complicated now that Patrick Cochrane has officially made an assassination attempt on Arthur in the House of Guinness. It seems unlikely that he will escape with his life, as Ellen hopes. This will place Edward on the hot seat, since his affection for Ellen is well known in House of Guinness season 1. Historical or not, this will all make for a thrilling story going forward.