After a long hiatus (due to the global pandemic), World of Fire is finally back on our screens on Sunday! The hit series went on a four-year hiatus before returning for a second season – but with major changes. The BBC drama follows a group of characters from across Europe who must face the realities of everyday life during the Second World War.
So, like us, if you need a big reminder of everything that happened in the first season, read on…
WATCH: Part 2 of World on Fire is here
Let’s start in the UK. Harry (Jonah Hauer-King) falls into a serious love triangle after being dumped by his girlfriend Lois (Julia Brown) before he goes to work as a translator in Poland. While there, he has a romance with Kasia (Zofia Wichlacz), the daughter of the family he is staying with. However, after Poland was invaded, he married her so she could return safely to the UK. Kasia has other ideas and sends her brother Yan with Harry.
© Photo: BBC Jonah Hauer-King returns as Harry
When Harry returns home to Yan to be cared for by his cold (but very caring mother), Robina (Lesley Manville), he makes peace with Lois and the two sleep together. However, she realizes that he was already in a relationship while he was away and breaks up with him. It is soon revealed that Lois is pregnant and wants Harry to have nothing to do with their child. She welcomes a baby at the end of the first season, with the help of her father, Douglas (Sean Bean), and agrees to marry a pilot, Vernon (Arthur Darvill).
Lois is engaged to Vernon
When Harry returns to fight in Dunkirk, he befriends another soldier, Stan (Blake Harrison). He then goes on a dangerous mission to Poland, where he meets Kasia again.
Kasia is coming back
Meanwhile, Kasia is devastated as both her father and mother were killed following the German invasion of Poland, and her brother Grzegorz is on the run after escaping capture. She cooperates with a secret network to attract the Nazis and destroy them. She is eventually captured but escapes – she and Harry later find each other again.
Kasia’s brother returns to England
Meanwhile, Grzegorz manages to get to Britain after being severely traumatized by the ordeal of fleeing German soldiers and is reunited with Yan. He also meets Lois’ brother, Tom (Ewan Mitchell), who is in the Navy.
MORE: World on Fire season 2: everything you need to know about the return of the BBC drama
Tom joined the Navy after trying to avoid enlistment as a conscientious objector like his father, despite not really believing the terms. He eventually enlisted and was nearly killed en route from Dunkirk, leaving him wounded and captured in France. He is assisted by doctor Webster (Brian J Smith) and nurse Henriette (Eugenie Derouand), who help him escape from France to Spain.
© Steffan HillHenriette in part two
Webster is living in Paris and has a relationship with musician Albert (Parker Sawyer) during the German occupation of France. Albert is captured and imprisoned after resisting when the Nazis take over his apartment, and Webster desperately tries to free him while helping soldiers in the hospital. Meanwhile, Albert tells Webster to forget about him.
© Steffan HillAlbert finds himself in prison
Helen Hunt also starred in the first season as Nancy Campbell, an American journalist covering the war in Berlin. She is Webster’s aunt (although it was later implied that he was actually her son, as a result of the attack). While in Germany, he tries to help his German neighbors, who have a daughter with epilepsy, whom the Nazis will capture and experiment on her to discover. Unfortunately, the worst happened, and her neighbor, Claudia, took the lives of her daughter Hilda and herself to prevent them from kidnapping her.
Where are Sean Bean and Helen Hunt in season two?
Several cast members, including Sean Bean, Helen Hunt, Arthur Darvill and Brian J. Smith, are absent from the second season. Although their absence from the series has yet to be explained, it may be due to conflicting filming schedules after a long break between films.
While we were hoping to see Helen, Arthur and Brian in season three, Julia has revealed some sad news about what happened to Douglas on the show. She told Radio Times: “I think the audience will be shocked to see that Douglas, a devoted pacifist, is no longer with us. He was killed when their home in Manchester was destroyed. was hit by a bomb in Blitz Luckily Lois was working a shift at the time, so she survived.
Brian J. Smith is not in the second season
“What a terrible thing to happen to a very peaceful man who firmly believed that war was irrational and wanted to end the violence – he was eventually killed just sitting quietly at home.”
Categories: Entertaintment
Source: HIS Education