The Forsytes Series Premiere Makes It Clear This Is Just Inspired By the Books

When Debbie Horsfield said that The Forsytes was inspired by the books by John Galsworthy rather than being a direct adaptation of them, we needed to believe her. This isn’t just a case of offering the women something more in terms of storyline and character development, but also about bringing new dramatic storylines and real intrigue and understanding to their arcs.

The Forstyes series premiere makes all of this clear. It doesn’t take long to see how new characters are introduced and how they all fit into the overall story. We get a sense of women who are looking to grow in power and influence, despite being in a man’s world, and all of this works for a fresh story in today’s age.

A Whole New Character Is Introduced in The Forsytes Series Premiere

Within moments, we get to meet a whole new character. Frances Forsyte takes her daughter, June, to a dressmakers for a gown for her birthday. That dressmaker is non-other than Eleanor Tomlinson’s Louise Byrne, who harbors a secret. She knows the Forstye family — at least, one member of the family.

The series wastes no time in telling us this story. We get a quick flashback, setting the stage for a potential love triangle. It’s clear that hearts were broken and situations led to people being parted, and distance doesn’t always help with ending feelings of love and compassion.

However, Joylan Forsyte is also a man of honor. At least, that’s the way the series premiere suggests, as he notes just how destructive his cousin’s actions at the brokerage have been. Joylan cares about people, and he loves his family. The question is whether his heart will win out as the six-episode season continues.

That’s exactly what Frances is scared of, and it’s not surprising that she’s so upset by the end of the episode. Tuppence Middleton shines as she shows her anger and disappointment while also keeping her cool. She is a woman of her time, and a woman of money, so she knows how she needs to conduct herself. That doesn’t mean she can’t have any emotion, and you see glimpses of it through her eyes and mouth movements.

June Brings Us Into the World of Change

Meanwhile, we have June, who just wants to grow up and be herself. There is a beautiful moment between June and Frances, as they bond as mother and daughter, but it’s clear that June is a free spirit. She doesn’t want to be held down by the expectations of the world.

This creates a character that many of us can relate to. As The Forstyes is compared to Downton Abbey a lot, she brings an essence of Sybil’s character. Hopefully, she doesn’t face the same fate. The great thing about this story being just inspired by the books is that we don’t necessarily know how storylines will play out.

It’s fun to have all these generations of women, as we get to see how the times have always shifted. While the elder generations want to hold onto the traditions and expectations in society, the younger generations want to see more freedom and light. June could be one of those who helps to push things through, especially with a stepfather like Joylan, who is clearly not quite a man of his time.

Soames Seems to Have a Heart

I hated Soames in the books, and that is by design. However, a character like that who is supposed to be one of the leads doesn’t make sense. Sure, we can see a man who is power-hungry and ambitious, but that doesn’t mean he has to be downright evil.

The Forstyes changes him enough to make him somewhat endearing. He’s still a man of money, and he doesn’t always care about the smaller people. That could change as he realizes what his decisions do to people who are left destitute. While it is only because he’s quickly falling for someone that he starts to change, it’s a start, and this could help him see the errors of his ways as a cold-hearted businessman in the future.

His budding relationship with Irene did put a smile on my face. Irene isn’t exactly looking for love. In fact, she thinks that Soames is interested in her stepmother rather than herself, and the way she is taken aback to find out he’s not is telling. She’s clearly always been put down by this stepmother, and it’s led to her not quite having strong expectations of finding love.

Yet, she doesn’t show an immediate attraction to Soames, and I like that. She is grieving the loss of her father, and finding a husband likely isn’t on her mind right now. She has a lot more to deal with, such as finding out that her father’s shares are now worthless, so she has to figure out what to do to prevent being left completely on the streets. While marriage will eventually be on her mind, that’s not the case right away.

Hopefully, this will be a somewhat slow-burning romance, because it needs to be with the way Irene reacted. She needs to doubt herself in this relationship, and we need to see the doubt with others, considering Irene isn’t quite on the same level as Soames.

Overall, The Forsytes series premiere is a great start. This is a chance to bring a more female-centric story, as the women tended to be more intriguing in the past. They got up to a lot behind closed doors and helped to shape the future, and that’s what we get to see in this series inspired by the characters in the books.

The Forstyes airs on Sundays at 9/8c on PBS.