What Happens to Arthur Guinness?

The tension that has been brewing throughout Netflix’s new historical drama House of Guinness bubbles over in the shocking season finale – much like the dark porter itself.

The series, which began streaming on Sept. 25 and comes from Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, transports viewers back to 19th-century Ireland, during a tumultuous time for both the country and the legendary Guinness family. When the series begins, in 1868, Ireland is under British rule — but a group known as the Fenians leads a rebellion for independence. Tensions are also high within the Guinness family, as Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness is dead and the future of his brewery business rests with his four children: Arthur (played by Anthony Boyle), Edward (Louis Partridge), Anne (Emily Fairn), and Ben (Fionn O’Shea).

Throughout the first seven episodes of the series, family secrets emerge and missteps occur that threaten the Guinness family’s business and legacy. Arthur, viewers learn, is secretly gay and could lose everything if exposed (as homosexual acts were illegal in Ireland at the time). Despite paying off blackmailers and marrying Lady Olivia Hedges (Danielle Galligan) to protect his secret, Arthur still loses his father’s Parliament seat after getting caught committing election fraud.

Also endangering the family name and business is a crooked deal made by Byron Hedges (Jack Gleeson), an illegitimate cousin helping Guinness expand into America, that promises 15% of all American profits to the Fenian Brotherhood.

But Edward, with the help of their family’s fixer, Sean Rafferty (James Norton), manages to successfully navigate these bumps on the road to expansion.

Heading into the finale episode, a second election is on the horizon and Arthur is set to run again in an attempt to win back his father’s Parliament seat. The eldest Guinness brothers are determined to eliminate any and all potential scandals to secure a victory. Will they be successful, or will something — or someone — get in their way?

Read on for the ending of House of Guinness, explained, including the shocking cliffhanger moment in the finale’s final seconds.

Warning: House of Guinness spoilers ahead!

How does House of Guinness end?

The season finale of House of Guinness opens with Patrick Cochrane — the Fenian Brotherhood leader who Edward had banished to New York — secretly returning to Ireland, with both an axe to grind against the Guinnesses and a perilous political mission to carry out. He visits his sister, Ellen Cochrane (Niamh McCormack), informing her that the Brotherhood plans to intercede in the upcoming election and ominously shows her a single bullet in his hand, hinting at an assassination plot. While Edward recently ended the affair he had been having with Ellen and cut off contact ahead of the election, she breaks their silence and writes to him, warning him that his brother Arthur could be in danger.

Also back from New York is Byron Hedges, who, after successfully establishing Guinness in America, is now managing Arthur’s second attempt at winning a Parliament seat. Arthur, Edward and Byron are preparing for Arthur’s impending campaign rally when Edward learns of Patrick’s return to Ireland. He tasks Rafferty with finding out where Patrick is and what his plans are — but when Rafferty comes up empty, Edward volunteers to go see Ellen for more information.

Edward’s visit with Ellen does not provide him with any answers in relation to Patrick, however. Ellen shares that, since their affair, she’s no longer trusted with any information as it relates to the Fenian cause. Their meeting does give Edward clarity on a personal matter, though: He realizes that, despite marrying Lady Adelaide Guinness (Ann Skelly), he is still very much in love with Ellen. But, because of the circumstances of the times, the two can never be together — a common theme amongst all four Guinness siblings.

How does Arthur handle Lady Olivia and Rafferty?

While Edward is concerned with Patrick’s plan, Arthur is dealing with another potential election scandal. His wife, Lady Olivia, who has been having an affair with the Guinness family fixer Rafferty, is pregnant with Rafferty’s baby. To eliminate any risk to his campaign, Arthur has Lady Olivia terminate the pregnancy in London.

Following the abortion, Arthur also orders Lady Olivia to end her relationship with Rafferty. Though they had agreed at the onset of their arranged marriage that they’d each be able to carry on their own affairs, Olivia broke the terms of their deal by falling in love with Rafferty. If she doesn’t agree to stop seeing him, Arthur will fire Rafferty and take back the debts he paid off for Lady Olivia and her family — leaving them in financial ruin.

Lady Olivia agrees to end her romance with Rafferty, which Arthur tells her must be done immediately, as he needs her on his arm during the campaign. But when Olivia goes to break the news to Rafferty, she informs him of her own plan that she’s devised: The two can secretly rendezvous at her cousin’s property, meeting once a week until they can be together “one day.”

What happens at Arthur Guinness’ campaign rally?

Leading up to the campaign rally, Byron and Rafferty have both been working their contacts to locate Patrick to no avail. The two plan to have men stationed at every entrance to the rally location in order to prevent Patrick from sneaking in unnoticed and carrying out his assumed assassination plot.

By the day of the rally, the Guinness family appears to have successfully weathered all the personal and professional obstacles they’ve faced since their father’s death. Prior to delivering his speech at the rally, Arthur addresses his siblings, praising them for all that they’ve accomplished, from the business’s impressive expansion into America to the charitable housing projects they built in Ireland.

“We’ve all changed for the better,” Arthur tells Edward, Anne and Ben. “Perhaps we’ve made our father proud.”

At the campaign rally, everything appears to be going off without a hitch. As Arthur is delivering his speech to the crowd, with all of his siblings on stage, Rafferty notices that Ellen is in attendance. She tells him that if she spots Patrick, she will blow a whistle to alert Rafferty and his men — on the condition that they arrest him, and not kill him.

But as Arthur is addressing the crowd, a man’s nod cues several men to begin a fight in the audience. The disturbance draws Rafferty and his men into the heart of the crowd — and away from the entrances — to break up the skirmish. With the doors unmanned, Patrick is able to slip in undetected and grab a gun that was hidden for him, giving him a clear shot at Arthur.

Does Patrick Cochrane kill Arthur Guinness?

As the fight is being broken up, Ellen spots her brother with his gun aimed, apparently at Arthur. She blows her whistle to alert Rafferty, but as she does, Patrick fires a single shot from his gun. The finale ends at that moment, with viewers left looking down the barrel of Patrick’s revolver, not knowing if (and who) the bullet struck.

Will there be a season 2 of House of Guinness?

The intense cliffhanger in the finale of House of Guinness leaves many questions unanswered —including whether Arthur is alive and what the future holds for the Guinness family. However, Netflix has not officially announced whether there will be a second season of the historical family drama.