Season 22 Highs and Lows

Season 22 of Ros na Rún was full of thrills, chills, and mass projectile vomiting, and with the season 23 premiere less than a month away, it’s a good time to look back on the past year and relive some of the biggest storylines, from the sublime to the ridiculous. Which characters had the best stories, which did the best they could with what they had to work with, and which got saddled with story clunkers? Let’s look back together, using a Homer Simpson scale of “Woohoo!” for the best and “D’oh!” for the, errr, rest, and also share some thoughts on what we hope to see next season!

(Note: remember I am not talking about the characters or actors I like or dislike, but rather about the characters whose storylines worked or didn't work for me in season 22!)

WOOHOO!

TADHG/FRANCES. I’m lumping these two together because the season’s biggest, craziest, and best storyline intertwined them so thoroughly there’s no point in trying to tease them apart. I am, of course, talking about Áine’s ill-fated trip to Tayto Park. No, no, obviously I’m talking about the Tadhg/Maggie/OH MY GOD SHE’S HIS SISTER madness. It was a storyline that went right up to the edge of the cliff, coughed over the side while listening to some old-timey records, and then pulled back just before it toppled over into the Sea of Ridiculousness, thanks mostly to some sensitive writing, beautiful performances, and the windmill-induced Greek tragedy of it all. I can’t wait to see what happens next for them now that Maggie’s out of the picture, and while at heart I’m a hopeless romantic who wants Tadhg and Frances to end up together, I also think he’s got a bumpy road ahead of him because she’s not going to make things easy. The qualities that made her an excellent partner for Tadhg, both “romantic” and “in crime,” will also make her a dangerous adversary, and once she finds out he’s also been literally hiding money around the house to keep from having to give her her fair share, he may wish fatal asthma were contagious.

8 Questions with ... Colm Mac Gearailt

Season 22 of Ros na Rún introduced several intriguing new characters, but perhaps none got into as many messes as Briain, who arrived in town as David's wayward cousin with a mysterious past and soon found himself in a scandalous relationship with Berni! Briain certainly caused trouble wherever he went, even though much of it was inadvertent, and I'm fortunate to have had the chance to talk to the actor who plays him, Colm Mac Gearailt, about himself, his character, and life in Ros na Rún!