The Forsytes ending explained: The family's fortunes and whether Jolyon left Frances for Louisa
The Forsytes ending sees Jolyon make a huge decision about his future
The Forsytes ending was packed full of drama as the lavish series transported us back to the late Victorian era. But it wasn’t just money and power that caused unimaginable rifts between the family – there were also matters of the heart that left relationships torn apart.
In-house rivalries, the pursuit of happiness, and past loves threatened everything the Forsytes had worked so hard for. This was not a period drama for the fainthearted!
From Jolyon discovering he was the father of twins from a former relationship, to Soames falling for a beautiful and spirited dancer, Irene, there was no end to the scandal that rocked the prestigious family.
But what happened at the end of the first series? And what can we expect to see in The Forsytes series 2? Here is everything you need to know about the ending of the Channel 5 drama The Forsytes.
***Warning: spoilers the ending of The Forsytes series 1 below***
Jolyon’s secret children shock
The big love story of the series was between Jolyon Forsyte and his former lover, Louisa. Jolyon was the loose cannon of the family, preferring art and travelling over business. This set him apart from the other men.
Before he married Frances, Jolyon met Louisa while travelling and the pair had a passionate love affair. Knowing a lady’s maid like Louisa could never get married to an heir to a fortune like him, the pair were forced to go their separate ways.
Louisa promised to write to Jolyon. However, he didn’t see her again until they came face to face at June’s 18th birthday party.
This chance meeting unravelled Jolyon’s life. Not only because he was reminded of the love he once had for Louisa, but also because he discovered she had been pregnant when they’d parted ways. The news that he was the father of her 10-year-old twins, Joss and Holly, shocked Jolyon to the core.
Did Jolyon leave Frances?
Despite genuinely loving Frances and his stepdaughter, June, Jolyon couldn’t pretend his children didn’t exist. He secretly kept seeing them, getting to know them and struggling to hide his reemerging feelings for Louisa.
Frances was the ambitious one in their marriage. She worked with Jolyon’s father to make sure Jolyon took over as the head of the family’s stockbroking firm. But Frances knew she was losing her grip on her husband and took drastic action. Wanting to get rid of Louisa from their lives forever, Frances had Louisa evicted from her home in Soho. However, her plan backfired completely.
Not wanting his newfound family to be homeless, Jolyon gave them a house in the countryside. Louisa was delighted, and the fresh country air did the sickly children the world of good. By the end of the series, Jolyon told Frances that he would be paying for his children’s education, leaving her fuming.
They had a huge fight, and he moved out of their house. But Frances hated being the topic of society gossip and quickly asked her husband to come back home. However, the damage was done, and Frances had inadvertently pushed Jolyon into Louisa’s arms.
Did Louisa and Jolyon end up together?
The Forsytes ending saw Jolyon walk out on his marriage. He also turned his back on the family business and his wealth to be with Louisa and their children.
He told Louisa they would end up penniless and that society would shun them, but he didn’t care. Jolyon promised to be a good father to their children, and the series ended with them sharing a passionate kiss.
What happened to Irene in The Forsytes ending?
Irene, played by the brilliant Millie Gibson, was tragically left penniless after her father passed away. His life savings were lost after share prices plummeted thanks to Soame’s ill-advised investments.
With her dreams of being a ballet dancer in Paris shattered, grieving Irene thought her life would change when Soames asked her to marry him. He promised to give her everything she had ever dreamed of, including a wonderful life in Paris full of love, wealth and dancing. But of course, things didn’t go to plan.
Irene loved the first few weeks of marriage, showing off her new husband to all her dancer friends in Paris. But when Soames became jealous of the life that she had without him, he lied that they had to return to London. He pretended his father, James, was gravely ill, forcing Irene to give up her dreams of dancing.
After working out that Soames had lied about his father’s heart condition, Irene’s marriage went sour.
Did Irene escape her toxic marriage?
Despite Soames showering her with expensive gifts to keep her happy, Irene didn’t want money and yearned for the life he had promised her. Realising that the role of a Forsyte woman was to socialise, entertain and not have an opinion, Irene felt trapped in her marriage.
Things took a sinister turn when she discovered from June that Soames had commissioned her fiancé Philip to build them a house in the country. Knowing her husband was essentially building a prison to keep her in, Irene started to panic. Philip tried to get out of the commission, but Soames got wise and demanded that he start building.
At the end of the series, Irene asked Soames to release her from their marriage, which he promised to do when they first got engaged if she ever felt unhappy. But to her horror, Soames denied any knowledge of his promise, and Irene realised she was well and truly trapped.
The Forsytes ending: What happened to Frances?
By the end of the series, Frances’ marriage to Jolyon was over. After they fought about Louisa and the twins, there was no going back in their relationship. Despite his love for his stepdaughter, June, Jolyon couldn’t deny his feelings for Louisa and told Frances he was leaving.
She felt devastated, especially since he was just about to take over as head of Forsyte & Co, a role she had encouraged him to pursue for years. With her future in tatters, Frances refused to divorce Jolyon, knowing this would mean she would remain a Forsyte and Jolyon could never marry Louisa.
Did June marry Philip?
June shocked her family by refusing a match with Horatio Carteret, which would have cemented her place in society. Instead, June chose to follow her heart. She met penniless architect Philip at a Fabian Society meeting around the same time her parents’ marriage hit the rocks.
Feeling rejected by her stepfather after learning he had other children, June rebelled and her friendship with Philip turned to love. June proposed to Philip and, when the family met him, no one felt pleased. However, ever-the-romantic Jolyon gave the couple his blessing, knowing it would make June happy.
Jolyon gave the newly-engaged couple one condition for marriage – that Philip had to secure a first commission at work. This was so Philip would then have the money to support June. In the end, Soames commissioned Philip’s first project, which allowed the pair to plan their wedding.
But the plan backfired. And when Soames recommissioned the house at the end of the series, it seemed the wedding was back on.
Who is Harry Falconer in The Forsytes ending?
Throughout the series, there was talk of financial risk because of the stockmarket. Jo liked to err on the side of caution, hated taking risks with other people’s money and cared about the impact their choices could make on others. But Soames and his father, James, were all about the money.
One investment in particular saw some of the company’s biggest investors lose their fortunes after the stocks crashed. However, there was one client in particular that Anne Forsyte, the matriarch of the family, was unhappy to hear had lost money, and that was Harry Falconer.
Troubled by the fact that this client had lost their entire estate, Anne asked her sons, James and Jolyon Senior, to send financial compensation. However, they refused. Knowing that she could appeal to grandson Jolyon’s kinder nature, she gave him the money and asked him to pay Harry Falconer compensation.
Later, Harry wrote to the family, thanking them for sending the money to save his estate. Confused, both James and Jolyon Senior felt determined to discover who sent the money.
The Forsytes ending saw Jolyon Senior confront his mother, realising she had sent the money. Baffled, he asked why she felt so obliged to help this unknown client. At first, Anne was cagey about who Harry was, before eventually revealing that Harry was her secret grandson.
What could happen in The Forsytes series 2?
With Jolyon and Louisa now a couple, the new series will likely explore how they navigate life after society shunned them. There could also be another wedding on the cards if Philip’s project for Soames goes ahead, meaning he can then marry June.
There is also the secret that Soames’ risky investment caused Irene to be left penniless after her father’s death. Irene has no idea that her husband has crushed her dreams of being a ballet dancer, not once, but twice. If she found out, could that give her the fire to play Soames at his own game?
With the new series in production, it won’t be long before we see The Forsytes cast back on our screens.
We’re told: “In this next chapter, the proud dynasty faces a new era of scandal, ambition, and shifting loyalties. As love, legacy and reputation collide, the cracks in the family’s polished façade grow ever deeper.”
