World on Fire: Season 1 Recap by Character
The return of the heart-pumping WW2 drama World on Fire means it’s time to get reacquainted with key characters and their Season 1 story arcs. Explore descriptions of the characters, details from their Season 1 journey, and what may be ahead in the next season. Season 2 brings all-new episodes on Sundays at 9/8c, October 15 through November 19, 2023 and you’ll want to be ready!
Beyond this helpful recap by character, you can also binge or rewatch Season 1 of World on Fire when you watch with PBS Passport.
- 1.
Who is Harry Chase?
The Character: Harry is a handsome young Englishman who shows great humanity and compassion, but also has many flaws. We root for Harry even while he missteps.
Harry’s Season 1 Journey: Harry works at the British Embassy in Warsaw. When he falls for a local Pole (Kasia), he’s caught in an explosive love triangle—there’s a serious girlfriend back home (Lois). Harry hastily weds Kasia to get her safely to Britain, but she dupes him into taking her little brother Jan instead. Back home in Manchester, there are further surprises. Harry expects his mom to take the boy in; she responds with anger. As mother and son bitterly argue, we learn Harry’s dad died by suicide. Harry’s personal troubles only worsen when he impulsively beds Lois. He deals with his demons by deploying to Western Europe as an army officer.
What’s Ahead: In Season 1’s final episode, Harry is recruited for a covert mission to parachute into Poland and rescue some resistance fighters. Shockingly, Kasia is among them. What now? Will these two have a future?
- 2.
Who is Robina Chase?
The Character: Robina is Harry’s mother, widowed when her spouse died by suicide after fighting in WW1. She’s a proud, upper middle-class woman who believes showing emotion is weak. Robina has deep feelings, but they are buried.
Robina’s Season 1 Journey: Robina raised Harry to become a man of great social standing, but he’s only proving to disappoint. When Harry enlists, Robina says he’s running away. She’s baffled by his loving two “unsuitable” women. Her frustrations mount when Harry brings the young Polish refugee Jan home. Imagine Robina’s response to learning Harry has wed the boy’s sister and fathered a child with local girlfriend Lois! Some rare, good news arrives as Robina and Jan learn the boy’s brother Grzegorz is in England, being treated nearby for shell shock.
What’s Ahead: For an emotionally repressed person, Robina’s got a lot on her plate. How will she handle it all, and what further surprises will Harry bring her?
- 3.
Who is Lois Bennett?
The Character: Lois is a factory worker by day and club singer at night. She and Harry are sweethearts—they’re very close, having both lost a parent when young.
Lois’s Season 1 Journey: Lois lives with her father and and brother Tom, who eventually enlists. When Harry heads overseas as well, Lois declares it’s best they end things—but her feelings don’t change. The two reunite during Harry’s furlough and rashly have sex. Lois learns Harry’s married, and the betrayal breaks her heart. She moves on by joining ENSA, the war’s entertainment corps. Lois performs for troops in France but is later evacuated. She lands right back in Manchester, pregnant with Harry’s child.
What’s Ahead: As Season 1 concludes, Lois delivers her baby and agrees to wed a British pilot she’s befriended. Her brother Tom is MIA. Will Lois see Tom again? How will the baby affect her recently found independence?
- 4.
Who is Kasia Tomaszeski?
The Character: Kasia is a Polish woman romantically involved with Harry. As Nazis enter Warsaw, she moves from innocence to terror but ends up bravely resolute.
Kasia’s Season 1 Journey: Kasia is unaware Harry has a girl at home. She marries him so they can legally escape to England, but tricks Harry into taking her younger brother Jan instead. Left behind in a devastated Warsaw, her parents both killed and her older brother Grzegorz in hiding, Kasia joins the Polish resistance. She sees many of her resistance friends beaten and worse. Kasia takes numerous German lives herself and something seems to die inside her.
What’s Ahead: Kasia and Harry have a startling reunion as Season 1 ends. Facing up to the reality of how much they’ve both changed is difficult. Can their marriage survive?
- 5.
Who is Stan Raddings?
The Character: Stan is Harry’s sergeant in the British Expeditionary Force. He’s a working-class guy who’s unwittingly tactless at times, which can hide his big heart. You can’t help but like Stan.
Stan’s Season 1 Journey: Stan is an experienced soldier and so he and Harry are unsure of each other at first. Sergeant Raddings becomes the filter between Harry and the troops, who think their leader is a posh boy not necessarily deserving of his rank. When, in their early days of battle in Belgium, Harry becomes overwhelmed by the task before him, Stan steps up to get everyone—including Harry—back on the right path.
What’s Ahead: While Stan questions much of Harry’s judgement, by the end there is respect and a true friendship. We last see an injured Stan manage to get on a boat in the Dunkirk evacuation. Will he live to fight another day—with or without Harry?
- 6.
Who is Albert Fallou?
The Character: Albert is a Parisian of West African heritage and proudly out as gay. He plays saxophone and leads a jazz band at a club that’s truly jumping.
Albert’s Season 1 Journey: Albert is a bit of a local superstar but that doesn’t keep him from being roughed up by a far-right group. He seeks medical help at the hospital and sparks a romance with an American doctor there. When the Nazis invade Paris, Albert grows ever more worried about his and his lover’s safety. Those fears become a reality: He’s finally arrested by German soldiers “for jazz, for being Black, for being French…”
What’s Ahead: Albert is taken to an internment camp outside Paris and can only hope he’s not brought somewhere worse. Just how desperate is his situation?
- 7.
Who is Henriette Guilbert?
The Character: Henriette is a French nurse at the American Hospital in Paris who’s hiding a dangerous secret. She’s a woman of conviction and extremely brave.
Henriette’s Season 1 Journey: Henriette works closely with the doctor who’s romantically involved with jazz saxophonist Albert. It’s Henriette and said doctor who buck the law to treat Jewish patients and who daringly smuggle allied prisoners of war—including Lois’s brother Tom—out of the hospital under the noses of Nazi authorities. When France falls to Germany, we learn Henriette’s forged her papers to conceal her own Jewish heritage.
What’s Ahead: We have to wonder how long Henriette can keep fighting this personal battle against the Nazis. While she embodies goodness, will hate win out? We’re betting on Henriette.
