If you’re looking for something to fill the Bridgerton-sized gap in your heart, look no further than The Buccaneers on Apple TV.
While the premise varies slightly from that of the Netflix period piece, it brings all the charms you seek, while simultaneously adding a dash of vibrance. Yes, on The Buccaneers, the girls are still looking to land a duke or a lord, but it’s not the end-all-be-all, and they are very vocal about how it’s a far cry from what some might deem to be the perfect setup or situation.
Romantic relationships are at the center, but not more than the romance between the five American women who explode onto the scene in London and kick-off, as the series teases, a “culture clash.”
When Nan St. George, her older sister Jinny, Lizzy and Mabel Elmsworth, and Conchita Closson arrive from New York, they take London by storm, ruffling the feathers of stiff Brits wherever they go with their free-spirited approach to living, or, as free as women in the 1800s were allowed to be. That freedom was quickly tamed for some, like Jinny, who eventually succeeded in her goal of marrying a problematic (she doesn’t know it yet) Lord James Seadown, described by his own sister, Honoria (Kate Winslet’s daughter for those who were trying to figure out the resemblance), as a monster, while others remain committed to being loud and full of life, like Conchita, though even her antics start to rub her friends, including the ever-understanding and supportive Nan. Can’t one night be just about her?
To say there’s tension between the ladies, who deem themselves thick as thieves, is quite an understatement.
Conchita, whose wedding to Lord Richard Marable, the brother of Lord Seadown, kicks off the entire series, is nearly muddled by controversy when Dick is a no-show, ends up getting the guy as he arrives slightly late and is convinced, by Nan, that his love for Conchita is stronger than the backlash he’s going to get from his parents. But turns out, he had every right to be worried because across the pond, Conchita, who was already with child for the wedding, is not having an easy time getting accustomed to the timid, husband-pleasing role of a wife expected of her. It doesn’t help that Dick’s parents show her no grace or understanding, making her feel that much more isolated. Dickie loves Conchita a lot—including her larger-than-life personality—but he doesn’t know how to navigate the situation with his parents, especially as Conchita tries to conform to the standard expected of her. As she puts it, it’s better to be quiet and approved of.
When the baby comes, things don’t get any better or easier for her, and she holds plenty of resentment for Nan for abandoning her, despite being fully aware that she was essentially forced to go away on a month-long trip to Cornwall with Mrs. Testvalley because she’s being a distraction to the other girls who are out and eligible to find husbands… like Jinny. Jinny feels inferior to her sister at every turn, and her final straw with Nan is when she accidentally drops her shoe into a cake during the ball while she’s getting acquainted with a dashing stranger, Guy Thwarte, who is drawn to her openness. The duo share a few adorable meet-cutes, establishing Guy as a contender for Nan’s heart, even though we’re told throughout multiple points in the series that she’s not interested in all the frivolous stuff.
In a moment of anger, Jinny pulls Nan aside to inform her that she doesn’t understand why their mother always takes her side because Mrs. St George isn’t her real mother. Talk about a bombshell of a secret! Jinny tries to take it all back over the course of the three episodes but the damage has been done. Nan begins to wonder who she is as her whole identity is thrown into flux. As Jinny urges her to just forget about it, Nan simply can’t shake it, eventually returning from Cornwall—where she just so happens to run into another very handsome stranger at the beach who is also an artist (and the Lord, a detail Nan isn’t privy to upon their first meeting), Theo—and confides in Guy, who Conchita invited to the party at Runnymede, which is supposed to be a girls weekend but is, unsurprisingly, crashed by the men at Conchie’s behest. She takes this free weekend as an opportunity to remind her husband why he fell in love with her in the first place—a mission she deems successful until she overhears Dickie talking with Testvalley about how his parents were right about her all along. She storms out before he gets to the part where he proclaims his undying love for her. On a side note, does anyone else think Dickie’s relationship with Testvalley is odd? She seems to be the chaperone for the ladies, but throws shade Conchie’s way on a handful of occasions.
Runnymede is where most of the pivotal action takes place. As mentioned, Nan tells Guy her big secret about being born out of wedlock, and he immediately calls it a night despite assuring her that there’s nothing she can say to change his mind about her. So much for that promise.
Jinny and Lizzy both set their sights on Seadown, essentially agreeing to let the best woman win, however, Jinny, who honestly may just be the worst of the bunch, hurls plenty of insults Lizzy’s way when she perceives that Seadown is no longer interested in her. It’s initially unclear what Seadown is playing at, but remember how his sister called him a monster? Well, it’s because he’s a controlling and abusive man, as we see when he takes Lizzy up to a room and orders her to strip down and lay naked in front of him as he blocks the door. It’s a humiliating experience, and one she can’t seem to shake, particularly as the next morning, Seadown proposes to Jinny. I was a little baffled that Lizzy didn’t tell Jinny what happened, but considering Jinny is exhibiting straight-up mean girl behavior, I’m also not surprised. Lizzy tried being a good friend, and Jinny basically threw it back in her face. Even as Lizzy tried to give her a subtle warning, Jinny demanded that she let her have this, so I guess good luck finding out on your own terms when the illusion of marriage wears off. And yes, I said marriage because shortly after said proposal, Jinny and Seadown eloped without any of their loved ones present for the big moment. It’s just the first of many controlling moments to come—though we already see him preventing Jinny from hanging out with her sister or even saying goodbye before she leaves. He’s trying to keep her away from everyone, though it seems he hasn’t shown her all that he’s capable of just yet.
As for Lizzy, she booked a ticket back home to America without telling a soul what happened. The girls worry, but without cellphones and internet, it’s not like they can get an answer anyway, so they simply move along.
But the biggest thing to come out of Runnymede is that Nan gets a proposal from none other than Theo, who tracked her down because he couldn’t stop thinking about her. He proposes quickly without much context so that the rest of the group doesn’t ruin it by informing Nan that he’s the Duke of Tintagel, a title he hates. For years, his mother has been trying to force him to find a wife and yet he never softened one bit around the many women throwing themselves at him. However, he’s completely smitten when it comes to Nan, likely because she saw something in the real him, the man behind the title that everyone clamors for.
As the proposal is going down, Guy arrives by horse, seemingly in a hurry to possibly also propose to Nan. We’ll never know because the moment he sees Theo down on one knee, he rushes off.
With all of the American ladies coming from wealthy families with new money (that’s absolutely not respected in New York) and the English with grand titles and not much income, the arrangements are considered to be mutually beneficial—status in exchange for money and vice versa.
It’s the driving force behind Guy’s feelings for Nan, initially, as his father orders him to seal the deal, even giving him his late mother’s ring to ensure it’s a success. When Nan confesses that she’s not actually Mrs. St. George’s daughter, he realizes that his whole get-rich plan has gone down the drain, but then he comes back the next morning after seemingly realizing that he still has feelings for her, only to be bested by well, his best friend.
Yep, Guy and Theo are the best of buddies… and we should’ve listened to Testvalley when she warned the girls that England was quite small. It also explains why Guy heave-hoed it out of there when he saw Theo pursuing Nan!
Following the proposal, Nan and her friends are invited to a grand ball where Theo hopes to convince Nan that she’ll love this lifestyle solely because she loves him. It’s something right out of a fairytale, until she runs into Guy, learns that he’s her prince charming’s BFF, and then realizes her hopes of becoming a duchess could just be ruined because of the secret she blabbed to a guy she barely knew.
But that isn’t even the biggest obstacle in all of this because while Nan has a clear connection with Theo—neither can stop grinning from ear to ear around the other—she’s also in lust with Guy. And the feeling is mutual. Have you seen the way that man looks at her, in front of everyone at the ball, from across the room? It’s electric.
He promises her that he’ll keep her secret (even though he’s never lied to his BFF4Lyfe ever before) because he thinks she’ll make a great duchess—as do the other English people, apparently. I’m not surprised that Conchita (who yes, is very self-centered and attention-seeking but is also likely suffering from PPD) is so dismissive of Nan’s issues as if they aren’t actually problems because things just seem to come so easily to her–without even trying, wanting, or looking, she stumbled upon two incredibly handsome men who want to be with her, while also getting the approval of his mother and public.
The Buccaneers/ Apple TV
So she may be illegitimate, but that doesn’t mean that Mrs. St. George isn’t her mother in the grand scheme of things. After all, she took her in, raised her, and kept the secret. There’s no greater display of love. Though, I can’t shake the feeling that Testvalley is actually her real mother, which would be quite scandalous if I do say so myself.
Guy hopes that he and Nan can move on as friends, but she can’t get over that he left her at Runnymede after she shared something so personal with him. This helps her make her decision that Theo is the man she wants to marry, telling him that she’s fully in as they frolic on the beach together and share a first kiss. She then informs him that she’ll be making her way back to New York to talk to her mother (not her mother) as Theo asks to join so he can get to know who she really is (rub it in, why don’t you!).
Nan is on cloud 9 until she climbs into bed in the wee hours of the morning next to Mabel (whose love story didn’t score nearly as much time as it should’ve, but long story short, she had a forbidden and steamy rain makeout session with Honoria), who brings her down the earth as she informs her that Guy was very much at Runnymede when Theo was proposing.
At this point, the look of sheer panic spreads across Nan’s face as she realizes that she may have made a pretty big mistake, and it’s messy no matter which way you slice it.
From a practical perspective, Theo is by far the superior choice as he provides security and a future whereas Guy only pursued Nan from a financial standpoint, however, from a follow-your-heart perspective, I think that Guy might take this one. If he beat Theo to Runnymead and proposed first, she’d likely say yes without hesitation.
And at this point, all of us suckers who can’t shake a good love triangle, let alone a Victorian-era love triangle, are all officially hooked.
How will Nan move forward? Will Jinny ever realize she married a straight creep simply to boost her self-esteem? Will Conchita find a way to exist in England without completely erasing herself? How will Mabel and Honoria’s story pan out? And will Lizzy tell anyone what happened once everyone reunites in New York?
Admittedly, the show is a bit of a hard sell, especially if you’re looking for an authentic period piece. This isn’t that. I’m invested in all of their high society stories (moving at a very rapid pace), even if it’s largely historically inaccurate and a departure from the original novel. I am thrown off by their 21st-century vocabulary and mannerisms in the context of the 19th century far more than I should allow myself to be (it worked in Bridgerton and Dickinson, but this feels forced)—I know what they are going for, it’s just not being communicated properly as the juxtaposition of modern and classic is more jarring than it should be.
It takes a bit to get over the shrieking and overly excited and animated behavior of the girls, so I’m not surprised most of London finds them insufferable. The stereotype gets old quickly, especially as the English counterparts are horrified as they exude class and grace. There’s a fine line here, and the series crossed too far the wrong way. I’m fine with bending the rules and being carefree, I even encourage it in a feminist series, but it needs to be done right and portrayed in a realistic manner—you’d likely never see any young lady behaving as brashly in a social situation, public or not, in this time period.
What did you think of The Buccaneers Season 1 Episode 1 through 3 premiere? Will you stick around?