Editor’s note: The below recap contains spoilers for The Buccaneers Season 2 Episode 7.
Let’s be honest: The Buccaneers is far from being the most faithful depiction of what life was like in the 19th century. With its St. Vincent needledrops and its heavily integrated high society, the show is, much like Bridgerton, a fantastic depiction of an era in which many people would dream of living if only they could get rid of the unsavory parts. You know, it’s romance at its finest. However, at the same time, when The Buccaneers really puts its mind to it, it can offer a pretty satisfying portrait of how hard things could be for a woman way back in the day – and even how hard things still are. After doing a tremendous job of showing how an abusive relationship is born and how terribly it might end with Jinny’s (Imogen Waterhouse), the Apple TV+ series now shows us how terrible a divorce trial could be in a time in which no-fault divorce was not a thing, and what it can be like again if some people get their way.
Patti (Christina Hendricks) and Tracy’s (Adam James) story reemerges after being put to sleep for about five whole episodes, and it does so while sharing the screen with Conchita’s (Alisha Boe) pain and Honoria’s (Mia Threapleton) strife for independence. Thus, it begs the question of why we spent so long deprived of a plot that seemed so promising. Thankfully, “All Rise” delivers by packing one hell of a punch. It is indeed a lot more impactful to compact the entirety of the humiliations Patti and Nan (Kristine Froseth) – and, to some extent, Nell (Leighton Meester) – are subjected to into one episode than to spread through a whole season. But poor Conchita sure deserved more time for her suffering, and even Lady Brightlingsea (Fenella Woolgar) could’ve done with some more screentime.
‘The Buccaneers’ Season 2 Episode 7 Takes Nan’s Parents to Court
It is indeed with a St. Vincent needledrop that The Buccaneers Season 2, Episode 7 kicks off. As the beautiful “New York” plays on our screens, Nan arrives in her hometown to show her support for her mother at the aforementioned divorce trial. Patti is having a hard time getting rid of her adulterous husband, as the colonel’s lawyer subjects her to one humiliating question after another, and the judge demands hard proof of Tracy’s infidelities. While initially two of his former mistresses agree to testify in Patti’s favor, they soon change their minds upon seeing the kind of intimate things they will be expected to share on the stand. Nan tries to help her mother by giving her own testimony, but Tracy allows his lawyer to demean her as well, and even states that he can’t be sure that he is her real father. Only Guy’s (Matthew Broome) surprise appearance at the trial — which, quite frankly, seems out of place, considering how much room for speculation it should give — can put a smile back on Nan’s face after such a horrifying blow.
Afraid that her mother might be forced to remain married to such a hideous man, Nan goes after her aunt Nell for help. Having somehow deduced that Nell is her real mother, she expects her to offer her word as proof of what Patti is saying. Unfortunately, things aren’t that simple. Nell is married and expecting a child whose reputation she very much wishes to protect. Thus, afraid of being abandoned by her husband and of branding her unborn child the “child of a slut,” she initially refuses. Besides, it’s not as if Patti is very open to the idea of exposing her sister like that. Eventually, though, Nell opens up to her husband and decides to take the stand.
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Things have never looked so unpredictable for our girls.
And, boy, oh, boy, she takes the stand with receipts. And we mean that literally! Not only has Nell kept the letters that Tracy sent her during their time together, but she has also kept checks and hotel slips that document their entire affair. Patricia emerges from that courthouse under thunderous applause as a newly divorced woman, and Nan loses a father but gains a mother on the same day. The truth is out of the bag, and not just in New York. Back in London, Nan also finds the match to the lone earring she picked up at Tintagel and realizes that Lizzy (Aubri Ibrag) and Theo (Guy Remmers) might be more than just friends. As she’s reeling from that information, a woman opens the door and introduces herself as Guy’s husband. It turns out that the scene in which Paloma (Grace Ambrose) gazed at a wedding ring in Episode 5 did not mean she was already married: it meant that she and Guy had drunkenly eloped during their night together.
‘The Buccaneers’ Season 2 Episode 7 Fails to Give Conchita Her Time to Grieve
It would all be very fine and dandy if this were the entirety of the episode, if Nan had found out about Lizzy, Nell, and Paloma as a cliffhanger for next season, with Episode 8 devoted to the aftermath of Richard’s (Josh Dylan) death in the Brightlingsea household. However, if The Buccaneers has one central flaw, it is the need to keep the plot running for its life, never giving its characters any time to breathe. Thus, Conchita, Honoria, and Lady Brightlingsea are expected to navigate their pain in the scenes that don’t feature Patti and Nan. As a result, we don’t get to see Lady Brightlingsea grieving properly, something that would largely humanize her character. As for Conchita, she goes from denial to anger to acceptance, from blaming Jinny to asking her forgiveness, all in the span of 45 minutes. There isn’t even much to say about what she does in this episode, as nothing seems like it will be of consequence to the overarching story. Honestly, she deserved a lot better.
Honoria, on the other hand, is another matter entirely. While her brother’s death seems to have had little effect on her, with her character serving only to accompany her mother to memorials or to find letters from Richard to console Conchita, she does manage to give her cry of independence in this episode. Having realized that she is not the same lonely, scared girl that she used to be, she announces to Lady Brightlingsea that she intends to leave for France. Challenged by her mother, who doesn’t believe she has the guts to do anything of the sort, she decides to prove that she has changed. In order to that, she gives Mabel one heck of a goodbye kiss right in front of everyone. Like we said, The Buccaneers isn’t the most realistic show when it comes to life in the 19th century.
Now, it’s nice that Honoria has managed to find her own voice. We have all been rooting for her from the moment she first appeared on screen. Still, it is sad that Richard’s brutal murder is treated as so much of an afterthought just one episode after it happened. The only real impact it has is getting the Dowager Duchess (Amelia Bullmore) to apologize to her son out of fear of losing such a precious relationship. It’s cute, and for a split second, you can really see the bond between Blanche and Lady Brightlingsea. But is that really all there is? Is everything sorted now that Conchita is out of mourning and Honoria France-bound, just one episode later? We can only hope not, but “All Rise” doesn’t give us many reasons to believe it will be any different.
The Buccaneers
The truth comes out in an episode of The Buccaneers that only works in parts.
- Release Date
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November 8, 2023
- Network
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Apple TV+
- Showrunner
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Katherine Jakeways
- Directors
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Charlotte Regan
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Kristine Froseth
Nan St. George
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Alisha Boe
Conchita Closson
- Saving Patti’s trial for one single episode was definitely the right move.
- Richard’s death seems to have had little to no effect on the plot.
- Conchita deserved more time to grieve and, thus, develop her character.