Editor’s note: The below recap contains spoilers for The Buccaneers Season 2 Episode 2. Seriously, what is it with Nan (Kristine Froseth) and letters? In Season 1 of The Buccaneers, a lot of the drama revolves around a telegram sent by Guy (Matthew Broome) and read by Theo (Guy Remmers) by mistake. Blinded by love and jealousy, as well as feeling betrayed by the man he considers his best friend, Theo makes the decision to keep the letter – a declaration of love – away from Nan’s eyes, something that eventually comes back to bite him. Now, it is Lizzy’s (Aubri Ibrag) turn to hide a letter from Nan, and it is once again a letter written by Guy about the intensity of his feelings for the recently anointed Duchess of Tintagel. For some reason, perhaps because of a touching one-on-one they had all the way back in Season 1, Guy chooses Lizzy to make his words reach his beloved’s hands, but she doesn’t necessarily think Nan should be made privy to such words. Lizzy and Guy are the two stars of “Holy Grail,” an episode that shows that the series seems to have adopted a ship-and-let-ship mentality that, frankly, feels kind of refreshing. Still slightly trapped in her friends’ storylines, Lizzy is starting to get her own plot that will apparently involve not just dashing MP Hector Robinson (Jacob Ifan) but also the Duke of Tintagel himself. Her scenes with Theo this week have been very moving, and at least for a split second, it looks like a kiss is on the way. Meanwhile, back in Italy, Guy is trying to keep Jinny (Imogen Waterhouse) safe as she insists on going back to England, certain that he is that she’s just ruining her baby’s life. It takes a few papers calling her crazy to convince her that she should stay put, and by the end of the episode she and Guy are also sharing a nice moment of domestic bliss with little Freddie, who, by the way, looks a bit too big for his age, considering that Jinny wasn’t even showing when she ran away.
‘The Buccaneers’ Season 2 Episode 2 Ends With a Damning Revelation

Image via Apple TV+

And speaking of Jinny’s escape, that continues to be the talk of the town, at least as far as the aristocracy is concerned. Sure, Nan might have kept her sister’s name out of the papers for a few weeks with her duchessy shenanigans, but Lord Seadown (Barney Fishwick) is still pulling strings to ensure his wife’s return to England. And it’s not as if Jinny has many people in her corner. Most of the lords agree that she must be insane and are willing to do everything in their power to see her back by her husband’s side. Nan is rightfully enraged by it, especially since Seadown can’t stop cornering her and making threatening remarks about how he will get Jinny back. So, during a dinner party at Tintagel, Nan makes a whole speech about how women deserve to be heard and believed instead of merely owned as property by their husbands. The Dowager Duchess (Amelia Bullmore) is horrified, of course, but Theo remains by his wife’s side. However, it’s tough to say how long that support will last, considering what he hears from Seadown at the end of the episode. It all starts with a friendly enough conversation, in which Theo apologizes for hitting Seadown over the head upon finding him threatening Nan in the woods. Seadown accepts his apologies, but presses him for information about Jinny. Theo reiterates that Nan knows nothing of his sister’s whereabouts, but Seadown reveals that Jinny was seen leaving Tintagel with Guy on the morning of the wedding — not just that, he was also seen at the castle the night before, which means he must’ve slept over. Now, keep in mind that, so far, Theo believed Guy to have left England days before the wedding. The revelation that he hasn’t might be damning for Nan.

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This sure is a pity for her, as she is bent on making her marriage work. So much so, in fact, that, even through the tears she cries at night, she claims to Lizzy that she is doing fine, which prompts her friend to burn the letter written by Guy. Nan, in turn, burns the shirt she kept from her passionate night with her one true love and promises Theo that he has nothing to do with her unhappiness: she’s merely having a tough time adjusting to her new life. Nan isn’t the only one having trouble with her new circumstances. At Richard (Josh Dylan) and Conchita’s (Alisha Boe) residence, Lady Brightlingsea (Fenella Woolgar) and Honoria (Mia Threapleton) have just moved in, now completely broke after the death of the old Lord Brightlingsea (Anthony Calf). This proves great for Honoria and Mabel (Josie Totah), who will now get to share a room, but not exactly ideal concerning Conchita and Dick’s new line of work. As a matter of fact, after a brief conversation with Lady Brightlingsea about how these transatlantic unions are all about the money and nothing more, Cora (Maria Almeida) goes haywire and starts treating all her suitors like garbage. Thankfully, Conchita and Richard are up for a challenge.
Lady Brightlingsea Is the Standout of ‘The Buccaneers’ Season 2 Episode 2

It’s actually quite nice that The Buccaneers hasn’t done away with the dowager Lady Brightlingsea after her husband’s demise. Though even more bitter than a cup of black coffee, Fenella Woolgan’s character has always been of great comedic value to the show, both for her scathing remarks about the actual, cynical truth of the circumstances that have allowed matches such as Conchie and Dick’s and for her utter disdain even for members of her same social class. In “Holy Grail,” it also seems like she has found her match in Mabel, who delivers a quite brutal comment of her own when she joins her would-be mother-in-law for a nightly game of backgammon. In general, “Holy Grail” is an adorably fun episode of The Buccaneers, not just because of Lady Brightlingsea, but also due to how it’s willing to allow viewers to play with the show’s characters like dolls. Oh, so you were thinking Nan and Guy would be in love with each other and no one else? Well, think again, because things in Italy might get steamier in a while, especially if Jinny’s little chat about pleasure in the bedroom is to be understood as foreshadowing. And were you thinking Lizzy would get a vanilla romance with Hector Robinson? Well, the duke just adoringly put her lost bracelet back on her wrist, so think again. Honestly, if there are problems to be found in The Buccaneers Season 2 Episode 2, those problems are the same ones that plague the entire series. Just as Lizzy is about to get her own story, she’s once again made to play second fiddle in one of her friends’ plots. The writers should’ve given the task of carrying Guy’s letter to any other character. Or maybe they should’ve cut that plot point entirely. The way things were done, the story feels repetitive and just serves to highlight that Lizzy doesn’t have much to do in the series. This is something, though, that has been an issue since Season 1. Some Lizzy drama in the next few episodes would be more than welcome — but make it drama that doesn’t involve her friends.

The Buccaneers

“Holy Grail” is a fun episode that moves the plot forward with a startling revelation.

Release Date

November 8, 2023

Network

Apple TV+

Showrunner

Katherine Jakeways

Directors

Charlotte Regan

Kristine Froseth

Nan St. George

Alisha Boe

Conchita Closson

Pros & Cons

It’s great that the series kept Lady Brightlingsea around. You know, for the laughs.
The show’s newest ship-and-let-ship attitude is oddly refreshing.
Lord Seadown’s revelation creates new drama for Nan and Theo’s marriage.
Lizzy gets some much deserved moment in the spotlight.

Sadly, though, Lizzy is still just a pawn in a more well-developed character’s story.
The letter subplot feels repetitive.