Warning! This article contains spoilers for The Buccaneers season 2, episode 4.So far,The Buccaneersseason 2 has been pretty solid, with the first three episodes finding a good balance of heartbreak, romance, family, and friendship that helped make season 1 a success. Unfortunately, the show takes a dip in episode 4, with too much self-sabotage from the characters.
UnlikeThe Buccaneers’ second episode of the season, which included a big time jump, this one picks up immediately after Nan flees Tintagel and shows us her reunion with Guy and Jinny in Italy. With Nan gone, Theo and Lizzy get together despite her engagement to Hector. And, after Theo makes his mother leave the castle, she’s visited by Reede, and we learn more about what happened between them.
Blanche & Reede’s Scenes Are A Much-Needed Highlight Of The Episode
Their Relationship Is Quickly Becoming One Of The Buccaneers’ Most Interesting
Blanche has become one ofThe Buccaneersseason 2’s standout characters, and that continues in this episode through her scenes with Reede. Not only do their conversations shed more light on Blanche’s past, but they also allow the show to explore a deeper, more bittersweet love story than it has before.It provides a great parallel to Nan’s relationship with Guyand specifically her decision in this episode, as Blanche questions whether she and Reede truly would have been happy or if it was merely the fantasy that made the relationship so appealing.
With so much ofThe Buccaneers’ focus put on the younger generation, Blanche and Reede provide a welcome maturity in this episode.
Blanche and Reede’s scenes also highlight how relatively rare it is to see romantic relationships between older characters portrayed on TV. With so much ofThe Buccaneers’ focus put on the younger generation, Blanche and Reede provide a welcome maturity in this episode.
Nan & Guy’s Reunion Isn’t Quite As Blissful As Imagined
It’s Weighed Down By Jinny’s Adjacent Storyline
In envisioning Nan and Guy’s reunion, I expected it to be a pretty blissful moment for both characters. While the show does lean into the romance and joy of it in some ways, with the two crashing a wedding together, there’s also a good bit of awkwardness when Nan first shows up and sees how well Jinny and Guy have adjusted to their life together. This is realistic, and Nan couldn’t have wanted them to be miserable, but it does wind up robbing Guy and Nan, who are supposed to beThe Buccaneers’ biggest romance, of that big, wholly joyful reunion together.
Guy and Nan’s scenes also take place very near where James has just tracked down Jinny, andthe darkness of that storyline can’t help but bleed into Nan and Guy’s a bit, with Paloma seeing them together further bringing it down to earth. The reunion also isn’t helped by how short-lived it is, and I’ll admit to being a little baffled by Nan’s decision to leave so quickly.
Part of the issue is that the show hasn’t done a good job of explaining the bill Nan’s working on with Hector and how it will help Jinny. In keeping the details vague, Nan’s decision is even harder to understand, especially when it comes so soon after her arrival in Italy.
The Show Continues To Push The Lizzy/Theo Romance
Lizzy is another character whose decisions are tough to understand in this episode, as she and Theo give in to their feelings for each other at a garden party. Similar to Nan’s choice to return to Tintagel,part of the issue is the speed at which the decision is made.
The garden party does allow for a couple of fun moments with Conchita, as she tries to set Mabel up, unaware that she only has eyes for Honoria.
So far, the show hasn’t done enough to make me buy Lizzy and Theo as a couple, especially when she and Hector have solid chemistry, and he seems to genuinely care about her. There’s a clear effort to position Lizzy and Theo as one of the show’s great love stories, facing obstacles similar to Guy and Nan, but so far, it’s hard to root for them.
It’s Frustrating To Watch As They Sabotage Their Own Happiness
WhileThe Buccaneers’ characters were prone to self-sabotage in season 1, it was often more fun to watch than frustrating. Even when they made bad decisions, their choices were easy to understand, made in the pursuit of true love, happiness, or both, and always with a winningly youthful flair. In this episode, some of the characters feel like they’re actively sabotaging their own happiness, choosing the hardest path every time, which ultimately isn’t much fun to watch.
The Buccaneersseason 2 episodes release on Wednesdays through August 6 on Apple TV+.
