The Buccaneers is rated TV-14 because it contains implied sex, romantic affairs, emotional abuse, divorce, and mature relationship drama.
Adaptation alone is a slippery tightrope. The greater the number of shows greenlit on the basis of an existing series or piece of work, the greater the expectation that the shows will land on their feet, whether or not the source material did so. Even less common are the cases where adaptations are made of an incomplete work by an author, and these have had mixed success; every Sanditon, which received better critical reception with each new season, has an equivalent Game of Thrones, with a hurried finale that appeared to please few viewers at all.
What Is The Buccaneers Season 2 About?:
The second season of The Buccaneers begins just moments after Nan (Kristine Froseth) has just uttered the words, I do, to Theo (Guy Remmers). Although Nan (Matthew Broome) still has feelings towards Guy, and the two slept together the previous night, she has gone through with the wedding as more of a power move; were she to become the new Duchess of Tintagel, she could use her position to protect her sister, Jinny (Imogen Waterhouse), who has just escaped her own abusive marriage to Lord James Seadown (Barney Fishwick).
Nan has to keep justifying to herself the decision to prioritize the well-being of Jinny over her own long-term contentment, smiling in public and weeping behind closed doors, but it turns out she is not fooling anyone.
Although Theo initially thought that Nan shared his feelings, he starts to suspect that his new wife is not as happy as she says. It is not only their marriage that is going through a bit of discord, as Nan mother, Patti (Christina Hendricks) has all intentions of following through on her threat of divorcing her husband, Tracy (Adam James), although the law is not so much on her side. In the middle of all this, a new character in the shape of the birth mother of Nan, Nell (Leighton Meester), threatens to turn the St. Georges world upside down.
The rest of our Buccaneers have contrived to get Jinny off to Italy under the escort of Guy, and with the aid of the Dowager Duchess of Tintagel (Amelia Bullmore), who will say nothing to Seadown to make him hunt Jinny himself. That her name is now being plastered on all headlines, and that she is being charged with kidnapping the unborn baby of Seadown, is not making the situation any easier, but Nell has some new tricks to play as the new Duchess, and one of them is to change the discourse that is being played out in the newspapers.
Together with her doting husband, Richard (Josh Dylan), Conchita (Alisha Boe) has resolved to apply her matchmaking talents to assisting American heiress Cora Merrigan (Maria Almeida) to secure herself a husband, whilst Lizzy (Aubri Ibrag) is enjoying the attentions of handsome new suitor Hector Robinson (Jacob Ifan) — whose father, Reede (Greg Wise), appears to have eyes only for the Dowager Duchess. Mabel (Josie Totah) and Honoria (Mia Threapleton), meanwhile, are simply looking to spend some time together alone, provided they could get Honoria to stop being at the beck and call of her mother, Lady Brightlingsea (Fenella Woolgar).
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‘The Buccaneers’ Frothy Fun Is at Odds With Its Heaviest Storylines Yet in Season 2
The Buccaneers, in its first season, highlighted the cultural contrast between the titular group of American heiresses and the outdated high society they had their eyes on marrying into. This was most evident in the selection of music in the show, the female-fronted, anachronistic pop-rock music, which was an extension of the fivesome of friends breaking down the walls of the upper class in the story.
This throughline is only carried on into the eight new episodes (all of which were made available to review), and the most publicized song, Chappell Roan, Good Luck, Babe, can be heard during one of the biggest events of the season. However, this spirited soundtrack is also among the greatest causes of the ongoing dissonance of The Buccaneers as a series. As a viewer, it is hard not to feel a raging tonal whiplash, as fun, flirty dancing to the beat of a major pop song is quickly replaced by some of the most serious content the show has ever seen.
To go into more detail about what happens to other characters would be spoiler territory that critics have been warned not to go into, but not everything in The Buccaneers attempts to expand into more emotional storytelling in Season 2 is a waste. And now, with characters such as Conchita and Jinny having their own children, it is a chance that the series has to demonstrate how they have grown into women who have discovered their voices instead of being relegated to the status of mere wives and mothers, as society would have easily ordained. Likewise, the quest of Patti to get a divorce with Tracy, which is enacted through an embarrassingly open court case, is a venture that she undertakes not only on her own behalf, but also on behalf of any woman who might feel enslaved in an ungrateful, cheating marriage.
It is also a joy to see a more adult romance unfold amidst all the young romance of the season, on a character the audience would least expect, and Jinny and Guy in Italy is a welcome, visually stunning addition to the world. However, the best plotlines of the show make their worst plotlines stand out even more so in comparison. The fact that Nan has been unable to make a decision between Theo and Guy, to the extent that she even switches back and forth between the two in the same episode, is a tiresome waste of her character this season, and it takes far too long to put her in a more empowered place, where she no longer needs a satisfying romance to complete her.
The Season 2 of The Buccaneers focuses on some characters at the expense of others.
Infuriating character decisions notwithstanding, there are also some of the finest elements of The Buccaneers being pushed under the carpet in the name of focusing on far less exciting elements. The blossoming, clandestine affair between Mabel and Honoria was one of the most promising and brightest plot lines of Season 1, particularly when their decision to choose happiness in the finale was in subversive contrast to more negative endings. However, Season 2 does little to explore their relationship further than some stolen time, as other storylines force their way to the fore to take centre stage. On a character-by-character basis, some, such as Lizzy, are long overdue to have their moment in the spotlight, and indeed, her admittedly juicy romantic drama unfolds throughout the season, but others, such as Mabel, do not receive any forward momentum of their own.
As with Season 1, the strongest moments of The Buccaneers are always the ones that focus on its close-knit group of friends, but the new episodes follow the same formula of reuniting them all only to be torn apart by some outside force. Jinny is mostly on the run, and Nan is still struggling to cope with her new life as a duchess, so maybe these too-brief reunions are meant to serve as a kind of wake-up call that even the best friendships will always be put to the test, but it is also disheartening that some of the ladies are separated simply because of the intervention of men, which these heiresses have effectively vowed would never happen to them.
When one of the characters eventually says, The love story is obvious, it should be us, the girls. We ought to have been the love story, and that is how it ought to have been, is a sentiment that is far too late, and creates the strong impression that The Buccaneers has been disregarding the very lesson it wanted to shout out of the rooftops, all along. Although Season 2 ends on a note that might point to a radical turn in the story, the series still has problems in striking a natural balance between a frothy, feminist romp and a melancholy period drama, at the point when, like Nan, it might succeed once it finally decides what it wants to be moving forward.
The Buccaneers Season 2 Parents Guide
Sex and Romance: the show is not afraid to be romantic but not in a starry-eyed, holding hands under the parasol sort of way. We are talking about hot pre-wedding affairs, illicit affairs and one rather dirty love triangle where a bride sleeps with her ex the night before her wedding. It is not gratuitous, but emotionally complicated, though it does not avoid bedroom consequences, either.
Gay affection also has its silent strand, but unfortunately, it is not developed in Season 2 to heartbreaking effect. The romance between Mabel and Honoria, which was one of the few bright spots of queer representation, is dismissed in a disappointing way. Their sex is not explicit, but it is well described, and one can feel the emotion.
Language: There is relatively little language- this is not HBO. However, the mood is emotionally charged, and not every character is nice. You will get barbed insults, passive aggressive jabs, and the type of genteel verbal combat that is more psychologically cutthroat than profane.
Violence and Abuse: The Buccaneers still deals with the topics of domestic violence, emotional blackmail, and pressure, especially in the plot of Jinny. The show is not shy of the emotional scars, though the most graphic scenes are off-screen or implied. A side story about a child custody allegation becomes especially gruesome, and the implications can be upsetting to the sensitive audience, especially teenagers who might have witnessed or been a victim of a toxic relationship.
There is also a subplot of a courtroom drama of a woman trying to divorce her cheating husband, which, though empowering in its ideas, is emotionally raw. It is dealt with sensitively, but it may be lost on younger audiences as to what historical limitations women were under and how bitter the stakes were.
Recommended for : Older teens (15+)
