It’s rare that a season finale is as cohesive, electric, and propulsive as The Buccaneers 1×08, “Wedding of the Season.” This episode has contextual and visual cues that reflect The Buccaneers Season 1 Episode 1, “American Poison.” That attention to detail enhances the viewing experience for a finale that feels like the closing of the first chapter in a much, much longer story.
Written by Katherine Jakeways and directed by Charlotte Regan, “Wedding of the Season” builds momentum through character-driven twists, like long-awaited confessions and critical confrontations. Every scene compounds on the previous and next because of how closely tethered the ensemble is or has become. That alone is a testament to The Buccaneers’s ability to expound multiple dynamics and still have room to continue if the show is able (Hopefully, it is!) to continue.
“Wedding of the Season” is dramatic enough that its CODA will certainly leave audiences gasping — either from pure shock or trying to catch their breath through all their tears. After all, it’s quite impossible to hear that needle drop and not feel a thing. Unsurprisingly, The Buccaneers executes its debut season’s finale with flair.
Nan and Guy’s Breathtaking Love
The title “Wedding of the Season” encourages that high energy. The event puts Guy/Nan/Theo’s love triangle under the pressure it needs for certain feelings to reveal themselves. Nan has her own earned love confession for the first time – to Guy Thwarte. After a season of Guy pouring his heart out to her and showing up when she and her family need him, Nan says the three words when circumstances pull them apart again.
If there is any question before this episode, Guy is the romantic love story for Nan and vice versa. Even so, it is disappointing that the show doesn’t invest more in Jean Hopeleigh independently or as a potential match for Guy because of the insight The Buccaneers 1×05, “Failed Betrayal,” provides. Then again, a second season would be the perfect place for that tertiary character development.
Until then, “Wedding of the Season” is dedicated to Nan and Guy.
Kristine Frøseth and Matthew Broome expertly convey their characters’ anticipation and nervousness of taking that step that will change everything. In a scene like that, it’s easier to understand the comparisons between The Buccaneers and Bridgerton. Because this is a season finale on a show where the characters are tightly interconnected, the scene sparks from electric chemistry and impending consequences. That frazzled energy is a valuable undercurrent that becomes a tidal wave by the end of “Wedding of the Season.”
The Theo of It All
The Buccaneers utilizes that catalyst by making the audience active participants in the tide-changing occurrences. Characters fill in gaps (The Dowager Duchess with Patricia St. George at the end!) about season-long storylines. But the episode’s writing also encourages the viewers to do the same in situations like when the Dowager Duchess catches Nan & Guy together and Nan sees Theo before the wedding.
The former comes into more direct effect between the influential matriarchs, but the latter leaves plenty of assumptions. Ultimately, most of Theo’s presence during “Wedding of the Season” comes down to presumptions drawn from the subtlety of Guy Remmers’s performance. Theo revisits touchstones, including that cliff from “American Poison” and his makeshift studio, that paint his beats of reflection. Those natural connections to the character’s core depict his internal dialogue that will hopefully externalize in Season 2.
Oddly, it averts any specifics, but The Buccaneers‘ debut season gradually packs more weight onto the roles of Duke (and Duchess) of Tintagel and the influence his wedding with Nan can have. The show could only benefit from showcasing the ins and outs of that more starkly in a second season, especially now that their marriage is legitimate. Because “Wedding of the Season” makes it abundantly clear where Nan’s heart is, it will be interesting to see how Theo & Nan’s dynamic evolved and how Theo’s character expands.
The Next Generation of Brightlinseas
Theo’s next steps are nebulous, but the future of the Brightlinsea family is (mostly) bright — complicated but bright. There are more than a few bad apples in that family tree, but they are falling out and leaving such potential to blossom in Honoria and Richard.
Jakeways and Regan write and direct the scene between Honoria and Mabel so that what occurs between the two young women – another wedding of the season — is transparent. Honoria and Mabel exchange vows, and a symphony of “We do” echoes between the happy couple. It’s a recognition of their love akin to Richard standing up to his family and choosing himself, Conchita, and Minnie over money, reaffirming their unconditional love. After a season of pining and pain, seeing the characters so vibrant with feeling is joyous.
Including accolades for the scene where Mabel comes out to Lizzy, spectacularly performed by Josie Totah and Aubri Ibrag, is irrefutable. Lizzy encouraging her sister to let go of the shame and see her beauty is not only apt advice during the scene but a reflection of Lizzy’s arc, too. Even though The Buccaneers takes place in the 1870s, Lizzy’s words, “You’re talking about love. How can love ever be wrong? If that’s what gives you butterflies, then you’re exactly who you’re supposed to be,” are evergreen in 2023.
Long Live the Buccaneers
The Buccaneers never plays it coy about who it’s about – Conchita, Jinny, Lizzy, Mabel, and Nan. So, it shouldn’t be as moving to see the women rally around Jinny with an exit plan from her abusive marriage or stare daggers at Seadown (Conchi! Lizzy!) when they walk down the aisle, but it is an overwhelming watch. “Wedding of the Season” naturally builds the tension, so those final minutes become a breathless race to save Jinny.
Imogen Waterhouse is breathtaking throughout this episode, honing in on the range of Jinny’s emotions through this life-saving whirlwind. Her countenance represents so much simultaneously and during such a tumultuous time – it’s excellent work.
In fairness, Frøseth, Alisha Boe, Ibrag, and Totah are outstanding during the final minutes of “Wedding of the Season.” The girls’ slow-motion walk to the church, with Seadown staying close to Jinny mere paces behind them, is packed with confidence, determination, fear, love, and stress from their expressions.
Lizzy having that last, victorious look at Seadown when Taylor Swift’s “Long Live (Taylor’s Version)” plays is one of the best musical moments on TV this year. It’s a perfect musical reminder that these young women come first and foremost for each other, forever. Hopefully, “Wedding of the Season” is only the first finale in a multi-season series detailing the highs and lows of this paramount love story.
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The Buccaneers Season 1 is streaming on Apple TV+ now.
