Diksha Sundriyal
The penultimate episode of Apple TV+’s ‘The Buccaneers’ drops quite a few bombshells on the characters and sets the stage for the dramatic finale next week. The previous episode ended with Jinny’s rescue and the tragic death of Richard at the hands of his own brother, James Seadown. This episode picks up a few weeks later, with Nan going to New York to attend the divorce trial of her parents. Meanwhile, back home, Conchita and her family process their grief in their own ways. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Richard’s Memorial Brings Up Complicated Emotions
The day of Richard’s memorial is closing in, and while all of his friends and family are dressed in black to mark their grief and loss, Conchita and her daughter are dressed in colours. While Richard’s mother points out that this is disrespectful and, as his wife, she should be wearing all black, Conchita turns a deaf ear to all that talk. This, however, doesn’t mean that he misses her husband any less or that she doesn’t grieve for him. She seems to have fallen into a state of shock and denial, and believes that if she acts normal, things just might become normal. Initially, Conchita considers the idea of wearing black, but at the memorial, she shows up in green. But that’s not the only drama that happens there.
Blanche returns from France with Reede to attend the memorial while things are still strained between her and Theo. Speaking of Theo, he takes the memorial as an opportunity to talk to Lizzy. He asks how she is doing and tries to show his concern for her, but Mabel is quick to hush them both, pointing out that others will note their interaction. Still, once they are inside and seated, Theo has a minor interaction with Lizzy, and he puts a hand on her shoulder before leaving for his seat. This is noticed by Hector, who, at the moment, is trying to explain to his father that he and Lizzy are not getting back together because she changed her mind. As the memorial begins and the pastor starts talking about Richard, little Minnie’s cries are heard from the other room.
Conchita Receives an Unexpected Letter from Richard
When Conchita stands up to go to her daughter, Richard’s mother stops her and chides her for making the baby so dependent on her. This leads Conchita to lash out, while also pointing out that Richard would have hated this ceremony, which is being held in his alma mater, a place he never even liked. As Conchita leaves, Jinny runs after her, trying to understand if Conchita is angry with her because her husband killed Richard. Conchita replies crudely to her insensitivity, pointing out that she does blame her, but not for Richard’s death, but for the treatment she has received afterwards about how she should behave as a widow. At the moment, it seems that the rift between the girls is too deep, but later, Conchita shows up in Jinny’s room with a cake, and they make it up.
Conchita’s heart is also soothed by Honoria, who gives her the letter that Richard sent to his sister when he was still in New York and had just met the woman he would marry. Reading the words of her late husband about how much he loved and adored her warms her broken heart, and she cries for the first time in weeks. Meanwhile, Conchita also encourages her sister-in-law to stop worrying about her mother and live her own life, which is what Richard would have wanted. This gives Honoria the courage to tell her mother that she will be leaving for France.
When her mother dismisses her, pointing out that Honoria has never surprised her, the girl walks to Mabel, who is sitting there with Conchita, Lizzy, and Jinny, and kisses her. Everyone is surprised, for sure, especially Honoria’s mother, who realises that perhaps she never really knew her daughter after all. Meanwhile, Blanche returns to Tintagel to patch things up with her son. At first, he lashes out at her for trapping him in a loveless marriage and rendering him unable to be with Lizzy, whom he loves. When he asks why she didn’t go to Reede when her husband died, she says that she was devoted to her son, who meant more than anything else to her. This breaks the wall between them, and the mother and son finally patch things up.
Patti’s Fight for Divorce Leads to Major Confrontations
While Theo makes up with his mother, Nan has her own maternal issues to deal with. She goes to New York to attend the divorce proceedings, where her mother, Patti, has to prove that her father, Tracy, had affairs so that she can get the divorce. Unfortunately, Tracy is not intent on making things any easier for Patti. His lawyer starts with the character assassination of Patti, where he asks her why, if she knew about Tracy’s affairs, she stayed for so long. Why, if she knew her husband was sleeping with other women, did she initiate sexual relations with him?
This line of questioning scares off the two women who had come forward to testify for Patti and to talk about their affair with Tracy. When they are gone, Nan decides to take the stand, but the lawyer does not spare her either. When she reveals that she is her father’s illegitimate daughter, she is asked how she knows she is illegitimate, and if she is so, how can anyone be sure that she is Tracy’s daughter at all? While Nan watches her mother’s case fall apart, the only thing she can think of is how her birth mother should come forward and testify. While this hasn’t been actively discussed between them, Nan got the inkling that Nell is her real mother after the wedding.
Now, Nell is married to a man named Arthur and is also several months pregnant. It’s not that Nell didn’t think about helping her sister, but after the lawyer’s inconsiderate questions, Patti advises her to look out for herself first. She is newly married and has a baby on the way, which should be her priority. Nan, however, does not know that the sisters had this conversation. At first, she subtly tries to nudge this idea, but when Patti dismisses it, Nan confronts Nell about the truth. Nell accepts that she is her birth mother, but she cannot testify as her husband knows nothing about it, and the truth could shatter her marriage.
When Nan calls her selfish, Nell lashes out at her for being spoiled, naive, and having no idea what she has had to go through. Still, she does care for her sister, so that night, she decides to come clean to her husband about everything. The next morning, she is ready to testify, and it’s not just her words. She brings receipts and letters, proving beyond doubt that Tracy was unfaithful. With this, the divorce is granted, and Patti wins her freedom. The reaction of other women proves that she hasn’t won it just for herself, but all the women trapped in marriages with bad men. If Patti can get out of it, so can they.
Nan Discovers Two Shocking Secrets on the Same Day
Since Conchita is grieving Richard in London, Nan decides to go to New York alone, believing that her friend needs more support at the time. While the rest of the girls don’t accompany her there, she is pleasantly surprised to discover that Guy is there. He unexpectedly shows up at the courthouse, right after Nan’s testimony has broken her heart and made her hate her father even more. Guy’s presence gives her much-needed reprieve. They walk the town together, catching up on things, and she appreciates his being there, even when he didn’t need to. When the case is won, Nan and Guy return to England, along with Patti, who is excited to finally meet her grandson.
Once back home, Nan enquires about Conchita and is glad to know that she is doing much better. Before she can catch up with all the drama that transpired in her absence and talk about all the things that happened in New York, she notices the red earring on the table. She had found the other half of it in her house when she returned from Italy, and when she asks Mabel about it, she discovers that the earring belongs to Lizzy, who has been looking for the other one for a long time. This confirms for Nan that Lizzy was in her house with her husband in her absence. But before she can process this information, she is greeted with another.
The bell rings, and a woman enters the house. Nan doesn’t know her, so Guy does the honor and introduces her as Paloma. Considering that Paloma and Jinny had become great friends, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see her visiting her friend. However, the gut punch comes when Guy introduces her as his wife. This means that sometime in between the few weeks since Richard’s death, Guy returned to Italy and married Paloma. Or worse, he was already married to her before he saw Seadown in the market and ran home to find Freddie missing, which forced him to come back to London with Jinny. In any case, the timing of this revelation is pretty bad, especially for Nan, who has now lost her lover as well as her husband.
Read More: Is Richard Dead? Did Josh Dylan Leave The Buccaneers?
