Sanditon on Masterpiece on PBS is a love letter to Jane Austen, and yet the show makes certain choices that may have left the Regency era writer totally aghast. No, we’re not talking about the inclusion of the beautiful and wealthy bi-racial heiress Georgiana Lambe (Crystal Clarke), who was literally introduced in Austen’s original manuscript. Nor are we clutching our pearls over Arthur Parker (Turlough Convery) and his forbidden romance with the Duke of Buckinghamshire, Harry Montrose (Edward Davis). After all, there’s proof Austen was at least aware of queer love via some rather clever wordplay in Mansfield Park.

Instead, we’re still kind of shocked that no one raised an eyebrow when the unwed Charlotte Heywood (Rose Williams) rode in a carriage all night, unchaperoned with Alexander Colbourne (Ben Lloyd-Hughes) in Sanditon Season 3 Episode 5. Making matters worse? Mr. Colbourne isn’t even Charlotte’s fiancé!! That would be Ralph Starling (Cai Bridgen)!

“Oh, for sure. I mean, of course, there would have been [scandal],” Sanditon showrunner Justin Young said. “In the same way that in Season 1, you know, we had her alone in a carriage with Sidney (Theo James) and it’s massive poetic license. It really is.”

“I think it’s a curious genre we’re in because it’s a respectful homage to Austen. But, you know, we’re not purists about it. We are first and foremost trying to give the audience, you know, the moments that they want.”

Later, Young joked the audience doesn’t necessarily want to see Miss Hankins (Sandy McDade) as a third wheel during Colbourne and Charlotte’s carriage ride together, but Sanditon star Ben Lloyd-Hughes totally understood the scandal his character and Charlotte would have been courting.

“In Austen times that would be absolutely outrageous, right?” Lloyd-Hughes said. “I guess the great factor in that moment is the kind of essential need to find Augusta (Eloise Webb) as soon as possible. And that drive of she may be ruined at any point. So there was real, there really was a time element to it that I think legitimizes why they would break quite controversial conventions at that time.”

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“So, yeah, you’re absolutely right, etiquette-wise, probably they wouldn’t have been alone in that carriage,” Young said. “Etiquette-wise, Ralph, who’s pretty aware of what’s going on at that point, almost certainly wouldn’t have said, ‘Yeah, fine off you two go.’ But it felt like by that point in the narrative, the urgency of the situation kind of overrode any of those other kind of etiquette questions.”

“A carriage is basically just a kind of sealed container of sexual tension. That’s really what it is.”

Young then reiterated something that he’s said before: “If I had my way, every episode would have had carriage scenes, but they’re very, very expensive. So there’s any number of scenes in [Season 3] that actually were originally scripted as carriage scenes, but ended up being in various other locations.”

In fact, Young had to often pivot locations because of what was and wasn’t available during Sanditon‘s tightly scheduled shoot. One such scene might surprise Sanditon fans as it was Samuel Colbourne (Liam Garrigan) and Lady Susan’s (Sophie Winkleman) “larder forage” date in the kitchen.

“That was very, very late on. We kind of overrun and I got an email saying either we lose the scene or we shoot it in the kitchen because that’s the only time and place we have left that we have,” Young said. “So I had to do a half an hour rewrite of a scene that was somewhere completely different. I think it was gonna be walking on the beach and then think, ‘Crikey, why on earth would they be in the kitchen?’ So when you watch that scene, you’ll see that they have a kind of picnic that I find a pretext for being there,” Young said.

That pretext? Samuel didn’t know she’d actually stay for dinner and therefore hadn’t warned Cook to make a fine dinner. Though, as Samuel and Lady Susan agree, the low key larder picnic is honestly more intimate and romantic.

All six episodes of Sanditon Season 3 are now streaming on PBS Passport. The Sanditon series finale will premiere on Masterpiece on PBS on Sunday, April 23 at 9/8 C.

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