The word “buccaneers” probably conjures up pirate imagery in your mind, but its true definition refers to “a daring, adventurous, and sometimes reckless person” — and what better word to define the events of The Buccaneers Season 1 finale “Wedding of the Season” (Episode 8) than that?
All along, the American girls have lived up to their title by challenging everyone’s expectations of them, poking holes in long-standing British ways of life, and defining their own happiness on their own terms. The most apparent of the “buccaneers” is headstrong Nan, who has found herself in a love triangle with feelings for another man the night before her wedding day. It seemed almost inevitable that the season would end with Nan running off with Guy, shoving the consequences off to a future unconfirmed season.
But that’s not what happened. In “Wedding of the Season,” the love triangle and promise of a happy ending proves to be a red herring. Nan discovers that Jinny is not only being abused by James, but she’s also carrying his baby. Though she’s still angry at her sister, she can see that her brother-in-law is the true cause of the rift and that Jinny is above all scared of disobeying him. The night that Jinny comes knocking on her door, Nan and Guy (yes, Guy is there in her bedroom — we’ll get to that in a moment) attempt to smuggle her out of the castle. But the ever-present James appears just in time to whisk her back into the cage of her marriage.
Nan being Nan won’t give up. On the day of her wedding, Nan is surrounded by her bridesmaids (and, inexplicably, James, who can’t seem to let Jinny out of his sight even to walk her sister down the aisle) and walks to the church with her head held high. James finally takes the hint and goes inside when they approach the door, and that’s when Mission: Rescue Jinny is set into motion. The other buccaneers take it upon themselves to make their entrances very slowly while Nan escorts Jinny into a waiting carriage. Guy is there to accompany her on a journey far away from James, who is sure to find a way to track her down eventually, while Nan returns to the castle to marry Theo.
This means that Nan doesn’t run off to her happy ending with Guy, though “Wedding of the Season” made it abundantly clear that that’s unequivocally where her feelings lie. Guy climbs up the side of the castle and visits her in her bedroom the night before the wedding (and a few hours before Jinny’s arrival) to explain that he’s left Jean because his feelings for Nan are too large to ignore. She doesn’t deny her feelings for him and they kiss. Clothes come off and it’s insinuated that they sleep together at long last.
When Jinny arrives and witnesses her sister’s indiscretion but happiness, she doesn’t scold her. Instead, when the carriage is set to take off the next day during the wedding ceremony, Jinny asks her if she loves Guy, Nan admits that she does. But her bigger love is reserved for her sister, and this arrangement can only work if Nan goes back to marry Theo. The bait and switch of the episode emphasizes that the girls’ relationship amongst each other is what they’re most interested in salvaging, even putting their own happiness aside for it.
What about Theo? you might be thinking. He says almost nothing in the entire episode, with his mother waging the war on his behalf. She opens the episode by telling Nan to tread lightly, that marrying a man like her son will force Nan to get in line with the demands that come with the title. Later, she witnesses Nan and Guy return to her bedroom together after the failed attempt to smuggle Jinny away. The Duchesses is a shrewd woman and likely puts two and two together, though we don’t see Guy and Nan explain their circumstances. Instead, we see a wordless scene of Nan approaching Theo in his art studio and a knowing conversation between the Duchess and Nan’s mother Patty about Nan’s plans to rescue Jinny.
For the Duchess, she’s getting what she wants: her son will be married without the shame of a runaway bride. But Patty is much more concerned that Nan is entering a loveless marriage much like her own. Unfortunately she doesn’t get a chance to speak to her daughter before she enters the church to marry a man who may or may not know that his wife doesn’t love him. Big yikes.
Though Nan’s “happy ending” coincided with her sister’s safety, there were a few other happy-endings-with-an-asterisk for our other girls. Richard stands up to his family and denounces their money so that he and Conchita can finally live happily. Only two problems: her family has lost all of their money in a bad investment, and his father confides in Richard that he’s ill and needs his eldest son to take on the family business and titles.
Mabel and Honoria make up after Mabel calls off her engagement to Miles, and the two hope to create a world of their own where they’ll be accepted and happy. Mabel has already taken the first step by coming out to her sister Lizzy, who passes no judgment on her identity. Sadly, Lizzy doesn’t get much of a storyline with James’s limited screen time, but she’s fiercely loyal to her girls.
The first season ends much like it started: with a Taylor Swift needle drop. “Long Live” plays as James bolts from the church to try to find Jinny while Nan moves forward with marrying Theo. The Buccaneers hasn’t been officially renewed by Apple TV+, but it plays the TV game and ends on a cliffhanger. The Colonel approaches his estranged wife Patty outside of the church to tell her that Nan’s biological mother is physically in the church right now, watching her daughter get married — let the speculation begin!
Radhika Menon (@menonrad) is a TV-obsessed writer based in Los Angeles. Her work has appeared on Paste Magazine, Teen Vogue, Vulture and more. At any given moment, she can ruminate at length over Friday Night Lights, the University of Michigan, and the perfect slice of pizza. You may call her Rad.