If you’re still reeling from James Seadown’s evil meddling at the end of last week’s episode of The Buccaneers, “Get Her Out” (Season 2, Episode 3) doesn’t wait long to address the bombshell he dropped about Guy and Nan’s relationship to Theo. Thankfully the villainous bearer of bad news doesn’t appear in the third episode, but the damage is done. “Get Her Out” opens with Theo’s understandably furious conversation with Nan, who initially lies about what happened with Guy. But she comes clean and admits that while she wishes she had fled with Guy and Jinny, she followed through with the marriage to secure the power she feels she needs to protect her sister. It’s one of the worst things you could admit to someone: I don’t love you, but I love what your status provides me.
The Dowager tries briefly to step in but she backs off quickly when she realizes what’s at stake. “Now we’ve both protected each other,” she thanks Nan for not outing her knowledge of Nan’s affair, referencing the quid pro quo arrangement that the women have. But Theo’s mom isn’t going to let their marriage dissolve in front of her eyes and she offers Theo another option: they can separate after there is an heir to the castle. Theo runs with this, approaching Nan with a passionate kiss before realizing that he can’t even bear to look at her, let alone sleep with her, now that the truth is out there. Still, he repeats his mother’s words about an heir, infuriating Nan further. Confronting the Dowager, she threatens that the Tintagel titles will die with them as she refuses to be a vessel for her heir. Mic drop.
Lizzy’s birthday ball is the major centerpiece of the episode, and it gives us one of our first major pop star needle drops of the season in Chappell Roan’s “Good Luck Babe.” The song scores a very important reunion: The Dowager and her former lover Reede, who happens to be Hector’s father. They share a dance and slip back into old patterns—including Reede using her real name Blanche—and they begin to hash out the end of their relationship many years ago. Blanche chose the power that comes with the Dowager title despite being a rule-breaker who supposedly loathed the establishment and was in love with someone of lower nobility. Sounds familiar.
When they get a moment alone later in the evening, Reede explicitly draws the parallels between the Dowager and Nan, calling her daughter-in-law the “perfect successor.” The comparison prompts the Dowager to come clean to Theo. She admits that she knew about Guy and Nan, but that she encouraged the marriage to move forward to avoid scandal. Trying to take the blame, she says Nan didn’t have a choice because she was trapped in a cage of the Dowager’s making. It’s a nice attempt at an apology but a stark betrayal in the eyes of the Duke, who banishes his mother from the castle.
Lizzy’s parliament suitor Hector arrives with more than just birthday wishes in store: he plans to propose to her, and does by the end of the episode. She says yes, and is seemingly elated about her engagement—that is, until Theo disparages the news, telling her that she’s “sensational” and is settling for Hector. Theo is heartbroken about Nan and his mom’s confession, but he also seems to be making a declaration of his own and acting on the flirtations between him and Lizzy in the previous episode.
The party also provides a platform for Conchita and Richard to convince their client Cora that their love is real. After making jokes about Conchita’s age, questioning the legitimacy of their romance, and dismissing men for superficial reasons, Cora witnesses a true flirty moment between the couple prompting her to admit that she’s actually just scared about someone accepting her, flaws and all.
Conchita’s business also looks like it might be picking up another client in the form of a very reluctant and presently unaware Mabel. When their mother arrives in town for Lizzy’s proposal, she also approaches Conchita behind Mabel’s back to enlist her services. After a very backhanded conversation with Mabel in which she pressed her daughter to act normally and not bring shame to their name, it’s clear that her mom is concerned about Mabel’s sexuality. She offers Conchita double her rate in an effort to control her daughter—now the question is whether Conchita will comply.
Over in Italy, Jinny and Guy are making a life for themselves, which includes a burgeoning friendship with their nosy neighbor Paloma. Jinny cooks dinner for the trio, but overdoes the steak. Injecting some fun spontaneity into their routine, she throws a handful of spaghetti at her fake husband, which starts a full-on food fight. It seems like one of the first true joyous moments for Jinny and Guy since they left their former lives, and a window into what kind of life they can make for themselves here.
But their new lives are about to be disrupted by the arrival of Nan. She ransacks the Dowager’s quarters to obtain Guy’s address from a stack of letters with the goal of running to him. Lizzy stops her just before she boards her carriage and admits to burning the letter from Guy when she thought Nan and Theo were going to work things out. Nan emphatically assures her that things are “finished” with Theo and that it’s always been Guy, and Lizzy encourages her best friend to chase her true love.
Nan gets in the carriage, clutching the letter with Guy’s location, while Theo runs into Lizzy at the castle. He apologizes for his callous reaction to her engagement, but she tells him she liked the way his words made her feel. Whatever his intentions were then, he’s distracted now: he’s hellbent on finding Nan, solidifying the new love triangle that will surely be the focus for the remainder of the season.
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.