Summary

• The Buccaneers ends with a dramatic wedding, but the focus is on character development and relationships rather than the plot.
• The show's strength lies in its modern soundtrack, scandalous undertones, and well-crafted character arcs.
• The male characters, like Richard and James, face their own challenges and vulnerabilities, adding depth to the story.

Season 1 of Apple TV+'s The Buccaneers, based on Edith Wharton's unfinished novel of the same name, ends December 13 with the wedding of the century. But whether or not the bride makes it down the aisle after the trials and tribulations of the last several episodes, Katherine Jakeways' adaptation will remain a standard for future period dramas to uphold. Set in the late 19th century, the show follows a group of American friends searching for British husbands and finding that more misery than happiness awaits them in their married lives.

The Buccaneers is perfect for Bridgerton fans thanks to its modern soundtrack and delicious hints of romantic scandal, but its biggest strength is the careful crafting of its character arcs. Nan St. George's (Kristine Frøseth) love triangle and birth secret may be the talk of the town, but the show is far more interested in how these events shape her relationship with her mother and sister. Speaking of her sister, Jinny (Imogen Waterhouse) entered a fairytale marriage to Lord James Seadown (Barney Fishwick) only to be trapped in a controlling and abusive relationship with no escape. James' brother Richard (Josh Dylan) may make for a much better husband, but his wife Conchita (Alisha Boe) is still weighed down by his family's foibles.

Screen Rant interviewed Barney Fishwick and Josh Dylan about the Marable family in The Buccaneers, from Richard's childhood trauma to James' abusive tendencies, and what each actor hopes to see in a potential season 2.

Barney Fishwick & Josh Dylan Talk The Buccaneers

Screen Rant: As an Edith Wharton enthusiast, I thought this was a great adaptation. Josh, Richard has had to contend with some terrible truths about his family and his childhood. Can you talk about really stepping into that vulnerable space and him accepting that he had been abused?

Josh Dylan: It was a really challenging role and one that I really enjoyed exploring. I think firstly I'd say that Catherine Jakeways, the writer, wrote it beautifully and she was so thoughtful and considered about that aspect of it, and that's something she spoke about quite early on with myself and Simone who played Miss Testvalley.

I think what I tried to do is to, because the time we live in now is so different to the 1870s, is to just try and approach it as a human being. I think abuse is abuse any point in history, and to try and sort of really embody that and to feel that on a human level, yeah. I think it was challenging and I think what I enjoyed was that men of that time, certainly in my experience watching things, sometimes their sensitivity is something that's not necessarily explored.

Richard is a very, very sensitive soul and I love tapping into that. There's something that inherently he wants to go against the grain but isn't quite sure how. And he's constantly caught between head and heart and I think that's a really interesting conundrum.

Barney, James is on the other side of the spectrum here, doling out abuse. What would you say about how do you tap into what it is that makes him not know how to give or receive love?

Barney Fishwick: I think you get a sense of what that [very repressed upbringing] might have been from Lord and Lady Brightlinsea. I think love for him is much more of an exchange or about duty. It's like a formal thing rather than a feeling thing. So I think in his relationship with Jinny, it's a sequence of expectations. You should do this, you should do that, you should do this because that is your role.

But I think coupled with that is a sense that he's so, so paranoid and so insecure that there's just no way that she could ever meet those expectations. In fact, that's the balance that they exist in, is she's perpetually failing to meet these ever-changing expectations and standards, which I think is quite a standard feature of coercive relationships. It's like this is a bench, here are the goal posts. I'm going to keep changing them. You will keep failing, etc.

Without spoiling, I was like, “Excuse me?” when I got to the end of season 1. What would you like to see in season 2 for your characters?

Barney Fishwick: Road trip. Richard Marable, Lord Seadown, they go to Magalu.

Josh Dylan: Pick-up truck.

Barney Fishwick: They just sort themselves out.

Josh Dylan: Yeah, and that's a long holiday.

Barney Fishwick: Richard has some strong words with James and says, “You just need to go to therapy.”

Josh Dylan: God, there are a million directions it could go in. It's something, yeah! It's quite exciting, the possibilities. But that's good that you had that response. Good that you wanted to see more.

About The Buccaneers

The Buccaneers are the daughters of America’s new rich — beautiful and untameable, despite the best efforts of England’s finest governesses, they are on their way to London to snare themselves an aristocrat, low in funds but high in class, to make a perfect match.

Check out our other interviews here:

• Katherine Jakeways & Beth Willis
• Kristine Frøseth & Alisha Boe
• Imogen Waterhouse & Aubri Ibrag
• Josie Totah & Mia Threapleton
• Guy Remmers & Matthew Broome

New episodes of The Buccaneers drop Wednesdays on Apple TV+.

Source: Screen Rant Plus

• 

  The Buccaneers

  Release Date:

  2023-11-08

  Cast:

  Guy Remmers, Simone Kirby, Matthew Broome, Francesca Corney, Kristine Froseth, Alisha Boe, Josie Totah, Christina Hendricks, Josh Dylan, Aubri Ibrag, Imogen Waterhouse

  Genres:

  Drama, History

  Rating:

  Not Yet Rated

  Seasons:

  1

  Story By:

  Edith Wharton

  Writers:

  Katherine Jakeways, Roanne Bardsley

  Directors:

  Richard Senior, Susanna White

  Showrunner:

  Katherine Jakeways

  Streaming Service(s):

  Apple TV+