The Buccaneers Recap 'American Poison' -- Come to England, not look for love, meet two hot aristocrats

The Buccaneers Season 1 Episode 1 Recap and Review

‘Darlings, we always come first.’ This was Conchita Closson’s declaration to her friends Nan and Jinny St. George, and Lizzy and Mabel Elmsworth, on the day of her wedding. Given that Conchita and her eventual husband Lord Richard Marable consummated their relationship way before the wedding, I was inclined to think that Conchita was referring to something naughtier than the Gilded Age’s It Girls’ desire to prioritise their happiness via parties and dancing and gowns. Yet, this declaration, this promise, drove the conflict over eight episodes of the first season. The Buccaneers was more than a story of wealthy American girls who went to England in search of husbands; it was an insistence to look at the internal lives of young women, Taylor Swift soundtrack and all.

Welcome to Recap Lab’s coverage of The Buccaneers! 

Yes, I know this is late. I tried to watch the pilot episode of Apple TV’s The Buccaneers back in 2023, but gave up after a few minutes. I liked it, I was just feeling a bit Reign-ed and Bridgerton-ed out at the time. Besides, from Consuelo Vanderbilt to, oh you know, stories of wealthy American girls who marry British aristocrats never end well. 

But, I recently found myself with some free time and with that came the headspace to watch shows I had previously passed on. I binge watched the first season of The Buccaneers, and now I am genuinely excited for the second season, which will premiere on June 18th! Whilst we wait, why don’t we take a look back at the first season, spend a bit more time with these characters? Come join me!

Nan said she was never supposed to be the main character, but that was exactly what she was, the younger sister who was not interested in boys but ended up having two boys – two English aristocrats – interested in her. At Conchita’s posh wedding, Nan was focused on helping her friend, especially when the groom Lord Richard was late. When he finally arrived, he tried to hand over a letter to Nan, to make her the deliverer of the humiliating news that he did not wish to proceed with the wedding. Richard was madly in love with Conchita, and she with him. The problem was, he was concerned she would not fit into his life in England. Not only was she a new money American, she was biracial, with a white father and a black mother. With a gentleness that belied her youth, Nan talked him out of backing out.

It was at Conchita’s wedding that Nan met Guy, first as she climbed down Conchita’s window to fetch a fallen earring (because there was something wrong with stairs and a door?), and later inside, whilst they did a sweet silly mirroring down the richly decorated marble staircases. Guy was about to sail back to England because his mother was dying. Their connection was instant, and when they said their goodbyes outside the house, it looked as though Guy truly regretted having to leave.

When next they met there were both in England, at the Debutante’s Ball where Nan was not old enough to be presented, but where she nonetheless had to go in a beautiful gown and uncomfortable shoes. It was when Nan reached to comfort Guy about his mother’s death that she accidentally dropped one of her bright blue shoes, right on top of the massive white cake at the ballroom. Instead of being appalled at the massive social faux pas, Guy joined her in mild teasing and some cake-infused flirting. In stark contrast to the formality amongst the debutantes and their escorts, conversation was easy between Guy and Nan. 

As it was with the second guy, Theo, Duke of Tintagel, whose mother has been pushing him to marry. Theo, however, had an impossible ask in the woman he wanted to marry – he wanted someone who did not know he was a Duke. Since he was considered the greatest match in England, he might as well have told his mother that he did not mean to marry. 

Theo’s first glance of Nan at the Debutante Ball was fleeting; a small smile crossed his lips when he saw her give a few people a piece of her American mind. Nan did not even notice him. On their second meeting, they were alone, on the beautiful Cornwall coast where Nan was briefly exiled for being a distraction to her sister Jinny’s search for a husband. Nan carried a secret she has not yet shared with her friends, a secret Jinny blurted out in anger – Nan was not their mother’s child, rather, a result of an indiscretion by their father. 

I am not old enough to have seen first hand the global reaction to Colin Firth walking out of the lake in Pride and Prejudice, but I remember the lore and that was what came to mind when Nan was followed out of the sea by a shirtless Theo. He had gone down to the beach to paint, and went swimming. As Nan spoke glowingly of the coast, of the castle at a distance, as she talked art with him, Theo realised that he had met the one he had been waiting for, a woman who had no idea who he was. She talked to him as Theo, not as the Duke of Tintagel. Alas, they could not meet again, for Nan said she was returning to New York. 

Nan’s exile meant that she could not be there for her best friend Conchita as she gave birth rather soon after her wedding. Conchita had found out the hard way that marriage to the man she loved did not guarantee a happily ever after. Richard’s family did not like her, and the feeling was mutual. Conchita called the Marable house, with its lack of radiators and electricity, and the stiff silence alternated with snide remarks from her husband’s family, a pit full of snakes. Apart from Richard, there were his parents Lord and Lady Brightlingsea, his younger brother James Seadown, and his sister Honoria. They despised Americans, but they needed American money to keep a roof over their heads. Lady Brightlingsea even advised James to choose a wife between Jinny and Lizzy; he was a second son, and he needed to either earn his money, or marry it. It did not appear as though James even considered trying to earn it. 

Conchita’s conflict with the Brightlingseas led to Richard frequently absenting himself from the house. Not only was Conchita left alone, she was also prevented from going out to parties like the Debutante Ball without her husband. For a woman who was used to being the life of the party back in New York, her life in England was one of suffocating loneliness. She did cheer up briefly at the arrival of her friends, who came to England at Richard’s invitation. 

I was not in love with this pilot when I was watching it, but when I slowed down so I could write about it, the more I thought of it, the more I liked it. It successfully set up the narrative threads it needed in the tone that the show wanted. Kristine Froseth as Nan was a confident lead. I am excited to dive deeper into these episodes via these recaps, and I hope you’ll join me. Till next time!

Strays

👑Nan: ‘Girls are taught to believe that if a story is not a love story, it’s a tragedy.’ Word.

👑Laura Testvalley was Nan’s governess, she also used to work for Richard’s family in England.

👑Colonel and Mrs. St. George were neighbours in Saratoga with the Elmsworths. Mrs. St. George and Mrs. Elmsworth bonded over having doors slammed on their faces for the past five years in New York for being new money, only to find themselves in England with their girls presented to the Queen. 

👑Richard watched Mrs. Paramore get snooty with Mrs. St. George over the Assembly Ball, and stepped in with a supposed invitation from his mother for all of Conchita’s bridesmaids and their mothers. 

👑The Dowager Duchess of Tintagel was pushing her son to marry Jean Hopeleigh.

👑Nan was very knowledgeable with art, unlike Jinny, who was more known for her beauty.

👑The Buccaneers very lightly dipped into race, with Conchita worrying, ‘What if they look at my baby the same way they look at me?'

👑There was this horrifying scene where the debutantes in beautiful white gowns held up numbers. Nan could not bear looking at it and walked away.

👑Unlike Nan, Jinny took the search for a husband very seriously. She claimed that their experience in England was the same in New York, they were just hated for a different reason there. 

👑It felt like there was more to Theo’s desire to be left alone than his aversion against girls who wanted him for his title. 

👑Guy’s family was in dire financial straits. Him meeting Nan was no accident, he was looking for a wealthy American girl to marry. When he told his father things were going according to plan, his father gave him his mother’s ring. 

👑The Buccaneers is based on Edith Wharton’s unfinished novel.

Rating: B-

Writer: Katherine Jakeways

Director: Susanna White

Original Air Date: November 8, 2023

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