Apple TV+’s The Buccaneers Season 2 begins with a strong and thoroughly compelling premiere that gorgeously sets the stage, but that’s unfortunately where its sophomore season charm ends. After an intriguing second episode and solid parts of the third, the remainder of the season unravels as a convoluted arc that favors needless love triangles and drama for the sake of scandal that ultimately sacrifices any of the character growth we’ve watched. It’s not even the type of wreckage you can keep watching, but rather one you’d rather turn off because you can’t believe how contrived it’s getting.
A large part of the appeal in the series is the liberties the creative team takes with the time period we’re in. It works. It makes it fun and exciting. Similar to shows like Prime Video’s My Lady Jane and, to a degree, Netflix’s Bridgerton, the mix of modern-day music in a historical setting adds an element that’s unique and thrilling. The soundtrack is especially fantastic in Season 2, which makes it that much more heartbreaking that it takes the turns it does.
The Romance and Friendships Feel Stained in The Buccaneers Season 2
A majority of the viewers are here for the romance, and the first season already plays on love triangles and drama to test it all. Nan is forced to marry Theo while Guy and Jinny escape for her safety. The angst is already on the table; we have enough of it with the one love triangle, but it all begins to flare into an even worse one. Without spoilers, it’s hard to get into the details, but after one too many lies and betrayals, it becomes hard to root for the characters.
In addition to the romance, the friendship is a huge part of the show’s magnetism, and we lose bits of that with the amount of drama there is. While I can certainly understand that these characters are young and they’re afforded the room to mess up, there comes a point where you question whether it’s the characters or the narrative losing sight of what drew audiences to the show in the first place. People are watching these shows to see characters fall in love. We want there to be happy endings, and though the series isn’t an anthology that would provide a new character with their own love story every season, it’s still challenging to accept the amount of drama as worthy storytelling.
Instead of allowing viewers a deeper insight into the lives of characters, we get a bunch of decisions that leave very little room for profound introspection. Sure, perhaps there’s a place this map is leading to, but I’m not sure I’m interested in finding out. After the fifth episode, I personally couldn’t keep going. The series centering on female friendships was so reminiscent of Lisa Kleypas’ inimitable Wallflowers series that it’s hard to imagine these characters are going behind each other’s backs the way that they are. And while this format isn’t exactly new to teen dramas, when we look back at shows like One Tree Hill, we certainly don’t miss the period that Brooke and Peyton were fighting over Lucas. We don’t look back at those betrayals fondly, and it’s doubtful the same will happen here. It’s also frustrating because Jacob Ifan’s Hector is a genuinely fantastic addition to the show, so I would’ve loved to watch the relationship with Lizzie develop on better terms.
Now, characters messing up and doing genuinely terrible things isn’t a bad thing. The Gilded Age Season 3 does an excellent job of proving that a character can be frustrating so long as their actions still feel true to them. Unfortunately, that’s not the case with The Buccaneers Season 2, as many of these actions contradict the seeds that were planted in Season 1. It’s a sad twist of events, and if the series is renewed, I sincerely hope that the actions match the characters better.
The Buccaneers Season 2 is now streaming on Apple TV+.
First Featured Image Credit: ©Apple TV+