DISCLAIMER: This recap of The Buccaneers Season 1 Episode 4, “Homecoming,” contains spoilers. Proceed at your peril.
It’s all drama on the homefront as our Buccaneers return to America to celebrate Nan and Theo’s engagement (and Jinny and Seadown’s marriage). “Homecoming” wastes no time testing the bounds of the Nan/Theo/Guy love triangle with Guy’s revealing telegram. Old secrets are exposed while new ones are filed away under lock and key. Meanwhile, the writers won’t let my Elmsworth girls have a moment of happiness as Lizzy and Mabel suffer under the weight of the engagement party. Oh, and Seadown is a gaslighting, abusive POS.
Christina Hendricks steals the show with a touching, emotionally charged performance. Much of the episode demonstrates the emotional labor women have to carry while exploring what it means to truly be a family. Identity and sexuality come into play, too. While some might find the anachronistic behavior, dialogue and music off-putting, I enjoy period pieces with a contemporary slant. It helps humanize and ground these characters in our world. Plus, you can address modern themes and topics in this manner.
The Buccaneers isn’t a perfect show, and some of the dialogue is a bit cringy, but I found this outing stronger than its predecessors. We’re heading into interesting territory, to be sure.
Ready to delve into “Homecoming”? Let’s get to it.
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We open in New York City, with Mrs. St. George (Hendricks) waking up in bed beside Mr. St. George (Adam James). She gets out of bed and arranges her husband’s belongings before he stirs. Later, she paces in front of the window, dressed for the day, waiting impatiently for her daughters to arrive. Mr. St. George insists that Nan and Jinny will make it in time for the big engagement party.
Meanwhile, Guy (Matthew Broome) has breakfast with Dowager Tintagel (Amelia Bullmore) in Cornwall. She notices Guy’s sullen mood and remarks on how boring he is now. Oh, don’t be boring, darling. Anything but that. The Dowager acknowledges that he’s in love. Head over heels, in fact. He tries to deny it. She imparts some advice for dear ole Guy — seize the day. Tell the object of his affection how he feels. Life is too short not to act.

Sure enough, that night, Guy gets sloshed and pens a letter to Nan. He can’t conceal his feelings any longer. Elsewhere, Nan (Kristine Frøseth), Jinny (Imogen Waterhouse), Theo (Guy Remmers), Seadown (Barney Fishwick), Conchita (Alisha Boe), Richard (Josh Dylan), Mabel (Josie Totah) and Miss Testvalley (Simone Kirby) arrive in New York. Mr. and Mrs. St. George are there to greet everyone. Nan acts strangely around her mother but tries to hide her conflicted feelings. Seadown informs Jinny’s parents that they’re staying at a hotel nearby, which is strange.
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Next, Nan wonders why they’re throwing a party. She knows Theo isn’t a fan of shindigs. However, he plays along with it. The gals reunite with Lizzy (Aubri Ibrag) on the staircase. Conchita and Mabel assume Lizzy returned to the US because of a man. She insists that’s not the case (we know why). Lizzy spots Seadown chatting with the menfolk. My poor girl.
In England, Guy wakes up after his drinking sesh. He realizes he sent a telegram to Nan with the shame that only accompanies that drunken text we send to our crush. He hastily knocks on a door in the servants’ quarters. Guy begs a female servant to retrieve the telegram for him. He wasn’t supposed to send it. Unfortunately, it took too long to translate and was quite an expense. Guy understands, apologizing before departing. You just gotta live with it, bud.

Meanwhile, Mrs. St. George chats with Mrs. Paramore (Nancy Crane), the woman everyone tries to impress in New York. She seems pleasantly surprised by the lavish party. Mrs. Elmsworth (Viss Elliot Safavi), Lizzy and Mabel’s mother, informs her girls that they won’t return to the UK because Lizzy refuses to do so. Mabel begs her mom to reconsider. Of course, we know why Mabel wants to head back — she’s got Honoria Marable on the brain. Aw.
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Then, Mrs. St. George notices Nan’s change in demeanor. Jinny apologizes to her mother for disclosing the secret of Nan’s true parentage. Mrs. St. George encourages Jinny to enjoy the party. Downstairs, Seadown introduces himself to Lizzy as if he didn’t sexually abuse her at Runnymede in episode two. Gross. Jinny reminds him that he met her before, but Seadown chalks it up to too many folks running around at Runnymede.
Next, Nan accuses Mrs. St. George of lying to her every day of her life. And now she is a party to the lie, having not divulged the truth to Theo. Theo surely won’t marry her if he discovers she’s a bastard. Nan storms out of her room with Mrs. St. George hot on her heels. The latter has a sneaking suspicion that Nan plans to tell Theo, which would inevitably spell the end of their engagement.

Mr. St. George introduces Jinny and Seadown to the party attendees as newlyweds. Despite their elopement, Mr. and Mrs. St. George also want to celebrate Jinny and Seadown. Then, Mr. St. George pulls his wife into a dance. She pushes him away, telling him to “stop” rather loudly. She ushers him into another room and informs him that Nan “knows.” Meanwhile, Conchita and Richard dance the day away, thoroughly enjoying being away from England. Richard leads his wife to a more private dance floor so they can do the horizontal tango. Oh, là là.
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Elsewhere, Jinny’s New York pals congratulate her on her marriage and on snagging a lord. Seadown looks disgusted. Mabel persuades Lizzy to return to England so she can tag along. Lizzy refuses, claiming that Mabel, like their mother, “knows nothing.” They’re in good company — neither does Jon Snow. Guy’s telegram for Nan finally makes it to the St. George household. One maid, who exchanges knowing looks with Mabel, places it on a tray. Mr. St. George also exchanges a charged glance with Miss Testvalley. Whatever that means.
Then, Mr. St. George finds Nan sitting on the floor in his study, pouring over countless letters. Jinny had mentioned a letter addressed to her father from her biological mother. Nan interrogates her dad, asking him questions about her real mom. What was she like? What’s her name? Mr. St. George claims he doesn’t recall her name, but he did learn earlier that she sadly passed away. He also doesn’t remember what she looked like. Ew.

In the bathroom, Mabel chats with the maid. Said maid wonders if there’s anyone else like them in the UK. Then, they kiss. Suddenly, Mrs. Elmsworth walks in, seeing her daughter making out with the maid. Before Mabel can speak, Mrs. Elmsworth departs in a hurry. Meanwhile, Nan and Jinny hide under the blankets in their room while catching up. Mrs. St. George eavesdrops on their conversation. Downstairs, Theo discovers Guy’s telegram. He opens it. Shocked by Guy’s confession of love for Nan, he stumbles outside. Theo is inundated by newspaper headlines heralding his arrival in America.
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Later, Conchita and Miss Testvalley discuss how free Richard seems in the US. Perhaps they could move to America — get out from under his family’s thumb. However, Testvalley explains that men like Richard and Seadown, who are lords, would rather have power than freedom. Power is in ample supply in England. Upstairs, Mrs. St. George reunites with Nan. She delivers an impactful, heartstring-tugging speech about how she feels being Nan’s mother. She didn’t carry Nan in her womb for nine months, but she’ll always hold her daughter in her heart. Aw. Hendricks delivers a beautifully understated performance here.
Her mother’s words touch Nan. Mrs. St. George urges Nan to set her shoulders back and hold her head high. Sometimes, keeping a secret is for the best. When Nan reunites with Theo, she has every intention of telling him. But first, they make out among the coats and outerwear, as kids in love are wont to do in any century. Afterward, Theo urges Nan not to tell him anything that would ruin the mood. This is gross. All the men are misbehaving today.

Speaking of awful men, Seadown claims Jinny’s mother embarrassed him with this farce of a party. He insists she apologizes to him. At the same time, we see Guy stand on a cliff while screaming. I imagine that would be cathartic. Then, Jinny approaches Mrs. St. George and relays Seadown’s feelings. The whole room listens. Seadown switches gears, apologizing for Jinny’s behavior and thanking Mrs. St. George for the warm welcome. He did this to embarrass Jinny. Nan asks Jinny if she’s feeling okay. Perhaps she needs to recover from the long journey. Nan embraces her mother and recites the same words about holding her head high.
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Then, Mrs. Elmsworth and Mrs. St. George leave the dance floor, arm-in-arm, where they spot Mr. St. George flirting with a younger redhead. He’ll never change. Meanwhile, Conchita tries to persuade Richard to move to America. He rejects the idea, claiming his station prevents him from doing so. They must remain in England. Conchita refuses to let their daughter Minnie become crushed by Richard’s awful family. She cries into Richard’s shoulder as they dance.
Later, Lizzy informs her mother that she will return to England and hopefully find a husband. Mabel thanks her sister for changing her mind. After Lizzy departs, Mabel tries to broach what Mrs. Elmsworth saw in the bathroom. Mrs. Elmsworth merely asks if Mabel’s okay and claims the latter won’t find a husband if her shawl is askew. Ugh, she won’t even engage in conversation about it with Mabel. Mabel looks dejected.

After everyone leaves, Richard finds Miss Testvalley in the bathtub. He loosens his collar before sitting beside the tub. Then, Testvalley runs her fingers through Richard’s hair. Oh, so it’s like that. No, thank you. Mrs. St. George confronts her husband, declaring she’s done with his sh*t. She wants out. However, Mr. St. George bites back that nobody will accept her if she’s alone. That night, we return to where the episode started: Mrs. St. George arranging her sh*tty husband’s things before climbing into bed next to him. This time, she looks dispirited.
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Do you think Mrs. St. George will divorce her philandering husband? Will Nan tell Theo about her parentage? Will Theo inform Nan about Guy’s telegram since he discarded it after reading it? How many cliffs will Guy stand and scream on this season? Only time (and more episodes) will tell.
The Buccaneers streams new episodes every Wednesday on Apple TV+.
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