The debut season of The Buccaneers concluded with a tantalizing cliffhanger regarding Nan’s (Kristine Froseth) real lineage. In its second season, the Apple TV+ period drama swiftly addresses this mystery. The premiere episode (“The Duchess of Tintagel”) introduces a new character, Nell, played by Leighton Meester. Nell is revealed to be Nan’s long-lost birth mother who arrives just as Nan is about to marry Theo (Guy Remmers), the Duke of Tintagel.

It’s quickly unveiled that Nell is actually Patti’s (Christina Hendricks) sister. Their relationship is understandably tense due to Nell’s affair with Patti’s husband, Tracy (Adam James). Patti has kept Nell away from Nan, raising her niece as her own daughter. Initially, Patti is not pleased with Nell’s desire to form a relationship with Nan. During a conversation with Nan, Nell realizes her niece regrets marrying Theo when she’s still in love with Guy (Matthew Broome). Nell shares her similar past experience with Nan, reassuring her that if her choices are made for the right reasons, they’ll be justified in the end. This interaction leads Nell to understand that she doesn’t want to be just someone Nan feels obligated to tolerate, deciding instead to stay on the sidelines as a distant relative for now.

The sisters’ reunion brings long-standing grievances to the surface, forcing them to confront each other. Patti accuses Nell of abandoning Nan, while Nell blames Patti for keeping her daughter away from her. Patti, who plans to leave Tracy, admits she always expected him to be unfaithful, though she never imagined her sister would be involved. Nell thinks Patti’s decision to leave Tracy is driven by Nan’s new royal connections. After some reflection, Patti acknowledges that Nell was too young to fully grasp the affair’s complexities. Committed to ending her marriage with Tracy, Patti departs with Nell, leaving Tracy to deal with the aftermath alone.

While her mothers (plural) make amends, Nan is preoccupied by both the guilt of her sham marriage and the uncertainty about her sister Jinny’s (Imogen Waterhouse) safety. Nan toys with whether to come clean to Theo about her true feelings for Guy, but Theo’s Dowager mother (Amelia Bullmore) intervenes and convinces her to keep her mouth shut. In season 1, the Dowager vowed to help Nan smuggle Jinny away from her abusive husband, but it came at the price of forcing Nan and Theo’s union in exchange. 

Nan’s feelings for Guy are still bubbling, and she feels especially bad about the fact that Theo’s mom witnessed their indiscretion prior to the wedding. “Everything before ‘I do’ is irrelevant,” the Dowager responds, and Nan seems to take that to heart and doubles down on trying to make the marriage work. She explains her emotional distance to Theo by telling him about Mission: Rescue Jinny, and he expresses his regret for not knowing about James’s (Barney Fishwick) actions. The newly married couple are intimate on the beach, but unfortunately Nan is thinking about Guy the whole time. 

Even with her husband in the know, Nan is desperate for updates about Jinny—especially after James threatens Nan on the cliffside, knowing that she aided her sister’s disappearance. Nan asks the Dowager when her sister will be able to return and she is careful but firm in her response: there’s no realistic world in which Jinny can return without repercussions, especially as their patriarchal society will view her escape as a kidnapping of Lord James Seadown’s unborn child. She points to the newspapers that are constantly reporting on the missing Lady Seadown, which are also questioning Jinny’s state of mind in the headlines. The news hits Nan hard as it’s likely the first time she realizes that her plan might secure Jinny’s safety, but will also keep them apart forever. 

But the Dowager also sparks an idea: “Some more fascinating headline will come to knock Jinny from the headlines,” she says offhandedly. Nan takes that and runs with it, showing up to the Black and White Ball in a striking one-shoulder red gown, complete with a bold red lip and buoyant hair curled at the nape of her neck. She causes a stir amongst the onlookers—exactly as she planned.

Love is in the air for both of the Elmsworth sisters—especially Lizzy (Aubri Ibrag), who seems to be granted a fresh start after being tormented by James throughout season 1. She meets Hector Robinson, a parliament member who was eyeing her at the wedding and later comes to her residence to personally ask her to accompany him to the Black and White Ball that Theo and Nan are throwing. Meanwhile, Mabel’s (Josie Totah) courtship with Honoria (Mia Threapleton) continues, even though Honoria is especially worried about her parents’ reaction. 

In a completely separate storyline, Conchita is busy trying to help both her parents and her in-laws regain their financial standing, and when she meets a wealthy American mother-daughter duo with Merrigan’s department store money, we can see the gears turning. While it initially seemed like she might see the eligible daughter Cora as a pawn to feed her brother-in-law given Jinny’s absence, Conchita is far more entrepreneurial than that. Instead, she rides her own love story to the bank, promising to provide coaching at a fee to the Americans who are trying to ingratiate themselves into top-tier British society. 

As for Jinny and Guy, we don’t see much of their journey until they land at a beautiful seaside town. They pose as husband and wife to rent a room, hoping that no one recognizes Jinny as the Lady Seadown, whose whereabouts would be front-page news. As they settle in, Guy catches a glimpse of a new headline emblazoned on the papers: “Duchess Dazzles in Red.” Guy smiles, realizing that Nan purposefully changed the conversation. 

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.