‘The Buccaneers’ Season 2, Episode 7 Reinvents Itself As A Legal Thriller

You could — and perhaps should — quibble about where “All Rise” fits into The Buccaneers Season 2 more broadly, especially since it means the fallout from Dick’s death last week ends up feeling a little shortchanged. Episode 7 doesn’t forget about the event entirely, and in fact devotes a chunk of its runtime not just to his memorial service but also to major turning points in multiple character arcs in light of it, but the bulk of the episode is undeniably a carry-over from plot points largely raised way back in the season premiere. To some, this might be a problem. But it’s so well-handled that it’s hard to imagine anyone complaining too much.

Unexpectedly morphing into a legal thriller wasn’t on my Buccaneers bingo card, I have to say, but such was the way of things in the Gilded Age, when divorce was grounds for a full trial. Patti is determined to get rid of Tracy to the fullest extent of the law, not just for her own sake but also that of every put-upon wife, jilted mistress, and confused kid who might be in a similar situation. She has a point to prove, and she has the support of Nan and Nell in proving it.

But the whole thing’s a bit of an ordeal. The scandal surrounding Jinny fleeing to Italy and the death of Richard upon her return, killed by his own brother, aka her husband, doesn’t paint a rosy picture of Patti’s family life, and her “intimate relations” with Tracy fall under some scrutiny too. When she confesses to having initiated most of their encounters, it’s a big win for Tracy’s team, even though she also qualifies that admission with the logic that it was the only means by which she could try and keep Tracy at home.

The incisiveness of the questioning scares off the two witnesses, both Tracy’s former flings, who were planning to testify. At a loss, Nan takes the stand to drum up some scandal around her parentage, but since she can’t share a name or any concrete information about who her “natural” mother is, the argument is quickly turned around. In fact, the defense argues, she can’t even be sure that Tracy is her father. He can neither confirm nor deny. It’s a grim situation all around.

There’s only one thing for it, of course. You can see it coming a mile away, but The Buccaneers Season 2, Episode 7 delights in the journey to get there. First, we have to understand why it wouldn’t be in Nell’s best interests to testify, which is easy enough. She’s heavily pregnant by her current husband, Arthur, and after having spent a lifetime being used and mistreated by men, it wouldn’t do to blow up the life she has built with the only one who has ever respected her. Patti insists on her staying quiet. She’s willing to take the heat.

It’s Nan who convinces her otherwise. As it wasn’t obvious before, Nan quite easily figures out that Nell is her biological mother and decides to confront her about it, mostly with a mind to convince her to testify. Nell, not one to be talked down to by a privileged duchess, makes the case for her decision. But Nan’s words resonate, and that night, she confesses to Arthur everything she plans to reveal on the stand the next day.

And reveal she does. Nell doesn’t just come with the tea, but extensive receipts for it. The paperwork is impossible to argue with. Tracy is an adulterer, and Patti should be freed from his thrall. It probably says everything you need to know about the arrogance of the man that he gloats to Patti, Nan, and Nell that they’ll never get another penny from him, let alone be able to see him again. Erm, newsflash, Tracy, but I think that was the whole point.

Aubri Ibrag in The Buccaneers Season 2 | Image via Apple TV+

It’s back in England that we deal with Dick’s memorial. It’s six weeks after the funeral, and Conchita isn’t taking it especially well, at least not as far as Lady Brightlingsea is concerned. It seems a little presumptuous to tell someone how to grieve properly, but presumption is kind of Lady Brightlingsea’s whole deal, so I can’t say I’m necessarily surprised. What is surprising is Conchita calling her out very publicly for her nonsense during the memorial itself, which I suppose is fair enough.

But Conchita is grieving. And one of the ways in which that grief manifests is resentment for Jinny, which is unfair but expected. Truth be told, I think their falling out and getting back together could have perhaps been handled over an episode or two for the sting to really be felt, but that’s a minor quibble. It’s clear that the function Dick’s death serves in this narrative is to allow several characters to reach crucial junctures in their personal arcs, and Conchita is one of them.

The other is Honoria. She’s also taking Dick’s death hard, but remains strung to Lady Brightlingsea’s expectations and judgments. Through Conchita standing up to her mother, supporting her, and welcoming her into the sisterhood of the Buccaneers, Honoria is finally able to build the courage to forge her own path. That includes going to France, but also shoving a custard pie in her mother’s snooty face by snogging Mabel right in front of her. How’s that for surprising?

The Buccaneers Season 2, Episode 7 would be a surprisingly happy installment if it weren’t for the last-minute arrival of Paloma, who introduces herself to Nan as Guy’s wife, just to throw that little romantic reunion into complete disarray. You simply can’t have a full hour in this show without something calamitous happening, and this is it for “All Rise”. But at least Patti isn’t going home to Tracy. Thank goodness for small mercies.

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