Editor’s note: The below interview contains spoilers for The Buccaneers Season 2 finale.
While Apple TV+‘sThe Buccaneersstarted with a fresh-faced group of American heiresses embarking on a pursuit of possible love and happiness overseas, Season 2 has been a shocking wake-up call for these women in more ways than one. On the heels ofRichard’s (Josh Dylan) shocking death, there’s no real opportunity for grieving when bigger revelations are in store. While Theo (Guy Remmers) publicly declares he’s stepping down as Duke of Tintagel so he can finally be with the woman he truly loves — Lizzy (Aubri Ibrag) — his wife, Nan (Kristine Frøseth), has a secret of her own that she’s been keeping: she’s pregnant, seemingly with Theo’s child. All of this is happening while rumors of Theo and Lizzy’s affair have hit the papers, and the finale also confirms that Hector Robinson (Jacob Ifan), Lizzy’s jilted fiancé, is the one responsible. As the episode, “She Knows,” wraps up, Nan has only divulged the truth about her pregnancy to two people: Lizzy and her mother, Patti (Christina Hendricks), and it’s unclear which of them will spill the beans heading into a potential Season 3. At the same time, in the wake of Theo’s unexpected abdication,hismother (Amelia Bullmore) seizes the chance to keep Tintagel in the family by writing to his secret brother, who could have the power to step in as the new duke.
Ahead of the premiere ofthe Season 2 finale, Collider had the opportunity to sit down withThe Buccaneers’ EPs and cast, including Remmers, Ibrag, and Ifan, to discuss the episode’s biggest moments for their characters. Over the course of the interview, which you can read below, the trio behind Season 2’s juiciest love triangle explain why they were surprised by Theo and Lizzy’s romance, how Lizzy’s unluckiness in love last season has informed her approach to romance, why Hector’s broken heart may have contributed to his betrayal, and more.
COLLIDER: When I found out that Theo and Lizzy would be sparking a romance this season, it was surprising initially, but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense based on their personalities and what these two characters are drawn to. Guy and Aubri, what was your reaction?
AUBRI IBRAG: My reaction was quite similar to your reaction. I was initially very surprised, and then it actually made more and more sense for me, becausethey’re the two wounded characters in the show, and I feel like they’re both really good people with good hearts, genuine, and don’t ever have the audacity to even really hurt other people. They always look out for the ones that they love, and I think that they saw that in each other, and saw that familiarity in each other. I think it’s a really beautiful thing that they had a bit of a slow burn into what ended up, obviously, being a bit of an affair. But I think it was more than that. I think it was love, if you will. Obviously, people got hurt along the way, like Hector Robinson, and, of course, Lizzy’s friendship with Nan and the girls was affected, which is the heartbreaking part of it. But maybe in the name of love, it was worth it. Or maybe not. I don’t know.
GUY REMMERS: I think you’ve hit all the nerves. I was just thinking about the King Arthur scene.
IBRAG: That’s the scene I was thinking about.
JACOB IFAN: The sword in the stone.
REMMERS: I think maybe no one’s ever been so interested in the King Arthur story before in Theo’s life.He’s so excited to tell it to someone who’s interested.They just love to hang out together.
IBRAG: I think Lizzy genuinely wants to know who Theo is. That’s what made sense to me.
REMMERS: Definitely. They just love to hang out. They do love being in each other’s company.
Jacob Ifan Loved Working With Greg Wise, AKA the Original Guy Thwarte
“He just has this spark about him, and he’s very generous…”
Jacob, with Hector’s arrival on the scene, we get the arrival of his father, as well, played by Greg Wise, who, as some fans know, previously played Guy Thwarte himself. I wanted to ask about the experience of working with him, because the two of you get some really great scenes together this season.
IFAN: It’s always a pleasure to work with Greg becausehe does feel like a bit of a bastion or an icon of period dramasin general. Obviously, he played Guy Thwarte in the original series,Sense and Sensibility— so many things I grew up on. When I think of those period dramas, Greg Wise is sort of synonymous with that. It’s such an honor to have him on the show.
But more than that, he was just the nicest guy to be around and such a generous actor.He has this eternal twinkle in his eye, and it’s something that you can’t teach. Even when I was off camera, but I was doing a scene with him, I’d run around to the monitors to watch what he was doing. He just has this spark about him, and he’s very generous, and he’s like that in real life. Also, we both felt like old man nerds, so anytime we were between takes, we were huddled in a corner doing a crossword together. It was a real joy.
IBRAG: He does have a real twinkle in his eye. I remember watching the monitor one time, and it’s very vulnerable.
Aubri, Lizzy does feel torn between these two men, and she does have a perfectly legitimate reason to want a marriage, a public relationship, rather than being someone’s mistress. Do you feel like her experiences in Season 1 influenced her perspective on this situation in Season 2 and why she doesn’t really want to be a secret?
IBRAG: Of course. I think you hit the nail on the head with that. The shame of being kept a secret, and the secret that she kept in Season 1 of what happened with Seadown ate away at her the entire season. When she finally opened up about it to Jinny, she wasn’t necessarily met with kindness or understanding.I think she was incredibly scarred and closed off from that experience.
It just never feels nice to feel like a secret. You want to be able to go out there with the love of your life or who you’re with and be doing stuff and meeting their people. I think Lizzy wanted love, but she wanted, also, a legitimate love where it’s safe, and it’s not a shame, because I think Lizzy’s had enough shame from what she’s going through.She’s done with shame, and she’s done with secrets, and she just wants something that’s really honest.
Guy Remmers & Matthew Broome Wanted Their ‘Buccaneers’ Fight to Be Scrappy
They also discuss their characters' mindsets after Nan’s big decision in the finale.
I can’t not talk about the finale. So much goes down, but among all the events is Theo renouncing the dukedom. He’s really been chafing under the restraints of Tintagel since the beginning, when we meet him in the show. Guy, do you think he’s making this choice as much for himself as he is for Lizzy and the future of their potential relationship?
REMMERS: That’s such a complex thing that he does. There’s so much at play and so much going on. Yeah, I would agree. I think what happens in that moment is he puts his feelings for Lizzy ahead of everything, including his heritage, his history, his blood.It’s the biggest sacrifice he could make.It’s remarkable that he does that in that moment. He is the one who goes against the grain of generations and generations and generations. It’s a really powerful, poignant thing that he does, and he does it for the love and care of somebody else, which I think is pretty beautiful.
IBRAG: For Lizzy, in Season 1, she’s never really been chosen in a sense. Well, I suppose she’s been chosen by Hector, maybe. I take it back. [Laughs] But I feel like Lizzy’s a very shy, sort of mousy kind of character, and for someone to do something like that for her is incredibly overwhelming.Her whole world basically shatters when that happens, and then, of course, that comes with her fallout with Nan and stuff like that.
Not Even Aubri Ibrag Knows What Lizzy Will Do Now That She’s Learned Nan’s Big Secret
“At the end, she could be so thrilled, but also so heartbroken at the same time.”
Nan seems like she accidentally blurts out the truth about her pregnancy in all that heightened emotion. Aubri, how does that change things for Lizzy, especially in terms of the dilemma that she’s presented with — choosing love versus supporting a friend?
IBRAG: I don’t even know how to answer this question, because I don’t know what Lizzy would do in this situation, and I don’t think Lizzy knows what to do in this situation. Theo’s renounced his title for her.A dream scenario has basically come true, but it comes at such a huge cost of ruining a friendship. The pregnancy thing, I don’t know if she’s going to keep that a secret from Theo. I can’t imagine that she would. At the end, she could be so thrilled, but also so heartbroken at the same time.
In the lead-up to that party, Theo and Lizzy’s affair gets leaked to the press, and everybody’s pointing fingers at everybody else, but it honestly seemed that Hector leaked the affair based on suspicion rather than complete evidence. Jacob, do you have thoughts on when Hector really started to pick up on the truth? There is that scene at the funeral, where he notices that little touch between them.
IFAN: That was the big moment, really, where he notices. He probably would have had suspicions because of the erratic nature of the relationship and the fact that I think he dead-on, really thought that it was real. When it turns out that she’s changed her mind on a dime, I think that’s when it starts for him, and he probably has his suspicions. Butdefinitely, the funeral was the moment where everything fell into placein terms of knowing what had gone on.
It felt out of character for him to do what he did. I know he’s a politician, so maybe people wouldn’t think it’s very surprising that he’s acting in a slightly conniving way, but I think it generally came from a place of heartbreak and embarrassment. That was huge for him. Everything about his life has been about the way he’s perceived publicly, and I think he has great standing amongst his community and his peers. Therefore,to be jilted at the altar is incredibly embarrassing for him.
IBRAG: And I would like to apologize on Lizzy’s behalf.
REMMERS: And I apologize on Theo’s behalf.
