If there is one thing The Buccaneers will do, it’s emphasize the bond between women whether it is through friendship, romance or mother-daughter relationships. While Nan (Kristine Frøseth) and Mrs. St George have had their share of arguments (especially since Nan found out she was adopted), in season 2, their story arc becomes even more prominent.
The final episode ends on Nan, who recently found out she was pregnant and that Theo was the father, running away from Tintagel, while her friends look for her everywhere.
“I think the ending for me was really important,” Frøseth told me over Zoom.
She added: “Nan is getting back to herself, finding herself and refusing to stick on the traditional route and trying to unravel all the things that have impulsively and quickly happened to her.”
Leighton Meester also joined the cast of season 2, and she portrays Nell, Mrs. St George’s sister and Nan’s biological mother, which will obviously cause some turmoil for the St George’s.
In the meantime, Mrs. St George has to deal with the infidelities, lies and humiliation her husband put her through and finally asks for a divorce. This decision will also bring Hendrick’s character and Nan closer. The latter now also sees Mrs. St.George not only as her mother, but simply as a woman, and everything that it implies at that time period.
Hendricks said, “To me, the divorce storyline was incredibly important to show the strength of the character at that time, it was a very radical decision she was making, but also a modern take on the experience. I think it was important to blend the horror of going through this publicly in the 1870s, but also to show that it’s still so difficult in the way that women get treated, questioned and without a fight, their outcome can’t be different. And after several hundred years, we’re still fighting, but we changed the outcome and I think it’s important for the audience.”
The Buccaneers showcases some incredibly beautiful landscapes as the show if filmed in between Scotland and Croatia this season. I asked Hendricks which set had the biggest impact on her performance this season. She said, “Most of my work was in a courtroom this season, which was filled with people and a little bit claustrophobic. It felt like all these people were sort of on top of me, and so when you ask which location was influential on your performance, there is something a bit suffocating that was important and helpful, that contributed to the pressure she was feeling.”
As for the costumes, The Buccaneers really adds more modern and punk elements in season 2. From a black and white ball to a fairytale party, this season showcases some drastic changes that reflect the evolution of each character. I asked Frøseth which costume influenced her performance the most, and how it translated into Nan’s narrative arc this season.
She said, “In the very beginning, we stay with the very traditional route, because Theo’s mother tells me how to dress, and I think that’s quite clear, in the first episodes. And then slowly but surely, Nan starts to find her own version of how she wants to represent herself. It begins with a big statement with this red gown she’s wearing to a black and white gala. And then further, my favorite piece is in episode 8, when she wears the goth version of her wedding dress. And I think that really sums everything up, that one piece.”
In this second season, friendships are very much tested, particularly Nan and Lizzie’s friendship. If this unshakable, brave group of young women seems to be in troubled water for now, it seems like the on-screen friendships have crossed the screen and resulted in great in real-life friendships. In the show, these friends know they can count on each other and overcome their disagreements to support one another and speak up for themselves, in a society that is very much trying to restrict them and redefine them as much as possible.
I asked Hendricks if during her impressive career, there was a time she felt she could truly stand up for herself, and had someone to support her in an industry that can be both overwhelming and lonely.
Hendricks said, “For me personally, I think it’s something I had lo learn by myself bit by bit to get to a certain place, and I certainly think it’s been career-driven for me. Maybe it was not given myself enough credit earlier on in my career, about my contribution to a project and how important I am to a project and, letting people tell me that I wasn’t.”
She added: “Over the years, I think I’ve learned that I am a very important contribution to each production that I am in, and that my voice should be heard and that it will be heard. It’s taken me a little time to get there, and I learn a little bit more each time, but I think it’s about understanding my worth.”