Apple TV+S The Buccaneers is adapted from the 1938 novel of the same name by Edith Wharton, and details of the original story suggest that the main character Nan may still end up with her paramour Guy. The show follows wealthy young American women during America’s Gilded Age traveling to Victorian-era London to secure socially elevated matches for their new money. At the shocking ending of the show’s first season, the show’s main character, Nan St.
Nan almost ran away, instead marrying the almost penniless Guy Twarte, whom she first met at her close friend Conchita Closson’s wedding in New York City. The pair share a deep emotional bond, and although Nan also loves Guy’s best friend Theo, it is clear that she feels she should marry the latter due to societal expectations. Despite the dramatic finale of the season 1 wedding, if the adaptation stays on pace with Wharton’s novel, then Nan could still very possibly run off with Guy later in season 2 of The Buccaneers.
Nan and Guy can still run away together like in the original book
Nan’s marriage to Theo can end in divorce
In Edith Wharton The BuccaneersThe novel ends on a cliffhanger, in which Lizzy Elmsworth invites Nan to a party that Guy Thwarte also attends. Wharton’s novel was unfinished, as the author died during the writing process. In 1993, author Marion Mainwaring finished the unfinished novel, which was met with heavy criticism upon publication. However, in recent decades, the novel continues to be more positively received by younger generations – thanks in large part to the tantalizing possibilities it presents for the future of Nan and Guy’s relationship.
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The end of Mainwaring sees Miss Testwally assisting Nan in running away with Guy, still feeling trapped and emotionally neglected in her marriage to Theo. The show takes a number of creative liberties, notably imbuing its female leads with feminist beliefs, an LGBTQ+ love story, and including modern music on the soundtrack, but So far it has remained quite faithful to the source material. Mind you, the show could still very likely see Nan run off with Guy, after many twists and turns in between.
Nan felt pressured to marry Theo, so an escape would make sense
The show begins with a quest for status, and Nan realizes she doesn’t want it
Nan St. George was originally brought to London to secure a match that would raise her status, and with a man who wanted to be connected to the prosperous business world and robber baron culture of the American Gilded Age. Eventually, Nan’s true parentage is revealed – she is the child of her father and a woman he had an affair with. Her mother reminds her that she was happy to raise Nan as her own, but Nan now knows that if anyone reveals the secret, her reputation is ruined.
Although Theo isn’t a villain, it’s clear that Nan feels pushed into a life she never dreamed of, feels uncomfortable keeping her secret, and secretly loves Guy on a deeper level.
As a result, the down-to-earth and free-spirited nun finds herself drawn to Theo, whose quiet countenance and status as a duke ensures the sanctity of her and her family’s reputation. Although Theo is not a villain, it is clear that Nan feels pushed into a life she never dreamed of herself, feels uncomfortable keeping her secret and loves Guy on a deeper level. The dynamic at play, coupled with the show’s feminist undertones, would Make the runaway ending more satisfying as an extension of the character’s agency and an homage to the source material.
While divorce was frowned upon in the Gilded Age and in Victorian England, it was certainly legal. Nan’s headstrong nature wouldn’t stop her from treading the path with Theo in season 2 of The BuccaneersSet the stage for her potential union with Guy.