Season 2 Of Apple TV+'s Historical Drama Debuts With Slightly Lower Rotten Tomatoes Score, But Audiences Are Loving The Show's Return

Apple TV+’s lavish period drama, The Buccaneers, has returned for season 2, and while critics are a little less receptive, audiences love the show’s second outing. The Buccaneers, based on Edith Wharton’s final 1938 unfinished novel (it was later completed by Marion Mainwaring in 1993), follows Gilded Age debutante Nan St. George (Kristine Frøseth) and her friends as they travel from America to England to experience the social season. In the season 1 finale, Nan married Theo, the Duke of Tintagel (Guy Remmers), to save her sister Jinny (Imogen Waterhouse) from an abusive marriage, despite being in love with someone else.

The Buccaneers season 2 picks up right where season 1 left off, with an unexpected wedding guest appearing at Nan and Theo’s wedding reception. Season 2 has debuted on Rotten Tomatoes with a critics’ score of 71%, which is a little lower than season 1’s certified fresh score of 76%. The audience score, however, tells a different story, with season 2’s score currently set at 96%, compared to season 1’s 93%. Of course, as the season continues, these scores are subject to change, but the season 2 premiere has clearly resonated with fans.

What These Scores Tell Us About The Buccaneers Season 2

Season 2 Will Be Darker Than Season 1

Most critics seem to agree that The Buccaneers season 2 is headed down a darker path, as this tight-knit group of friends gets pulled apart by the pressures of adulthood and marriage. The gorgeous production value and lavish set pieces are still a treat, though the balance between the show’s historical feminism, family melodrama, and tightly-plotted storytelling that made season 1 soar has been harder to achieve. The second season is ambitious, but that ambition has pushed “the series so far beyond its original tone that it feels like a different show entirely,” according to ScreenRant‘s Rebecca VanAcker.

Nan, Mable, Conchita, and Lizzy on Nan's wedding day in The Buccaneers season 2

The Buccaneers Season 2 Review: In An Ambitiously Mature Season, I Wanted To Like The Apple TV+ Show’s Return More Than I Did

The Buccaneers season 2 finds its characters growing up but pushes itself beyond its limits in a far darker run of episodes than season 1.

The audience’s thoughts on Rotten Tomatoes for The Buccaneers’ season 2 premiere skew differently, with plenty of five-star reviews. Fans are excited about the upcoming drama, which was perfectly, if quickly, set up in the season opener, especially with the appearance of Patricia’s (Christina Hendricks) sister, Nell (perfectly portrayed by Leighton Meester, with fans particularly excited about her casting), Theo’s suspicions of Nan and Guy Thwarte (Matthew Broome), and the furor surrounding Jinny’s disappearance.

Our Take On The Buccaneers Season 2

There’s Plenty Of Drama Still To Come

Though I’ve only seen season 2’s first episode, the jam-packed opener has set up many new storylines. I’m particularly excited about Conchita’s (Alisha Boe) newfound role in her household and society, and how her helping a new young hopeful American navigate the London social season will parallel her and her friends’ experiences in season 1. Nan, too, will no doubt come into her own as a Duchess, and it will be interesting to see how her relationships with her long-lost mother and the Dowager Duchess of Tintagel (Amelia Bullmore) will progress as Nan exerts her influence.

There’s plenty to look forward to in The Buccaneers season 2; it remains to be seen whether audiences will enjoy it more than critics did.

The romances, of course, will also take center stage, though it’s hard to tell how long Nan and Guy will be apart, and how Nan will handle her relationship with Theo as they settle into their marriage. With Nan’s mother, Patricia, seeking a divorce, an unimaginably difficult process for women during that time, I wonder how that might change how the rest of the girls view their relationships with their respective partners. There’s plenty to look forward to in The Buccaneers season 2; it remains to be seen whether audiences will enjoy it more than critics did.

The Buccaneers season 2 episodes release on Wednesdays through August 6 on Apple TV+.