Sanditon Review: Episode 1 (Season 2 Episode 1)
After being rescued by PBS and Brit box, Sanditon has returned Charlotte to the small seaside town, with her sister in tow after hearing the devastating news.
The first hour of the show’s return sets the scene well enough, expanding the world Charlotte and company live in and filling in some of the blanks for unavoidable absences to compensate for the shadow that looms over the hour.
Yes, I’m talking about Sidney’s sudden death.
“Sanditon” Season 2 – Shown: Charlotte Heywood (ROSE WILLIAMS)
Photographer: James Pardon
(C) Red Planet (Sanditon 2) Ltd
The opening shots of a plantation in Antigua, the bloody pillows, and household staff packing things up to give viewers no illusions of any other fate for the romantic co-lead than an untimely demise, only confirmed by the clear shot of a coffin and a nameplate.
Was it unexpected? Yes. Did it make sense in the grand scheme of things? Yes.
They couldn’t just keep his absence dangling over the series, especially over Charlotte. Sidney’s passing offers Charlotte an opportunity to move forward and for Georgiana to grow and the show to expand beyond the Parkers.
“Sanditon” Season 2 -Shown from left to right: Tom Parker (KRIS MARSHALL), Mary Parker (KATE ASHFIELD), Arthur Parker (TURLOUGH CONVERY), Charlotte Heywood (ROSE WILLIAMS) and Alison Heywood (ROSIE GRAHAM)
Photographer: Joss Barratt
(C) Red Planet (Sanditon 2) Ltd
But with that changes also comes essentially a different kind of show, which seems like the path Sanditon chooses as they not only bring in infantry and an artist to town, but also Charlotte’s younger sister, Allison.
That doesn’t mean the opening hour doesn’t confront the loss and what it means for the Parkers, Georgiana, and particularly Charlotte.
Photographer: Joss Barratt
(C) Red Planet (Sanditon 2) Ltd
Charlotte’s understated grief and subdued demeanor is a consistent undercurrent throughout the hour, only emphasized when she’s in trusted company or in the church’s privacy that she goes to when she chooses to fully embrace her grief over losing her first love.
There’s a simultaneous growth and resignation in these moments that leave you feeling sorry for her.
Mary: You are allowed to grieve him
Charlotte: He has a widow. It isn’t my place.
Rose Williams does a beautiful job of playing those noted changes in Charlotte in subtle ways.
The moment in the church serves as a kind of closure on their relationship and becomes the mark for the beginning of a new story. One that, according to Charlotte, doesn’t include a suitor of any kind.
Her choice to become a governess for Leonora and Augusta is telegraphed early on. What we learn about the widower and his charges gives off a gothic vibe to the story that will certainly make things interesting.
Picture shows: L-R Captain Carter (MAXIM AYS), Colonel Lennox (TOM WESTON-JONES) and Captain Fraser (FRANK BLAKE)
Photographer: Joss Barratt
For editorial use only.
Charlotte’s first meeting with the reclusive Mr. Colburn immediately gives me the impression that as much as Colonel Lennox is being pushed towards Charlotte, Colburn might be the best suited.
Of course, only time will tell whether my prediction is correct.
Meanwhile, the Babingtons (at least one-half of them) are back and dealing with a loss of her own. After suffering a miscarriage, she’s returned to town to get pregnant and carry the baby to term.
Shown from left to right: Alison Heywood (ROSIE GRAHAM), Charlotte Heywood (ROSE WILLIAMS) and Georgiana Lambe (CRYSTAL CLARKE)
Photographer: James Pardon
For editorial use only.
You can’t help but feel terrible for her because it’s clear that she’s happy and in love with Babington, and she wants a baby, but it’s been a struggle for her. It makes Dr. Fuch’s line about what God wants that much more painful.
Paired with Edward’s sleazy return, the feeling of something worse looming over the Denham’s estate.
Overall, the expansion of the world will serve the series well in the long term, building out more stories to tell by shifting focus to other characters around town. But it’s not the show that the first season set out to be.
Stray Thoughts
- Allison is giving considerable Lydia Bennett energy, and I am on the fence about it.
- We’ve got Arthur and Georgiana sharing scenes makes my heart so happy and may be a little hopeful. Maybe.
- Why was Sidney in Antigua, and what does it mean for Georgiana that spells trouble?
did you think of this episode of Sanditon? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Critic Rating:
User Rating:
Sanditon airs Sundays at 9/8c on PBS.
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Brianna Martinez
Brianna spends her time away from briefs, legal research, and pleadings, watching TV and writing about it. She generally has a lot of feelings about TV, which you can read about here and on Twitter.
6 comments
I’m a super fan of Sanditon but I was totally disappointed with the first episode of season 2. In my opinion they should not have killed off Sidney so soon in the series if that was their plan to kill him off! They should have given him and his wife a short storyline all the while being off camera. Also I don’t agree with main characters of any story especially ones written by Jane Austen to be killed off or written out of the storyline. Sidney and Charlotte’s storyline was what made Sanditon so popular! I’m sorry to say, in my opinion it will never be the same, even if they find someone else for Charlotte! I’m still hoping that Sidney really didn’t die and eventually even if it’s in the final season he will return and reunite with Charlotte somehow! They are the STORY and everything and everyone else are just fill ins! I’m sure that if Jane Austen had completed the book she would have had Sidney and Charlotte live their happily ever after! I will continue to watch however many seasons they decide to write but at the same time I’m hopeful that they will offer Theo James an offer that he can’t refuse in order to return for the final season so the audience and fans of the show will be satisfied that it was worth it to have watched the series to the end!
Derivative storylines, over-bright colours and a jarring atmosphere.
A cruel and unnecessary death taken from Austen’s life. The exact opposite of what all fans wanted following the heartbreaking end to the first season. Sidney could have been kept alive off screen? Or Masterpiece should have offered Theo James ANYTHING he wanted to reprise the role – even as little as filming one episode with Charlotte to fix that awful ending, then letting the other characters take over the story. You do not separate a main Austen couple and you do not kill off an original Austen character, especially one with so many connections to the other characters.
However, I am hopeful for Georgiana’s story and intrigued by Esther and the other Denhams. But this is not Jane Austen’s Sanditon.
Similar thoughts. I was disappointed as well.
Let’s all hope that Sidney comes back! He and Charlotte
are such a lovely couple!
Agree with your thoughts about Alison being a bit too
forward, for a girl who has just come from the farm.
I thought it was well done. The new suitors are interesting especially her employer. Rose Williams’ grief was particularly poignant and in keeping with what she would have been allowed to show at that time. Her words about it not being her place to grieve were true but heartbreaking. She should have returned to accidentally push that idiot Tom off a cliff once and for all.
First, what I DO like: I am very glad the show has been extended for 2 more seasons. I will be a fan and watch no matter what. I appreciate that Charlotte is realistically grieving-through the memories that being back in Sanditon would certainly illicit. Rose Williams does a lovely job with the understated yet telling emotions. I like that Arthur is no longer under the over-coddling influence of his sister. It allows for some depth of character to be revealed. The same for Georgiana: her character can stretch without the heavy-handed control of Sydney and the whining/hand-wringing of Mrs Griffith. Although, I would have liked to have seen Mrs Griffith and the Rev Hankins get together. They made rather a nice couple; they humanized each other. I am finding myself the most interested in what will unfold with Esther’s story and I hope Lord Babbington will make an appearance. After all, how will she know if the herbs or elixirs are working if they are never together? I also like seeing Sanditon more developed, but I’m still not clear exactly how much time has transpired since Charlotte left. From what I picked-up in the Episode 1 dialog, it has not been years, so the extent of the town’s development seems unrealistic. Maybe I missed something . . . .
Now for what I’m not enamored with: I have watched through Episode 3 of Season 2 and still am not captured as I was from the very first episode of Season 1. I find a lack of chemistry in the two romance-interests for Charlotte which makes it feel that she would be “settling” if she ends-up with either of them. Perhaps that is intentional – someone else may be coming along in Season 3? But even if this is the case, her interactions with Lennox and Colbourne leave me feeling very ho-hum. The Colbourne character is not severe enough in my opinion. It is too easy to see-through to his kindness. That makes the outcome of each conflict he and Charlotte have predictable. It feels flat. Who knows: perhaps Young Stringer will appear back on the scene, more sophisticated and successful – encouraging Charlotte to pursue her own career options? If so, I do hope they do not write-in a scene where Charlotte comes upon him half-undressed. The scene with the Colonel coming out of his tent to greet women while putting on his shirt got a big eye-roll from me.
The constant chatter of Alison is tedious and her callousness to Charlotte’s pain regarding Sydney is annoying. The Cyrano de Bergerac knock-off of her romance is enjoyable enough to watch, but too bad they didn’t come up with something a little more original. I’m hoping there will be an unexpected twist in the end that will make this comment moot.
The “mystery” of Sydney’s purpose in Antigua is odd to me. Why don’t they just ask Eliza Parker? Surely he would not have made such an extensive trip without giving some kind of explanation to his wife (no matter whether she was loved or not)? Do the Parker brothers not communicate with her? And wouldn’t Sydney’s papers and personal belongs go to his widow, not his brothers? It seems very contrived and has not stimulated my interest. Maybe when the reason is revealed, I will have a different reaction. Personally, I hope he found Georgiana’s mother – that she is not dead after all.
The bottom-line for me is that Sanditon is worth watching and I will still expect to enjoy the story-build. I may have a different opinion on all the above by the end of the series!
i think sidney faked his death, wrote the letter himself, pretending to be one of georgiana’s relative, inorder for the plantation owners not to get a hold of the money. and is hiding some where. that is the only explanation i have as to why he died. i am rooting for georgiana and charles. clara and edward really need to find a hobby .
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