‘Sanditon’ Season 2 Finale Spoilers: Does Charlotte Get Her Happily Ever After?
The first season of PBS’s Sanditon ended with the show’s heroine, Charlotte Heywood (Rose Williams), reeling from the sudden end of her relationship with the dashing Sidney Parker (Theo James). After that experience, she swore off love – until she started to develop feelings for her new employer, Alexander Colbourne (Ben Lloyd-Hughes). So does Charlotte get her happily ever after with Mr. Colbourne in the Sanditon Season 2 finale? And what happens with her sister Alison (Rosie Graham) and friend Georgiana (Crystal Clarke), who have their own romantic entanglements?
The next episode of Sanditon airs Sunday, April 24, but PBS members with access to Passport can stream it before it airs on TV. Or, keep reading to get more details about a few of the biggest revelations from the season 2 finale.
[Warning: Spoilers ahead for Sanditon Season 2 Episode 6.]
Colonel Fraser makes his move in the ‘Sanditon’ Season 2 finale
Alison arrived in Sanditon with romance on her mind, and she found it, though not with the man she expected to. Now that she’s realized her true feelings for Captain Fraser (Frank Blake), she’s ready to be swept off her feet. At first, Captain Fraser seems like he’s ready to oblige. He visits the morning after the ball. But instead of declaring his love, he says he thinks of her as a friend. Then, he gives her a present and makes her promise not to open it until she returns home.
Alison takes Captain Fraser’s comments about being friends at face value. But when she mentions his present to Charlotte, Georgiana, and Mary (Kate Ashfield), they suspect otherwise. They urge her to open the gift, which is a book of poems that makes Captain Fraser’s true feelings clear. Alison and Charlotte race to the army camp, only to find that the militia has left for India. They return to the Parkers’ house, where Captain Fraser is waiting. He tells her he’s resigned his commission and will stay in England. He proposes, and she accepts.
Georgiana discovers the truth about Lockhart
Alison gets a happy ending in Sanditon Season 2, but things don’t go so well for Georgiana. She’s agreed to run away with the artist Charles Lockhart (Alexander Vlahos). The two seem to have a genuine connection, but there have been hints that Lockhart is also attracted to her great fortune.
Mary has been suspicious of Lockhart from the start, and her concern proves well-founded. Sidney’s trunk finally arrives from Antigua, and it contains papers that shed more light on what he was doing in the Caribbean on Georgiana’s behalf. Lockhart, it turns out, has not arrived in Sanditon by chance. He’s the nephew of Georgiana’s father, and he’s after her inheritance. After failing to seize her fortune through the courts, he decided to get it by marrying her.
Georgiana confronts Lockhart. While he can’t deny his scheme, he tries to convince her that his feelings were genuine. That may be the case, but Georgiana no longer trusts him and rejects his suggestion that they should still marry.
After last season’s debacle with Otis Molyneux, it’s tough to see Georgiana’s second chance at love go up in smoke. Fortunately, she has her friendship with the Parkers, especially Arthur (Turlough Convery), even though the confirmed bachelor isn’t interested in her offer of marriage. She’s also learned that her mother, who she believed died in childbirth, might still be alive.
Edward’s plans are foiled, Tom gets the best of Lennox
Edward (Jack Fox) has been been making swift progress in his plot to have his stepsister thrown in a madhouse, which he thinks will help him get his hands on his elderly aunt’s fortune. He’s enlisted Clara (Lily Sacofsky) his bride-to-be and the mother of his child, in his devious plan. But Clara’s conscience won’t allow her to betray Esther (Charlotte Spencer). She reveals the truth to Lady Denham (Anne Reid), who offers her nephew a choice: He can stay and prove he’s repented, in exchange for a modest allowance, or he can leave for good. He chooses the latter. But Lady Denham has already sent a letter ahead to Colonel Lennox (Tom Weston-Jones) revealing Edward’s true character. Lennox kicks him out of the regiment, and Edward has no choice but to take Lady Denham up on her offer.
But if Edward thinks that living with Lady Denham will give him a chance to bond with his infant son, he’s mistaken. In a heartbreaking scene, Clara decides to give her baby a chance at a better life by leaving him with Esther, who is unable to have children. She’d taken George and returned home to her husband, Lord Babington.
Meanwhile, Tom (Kris Marshall) and Arthur have come up with a plan to get Lennox to pay his debts. At first, it seems that Tom has challenged Lennox to a duel, but instead, they agree to settle things over a card game. Tom wins, Lennox pays up, and the regiment prepares to leave Sanditon.
Charlotte is engaged – but not to Mr. Colbourne
At the start of this episode, Charlotte and Colbourne appear to be cruising toward a proposal. But things go awry when his daughter Leonora (Flora Mitchell) runs off to find Colonel Lennox, who she’s learned is her real father.
Leonora dons her red jacket and marches into camp, where she confronts the colonel. Lennox is genuinely shocked to learn he has a child. But to his credit, he tells her he isn’t her father.
“What good would have come of it?” he says to Colbourne when he thanks him for sparing his daughter the truth. But then Lennox sticks the knife in, asking him if he can trust himself not to fail Charlotte the same way he did his wife.
Lennox’s comments plant a seed of doubt in Colbourne’s mind. The next time he sees Charlotte, he asks to speak to her in private. She thinks he’s about to propose. Instead, he tells her he’s realized their relationship is inappropriate because she’s his daughter’s governess. Later, Augusta (Eloise Webb) convinces him to reconsider. But by then, it’s too late. Charlotte, who has barely recovered from her relationship with Sidney, pushes Colbourne away when he tries to apologize. He leaves Sanditon with his daughter and niece and she returns home.
Then comes the real shocker. The episode ends with a two-month time jump. Everyone is celebrating at Alison and Captain Fraser’s wedding. Charlotte is chatting with Georgiana and the Parkers when a man comes over and claims the next dance. It’s Ralph, the boring farmer Charlotte’s father has been urging her to marry. He and Charlotte are engaged, though she looks less than thrilled about her impending nuptials.
Will Charlotte go through with her marriage to Ralph? Will Georgiana ever find love? Sanditon Season 2 leaves those questions unanswered. But fans can take comfort in the knowledge that the show will return for season 3. No premiere date has been announced, but Parade predicts it will air sometime in 2023.
