‘Sanditon’ Star Turlough Convery Weighs In on Whether Arthur Has Feelings for Lockhart
Sanditon is all about the romance. In the second season of the PBS drama, Charlotte (Rose Williams), Georgiana (Crystal Clarke), and Alison (Rosie Graham) have their pick of potential suitors, including the brooding widower Alexander Colbourne (Ben Lloyd-Hughes) and army colonel Francis Lennox (Tom Weston-Jones).
But what about confirmed bachelor Arthur Parker? His relationships with the show’s female characters are strictly friendly. But there are hints he might have feelings for rebellious artist Charles Lockhart (Alexander Vlahos).
Turlough Convery says his ‘Sanditon’ character ‘does not quite fit into society’
In Sanditon Season 1, Arthur – played by Turlough Convery – mainly provided comic relief. He was a quirky hypochondriac who often deferred to his cautious sister Diana, who accompanied him on his first visit to the seaside resort town. In season 2, returns for another visit to Sanditon, sans Diana. But he’s different from the man viewers got to know in season 1.
Actor Turlough Convery addressed his character’s evolution and his place in Sanditon’s world in a recent conversation with Masterpiece Studio. He pointed out that the death of his brother Sidney (Theo James) affected Arthur deeply. Many of Arthur’s characteristics also leave him feeling out of place in Regency society. However, Sanditon is a place he can feel at home. That feeling of not belonging is also why he’s drawn to Georgiana, who is Black.
“We sort of saw that Georgiana and Arthur saw an otherness in each other, and that’s why they became friends,” Convery said. “They saw that here is someone else who does not quite fit into society in the exact rigid way in which Regency society expected them to be. A man back then was not a man if he was not robust and strong and alpha and in pursuit of experience and in pursuit of love. And Arthur is not that, Arthur is a gentle and extremely emotionally in touch character, and that’s what we wanted to [home] in on in season 2.”
Arthur has ‘feelings of attraction’ to Lockhart
Arthur’s lack of interest in women romantically has left some viewers wondering if the character is gay. Convery addressed Arthur’s sexuality in his conversation with Masterpiece Studio.
“I think if we’re using modern language, which is kind of the only way to really look at it, I think I think in season 1, I would have said he was he was asexual of sorts. You know, I would have said I would have seen that he never quite understood what the love poems were about. You know, these men going absolutely wild over women. ‘I just don’t understand it.’”
Things begin to change for Arthur in season 2. His character meets Lockhart, a flamboyant artist. While Lockhart’s main interest seems to be in Georgiana, the painter’s flattering comments to Arthur definitely strike a chord.
“Come season 2, I think he begins to have feelings of attraction towards Lockhart, and I think he doesn’t quite realize what that is until it happens,” Convery said. “I think he just goes, ‘Oh, we are, you know, we’re just such very good friends and I’ve never found another man I can be as open with as I have been with my sister or or Georgiana or my friends,’ you know?”
Fans will see more of Arthur’s journey in ‘Sanditon’ Season 3
Sanditon Season 2 is still airing, but it has already been renewed for a third season. Convery says that fans will see more of Arthur’s evolution in the show’s third installment.
“I think come season three, I think we’ll begin to see another element of that journey,” Convery said. “It’s a progression always towards an understanding of who Arthur truly is.”
New episodes of Sanditon Season 2 air Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on PBS.
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