It’s been known for quite some time that Charlotte’s (Rose Williams) two Season 2 love interests, Colonel Lennox (Tom Weston-Jones) and Alexander Colbourne (Alexander Colbourne), have a history of animosity toward one another (Ben Lloyd-Hughes). It is revealed in Sanditon Season 2 Episode 5 on PBS’s Masterpiece, that this is the case.
While it’s true that both men were head over heels in love with Colbourne’s deceased wife Lucy, what we didn’t realise was that Lucy was first married to Colbourne before being head over heels in love with Lennox.
Leonora was born as a result of their passionate relationship (Flora Mitchell). When Lennox abandoned Lucy, Colbourne stormed into her, saying things he later regretted saying to her. Sadly, Lucy passed away shortly after Leo’s birth after becoming ill while strolling in the rain.
As a result, Colbourne is a hater of Lennox. As a result, Lennox accuses Colbourne of “ruining” Lucy’s life. And it’s also why Colbourne was so uncomfortable with his own child and Lucy lookalike Augusta (Eloise Webb) for such a long period of time. The truth has now been revealed! Charlotte appears to be accepting of the terrible news, but a glimpse at the end of the episode reveals that Leonora overheard her father telling her the terrible news.
The fact that Jane Austen simply hinted at pre-marital sex and the hazards of being left in the lurch by adventurous lovers may not seem all that shocking in today’s world, but was a significant departure from her earlier works. The notion that Lennox abandoned a pregnant Lucy, who later may have purposefully caused herself to become terminally ill, is disturbing for Jane Austen. In an interview with Decider last month, though, showrunner Justin Young defended his choice on the matter. He noted that the Esther/Edward plot in Season 1 was dark in a sexual way that Masterpiece wished to avoid in Season 2, but Austen’s own work on Sanditon signalled that she was creating new territory with her own voice on the show.
In terms of Jane Austen’s work, it’s interesting to evaluate Sanditon because it was evidently a part of the author’s entire oeuvre. It’s in such a state of disarray. While it’s impossible to speculate about what she may or might not have done with it, Young noted that “it did felt like a more mature piece of work.” “There is a maturity to her writing that permeates her later novels.”
“It just felt like an interesting story to be honest with you. And you’re always looking for the cause for the drama of this style of show. You can’t blow stuff up, you can’t have people picking up guns. You’ve got to plot it so it’s big and emotional,” Young said. “And that felt like an interesting, complicated way to explain who Colburne was, to give us a surprise about Lennox, to send the story off in a different direction.”
“And also to give Colburne a clear turning point…” Young added.
Ben Lloyd-Hughes revealed to Decider that he was aware of the relationship between Colbourne and Lennox from the beginning of the project.
“[Justin Young] sent me this amazingly helpful, many page document on Colbourne and everything that’s happened to his life and the backstory. A truly compelling, eye-opening read,” Lloyd-Hughes added.
Whenever Lloyd-Hughes thinks of Colbourne, “integrity” is the first word that comes to mind, he said. “I think he’s a man of huge integrity. The era in which he lived was one where integrity was an important aspect of everyday life. Probably a lot more than it is right now, in fact. It must have been incredibly tough and traumatic for him given everything that had happened to him that doing the right thing meant to him and his ideals.
Nonetheless, Lloyd-Hughes cautioned, “It is not to argue that he is a saint. His relationship with these two girls hasn’t been stellar until he meets Charlotte.”
Decider got confirmation from Justin Young. To some extent, [Colbourne] has adopted Leo as his own child by the end of the series. For the first time ever, he’s devoted himself to the role of fatherhood.”
To add to that, Tom Weston-Jones has revealed that he, too, was given a “quite comprehensive character biography” before to joining the Sanditon cast.
“I was curious about everything,” Weston-Jones explained. “In television, it can sometimes seem like it’s a waste for performers not to be aware of numerous secrets that a character is privy to. I’ve worked with some folks — directors, producers, and writers — who, regrettably, believe they have the ability to throw anything on you without any repercussions. It’s just a big surprise, a big secret that you’ve been keeping under wraps, and it feels like a waste of time to me. It’s practical stuff that you can put to good use. As actors, it’s what we all aim to achieve.”
Weston-Jones claimed that being aware of Lennox’s past relationships with Lucy, Colbourne, and Leo was extremely beneficial to him. Young’s willingness to accept Weston-Jones’ point of view on “certain details” also played a role.
“I wanted to have specific ideas in my head rather than generalisations.” When it comes to someone’s recollections, behaviours, and all of that, I don’t want to be too generic,” Weston-Jones explained. This felt more like a collaborative effort rather than being told what to do and where to stand and what to say, which is not what you want.” “It felt more like a collaborative effort that we were building together rather than me being told what to do and where to stand and how to say it, which is not what you want.”
In terms of their reactions to the announcement, the men who play Lennox and Colbourne were pleased, but what about the woman they’re battling for in Sanditon Season 2? Charlotte’s emotional well-being was “sort of a double-edged sword,” according to Rose Williams, when she learned about Leo’s biological parents.
“She believes that Lennox made this decision out of timidity,” she says. “He’s only concerned with saving his own skin because he lacks the skills to be a father,” Williams explained. “I believe it increases her admiration for Colbourne, who has taken on the role of a guardian when it comes to these two children,” says the author.
In this way, it increases her esteem for Colbourne while simultaneously decreasing her respect for the evil Lennox. “Spoiler alert,” Williams said, before adding a laugh.
What young Leo thinks of this information about her own past will have to wait until next week’s Sanditon Season 2 finale to find out…
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