Stuti Gokhale
Season 2 of the engaging period drama TV series ‘Sanditon’ sees Charlotte return to the titular seaside resort town, following the death of her former love Sidney Parker. As she grieves her loss, she decides to abstain from marriage and love and chooses to focus on gaining perspective in life. But as fate would have it, she encounters two intriguing potential suitors in episode 2, who may change the course of Charlotte’s plans ahead.
Moreover, few more familiar faces return to Sanditon, thus causing a stir in the sleepy town. The second episode ends with a shocking revelation as well as Charlotte’s new job as a governess being at risk. If you are keen to know more about the surprising ending of ‘Sanditon’ season 2 episode 2, let’s delve into it along with a brief recap, shall we? SPOILERS AHEAD.
Sanditon Season 2 Episode 2 Recap
The second episode commences with Charlotte bumping into Colonel Lennox on her way to her first day at work. After he wishes her good luck for her job, he invites her to the Mess Dinner hosted by the Army Officers. Charlotte arrives at the Colbourne estate, where Alexander introduces her to his daughter Leonora and niece Augusta. Both girls resent being assigned to a governess and try their best to drive Charlotte away.
Elsewhere, Georgiana fends off every suitor whom Mary brings and expresses her disdain at the latter’s insistence to get her married. The young heiress further has a couple of feisty encounters with artist Charles Lockhart, who flirts with her unabashedly. Though she may hate to admit it, Georgiana is slightly intrigued by Charles’ unconventional opinions.
Meanwhile, Esther is rather worried due to her inability to conceive, and Lady Denham makes her feel bad about it by taunting her. To make matters worse, she feels insulted when Miss Hankins begins inquiring about her infertility issues. However, the eager woman also recommends Esther a feasible solution to her problem, which she takes into serious consideration.
As the invitations for the Mess Dinner are circulated in town, Alison gets excited when the handsome Captain Carter personally requests her presence by sending Captain Fraser. In the meantime, Tom and Arthur ask Colonel Lennox to consider setting a permanent base in Sanditon and propose building barracks for the officers. The residents of Sanditon arrive at the dinner to mix with the soldiers, where Charlotte and Colonel Lennox dance with each other. Although, he gets surprised when she shares that her employer is Alexander Colbourne.
On the other hand, Charles makes a distasteful scene by proposing a scandalous toast to impress Georgiana. Though Colonel Lennox and his men as well as the townsfolk aren’t amused at all, she gets intrigued by his nonchalant and unbothered attitude. Things look up for Alison too, as she and Captain Carter thoroughly enjoy each other’s company, indicating a blooming romance between the two. However, Captain Fraser also seems to be attracted to Alison and looks on unhappily as she mingles with his colleague.
Sanditon Season 2 Episode 2 Ending: Does Charlotte Lose Her Job?
On the very first day of Charlotte’s job as Leonora and Augusta’s governess, the girls give her a hard time by being insubordinate and condescending. While Leonora refuses to give up her tomboyish ways, Augusta constantly ridicules Charlotte about her spinster status and berates her for being from a working-class background.
Gradually, Leonora warms up to Charlotte a bit and discloses how she feels lonely after her mother’s death due to her father’s negligence. However, Augusta refuses to budge or let Charlotte in but when the latter shares her pain of having lost her love, she too opens up slightly about her deceased parents. Just as Charlotte thinks she has made a breakthrough with Augusta, the girl tricks her into playing Alexander’s deceased wife’s beloved piano, which enrages him.
Charlotte takes the blame on herself and rebukes Alexander for not giving attention to Augusta and Leonora’s needs. Rather than taking offense and firing her, he admires her honesty and concern for the girls and retains her as their governess. Augusta is also astonished at her kindness and shares the pain of losing her parents with her. She and Leonora hence decide to give Charlotte another chance and cause lesser trouble for her.
Do Lady Denham and Esther Forgive Edward?
After Lady Denham cut off Edward for trying to wrongfully usurp her estate with Clara, he left Sanditon. Nonetheless, he returns to town as an army officer and expresses his remorse at his past misdeeds to his aunt and Esther. He claims to be a changed man and even his superior Colonel Lennox personally vouches for his good conduct to Lady Denham.
In spite of his constant apologies, Edward conceals the fact that he has still not paid his commission in the army. This indicates that there is likely a hidden motive behind his return and constant pleas to his aunt, perhaps to gain some financial benefit. Lady Denham slightly melts at his changed demeanor but Esther refuses to believe that he has reformed and remains suspicious.
Esther decides not to forgive Edward so easily for all the trauma he has caused her before and doubts that he is up to something sinister again. Her skepticism increases two folds when Clara too arrives at Lady Denham’s doorstep, begging for a place to stay. In addition, she declares to be carrying Edward’s child and demands justice, thus shocking Esther and her aunt. Neither the validity of Clara’s claims nor the purity of Edward’s atonement is clear at this point, but they shall probably cause further complications for Esther.
Read More: Is Sanditon Based on a True Story?
