Poll
‘The Buccaneers’ vs. ‘The Gilded Age’: Which Is the Better Historical Romance Show? (POLL)
[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for The Gilded Age Season 3 and The Buccaneers Season 2.]
Gilded Age summer isn’t over yet. The Buccaneers and The Gilded Age are both halfway through their latest seasons, and fans have started picking up on all of the parallels between them.
Beyond the obvious — the shows take place during the same era and explore class differences — their plots are fairly similar. The Gilded Age Season 3 sees Gladys (Taissa Farmiga) being married off to the Duke of Buckingham (Ben Lamb), whom she doesn’t love. Though the circumstances were different, the same thing happened to Nan (Kristine Frøseth), who wed the Duke of Tintagel (aka Theo, played by Guy Remmers), in The Buccaneers.
Those loveless marriages are central to both shows’ current seasons, but they also feature plenty of real romances. The Gilded Age‘s love stories are more mature-feeling than the ones on The Buccaneers, but that doesn’t mean they’re any less captivating. Larry and Marian (Harry Richardson and Louisa Jacobson) are the primary focus this season after a slow friends-to-lovers burn. Before them, George (Morgan Spector) and Bertha (Carrie Coon) were our favorite couple, but they seem to be on the outs. There’s also the sweet, burgeoning relationship between Peggy (Denée Benton) and Dr. Kirkland (Jordan Donica) to consider.
As many swoonworthy romances as there are in it, The Gilded Age is definitely less concerned with love than The Buccaneers. Nearly all of its lead characters have love interests, and those relationships are the core of the story. Conchita and Dick’s (Alisha Boe and Josh Dylan) relationship is stronger than ever in Season 2, as is Mabel and Honoria’s (Josie Totah and Mia Threapleton). Nan is still pining after Guy (Matthew Broome), so we’ve got the forbidden love trope going on, too. Speaking of, Theo and Lizzy (Aubri Ibrag) struck up an affair, and honestly, we’re rooting for them the most out of all the couples.
Which period romance show are you enjoying more so far: The Buccaneers and The Gilded Age? Weigh in below!
