Sanditon season three

Sanditon is a nice little watch for anyone allured by worlds built around the Regency period: Jane Austen (the adaptation is based on her last and unfinished novel), the Bridgerton series, Vanity Fair and anyone still obsessed with Taylor Swift’s Love Story music video. It’s all pretty dresses and frills, and great love stories amidst struggles in feminism and asserting one’s place in society not tied to name, title or marriage. Initial fans of the series might worry that star Theo James is no longer present in the following two seasons, but the beautiful thing about Sanditon is how it doesn’t portray true love as a one-way, straight narrow road. It’s windy and twisty, a case of trial and error of falling for the right guy at the wrong moment in time, losing a soulmate and finding someone better, and falling right back into the person one’s destined to be with. This is the reality the main character Charlotte (Rose Williams) faces throughout all three parts of Sanditon. Now in season three, it begs the question of whether or not she’ll finally have her storybook happy ending.

Like Bridgerton, Sanditon doesn’t just focus on the protagonist. Yes, her development and romantic relationships are the backbone of the TV series, but it also veers off in other directions, encompassing the journey and struggles of others around her. Georgina’s (Crystal Clarke) legal dispute over her father’s inheritance against con artist and former flame Charles (Alexander Vlahos) in season three is one of the more interesting narratives taking place, and it connects seamlessly with Charlotte’s story as her lawyer is Samuel (Liam Garrigan), the brother of Alexander (Ben Lloyd-Hughes) – one of Charlotte’s love interests. In general, all other supporting characters have something to offer, whether it be comedic relief in the form of Lady Denham (Anne Reid), or wise-cracking and exasperated remarks on society’s patriarchal structure from Alexander’s daughter Leonara (Flora Mitchell).

As with any show of its kind, Sanditon is not free of clichés. There’s Charlotte who’s stuck in a very familiar love triangle set-up, complete with the pining old lover and the perfect fiancé whose love lacks the passion of the old flame. It’s a struggle between securing her future and reuniting with her past. There are also typical discussions of men taking what rightfully belongs to women – from credit to financial gain – and men coming to the rescue of damsels in distress. Sanditon thrives off of the typical soap opera drama tropes, from the hidden secrets and dramatic reveals, swindlers and their downfall, money and corrupt motivations, and everyone finding true love in the end. Sanditon may be visually simple and less creative on the production side compared to others within the same genre. But it’s the stories that pull people in, and it’s the stories people will stay for in this third season, in hopes of seeing Charlotte’s love story to the end.

Mae Trumata

Sanditon season three is released on 17^th August 2023.

Watch the trailer for Sanditon season three here: