Leighton Meester on the unexpected twist of ‘The Buccaneers’ character

This article contains spoilers about The Buccaneers season 2 premiere, titled “The Duchess of Tintagel.”

We doubt even Gossip Girl could’ve seen this one coming.

The Buccaneers, Apple TV+’s series about a group of American heiresses who travel to England seeking husbands, is back for a second season — and it’s bringing the mother of all secrets out in the open.

The first season ended with the revelation that Nan St. George’s (Kristine Froseth) birth mother was in attendance at Nan’s wedding to Theo (Guy Remmers), Duke of Tintagel. During the off-season, Leighton Meester joined the cast, and fans immediately suspected that she would be playing Nan’s mother.

They were spot on, but there’s an extra layer to this secret. Nell (Meester) is not merely Nan’s biological mother and the former lover of Nan’s father, Colonel Tracy St. George (Adam James). She is also the sister of Mrs. Patricia St. George (Christina Hendricks), the woman that Nan believed was her mother for 19 years.

So, not only has Mrs. St. George been keeping Nan’s illegitimacy a secret, but she’s also been concealing the fact that it was her own sister who birthed her. When Nell arrives at the wedding reception and makes a passive aggressive comment about being introduced to Nan (and indeed not even being invited), Mrs. St. George introduces her only as her sister and Nan’s aunt.

“Mrs. St. George’s biggest fear for 19 years is that Nan might find out the truth of who her real mother is,” showrunner Katherine Jakeways tells Entertainment Weekly. “She’s absolutely been holding that tension and holding that fear in the dark recesses of the night for Nan’s whole life, really. So, the fact that Nell turns up during Nan’s wedding is the worst-case scenario.”

“Mrs. St. George will absolutely fight tooth and nail to stop Nan from knowing,” Jakeways continues. “And it’s not a decision that she’s proud of. She prides herself on being a real lioness of a mother and being a real nurturing mother. She realizes that she’s putting her own interests above Nan’s, and it’s a moment for her to reflect on whether she’s the kind of mother that she always thought she was and wanted to be.”

For Meester, it’s the far more difficult pill to swallow in the scenario. “That element of the secret is so deep and dark,” she tells EW. “It wasn’t just that Nan was born out of wedlock. It’s that there was this horrible, hurtful betrayal, and that’s been shrouded in secrecy all these years, too.”

Indeed, it is the fact that Nan doesn’t entirely even remember that her aunt exists that gives Nell pause when it comes to revealing the truth. “Nell came not totally with a plan, but knowing that now this information is out there,” Meester adds of Nan’s awareness of her past. “Nan is illegitimate, and that shameful thing she’s been holding onto for so long is maybe not worth holding onto. But Nell finds out that more secrets have been kept that have made the original secret not as bad.  She finds out that her being Nan’s mother may not even be the worst part.”

Jakeways notes that all of Mrs. St. George’s decisions in this realm are driven by self-preservation above all else. “It’s a selfish move, ultimately, isn’t it?” the showrunner says. “She just doesn’t want to let Nan go.”

But it will take extensive reparation between the sisters to arrive at a place where the truth could be told. “Until they have unpacked their issues with each other and understood both of their experiences of Nan’s birth, they can’t really see past that,” Jakeways adds. “She’s just not going to let Nell have that win. It’s quite a straightforward decision for Mrs. St. George at the beginning of that episode. She just wants Nell gone.”

In the episode, Mrs. St. George begins to realize the cost of her choices, reminding Nell that before she was a mother, she had a baby sister. The two reconcile and decide to travel back to New York together. However, when Nan learns during their departure that the sisters had sparely spoken for 19 years, she begins to put the pieces together.

“It’s a very dark storyline and scenario, and it hits every character quite hard,” Christina Hendricks says. “Nan discovering that her mother’s kept this secret for this entire time, which is something her father would’ve done. And Nan not really understanding why there’s such a completely broken relationship between these two sisters. It’s a dark family secret.”

That may be, but it’s clear that Nan is already suspicious of the truth.