Released December 8, 2021 – Masterpiece Studio
The first podcast has aired, and it was great! Filled with information, explanations, and reasons behind decisions.
A quick recap of Season 1 was given about Charlotte and Sidney and their sometimes stormy relationship before they fell in love. Of course, thanks to Tom Parker, their happily everafter was not to happen, since Sidney threw himself on the sword of sacrifice to save his brother from debtors prison. Apparently, he had forgotten his statement in episodes earlier, saying:
I will gladly own my mistakes. But I cannot own yours.
Well, Sidney owned them anyway.
With Theo James not returning, the challenge arrived. What to do with Sidney? Andrew Davies admits it opened up new possibilities and the team looked forward to continuing the story. As everyone else, they were quite surprised at the unexpected resurrection of the cancelled series. The actors and everyone else had moved on. The sets had been torn down. As a result, they were faced with a blank slate to start again in 2021. James North, a production designer, is bringing back to life the town of Sanditon.
So without Sidney, what will Charlotte be up to? Apparently, she’s not interested in romance right away. Her younger sister, Allison, however, will be joining her in Sanditon. From her description, she sounds reminiscent of Jane Austen’s Marianne Dashwood, filled with romantic ideas and giddy excitement. Apparently, those red coats who will arrive as the militia is going to send her into a tizzy. The focus overall, however, will be Charlotte, Alison, and Georgiana Lambe.
The remainder of the podcasts focuses upon PBS’s commitment to diversity and the fact that Sanditon contains the type of women who are feminists in the Regency era – “empowered and smart and opinionated, and they don’t just exist to be wives.”
So the question remains? Who will Charlotte end up with for her HEA? Definitely someone who respects her ambitions and her voice. Of course, as fans, we would want a bit of angst and passion along the way.
To listen to the entire podcast, visit Masterpiece. It runs for 16 minutes, but there is also a written transcript of you prefer to read. It’s also available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and RadioPublic.