Costumes Change, Control Doesn’t: What The Buccaneers Reveals About Abuse—Then and Now

Courtesy of Apple TV+

When we watch a period drama like The Buccaneers, it’s easy to get swept up in the silk gowns, candlelit balls, and old-world charm. But beneath the corsets and etiquette lies something much darker—and sadly, timeless.

In Season 2, one storyline in particular hits hard: Jinny’s marriage to Lord Richard.

What starts as a dazzling love match soon unravels into something far more chilling. Behind closed doors, we witness manipulation, isolation, emotional degradation, and eventually, physical violence. It’s gut-wrenching. And it’s familiar.

Because even though the setting is 1870s England, the dynamics of abuse haven’t changed.

Control doesn’t care what century it lives in.

Control Looks the Same in Every Era

Lord Richard may wear a cravat instead of a designer suit, but the tactics he uses are painfully modern.

Jinny’s experience is a textbook pattern of abuse—one many women still endure today, in silence.

• Isolation disguised as love: “You don’t need your sister. You have me.” That’s not intimacy. That’s entrapment.

• Gaslighting and shame: Richard chips away at Jinny’s self-worth, making her feel at fault for his cruelty. That emotional erosion happens to countless survivors long before a slap ever lands.

• Financial control: Richard controls the purse strings—and with them, Jinny’s freedom. Today, it might be withheld access to bank accounts, sabotaged careers, or guilt-laden generosity. The tactics evolve. The outcome doesn’t.

• Public charm, private terror: In the eyes of society, Richard is polished and powerful. Behind the scenes, he’s volatile. This duality is something too many survivors know intimately—and something the world still struggles to believe.

Jinny’s story may be scripted. But for millions of women, it’s real.

Why Stories Like This Matter

When abuse is portrayed with nuance, it becomes more than entertainment—it becomes education.

It gives survivors language for what they’ve experienced.

It helps loved ones recognize red flags.

And it pushes viewers to ask themselves harder questions:

Would I have noticed the signs? Would I have believed her? Would I have spoken up?

At Wings to Freedom Foundation, we know the power of being seen.

And when a show like The Buccaneers tells the truth about what abuse looks like—not just bruises, but emotional warfare—it gives women permission to name what they’ve long buried.

But it’s not enough to recognize these stories on screen.

We need to connect them to what’s still happening in real life.

From Screen to Real Life: What You Can Do

Whether the setting is 1870 or 2024, survivors still face shame, fear, and silence.

But change begins with awareness—and action.

Here’s how you can make a difference today:

• Learn the signs of abuse—beyond the physical. Emotional, financial, and psychological abuse are just as damaging.

• Believe women. Dismissing or questioning their experience only deepens the harm.

• Speak up. Challenge the comments that romanticize control or blame the victim.

• Share resources. You never know who in your circle may be silently struggling.

And if you or someone you know is in need, Wings to Freedom Foundation is here. We offer safe housing, legal advocacy, trauma-informed care, and most importantly, a place where women are seen, heard, and believed.

Help Us Stand in the Gap

Your support makes this work possible. Every donation helps us continue to walk alongside women as they escape abuse, reclaim their voices, and rebuild their lives.

If this story moved you, don’t stop at the screen.

Be part of the solution.

Make a Donation

Because freedom doesn’t come in eras—it comes from truth.

Whether it’s behind velvet drapes or modern walls, abuse thrives in silence.

Let’s break it.

For Jinny.

For the women who never made it out.

And for the ones just now finding their way home.