Gentleman Jack Suranne Jones Season 2 Ending Explained
Jack Suranne Jones Season 2: The ‘will they, won’t they’ question hanging over Anne Lister (Suranne Jones) and Anne Walker (Sophie Rundle) throughout season one of Gentleman Jack was answered with a resounding yes: yes, they would and they did.
Naturally it would be easy to imagine them in the unconventional (for the times) happily-ever-after phase of life, but this is based on a true story and reality dictates there be an ‘after’ to contend with.
Ann Walker’s move to Shibden Hall hasn’t been all plain sailing. Neither has their endeavour to merge their assets when Ann’s attempts to divide the Crow Nest estate are blocked by her brother-in-law Captain Sutherland (Derek Riddle).
More strenuous for their relationship has been Anne’s fling with ex-lover Mariana (Lydia Leonard).
Their insidious one-time tryst has been like a bubbling undercurrent waiting to erupt.
Will Ann and Anne be able to hold on to their storybook love story?
Ann Walker’s attempts to divide the Crow Nest estate bequeathed to her and her sister Elizabeth (Katherine Kelly) have come to a head. Elizabeth may have been all too happy (or forced) to give up ownership of her share of the land to her husband but Ann is determined not to be bullied.
Their back-and-forth correspondence has done nothing but irk both parties and in the end Captain Sutherland and Elizabeth are forced to make the trip to Yorkshire in order to settle the matter.
Despite his outward appearance of amiability, Captain Sutherland means to discredit Ann by claiming the ‘vulnerable’ Miss Walker has been coerced by Anne into dividing the estate. By making her seem mentally incompetent he hopes to block the division so that he can keep the property as one, giving him part ownership of all the land.
Meanwhile, Anne Lister has her own fish to fry, and those kippers come in the form of a new business venture.
She hopes to improve Halifax by building Northcote hotel and casino. Her excessive borrowing in order to secure the capital for the hotel has caused tension between her and Ann, who carries the day-to-day financial load for the two. Ann worries she is being exploited, which causes them to argue but their monetary woes are just the catalyst for a much bigger fight.
Ann accuses Anne of not sharing all parts of her life with her, stating: “I am your wife when it’s convenient, when you need money, in bed, but when it comes to [meeting] your aristocratic people, I’m an inconvenience.”
The fight veers into the topic of Mrs Mariana Lawton, whom Ann reveals she knows Lister has had an affair with. On top of that, Ann reveals Anne’s extravagant spending terrifies her. With their problems mounting, Ann makes the startling decision to end their relationship.
But there’s no time to process the turmoil. The Sutherlands have arrived in Yorkshire and they mean business – or at least the Captain does. Poor Elizabeth just seems railroaded by her tyrant of a husband.
Ann is summoned to her aunt’s to sort out the division with the Sutherlands, but the captain has plenty of dirty tricks up his sleeve. When his attempts to discredit Ann’s faculties to the lawyer Mr Grey fail, he tricks Ann into giving up the deeds to the estate to the solicitor Mr Parker (Bruce Alexander).
The underhanded Sutherland then coerces Parker into handing them over to him by painting Anne as a predator and fortune hunter who has an ‘unnatural hold’ over Ann.
All this he does while the ceremony to mark the building of Northcote hotel takes place. Anne and Ann catch wind of it and attempt to thwart his plan but are themselves thwarted by Parker’s secretary. They return to Shibden, where they are later met by the Sutherlands.
Bolstered by his success, the Captain continues to lie when confronted by Ann. He shares that both Mr Grey and Mr Parker agree with him (now that they are aware of ‘Lister’s manipulation’) that dividing the estate is a mistake.
His lies however unravel when a Mr Grey arrives at Shibden Hall and Lister allows Sutherland to believe it is Grey the lawyer, whom he has just lied about. Elizabeth, seemingly both panicked and fed up with the falsehoods, confesses that her husband has been deceitful. She urges him to do the right thing in allowing Ann to have her land and feeling backed into a corner. Captain Sutherland has no choice but to agree.
Anne’s small but heroic act convinces Ann of her feelings towards her and it persuades her to rekindle their relationship.
What happened to the other Listers?
While all may be rosy between Anne and Ann at the end, the Listers are left a little worse for wear.
Friction bubbles between Anne and her sister Marian (Gemma Whelan) over her engagement to Mr Abbott (John Hollingworth). Anne thinks it is an unsuitable match, believing Mr Abbott not to be worthy of the Lister sister.
She informs Marian that if she intends to marry him, she will be cut off. This harsh slap in the face upsets Marian but not as much as when Mr Abbott calls off their intended nuptials after he finds out the true nature of Anne and Ann’s relationship.
Marian’s heartache pushes her to announce that she intends to leave Shibden and return to Market Wheaton. Their father (Timothy West) agrees to go with her due to his blatant disapproval of Anne’s risky business ventures, with which he says she is making herself look foolish.