The Buccaneers star Leighton Meester breaks down that Nell-Nan confrontation and Nell's surprisin...

The mommy issues have come to a head. The Buccaneers star Leighton Meester breaks down that NellNan confrontation and Nell's surprising decision

The mommy issues have come to a head.

The Buccaneers star Leighton Meester breaks down that Nell-Nan confrontation and Nell's surprising decision

The mommy issues have come to a head.

By Maureen Lee Lenker

Maureen Lee Lenker

Maureen Lee Lenker is a senior writer at ** with over seven years of experience in the entertainment industry. An award-winning journalist, she's written for Turner Classic Movies, *Ms. Magazine*, *The Hollywood Reporter*, and more. She's worked at EW for six years covering film, TV, theater, music, and books. The author of EW's quarterly romance review column, "Hot Stuff," Maureen holds Master's degrees from both the University of Southern California and the University of Oxford. Her debut novel, *It Happened One Fight*, is now available. Follow her for all things related to classic Hollywood, musicals, the romance genre, and Bruce Springsteen.

EW's editorial guidelines

Published on July 30, 2025 10:13AM EDT

Leave a Comment

Leighton Meester in 'The Buccaneers'. Credit:

- Nan St. George (Kristine Froseth) finally knows with certainty that her biological mother is her Aunt Nell (Leighton Meester).

- Nan confronts Nell about the truth, primarily with the aim of getting Nell to agree to testify at Nan's mother's divorce trial.

- Nell ultimately decides to tell her secret to the jury for the sake of her sister.

**Warning: This article contains spoilers about Wednesday's episode of *The Buccaneers, *"All Rise."**

Wednesday's penultimate episode of *The Buccaneers *season 2 brought Nan's (Kristine Froseth) reckoning with her illegitimate birth to a head as she confronted her Aunt Nell (Leighton Meester) about something Nan had suspected since her wedding: Nell was her real mother, not some unknown woman as she'd previously been told.

Nan isn't upset that Nell is her mother and that she's kept it a secret. But she is furious that Nell won't now tell the truth and testify at her mother's divorce trial, providing the crucial evidence of Mr. St. George's infidelity, ensuring victory in court for Patricia (Christina Hendricks).

And that anger is what comes out in their confrontation when Nan quizzes Nell, asking her why she's a coward. "Nan handles the news really well and is very welcoming and open to this fact," Froseth tells * *of Nan's reaction to her parentage. "Nan is quite impressive with how she handles it."

Christina Hendricks as Patricia St. George in 'The Buccaneers'.

"However, I was glad there was actually some space for some anger, resentment, and hurt," Froseth adds. "Because I was hoping that would come earlier. She should be challenged a little bit. That's fair."

Nell is, of course, initially defensive, telling Nan that Patty has forbidden her from testifying and that all her life she has tried to prevent Nan from being "the child of a slut." Nell also wants to prevent the baby that she is now expecting from being marked with such a label.

'The Buccaneers' cast and creators break down that shocking death: 'It broke our hearts'

Leighton Meester talks the unexpected twist of her 'The Buccaneers' character

But once Nan leaves, Nell realizes what she must do, confessing the truth of her past to her husband Arthur before going on to take the stand the next day. Nell provides not only proof of Nan's parentage but the necessary evidence to damn Mr. St. George as an adulterer. It's a big pivot from her insistence on protecting her marriage and her child.

"It is that leap of faith," says Meester of why Nell decides to testify. "She thought that there was this horrible, shameful thing that she was going to live her whole life with. She knows that it might potentially ruin her life, ruin her reputation, ruin her marriage. But being able to say the words out loud is at least how I tried to break it down — saying the words that she wanted to say for so long."

Kristine Froseth as Nan St. George in 'The Buccaneers'.

Additionally, Meester posits that Nell's testimony before the jury was far less frightening than the private conversations preceding it. "Saying the words, 'I am your mother,' to Nan was more difficult and more complex than saying it to a room of people who might hate her anyway," Meester adds. "So after that first admission, the weight was lifted."

Most importantly, Nell keeps the love and respect of her husband, who tells her that she is "incredible" after the trial ends and Patricia has won.

***Sign up for **'s free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.*****

But now, Nell must return to England and face the challenges of her crumbling marriage and the fresh revelation that Guy (Matthew Broome) is now (accidentally) married to Paloma (Grace Ambrose).**

New episodes of *The Buccaneers *drop every Wednesday on Apple TV+.

Original Article on Source

Source: "AOL TV"

Read More

---

Source: Astro Blog

Full Article on Source: Astro Blog

#LALifestyle #USCelebrities