Three Balls Wrong: How Sanditon's Charlotte and Sidney escape social constraints to find true love

As we think about finally getting our season 2 of Sanditon--and dare I say each day the prospect seems more conceivable--many of us are pondering just how the long-awaited proposal scene for Sidney and Charlotte will finally happen. Where will our much-needed happily-ever-after come to pass?

Will it be back on the clifftop to right the horrid wrong at the end of season 1? Or perhaps on a beach walk or by the coves? One idea I keep coming to is that a determined Sidney will ride into Willingden on his horse and meet Charlotte on the beautiful stone bridge near her family's home and propose there. Maybe he rides for hours through the rain to get to her.  It'd be especially fitting since Sidney had told her nothing ever happens in Willingden. What a delicious irony it would make knowing that the moment that will change both their lives forever, the moment we've been dreaming of and fighting for, could happen in Charlotte's quiet home town. 

First, I love the idea of our hero making a grand gesture to prove to Charlotte he loves her and only her and needs her in his life. Secondly, I love the symbolism of the bridge and how true love forever connected these two who were so opposed when they first met . It would show how far cosmopolitan, worldy and experienced Sidney has truly come in his own journey, making it his mission to get to Charlotte's small farming village--a place he'd written off to Charlotte before as inconsequential. All those times he rushed back to London will be trumped now by the most important trip of his life to Willingden. Finally, I love the thought of a brave and determined Sidney riding in not to save a trapped princess but to right a wrong. Charlotte should've never had to retreat home. She loved Sanditon, she loved the people there, she loved her new experiences like seabathing and learning about architecture. As she tearfully left Sanditon she told Mary she'd have no regrets as it had been the adventure of her life. Her adventure wasn't meant to be finished.  So Sidney needs to help bring her back. 

Wherever the proposal comes to pass, I have one passionate request of our show creators: it must happen outside. Sidney can't and shouldn't propose at a ball. Please, no ball proposal! The balls are tainted now.

In thinking closely about the Sanditon story arc through each ball, we see major steps in the evolution of Sidney and Charlotte’s relationship. Each ball also has a serious mishap occur. Despite moments of anticipation, excitement and pure joy throughout each, they were three balls gone horribly wrong.

Ball 1: We see Charlotte enter the Assembly Rooms for Sanditon's first ball of the season a little nervous but brimming with excitement. This is an enchanting new world for her.  She looks fresh-faced and lovely in a white dress with a feather in her hair. Then we see Sidney enter with his friends Babbington and Crowe and immediately he notes where Ms. Heywood is standing.  He's clearly curious about her though he acts aloof when they dance. When she seeks some respite on the balcony, Sidney is genuinely pleased she's encountered him there. We can't imagine how horribly wrong their conversation will go. It starts off with playful, intentional flirtation on Sidney's part when he asks probing questions.  Charlotte is honest to a fault, highlighting her lack of experience by sharing her too earnest opinions. Then Sidney's defenses shoot up straight away and he responds at length with an acid tongue. It's a one-sided fight on the balcony, with Sidney sparring against himself, his anger boiling over because of his own hurt pride.  Charlotte blinks back tears and can only utter an apology. He storms off leaving her stranded on the balcony. A night that started so full of excitement and promise has left her humiliated and in tears. 

Ball 2: In London, at the enchanting Golden Ball/Mrs. Maudley's rout, the evening again starts with great promise. Charlotte and Sidney have gone through a powerful experience together rescuing Georgiana from her kidnapper and they've grown to respect eachother. Let's also note how bold it was for Charlotte to travel to London alone and how inappropriate by society's standards it was for her to accompany Sidney alone in the carriage for this journey. Stepping out of the bounds of society's watchful eyes and codes allows them to get to know eachother in a more authentic way. We start to see Charlotte peel layers of Sidney's rough exterior back throughout the carriage ride. We see his vulnerability here and his desire to be a better man.

Once safely settled again at Bedford Place, Sidney sees Charlotte with new eyes. He is struck by Charlotte's beauty as she descends the stairs to meet him in her borrowed shimmering golden gown. The ballroom is aglow with candles everywhere. Sidney calls himself an outlier rightfully so and Charlotte admits her insecurities of not fitting in there. Yet, these two outliers fit best together.  He asks her to dance and the sparks are immediate. They have a magnetic attraction and we see the unfolding of their relationship in the expression of their beautiful dance. The dance is magical as is the intimacy they achieve on a crowded dance floor. Whereas the other couples wear masks, Charlotte and Sidney are unmasked, their truest selves are on display and each one's eyes stare straight into the other's soul. It's likely the first time they both realize they are falling in love with eachother. But despite this incredible magic the evening ends with Charlotte alone again, this time on the dance floor. 

I've written at length about the Golden Ball in a previous post, so in short here I'll just say Sidney seemingly "abandons" her when he sees the woman who broke his heart across the room, Mrs. Campion. Even if it was a momentary lapse of judgement for Sidney, a strong pulling of the past calling him and confusing him, the end result was Charlotte looking on crushed. It was painful for her to watch and as a viewer I felt it looked like a betrayal. She was stabbed in the heart after their ethereal dance and connection. Besides my intense frustration with Sidney in this scene, I was also gutted by the unanswered questions. What could've been had Sidney gotten to escort Charlotte back to Bedford Place? What might they have confessed to eachother during the carriage ride? Ultimately, the ghost of Mrs. Campion haunted the scene and broke their connection there. Another ball bites the dust. 

Ball 3: Finally, by the Midsummer's Ball back in Sanditon, we're all expecting the big proposal. Charlotte is dressed in blue--a wedding color representing love and fidelity. Mary references her own engagement to Tom at a ball and every sign points to the big ask happening tonight. After all, Sidney and Charlotte shared a passionate kiss outside earlier in the day. 

But fate wasn't on their side and it seemed everyone in attendance at the ball made it a point to act as physical barriers to their uniting. From Tom's constant meddling to Stringer swooping in for a dance just before Sidney could get to Charlotte to the dreaded proposal interruption by Edward when they'd finally stolen a moment alone, to Lady Denham perplexingly tasking Sidney to act as bodyguard and escort Edward out--it seemed they all conspired to keep these true loves away from eachother. It's devastating to watch. I was silently yelling at the screen for Sidney to make a bee line to Charlotte immediately and brush Tom or anyone else off and remain singularly focused on his mission for the evening. I was frustrated with Charlotte too that she agreed to dance with Stringer and that dance seemed to go on for an eternity. Why were they so shy to approach eachother? It still baffles me when I watch. I felt after their kiss, it was understood they should find eachother straightaway and Charlotte should've promised him the first dance. Whatever the case it wasn't meant to be that evening. 

Unlike Ball 1 and Ball 2, Charlotte and Sidney don't even get a chance to dance together. Once they escape the prying eyes and meddling of everyone, they have a brief moment of connection when Sidney makes his beautiful second declaration: "I have never wanted to put myself in anyone else's power"...but he's cut off by Edward's intrusion before he can get out the rest of the words we expect..."I love you. Will you marry me?" 

To make matters so much worse, the night ends up in literal flames. Instead of happily engaged to the love of his life, Sidney closes his evening battling the raging fire that threatens the Terrace apartments--and the very future of Sanditon. Charlotte watches helplessly as her dreams too go up in smoke. 

Three balls just wrong. They say bad things happen in threes and I'd like to think Sidney and Charlotte have met their quota of disappointments and are now overdue for something very good in their lives. 

All of this underscores how their true connections happen outside in nature away from societal constraints. Their wild, uninhibited inner selves can connect best away from others like during their beach walk. One of the most significant scenes is during the Regatta where they are alone on the rowboat against all societal rules.  Sidney pushes boundaries when he asks Charlotte to accompany him on the boat and her instinct is to jump in. He teaches Charlotte how to row, holding her hands and sneaking in extra touches as he's unable to resist the magnetic pull towards her. They connect with a mutual gaze that could burn a hole through a brick wall. They are on fire together. It was after the rowing Sidney finally understands what he truly wants when Charlotte questions him, "what do you want from me?"  You can see it hit him like a ton of bricks though he can't verbalize it yet. He wants Charlotte. By that evening, back at Trafalgar House he's finally able to make his first declaration: he is his best and truest self when he's with her.

I also think about their time down by the lake with the Parker children where Sidney connects with Charlotte with just a look understanding she has something big on her mind without her saying a word. Or when Sidney gladly accepts Charlotte playing cricket and their fierce but fun competition full of laughter and flirtation as they play like kindred spirits by the ocean or even their "well then" flirting outside on the street after a stressful afternoon dealing with Mr. Stringer’s injury.

 

Both of these characters are strongly drawn to nature where they can be their truest selves. Sidney always finds his escape swimming in the ocean. He's happiest when stripped down to his purest form. From the moment we're first introduced to Charlotte outside, she's unfettered by constraints with her hair down and windblown as she lies down in the grass hunting. She's at one with nature too.   In short, they both need sun, sky and sea to thrive. 

It's fitting they are both at their best in nature with the rugged explorer and frontier themes that Sanditon evokes.  The Western inspired theme music suggests the entrepreneurial spirit of building up the land and finding success and new identity through it. The next thing these two need to create together is their own Parker family. 

So wherever Sidney proposes to Charlotte--maybe at a picnic in the bluebell fields or by his beloved coves-- it needs to be outside where they can be alone surrounded only by nature and free to be their truest selves. Just please Sidney, I beg of you--don't try to propose again at a ball. I don't want to chance anyone getting in your way.

There will of course be balls to come in Sanditon 2 and I look forward to them too! I suspect we will see longing glances across the room and lots of angst when our star-crossed couple is still painfully separated. We will see lots of dancing and their incredible magic and chemistry when they finally get to connect. But let the balls be just for those special moments. 

Sidney needs to take the big step of proposing away from the pomp and circumstance and the prying eyes of London or Sanditon. They need to be away from the stifling interference of his family (Tom!) or the well-meaning but intrusive meddling of hangers-on like Stringer (still love you Stringer). 

Outside walking away from the town is where Sidney felt the strength to first kiss Charlotte on the clifftops. He was overcome by his emotions there and couldn't contain his longing and natural instinct. He very well may kiss her again back on the cliffs, sealing the next kiss with a proposal. 

But perhaps like in my first vision, the proposal will happen in Willingden. Our Regency cowboy will ride into Willingden to sweep Charlotte off her feet on the stone bridge. Let's not forget though what makes us love Sanditon so much--Charlotte will rescue Sidney right back.