‘Sanditon’ Was the Best Happily Ever After of 2023

When I look back at the year in television, no show gets me swooning quite so much as Sanditon. The beloved Masterpiece on PBS series successfully came back from cancelation to give heroines Charlotte Heywood (Rose Williams) and Georgiana Lamb (Crystal Clarke) the happily ever afters they so sorely deserved. Fans who had stuck with the show through thick and thin had spent years watching both characters navigate heartache, grief, misogyny, and misfortune with courage and kindness. So to see both characters finally forge their own path with their true loves at their side felt not only cathartic, but downright miraculous. Sanditon Season 3 hands down gave TV fans the best happily ever after of 2023.

Sanditon‘s ardent fanbase needs no reminding, but Sanditon first premiered on Masterpiece on PBS back in early 2020. Based on Jane Austen‘s final, unfinished manuscript, the series used both the author’s beloved tropes and her unrealized ambitions to create a smart, sexy, modern new take on the Regency romance. The first season may have divided viewers with its candid approach to sexuality, but it also won hardcore devotion thanks to its brilliant characters. When British broadcaster ITV canceled the show in the UK after one season, it left Sanditon‘s story seemingly unfinished. The first season ended with spunky heroine Charlotte Heywood having her heart broken when her beloved Sidney Parker (Theo James) revealed that he would have to marry his first love for her fortune. Surely that wasn’t how Sanditon was supposed to end! Charlotte needed to get her man!

In the time between Sanditon‘s initial cancelation and PBS’s pick up of the drama, star Theo James departed the project. This meant that there was no way for Charlotte to get her happily ever after with Sidney after all. So what was Sanditon‘s new showrunner Justin Young to do? Well, as it turns out, introduce an even more intoxicating love interest for sweet Charlotte…

While Sanditon Season 2 ostensibly introduced two new suitors to battle for Charlotte’s heart, only one seemed immediately like a legit contender for her hand. Alexander Colbourne (Ben Lloyd-Hughes) was a withdrawn widower who slowly came alive in Charlotte’s presence. The two bonded over their shared values, interests, and painful pasts. Indeed, the biggest obstacle to Charlotte and Colbourne’s happiness was their inability to get over their fear of heartache again; it led to dire miscommunication and multiple “missed connections.”

Charlotte and Colbourne’s ultimate happily ever after isn’t just well-earned by Sanditon‘s writers and directors, but it’s downright euphoric. Colbourne declares his love on the literal same cliff that Sidney broke Charlotte’s heart. They have a fairy tale wedding complete with slow-motion rose petal showers and well-wishes from everyone around. And Charlotte isn’t the only person who gets her man. In the same episode, Georgiana finally gets to wed her true love, too. It’s all so magical that when the series finally ends, you’re left with the sense that all is right in the world and maybe dreams can come true.

Of course, saying that Sanditon gave us the best happily ever after of the year is a controversial statement amongst the Sanditon fandom. As I understand it, fans are still clamoring for more. There are still loose ends regarding the future of Colbourne’s teenaged niece Augusta (Eloise Webb) that could be teased out, not to mention the fact that the “Sanditon Sisterhood” is dead determined on getting more Charlotte, more Colbourne, more Georgiana, and more everything Sanditon. Still, I don’t think anyone would deny that if Season 3 was the real end, it was a perfect farewell.

Even the best televisions shows have trouble sticking the landing. At best, you can usually hope for a finale that is as shattering as Succession‘s recent bow. At worst, well… I don’t want to talk about Game of Thrones or Battlestar Galactica. What Sanditon pulled off is intensely tricky. It’s not only a finale that satisfies fans, but properly wraps up three seasons of storytelling. It was an ending that made the pain Charlotte, Colbourne, and fans went through feel worth it. It was a happily ever after that made even the most cynical of hearts believe in true love again.

Sanditon was the best happily ever after of the year.