Posted in: BBC, TV | Tagged: Ann Walker, Anne Lister, bbc, Gentleman Jack, HBO, lesbian romance, LGBTQ, Lydia Leonard, Marianna Lawton, sally wainwright, shibden hall, Sophie Rundle, Suranne Jones

Gentleman Jack: How Sally Wainwright's 4-Season Plan Might Have Ended

Gentleman Jack creator and showrunner Sally Wainwright said that she originally planned for the show to end at season 4 when HBO cancelled it after only two seasons. During her interview with RadioTimes.com, Wainwright said that the news was "a surprise" and that she had plans for Gentleman Jack to reach season 4. Season 2 might have reached a conclusion without a cliffhanger, but Anne Lister (Suranne Jones) and Ann Walker's (Sophie Rundle) story was far from over.

"I mean, my ambition when we started was to tell the story of the rest of her life which would have hopefully been about four series," she said. "So, you know, I think season 2 ended in a good place, but there is still a lot more to tell," she added. "How that marriage continued, all the ups and downs they faced, Anne Lister's ambition in Halifax, her travels abroad, you know, and the machinations within the family. There's some really good drama to be explored. That fantastic performance from Suranne, that fantastic performance from Sophie and all the cast really. It was a bit of a dream team."

The General Arc of Gentleman Jack

It makes sense that Gentleman Jack was designed to run for four seasons. Every story has to answer the question, "Why now?" Why are we joining the character's story at this point in time? Anne Lister lived for 49 years and lived a very active life as a landowner, business investor, scientist, and passionate world traveler. She kept a diary throughout most of her life, starting in her early teens. She was attracted to women her whole life and actively pursued them. Her diary totaled over five million words and was written in heavy code because apart from recording her everyday life, she wrote in great detail about her sexual conquests. She discussed her methods and techniques at flirting, picking up, and seducing women – she was an active lesbian pickup artist. No wonder she wrote in code. Lesbianism was never a crime in England, but even then, it would have been scandalous for a lady from a good home to be caught up in it. The series could easily have been about Anne's travels around England and Europe and the affairs she had. Instead, it concentrated on her meeting Ann Walker and settling down with her as the final relationship in her life.

Season 1 of Gentleman Jack feature Anne Lister at her prime and the latter part of her life, when she met Ann Walker for the first time. The arc of the season was her gradually falling in love with Walker (after careful consideration of her vast fortune, of course, for Anne Lister was nothing if not practical and clear-headed) and deciding to pursue her. The season ended with them taking part in a secret wedding ceremony where they took vows. This was possibly the first same-sex marriage in England, even if its legality wouldn't have been recognized at the time. Their marriage was a symbolic one and of relevance to LGBTQ History. The show was a reclamation of a hidden, forgotten part of Lesbian History.

Season 2 dealt with the early part of Anne Lister's union with Ann Walker, dealing with the feelings of Lister's lover of twenty years Marianna Lawton (played by Lydia Leonard), Walker's attempts to wrest back her inheritance from the control of her sister's homophobic and duplicitous, and Lister's efforts to raise capital for her investment in building a hotel and a coal mine while covering a tumultuous election year that resulted in riots and deaths. The season introduced conflict in Lister and Walker's union and the possibility that they might break up, but by the end, they became closer and vowed to stay together.

From here, the rest is purely speculation. We're playing armchair writer's room here and making a guess.

What Seasons 3 and 4 Might Have Been About

Perhaps Season 3 would feature Anne Lister and Ann Walker consolidating their fortunes and spending it on Lister's mission to complete her hotel, her mine, and the improvement of her family home Shibden Hall. There will be doubtless political conflicts in the process of the town and Anne Lister's place in it. She was a local landowner and landlord who had power and say in the town's political makeup after all, while whispers about her relationship with Walker continued. Mrs. Lawton might return to make trouble for Anne Lister since she's still in love with her. She was the local "Gentleman Jack" after all.

We suspect that Season 4 of Gentleman Jack would have featured the final year of Anne Lister's life. That would be 1849-1850 when Anne Lister went on her final epic journey across Europe, all the way to the Russian Caucuses. Lister was known to have a great passion for travel, as she frequently expressed through seasons one and two. From 1839 to 1940, Lister and Walker traveled through France, Denmark & Sweden and explored the huge expanse of the Caucasus before she caught a fever and passed away. Anne Lister died doing what she loved with the woman she loved. That would have logically completed the arc of the show, about a heroic gay woman who lived a life completely on her own terms and to the fullest, finding the love of her life and her happily ever after. The beginning, middle, and end of Lister's relationship with Walker is a perfect arc.

The BBC has said in a statement that it was "in discussions" with Wainwright about "what's next" for Gentleman Jack. It's possible that they might still find a new co-producing and financing partner, and we get seasons 3 and 4.

"Things happen for a reason," Wainwright said. "But you know, I think we all want to try and pursue it a bit more before we accept that it really might not be coming back."

If Gentleman Jack gets its final two seasons, we'll find out if we got it right.

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