Persuasion is a Netflix romantic adaptation of a Jane Austen of the same name. It follows Anne Elliot, a woman who was forced to give up her love, only to find her way back to happiness.
Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers
Plot summary
Anne Elliot is the middle child of the Elliot family living in London. 8 years ago, she was forced to give up the love of her life because he was a sailor of no rank or nobility.
Since then she has been spending her days wallowing in misery, enjoying a fair amount of wine and just generally living a lonely life. She’s the black sheep of her family, in that she’s the only one with some semblance of humility and wit.
When her father goes bankrupt, Anne’s family is forced to move while an admiral of the navy moves into their home. The admiral’s brother-in-law is the same man Anne fell in love with before, Frederick Wentworth, who is now a captain and a man of standing.
Anne is called upon to tend to her younger sister, Mary, in Uppercross and the admiral and his family are set to visit there, bringing Frederick and Anne face to face once again. Their first encounter ends up being an extremely awkward one with Anne making a complete fool of herself.
Anne’s sister-in-law, Louisa tries to convince her to court Frederick but because of their past, Anne keeps her distance while Frederick is also hesitant to dredge up old memories. Louisa eventually ends up falling for Frederick herself and wishes to marry him.
Anne continues to bottle up her feelings for Frederick while Frederick goes along with Louisa’s overtures. He tells Anne that he deeply cares for her and wishes to have her in life in any capacity, asking her if they can remain friends.
Anne returns the sentiment but deep inside she admits that this situation is less than ideal for her, but she’s too proud to do anything about it. She just continues passing snarky comments as and when the situation calls for it.
Anne and company decide to visit Lyme to meet some of Frederick’s naval buddies. She meets Captain Harville and Captain Benwick, Harville is a close friend who is aware of Anne and Frederick’s past and Benwick is a widower still mourning the death of his love.
While they are in Lyme, Anne comes across another rather dashing gentleman. She later finds out that he is William Walter Elliot, the heir to her father’s title. He was to be wed to Anne’s elder sister Elizabeth at one point but he turned her down and married an American woman instead.
However, he was seen in mourning clothes and It is concluded that his wife had died.
While they’re out for a walk by the seaside, Louisa has a fall and everyone panics. Anne asks Benwick to get a doctor while they tend to Louisa. Louisa suffers a concussion and stays at Harville’s house while Frederick and Anne head back to Uppercross to inform Louisa’s parents of the situation.
While Anne appears to have given up all hope concerning Frederick, the arrival of Willam seems to cushion the blow to some extent. Anne heads to Bath where her family now resides so that she can move on in life.
Persuasion (2022) ending explained in detail:
What are William’s motives?
Anne returns home to learn that William will be visiting and as they never really introduced themselves to each other, this gives her a chance to make a proper acquaintance with him. In actuality, she believes that William is far too attractive to not have some kind of ulterior motive in mind for visiting them.
That night as they’re all having dinner, William turns up the charm with Anne and then very openly talks about his intentions. He’s worried about Ms. Clay, the widower who has been hovering around Anne’s father.
If she marries him and bears a son, then William loses his title and everything that comes with it. William will work to any lengths to make sure he gets what he wants, and his candour about the subject catches Anne’s intrigue.
Is Anne over her love for Frederick?
While Anne is having a walkabout with Lady Russell, she learns about Louisa’s engagement. News of Louisa and her Captain has spread around town and this news leaves Anne very distraught.
She asks for some time by herself and claims how she always imagined herself facing this news with dignity and self-respect to a level that would be admired by everyone. Instead, she’s crying buckets and struggling to hold herself together.
One day while she’s out with William and Elizabeth, Frederick shows up and wants to talk about the engagement but before he can go on, William interrupts them and invites Frederick to a concert that night that they will be attending.
At the concert, Frederick tells Anne that he’s considering taking up the offer to set sail on a voyage. When Anne is pulled away, William invites Frederick to his wedding with Anne, and later tells Anne that he wishes to marry her but that she doesn’t have to answer just yet.
This drives a deeper wedge between Anne and Frederick.
Who does Anne end up marrying?
Mary and her husband visit Bath and invite Anne to join them at the inn for some time. They tell her it will be a Lyme reunion as Harville is there too and so will Frederick.
Frederick has decided to set sail with the Navy and is writing his letter to the admiral, news that Harville is delighted about because he knows how brilliant Frederick is at sea.
He then tells Anne about Louisa’s engagement to Captain Benwick and how her decision to ask Benwick to find the doctor and then stay behind while Frederick left brought the two of them closer together leading to their happy union.
Anne realises the situation and finds a letter that Frederick left behind addressed to her. In the letter, he talks about how he has continued to love her through the years and how that love hasn’t waned over time.
She runs out and chases after him and when she finally catches up, she confirms her undying love for him with a kiss.
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