Warning: this article contains minor spoilers for the finale of Gentleman Jack series 2.

It’s always a sad moment when our regular BBC One Sunday television show comes to an end. That coveted 9pm slot at the end of the week is reserved for some of the very best British drama, and this time around, we’re bidding a fond farewell to one of our favourites: Gentleman Jack.

The Suranne Jones-fronted series is the kind of period drama with inclusive representation that we’ve been crying out for and this second season was a rollercoaster of emotions, to say the least.

The “will they, won’t they” of Ann Walker (Sophie Rundle) and Anne Lister (Jones) in series one was replaced by dreams of a happily ever after in this second series. But it’s never plain sailing when it comes to our 19th-century landowner. 

The second season again used the real-life diaries of Anne Lister and her story throughout the series is based on the 5 million words she wrote in her journals, parts of which were coded.

Set in Yorkshire in 1834, we follow Anne and Ann as they set up home together at Shibden Hall as wife and wife, determined to combine their estates and become a power couple. Anne’s entrepreneurial spirit frightens the locals as much as her unconventional love life and, with Halifax on the brink of revolution, her refusal to keep a low profile becomes provocative and dangerous.

We saw Anne’s affair with Mariana Lawton (Lydia Leonard) come to light, Anne and Ann break off their relationship (to later get back together) and this was all among the events of Captain Sutherland’s (Derek Riddle) underhanded land-grabbing tactics. 

It was a finale jampacked with a variety of emotions but would we have it any other way? The series ended with a bang but it also encapsulated the emotional rawness, honesty and thought-provoking sentiment of Gentleman Jack as a whole.

Viewers were quick to express their (welcome) surprise at the series ending on such a happy note: 

Some couldn’t have been happier with how the series wrapped up:

And with it, the quotable scene to end all scenes:  

It really was an episode full of high emotion (and we’re still recovering):

The conversation around children was a vital plotline that was handled so well:

As we’ll continue shouting from the rooftops, this series has the kind of representation that period dramas are crying out for:

We also got such a character arc from Ann in this series, which we’re totally here for:

And generally, in the finale, we got courage:

The kind of love that leaves you all warm inside:

And another dose of the stellar acting talents of Suranne Jones and Sophie Rundle:

To put it simply, it really was quite the finale, wasn’t it?

Gentleman Jack series one and two are available to watch on BBC iPlayer now.

Images: BBC