The 'Outrageous' Finale Is Both an Ending & a Beginning

The finale of BritBox's Outrageous doesn't feel all that much like a finale. Perhaps that's a good thing, if it means the streamer is confident that the series will likely be back for a second season. The hour tries to conclude on a sort of "end of an era" note, as the group gathers to say goodbye to their family pile before many of the siblings begin new chapters in their lives, it also repeatedly hints that there is much more (and worse!) to come in the story of this family. (Which, technically, is very true!) 

It's a bit difficult to judge this episode as an ending, if only because it so determinedly isn't one. It's more of a pause, really, and we'll have to wait and see if the series is allowed to pick its narrative threads back up again. All that said, this chapter of the Mitford's saga wraps up with a bang, complete with the looming specter of financial ruin, a violent riot, and multiple siblings making rather shocking choices in their personal lives. 

As the episode begins, it's mid-1936 and the Mitfords have been forced to move en masse back into their London flat as Baron Redesdale attempts to find a way to save the family fortune. Nancy's still processing Peter's affair; he says he's in love with her (former, I presume) friend Mary, but doesn't want the scandal of divorce. Unfortunately, she's probably the Mitford with the most stable romantic life at the moment. Unity is still cultishly devoted to Hitler, Deborah is riding around with the much older Derek, and Diana is still waiting for Mosley to get the memo and make an honest woman out of her. 

Busy hyping up her fascist boyfriend for a big London rally of the British Union of Fascists, Diana's convinced this is the momen Mosley is finally going to win the city and its people over to his cause. Thankfully, that is... not what happens. Instead, Mosley's squad of marching Blackshirts is met with an enormous crowd of protestors in London's East End. Anywhere from 100,000 to 300,000 anti-fascist demonstrators were said to have taken part in the response, and the situation rapidly devolved into violence. 

The "Battle of Cable Street," as it came to be known, saw protesters build barricades and clash with members of the Metropolitan Police who had been assigned to protect the marchers. Around 200 people were injured in the fighting, and the event was largely seen as an important moment in which the people of Britain resoundingly rejected fascism.

In the aftermath of this event, even Nancy is compelled to reassess her moderate approach to politics. Her bestie, Joss, is injured during the fighting, and she's forced to finally reckon with the real-world harm that men like Mosley and his ilk are doing. And while the whole public beatdown of his political ideology does put something of a damper on proceedings, Mosley and Diana still get secretly married in Berlin, with Hitler himself in attendance. 

(Fun fact: Their private ceremony took place at the home of Joseph Goebbels, just for that extra little bit of disgusting horror on top.) 

Mosley's kind of being a pill about everything—complaining that the constant fawning over the Fuhrer is embarrassing, ranting that Hitler himself is an idiot, and worrying about the impact of Cable Street on his broader reputation. Diana immediately shuts him down, declaring that she's given up a lot to be with him and he shouldn't doubt her belief in him and his vision. It's one of the first real signs of inner steel we've seen from her, and it's hard not to wish it were for a better cause.

Diana's secret marriage isn't the only surprise wedding of the hour, however. No, Pamela, who has spoken perhaps two dozen words over the entirety of this series, is now planning to wed. Moreover, she's set to marry Derek, the boyfriend/male acquaintance/man friend/whatever that Deborah has been running off to spend time with for the past few episodes. Derek's sudden engagement announcement in the middle of the family parlor comes as a deep surprise to poor Deborah, the rest of the Mitfords, and likely the viewers at home. 

Why are they getting married? What do they see in one another? Did Pam have any concerns about marrying a man her younger sibling clearly considered hers? No idea, because the show doesn't tell us. (To be honest, it hasn't seemed very interested in Pamela, well...ever.) 

A story about the Mitford family that treats Pamela as superfluous to proceedings is not that surprising. Of the six sisters, she was undoubtedly the most boring, at least when compared to her siblings, who wrote novels, flirted with Nazism, or ultimately became part of the peerage. However, the jarring arrival of this particular piece of history is somewhat unsettling. Shouldn't this be more scandalous? Shouldn't someone in the family have thoughts about it or at least considered poor Deborah, who spends the rest of the hour sulking? Shouldn't we have seen them have more than a single conversation?

Elsewhere, Jessica's obsession with Churchill's nephew Esmond Romily finally pays off, as her stalking attempts not only land her a connection with the revolutionaries fighting in Spain but also a meet-cute with Esmond himself. They're adorable in their idealism, but one has to wonder how much of Jessica's know-it-all attitude about what real revolution is like is accurate. It's one thing to read about the Spanish Civil War and to dream of fighting fascism yourself in a tangible way, but to dodge flying bullets in real life is something else entirely.

It certainly seems that her trip to the front (as well as her relationship with Esmond) will be a big part of any second season, and Orla Hill has proven herself more than capable of tackling a more prominent role within the world of the show. (It will also be nice to see a perspective on current events that isn't Nazi-tinted.)

The finale does its best to do right by several of the show's most complicated family relationships. Unity returns from Germany to pack up her things from the room she once shared with Jessica. The two have a fraught conversation, which involves everything from Unity showing off a gun that Hitler bought her (girl, what?) to the pair calmly discussing what they might do should they come face to face on opposite sides of a literal battlefield. 

Despite their differences, the two remain almost shockingly loyal to one another, which allows them to be more forthright together than they are with nearly anyone else. It's Unity that Jessica tells about her plans to run off with the Communists, a secret that Unity seems almost happy to hear. Jessica's reaction to her older sister's new firearm may not be as thrilled, but she's still the person Unity feels comfortable enough to show it off to. It's strange in a way that this relationship, despite all its vast ideological differences, still feels closer than that between Diana and Nancy.

Although half the family is working behind the scenes to heal the rift between Diana and Nancy, their emotional reunion is short-lived. It's obvious how much both women have missed one another, and it's genuinely moving to see them finally admit to that fact and hug. Sadly, roughly twenty seconds later, Nancy notices Diana's new ring and learns about her marriage to Mosley. The chasm between them reopens immediately, as Nancy finally decides to take a stand. She calls Mosley a monster and openly blames him for everyone who was hurt during the Cable Street riots. "Who have you become?" Nancy asks, before storming out of the room. 

As the family gathers at the episode's end for a final photo outside the estate that was once their home, it's a strange and emotional event, and the Mitfords feel very far apart indeed. Nancy vows to take a stand against fascism, no matter what it costs her, even if that means losing the sister she loves best. Jessica plans to run away to Spain and join the revolution. Unity's still not speaking to Nancy, and plans to run back to Hitler's side at the first opportunity. Deborah is still angry at Pamela for marrying the man she had her eye on. It's not exactly a scene bursting with warmth and affection. 

But the Mitfords' story doesn't end here. The world is hurtling toward war, and the next few years will prove even more tumultuous for the family. Or, as Nancy puts it: "More scandal and tragedy. More births, marriages, deaths. And one terrible betrayal." 

That's barely the half of it. Cross your fingers for Season 2, folks. All six episodes of Outrageous are available to stream on BritBox.