Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen sheds light on the aristocracy of Britain. I feel it’s an interesting interpretation of the families of the royal court during times when they have lost all administrative power. As someone who despises aristocracy, I’m not complaining either. It’s a guilty pleasure at this point. But again, moving on to a more objective perspective, The Gentlemen has some very captivating characters. Theo James’ Duke Eddie himself is quite the man of the hour, but other characters are no less than him either. Lady Sabrina is one of those powerful characters who seems like they might not have enough role to play, but regardless, she shines.
Spoilers Ahead
Who Is Lady Sabrina?
Lady Sabrina Halstead is the wife of the former Duke and Eddie’s mother. She is the former Duchess of Halstead and likely comes from a noble family herself, and despite hailing from one, she is not held back by the conservative, elitist ideologies common amongst noble families. For instance, this can be seen in how she treats her daughter Charlotte when she comes home pregnant. Instead of shaming her, Lady Sabrina is compassionate towards her daughter and supports her choice to raise the child. It isn’t entirely known if she had a role in the matters of the Halstead estate since her husband, the Duke, was mostly responsible for those affairs. After his death, Sabrina was not left with much except an annual allowance to be given to her by the current Duke, and that too at his discretion. Perhaps it is likely that the former Duke wasn’t too fond of his wife because of certain things that happened in the past. Her relationship with her children, despite the bizarre events throughout the story, is quite endearing. Freddy Horniman, her eldest, is the irresponsible child of the family, and despite being probably in his late 30s, his behaviour is a major cause of his mother’s headache. Eddie is her second child and perhaps the most sensible person in the family at this point. In Eddie, Sabrina sees a spitting image of his father and feels that he is indeed quite deserving of the title of the new Duke.
What Role Does Lady Sabrina Play In Helping Eddie?
When Eddie finds out about the sprawling underground business his father allowed to take place on their estate, his mother subtly explains that she knew about it the whole time. She feels that it was a decision Eddie’s father had made, but everyone in the family had benefited from the money they received from the Glasses. However, she encourages her son to make an informed decision about whether he wants to continue enjoying the benefits of an illegal business. This shows Lady Sabrina’s adaptability and how flexible she is with the possibility that they might have to embrace poverty. Not that she would have to do that, though, because with substantial personal property assets, she is rich enough, which can be seen when she loans her son $10 million when he intends to buy the Glasses’ business.
After losing any significance as the Duchess of Halstead, Sabrina maintains her role as a supportive mother. One could even say that she extends her knowledge and the experience of someone her age as an advisor to Eddie. As the former matriarch of the family, she possesses a lot of information about the Dukedom, which proves useful to Eddie in multiple instances when dealing with the Glasses. She even helps Eddie to find the list which had the names of other 12 royal lords who leased their property to the Glasses. She recalled that she had attended a party with her husband years ago where the 12 lords and the baron, Tibsy, were present. She suggests that he find Tibsy, who might have contacts with the other lords.
Lady Sabrina’s persuasive nature proves particularly useful when Eddie intends to buy the marijuana business for himself. Other than lending Eddie a handsome amount of $10 million, she is the reason Susie Glass changes her mind and decides to get involved in the partnership with Eddie. Drawing instances from her own life, she advises Susie to go with what she actually wants to do because, years down the line, she will only regret what she never did.
What Is Her Relationship With Geoff?
Geoff is the gamekeeper of the Halstead Estate. He is bestowed the gatekeeper’s cottage by the former Duke. After her husband’s passing, Lady Sabrina finds herself rather close to Geoff. Well, to be precise, Geoff and Lady Sabrina have an obvious chemistry that they do not act upon, perhaps because a lady of her societal status in aristocratic England has to maintain herself. However, throughout the series, it is hinted that they might’ve shared a past.
Through the events of the series, Lady Sabrina and Geoff join forces to help solve Eddie’s problems. When they find out that Eddie wants the Glasses to vacate the estate, they take it upon themselves to secretly look for other estates that could lease their land to the Glasses. To seek prospects, Geoff takes her to a sheep auction to approach Mr. Rokes, their neighbor, who is a sheep farmer. Rokes is being investigated for fraud and is broke. Geoff suggests Lady Sabrina use her charms to approach Rokes at the sheep auction, which seems to work. In this moment, Geoff seems way too aware of Lady Sabrina’s persuasive nature, as if he knows her pretty well, suggesting a rather intimate past between the Duchess and the gamekeeper. Either way, after the bizarre failure of his business plans with Max, the 9th Lord of Bassington, Eddie heads back home disappointed; however, Lady Sabrina takes this moment to inform him that she has found a solution for their predicament, proving her significance in the household once again.
At the end of the series, it is revealed that Lady Sabrina and Geoff indeed had a clandestine relationship in the past, and her daughter was born out of this relationship. Geoff was indeed Charlotte’s father. However, this has been suggested throughout the series. To avoid unnecessary scandal, Geoff and Lady Sabrina kept this a secret, even from Charlotte, until she found out about it as an adult. Lady Sabrina, however, empathizes with Geoff, as he has had to see Charlotte grow up in front of his eyes yet couldn’t partake in parenthood. He still feels validated that he could remain close to his daughter when she was growing up and even teach her how to ride a horse.
Moving back home, Charlotte admits that she has always found uncanny similarities between her and Geoff, asking her mother about the same, but Lady Sabrina shoots down her doubts, asking her not to think about it. Later on, she asks Geoff directly about this, and he eventually reveals what he has never told her, believing she would be ashamed to find out that Geoff was her father. Charlotte, however, in a moment of closure, disagrees and tells him that she thinks Geoff is the best man she has ever come across.
Now that Sabrina’s secret is out in the open and since there’s again budding chemistry between her and Geoff, I expect more of her in the second season. Eddie has taken a U-turn about his stance on the marijuana business, and, likely, Lady Sabrina will again play a crucial role in guiding her son through the rigmaroles of his ‘illegal’ business empire.
