'1670' Season 3 Recap & Ending Explained: Does Jan Become A Nobleman Again?

Netflix’s Polish absurd comedy series 1670 is back with a third season, and I have to admit it exceeded my expectations! The comedy is top-notch, the performance is, as usual, great, and the narrative keeps you hooked. The third season begins with Jan Pawel losing his one chance to win back his noble status (after he fails the Sarmatian Exam) and he goes above and beyond to find another way to get back his title. He can’t imagine living like a commoner, and he even convinces his male best friend to marry him so that he can automatically become a nobleman again! He even dabbles in the field of science briefly, Jan figures if he can invent something worthwhile, the king will grant him noble status and that’s why he came up with the idea of sending a man to the moon using a catapult! The man chosen for the mission surprisingly manages to survive even after the long flight! So, as you can guess, the third season is as bizarre as it can get, and in this article I discuss the important plot points, and answer the most pressing question, that is, does Jan become a nobleman again? Read on to find out.

Spoiler Alert

Did Bogdan get his revenge?

The ending of the previous season hinted at the possibility that Bogdan was still alive. Lo and behold, in this season we discover that he is indeed alive. But there’s a catch, Bogdan has lost his memory, he has no idea who he is, or where he comes from, but he does remember the girl who’d tried to kill him, he tried to even attempt to make a sketch of her but unfortunately he ends up drawing a stick figure. Aniela’s face is the only memory he has of his past life, and right now he prefers being the leader of a Cossack gang where he is known as the “Lach-eater”. He hates Polish people and genuinely believes he is a true Ukrainian although he can barely speak the language! Bogdan’s Cossack brothers end up capturing Maciej, who was passing by. He explains that he’s Lithuanian but for Bogdan he’s pretty much a Polish man and therefore he deserves to die. Maciej is surprised to see this new version of Bogdan, he can’t believe that the man has genuinely forgotten his past and he repeatedly tries to brush his memory, but it doesn’t really work. While Bogdan had planned to kill Maciej, he reconsiders his decision when Maciej explains that he is a blacksmith and can fix their sabers and even promises to make a new one of the strongest steel, something that he can use to kill the woman who’d shot him. The suggestion impresses Bogdan and he allows Maciej to deliver on his promise. 

Maciej accompanies Bogdan when he decides to track down the woman he so desperately hates. Maciej still has feelings for Aniela, and his plan is to ensure that Bogdan doesn’t cross paths with her. Dressed as a Polish nobleman, Bogdan decides to find his target at the royal court, and Maciej has no idea that Aniela is also there for some work. She has recently started a school for peasants and the queen has taken an interest in her endeavor and Aniela decides to keep her updated. Maciej tries his best to keep Bogdan away from Aniela, and in the process Bogdan ends up inside the royal court. Now, Jan and Jakub freak out when they see Bogdan there. Jan, as I’ve mentioned before, is desperate to get back his title and he figures that if he offers the king solutions and advice in court then maybe he’ll have a chance to become a nobleman again. When the king asks for suggestions regarding what should be considered the perfect gift for the Tartars (one of the kingdom’s many enemies), Jan suggests that they offer them Bogdan. Since the Tartars love to kill Polish men, they figure sending one of their best men for them to sacrifice for fun will just be perfect. 

Bogdan has no idea what is going on, his hands are tied and he is sent to the Tartars. The enemy doesn’t take the gesture well, they find it insulting and release Bogdan. The leader of the Tartars recognizes Bogdan and tells him to return to his home in Adamczycha. Bogdan figures maybe he’ll find the woman he has been searching for in Adamczycha, and while Maciej tries to convince him otherwise, his plan doesn’t really work. Long story short, Bogdan ultimately finds Aniela at Jan’s manor, her family tries their best to keep him away from her, but that doesn’t really work. But in that moment, Bogdan remembers several details of his past life, he recalls that he is actually a Polish hussar and that Zofia is his sister and therefore he is related to Jan and his entire family. As much as Bogdan wanted to kill Aniela, he ultimately finds forgiveness in his heart and decides to do better (thanks to Jan’s speech that saves the lives of all noble families, I’ve delved into it later in the article), and suggests to his niece that maybe it’s time that they try not to kill each other. Aniela agrees with him, and peace is finally restored! The king offers Bogdan to become the ‘Grand Hetman of the Crown,’ he is now an even more experienced man and the king figures he can use someone like Bogdan for advice. Bogdan delightfully accepts the position and leaves Adamczycha, he even allows Andrzej and his family to continue living at his manor. 

Why did Zofia get back with Jan?

Nothing really excites Zofia anymore, her empty nest has left her depressed and she prefers lying on the floor and pretending to not exist at all. Her husband’s obsession with getting back his title makes her feel neglected and detached. Aniela is busy with her school, Stanislaw, her eldest son, hasn’t returned home, and Jakub, her youngest, isn’t the man he used to be. Zofia feels needed when Andrzej asks for her help with his daughters. She wonders if her husband’s enemy is indeed the man of her dreams, her horoscope also indicates that she will find love in a Libra (Andrzej is a Libra)! She absolutely loses her cool when she discovers that her husband is considering marrying his friend, Wladyslaw, just to get back his title. Jakub had to remind his father that he’s married and only then does he drop the plan. Zofia decides to separate from her husband and she briefly considers living with Andrzej and his family. Jan feels completely lost after she announces the decision and walks away, but thankfully Jakub steps in to save his father from the mess. He decides to help him win back Zofia but it isn’t an easy task. Jan assumes that if he can get someone to play the flute, Zofia will be impressed. He thought Zofia loved the flute, but it was basically the musician she’d lusted after. He even comes up with the idea of organizing a play about a peasant rebellion. When they met for the first time, there was a peasant rebellion in the neighboring village and Jan thought that a reenactment of it would remind her of their love story. Always trust Jan to come up with the most random plans and back them with logic! So, as you can already guess, Zofia isn’t impressed by his grand gesture. The play didn’t really follow the script Jan had planned, instead it emphasized the idea that “all men are equal”, and Bogdan (who’d recently discovered his passion for the flute) replaced the actual flute player and confidently played the instrument completely off-tune. If nothing really worked, then why did Zofia get back with Jan? 

In 1670 season 3’s ending, Stanislaw returns home with his wife, Teresa, and their newborn son, Jan Andrzej. Zofia grows immediately attached to the little one, and ends up not leaving the manor yet. When a peasant rebellion actually breaks out, Bogdan (as the “lach-eater”) ends up leading the angry mob and he agrees to have a word with the king and the rest to arrive at a negotiation. Bogdan has no interest in listening to what Jan and the rest have to say, he simply asks them to surrender Aniela, and Andrzej being the selfish man that he is, urges Jan and his family to give up Aniela. Just when Bogdan is about to actually search the manor to kill Aniela, he sees a pot full of guinea fowl roasts and decides to have one. Soon after taking a bite, he starts to recall his past. He recognizes everyone, even Teresa, the woman he was almost about to get married to. When he asks Teresa to explain whose baby she is looking after, Andrzej tries to establish that the baby is actually Bogdan’s. Basically Andrzej and his family have been living in Bogdan’s manor and he assumes that if he claims that the baby is Bogdan’s then they won’t have to leave because they’re family. This is the moment when Zofia starts to deeply resent Andrzej, and hate ultimately brings her and Jan close again! They start making out in front of their family and well, Andrzej realizes he never really stood a chance. 

Did Aniela and Maciej reunite?

Aniela had traveled far and wide in search of Maciej but she never found him. So, she returns home and decides to focus on loving herself. She realizes that her purpose in life is perhaps to open a school for peasants. She is deeply disturbed by class inequality, and figures that education can help the commoners climb the ranks, and they too can someday earn a title. But Aniela didn’t predict that the peasants would want to dismantle the entire system! She is indirectly responsible for the peasant revolution that unfolds in Adamczycha, and by the time she realizes her mistake, it is too late. Well, it isn’t really a mistake, just that she has essentially put her family in danger. Education helps the peasants realize that the noble class has been oppressing them for generations and their situation won’t ever improve unless they topple the system altogether. Bogdan eventually becomes the leader of the revolution, meanwhile Maciej desperately tries to find Aniela and warn her of the imminent danger (Bogdan). 

Maciej briefly meets Aniela and advises her not to leave her house. He pretends as if that were the only reason why he’d come to meet her. He didn’t have the courage to confess his feelings for her, although he soon regretted it. When the peasants forcefully drag Aniela’s family out of the manor to publicly behead him, Aniela steps out of her hiding spot and states that she too deserves to be punished because she is responsible for putting her family in danger. She admits that all she wanted was to find her true calling, but instead she focused on making everyone happy and ultimately made a mess. Maciej arrives at the spot and begs the peasants to not go ahead with the beheading, and that is when Aniela confesses her feelings for him. The two publicly admit how deeply they are in love with each other, Aniela doesn’t care that Maciej belongs to the peasant class, they kiss passionately but unfortunately their declaration of love doesn’t stop the furious mob from going ahead with their violent plan. 

How did Jan get back his noble status?

Just when Jan is about to be beheaded, Mirek returns to the village. Mirek is the guy who volunteered to be catapulted to the moon. He admits that he has failed and that he didn’t make it to the moon. Jan uses this incident to his advantage, he addresses the crowd and explains how nobody is perfect and that failure is a part of life. Just like Mirek who has failed to make it to the moon, the noble class too has failed to come up with a fair system devoid of oppression. The peasants admit that they too have made mistakes in their lives, and Jan proceeds to advise them to focus on changing themselves before trying to change the world. He advises them to clean their houses first and when one of them states that they don’t even have a house, Jan asks him to clean his manor! Once their leader figured out that he was a nobleman he stopped advocating for their rights and the angry mob was left without any guidance. Surprisingly, Jan’s confidence turns the peasants obedient again, none of them dare to raise their voice against him, almost as if they completely forgot the power that their collective voice had. The commoners are so used to carrying out orders, that obedience comes naturally to them and they just instinctively comply. That’s how the problem is surprisingly resolved, the peasants go back to their sad old lives, and the nobles are glad that Jan saved the day. The king and the queen are so impressed by Jan that the king finally decides to honor him with knighthood in the Sarmatian clan of the Republic of Christian Poland. His family celebrates his success in becoming a nobleman, again. Jan accepts Aniela and Maciej’s relationship, he doesn’t have much of a choice because his daughter is clearly madly in love! Jakub shares a brief romantic moment with the queen (he gets to hold her hand after removing his gloves) and he calls it the “romance of the century” (good for him!). When Bogdan tells Jan that he’s leaving with the king, Jan tells him that someday he’ll be the king. He has no idea how, but he wants to believe that will eventually be his reality. 

Will the show return with season 4?

1670 season 3 comes to an end with the family getting a new portrait made, there are quite a few new members now (including Andrzej, who is unfortunately Jan’s in-law). Jan explains that it is easier to accept change when one learns to accept who they really are. The voice of a dead soldier adds that it is only applicable if you’re rich and of noble birth, well, who can disagree with that! The conclusive ending of the third season suggests that the series won’t likely return with a fourth installment. But then again, considering how absolutely bizarre the 1670-world is, I won’t be surprised if the story is stretched a little longer. Perhaps we’ll get to watch how Aniela and Maciej’s relationship evolves; the messy political scenario of the time, Jan’s unfulfilled dream of becoming a king, and Jakub’s obsession with the Queen. It’s impossible to really guess what can happen next in an absurd comedy, but by now we can completely trust the writer to whip up something fun once again! 

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