Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Bridgerton Season Two
It’s been a few weeks since Netflix released the second season of their hit show Bridgerton and of course, I watched all of it as soon as possible. If you’ve never heard of this show, Bridgerton is based on the popular book series written by Julia Quinn. Quick disclaimer, I did not read any of the books, and I’m basing my thoughts on the series and not the books. The story takes place in the regency era in London, and each book follows one of the eight siblings within the famous Bridgerton family and their stories. Interestingly, they are all named alphabetically: Anthony, Benedict, Colin, Daphne, Eloise, Francesca, Gregory, and Hyacinth. Now the first season concentrates on Daphne and her country season, in which she ends up marrying the Duke of Hastings. However, this season focused on the oldest Briderton: Anthony. Now there were a lot of significant events that happened this season. Still, I’m going to concentrate on Kate Sharma + Anthony Bridgerton’s relationship, and oh my goodness, did I love these two.
This season, Anthony decides to look for a wife in order to fulfill his role in the family. One day he goes out for a horse ride in a park and comes across a mysterious woman who leaves a lasting impression on him. Right off the bat, it’s clear that they do not like each other. Things get worse when Anthony decides to court Edwina Sharma. Now the problem is that Edwina is the younger sister of Kate Sharma, the woman Anthony met that morning in the park. After overhearing that Anthony does not desire to marry for love, Kate is determined to do whatever it takes to keep him and her sister apart. Kate and Edwina are new to the courting season in London after having lived in India with their mother their whole lives. Kate wants Edwina to marry well so that she can inherit a large sum of money from their grandparents to help with their current financial situation. Kate explains that it must be Edwina to marry well because Kate is not a biological mother of her mother, and it’s explained that she must be the biological daughter of their mother. From there, the season is about Anthony trying to win Kate over so that he can marry Edwina.
He gives Edwina a horse, recites poetry, and dances with her at several balls, essentially trying to pull out all of the stops to make Kate see that he is serious about marrying her sister. During this sequence, the two have numerous witty conversations in which they continuously test one another, constantly picking at something the other person does or says. Though Kate may not like Anthony, Edwina certainly does. She insists that she is in love with him and wants to marry him, much to Kate’s disapproval. She knows that Edwina is looking for a love match while Anthony is not.
However, the more time Kate and Anthony spend together, the more they realize they have a lot in common. They both assume essential roles in their family and have had to fill in the gaps after losing a parent. Their behavior is explained mainly by the loss of both of their fathers. Anthony becomes cold and disregards love, while Kate puts the whole weight on her shoulders and concentrates on making her sister perfect so that Edwina can claim inheritance. Their similarities are apparent, and it seems like the two only let their guards down when they reach a breaking point. Both of them have an undeniable connection, but still, Anthony proposes to Edwina. It is until their wedding day that Edwina notices how Antony looks at Kate and decides not to go through with the wedding. Anthony decides that he wants to marry Kate and though she initially says no she eventually agrees and the two get married.
One of my critiques for this season is that they spent too long on Edwina + Anthony’s relationship. At times all we got were longing stares and heavy breathing between Kate and Anthony, and though it certainly built up the tension between them, I wanted to see more of them in a relationship. For example, we learn that the two get married, but we never actually get to see the wedding take place. Don’t get me wrong. I loved this season. I just wanted to spend more time with Kate and Anthony instead of dragging out another relationship we knew wouldn’t work out.
Nevertheless it was a great season and I’m so excited to watch season three!