Dear Gentle Reader, our favorite author has come back again to report another love story for a new season! A season full of color, modern music in regency-era style, ballroom dances, endless pining, witty remarks, and of course — the “will they or will they not” plot between two characters who take us on a ride by avoiding their feelings for one another. Ah, it wouldn’t be Bridgerton without it!
An immediate fan after finishing the first season of Bridgerton during the pandemic, I was enamored with the lavish lifestyle of regency-era London: the luxurious dresses, the fancy wording between characters, the colorblind hierarchy of having a black Queen and Duke. It was a love story seen through the female gaze, something that is very rare to see on screen. I was left wanting for more, and Bridgerton season 2 did certainly not disappoint.
The season started off with the head of the Bridgerton family, Anthony (Jonathan Bailey), who was introduced in season 1 as the grumpy and headstrong brother, who had become the viscount of the family after their father’s unexpected death. Though Anthony’s story is explained later on and provides more depth into his character and why he is the way he is, Anthony, from the beginning, makes it known that he is not a suitor looking for love. Wanting to settle down and desiring a submissive wife to bear his children while he dedicates his life to work and other salacious activities, he is intent on that goal during the budding social season until the Sharmas come into town.
The Sharmas: a family who had previous drama, including mother Lady Mary Sheffield (Shelley Conn), her sweet daughter Edwina (Charithra Chandran), and her older, brilliant stepdaughter, Kate (Simone Ashley). They stay with fan favorite Lady Danbury (Adjoa Andoh) as Edwina looks for a suitor during the season, which is where she later sets her sights on Anthony.
Despite her sister’s protests against this union, especially after Kate heard Anthony talk about his true intentions about finding a wife, Kate and Anthonystart off with a clear disdain for one another. Kate tries to convince Edwina not to pursue someone like him, while Anthony complains to family about how Kate is an obstacle in his pursuit for Edwina. However, things start to take a turn when it seems Kate and Anthony take a playful liking into one another. Although their liking is covered with silly arguing, quick-witted remarks, along with some long, intense gazes and many times where their lips are way too close to touch for potential in-laws — their desire for one another is revealed in these most subtle of ways.
Viewers are able to see the characters’ backstories from Anthony’s father’s death, to Kate’s constant desire to make her sister happy before her own wants and needs. Their stories prove how similar they are to one another and how truly great they are for each other, though they do not realize this until after a quick engagement, more long, intense stares, speeches from Anthony that are to die for, family drama, approval from the Queen, and eventually an engagement that ends with their union after the slow burn that had been brewing within the past eight episodes. Like I said, it wouldn’t be Bridgerton without it!
Their back-and-forth love story not only made me swoon, but it also made me think about the many love stories I read and watch that contain the infamous enemies-to-lovers trope. Why do people love it so much? Do we all desire a love in which hate turns into love? Do we love the tension of the “will they or will they not?” question? Do we just love the slow burn between two lovers that dance around their feelings for one another? So many questions that I kept theorizing about that I needed to share.
Accepting Flaws
Think about it. Enemies-to-lovers is about accepting flaws in a relationship, and don’t we all want that? Obviously we know that we are not perfect, but to meet someone that accepts who we are — the good, the bad, the ugly, the pretty — is something we want. When you start off as enemies, you tend to see the ugly because when you don’t like someone, thus pointing out their flaws more. But as time goes on, you start to see the beauty in the other person, eventually falling in love with them: because in love, you accept the both ugly and the prettiest versions of the other person.
Growth in Relationships
I think there is something very beautiful about the fact that a couple can heal each other’s wounds in their coupling. In a lot of depictions of the enemies-to-lovers trope, though we are able to see what makes the couples as individuals and what made them who they are, when they come together, it’s almost like seeing magic through your own eyes. I think we love it because it brings us hope: that in romantic relationships, we as humans can heal one another through our relationships and in our lives if we have one another. I’m sure Kate and Anthony being together, and relating to how similar they are with the “older sibling carrying the family weight” dynamic, is something they can learn and grow from one another within their marriage, which can make them better individuals in and out of their marriage.
anticipation!
There is something to be said but how EXCITING it is to see the push-and-pull effect that enemies-to-lovers have. I mean the trials and tribulations they have to take is exciting enough, but the pining, the bickering, the gazes… How could anyone NOT want more between the couple? The anticipation of waiting for their hands to merely touch, for the kiss you hope is not interrupted, for them to finally admit their feelings for one another in a ball of passion and angst — I would say Kate and Anthony did a pretty good job at that for viewers.
entertainment value
One last theory as to why I think people love this trope so much is because it is just so damn entertaining. Like, I’m sorry, but the “pretending you do not have feelings and bickering over the littlest things with a person you secretly love and hate at the same time” concept is hilarious. It keeps you on your toes and certainly leaves you wanting more of it. There are also many other tropes that fulfill this very well, like Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth from Pride & Prejudice, Logan and Quinn from Zoey 101, Klaus and Caroline from The Vampire Diaries, Blair and Dan from Gossip Girl, Devi and Ben from Never Have I Ever, etc.
Overall, season 2 of Bridgerton did not disappoint when it came between the characters of Kate and Anthony. I’m so glad they’re another couple I can add to my long list of my favorite enemies-to-lovers! I’m so happy for them that if it got announced that season 3 is all about them, count me in to watch their angsty, steamy, passionate inferno of a romance all over again.