When Jane Austen wrote one of her most famous lines about universally recognized truths, she probably did not talk about how to make an equally successful follow-up to a debatable pop culture phenomenon – but as it happens the next Bridgerton Season 2 follows the romantic plot line about a man missing a wife. This time it is the eldest son in the titular family, Anthony (Jonathan Bailey), which eventually throws itself into the marriage market and onto the mercy of ton by extension (and all the ambitious moms in search of a promising match for their single daughters); however, in contrast to the romance that unfolded between his sister Daphne (Phoebe Dynevor) and her final husband Simon, Duke of Hastings (Regé-Jean Page), Viscount Bridgerton is far from motivated to make her own love match, content to approach the ideal notion of her future Viscountesse as someone who can satisfy a checklist instead of touching deep emotions to the surface. All that, of course, changes when the Sharma family arrives on stage for the latest social season, thanks to the patronage of Lady Danbury herself (Adjoa Andoh).
One of the biggest themes Bridgerton Season 2 does not even hover within romance, but the concept of family and duty in all its forms. It quickly becomes clear why the series is shifting to this dynamic, given the responsibilities that the two main characters at its center have committed to. Anthony, who witnessed the unexpected death of his father, Bridgerton Patriarch Edmund (Rupert Evans, in a series of flashbacks) at a very young age, was unexpectedly thrown into a leadership position as head of the family and has since endeavored to maintain this role to the best of his ability – even though it has meant sacrificing his own satisfaction in treating. Meanwhile, Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley) has only appeared with his family in the community in favor of his younger sister Edwina (Charithra Chandran), and makes every effort to ensure that only the best suitors are considered for Edwina’s hand-in-hand marriage. From a distance, Viscount Bridgerton seems like the ideal match on paper, and Edwina is visibly charmed by him in their introductory meetings, but Kate is not immediately impressed – though it is clear that the hostility she is showing towards Anthony only masks itself deeper. feelings of attraction.
Much of the marketing around this season has underscored the “love triangle” trope – which feels a bit dishonest for what is actually unfolding on screen. If anything, one could argue that if there is a triangle, it exists in the form of having Kate at its primary rallying point, where this season’s heroine is torn between acting on the lingering tension that could give in to more at the right moment and giving in to emotions that would harm her sister in a way that cannot be repaired. Ashley and Chandran have some of the season’s most tender and emotionally vulnerable scenes together, as Kate’s love for Edwina exists in direct competition with her growing interest in Anthony; time and time again, she makes the decision to choose her sister over anyone else. Relatively, Anthony is engaged in a variation on the same theme as he prioritizes his inherited duty to the family and his responsibility to find a breakup above anything that can even remotely be interpreted as love.
The result during season 2 is a lot of longing and longing glances between our main pair, occasional lifts of one hand stopping just shyly to make contact with another, kisses almost split but never fully initiated – and Bailey and Ashley know, how to masterfully thread the tension needle, getting ready for even the slightest promise of culmination between them, almost every time they are on screen together.
Their, however, is not the only story unfolding this season; aside from the main romance, there are plenty of B-plots reserved for both the rest of the Bridgerton family and the members of their immediate circle. Anthony is not the only sibling tasked with attending balls and getting good impressions; this year is also his younger sister Eloises (Claudia Jessy) turns to make her debut in society, despite her terrifying presentation to Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel) is conveniently interrupted by the return of none other than Lady Whistledown (pronounced by Julie Andrews). Efforts to unravel the identity of the gossip columnist have only increased since season 1, which means that the real writer himself, Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan), has to make even greater efforts to avoid being discovered – even if it means writing more intimate details into her paper, which may prove to be hurtful to the people she cares about. In addition, there are also smaller threads dedicated to the older Bridgerton brother Benedict (Luke Thompson) leans into an artist’s life with partying and nude portraits, as well as Colin’s return (Luke Newton), who has returned from his travels abroad with a new tan and a lot of changed perspective on his relationship from season 1. And it’s not even getting into all the drama surrounding Featheringtons and the arrival of the family’s new heir, who have shown up with the aim of helping them out of their current financial difficulties.
If it already sounds like a lot to squeeze in over the course of eight episodes, it’s because, that’s it. Of course, one of the advantages of having a large ensemble cast in any series is the seemingly unlimited number of plots that can be tackled, but the disadvantage of the same comes when story lines that should be given even more emotional weight are not adequately given the length of Screen time to train oneself. Alongside Daphne and Simon’s journey to their happy all-time last season, season 2’s love story plays out very differently for comparison – and the resulting slow combustion contributes to a very distinct pace related to how Kate and Anthony find their way to an HEA. While this aspect is not negative in itself, this season falls victim to a similar problem as its predecessor, with some decisions feeling more urgent or added purely as an afterthought to tie any loose ends back. .
Those who are more familiar with the source material (Julia Quinn‘s The Viscount who loved me, the second part of the series that inspired the TV show) may notice some obvious changes in the plot, though whether these replacements contribute to the season’s damage may generally depend on how much of a book purist you are. That aside, what this season of Bridgerton seems to be primarily driving towards setting the stage for its inevitable future seasons (the show has already been renewed for both a third and fourth on Netflix) by falling into breadcrumbs for the yet to come romances – as if the series plans to follow the books, are likely to be Benedict and Colin / Penelopes respectively. Building Bridgerton’s world is a necessary ingredient, and any series centered around a family like theirs will always, first and foremost, dedicate themselves to these tales. The question is when that prioritization happens at the expense of the plot lines that deserve to be and should be placed at the center of everything else.
With his return to Netflix, Bridgerton successfully fills the very specific niche of rude romance-rooted storytelling that audiences have been waiting for – and those of us who get our excitement of seeing people fall in love in the background of a very restrained society (set to the tones of many excellent instrumental covers of modern pop songs) will have plenty to enjoy. From the sight of Anthony emerging from a lake with his white shirt completely patched to the skin, to the long-awaited battle in the Bridgerton pall mall to the absolute stage-stealing presence of Newton, the Sharma family’s corgi, there is more than enough lovely elements that illustrate why this series has been such a success and deserves to continue in that direction. Now that the future for Bridgerton is almost assured, but it would be appropriate in this show to focus more on the compelling, seductive romance it has in the present instead of sitting too far ahead of next season’s drama.
Evaluation: B +
Bridgerton Season 2 premieres in its entirety on March 25, exclusively on Netflix.
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