Bridgerton Season Two in Review
Photo by Netflix
The second season of the hit Netflix show, Bridgerton, was a highly anticipated March 2022 release. Many lovers of the first season and fans of the book series tuned in on the 25th to get their fix of burning romance, predictable (and unpredictable) scandal, and glamourous balls. As someone who read all 8 books and loved season one, I was very excited. I had been counting down the days for the last month, and I did a reread of Anthony’s book as well as a re-watch of Daphne’s season to prepare. Obviously, after watching I have many opinions, so I’ll share those with you now. A spoiler warning is necessary, I will be potentially mentioning content from all 8 episodes.
Photo by Netflix
Here is an initial rating breakdown before I further discuss what I loved, liked, and detested. Score +10, Costumes +12, Benedict Bridgerton +5, cheap love triangle plot –7, Eloise and Theo Sharpe +4, pitting two pairs of women against each other in the name of drama –6, Newton the Corgi +5, sweet family moments +6, making Anthony hold resentment for his mother that never existed in the book –6, slow burn +11, incorporating Indian culture into the Sharma’s life in the ton +10, Pall Mall +7, and watering down the traumas that make both the leads who they are –9. That puts the overall rating at 72/100.
I don’t mean to be a book elitist (I know that TV shows work differently than romance novels), so my opinions are not because it did not follow every exact plot line. My opinions are the way they are because they altered who the characters are at their core, and I didn’t appreciate that very much. Anthony’s father dying when he is 18 certainly messed with him but not in the ways the show insinuates. Although it leads to the same outcome of Anthony refusing to fall in love, the writers have made him hold a resentment towards his mother, when the reason for him not wanting to fall in love is because he wholeheartedly believes he is going to die young. Anthony idolized his father, and he never thought that he could ever surpass his father in any way, even years. His awareness of his own mortality is why he was so bound by doing everything right. He thought he needed to leave everything in order for when he would inevitably die. Many of the changes made in the show are for “drama” purposes or other reasons that I don’t know about, but I feel like this theme would have been interesting to explore in the season.
Kate’s characterization was interesting because while she was still headstrong and stubborn, she was also way more motherly to her sister than in the books because the show aged her up. I thought it was interesting how much of Kate’s characterization had changed; she seemed almost like another character. One of the main differences between Kate in the book and Kate in the show is that in The Viscount Who Loved Me, Kate is terrified of thunderstorms. Terrified to the point of getting crippling panic attacks every time. She has had them since childhood. So, when the library scene during the thunderstorm showed up in the show, I was excited to see how the adaptation would show Anthony comforts her during one of these attacks. Come to find out that the show disregards this major part of her character altogether. At the end of the book, she finds out this is because she watched her mother die in the middle of a thunderstorm, and her battle with this is a major plotline for her—and for her relationship with Anthony. Anthony helping her through her fear is what makes her realize she’s in love with him. Indirectly, this is also why Anthony realizes he is in love with Kate. Kate opens up to him about how every time she would experience an attack, she was sure she would die. When Anthony hears her say this, he is struck with feeling because she is the first person that he has known, other than himself, to be aware of their own mortality. While there is still a moment of shared philosophy for them in the show where Anthony seems to have an epiphany, it does not hold the same weight as this shared trauma over a dead parent. Yes, Kate and Anthony talk in the show about their fathers being gone, but the show has removed Kate’s mother from the equation almost completely and placed some of Anthony’s grief into a conflict with his mother.
Show writer Chris Van Dusen said in the press tour that he wanted to make Edwina more of a central character in the show than in the books, which was something I was very excited about. After watching the show, I am only satisfied with her characterization for maybe a quarter of her scenes? The writers decided to accomplish this desire by creating a love triangle. It was very cheap writing, in my opinion, and it pits the sisters against each other rather than showing exactly how strong their bond could be. Instead of Edwina looking strong in some of these scenes, she comes off bratty and spiteful. I did not expect her to forgive Kate immediately, but while Kate was willing to give up her chance with Anthony to make her sister happy, Edwina was not willing to listen to her sister because she felt betrayed. It takes Kate almost dying for Edwina to forgive her and actually hear what her sister had to say.
Also, in the books, since Anthony and Kate get married right after the country party, Edwina and Anthony are never properly courting, and she tells Kate she suspected that Anthony liked Kate all along. Making Edwina oblivious to this connection between her sister and the Viscount also makes her look less mature than they were going for. There were some scenes where I did enjoy her, including how she handled the King’s outburst, and when she talked of the reasons why she decided not to marry Anthony. I could see the strong woman that they wanted her to be shining through in those moments but making her fall for a viscount who never intended to love her was in poor taste. Edwina says in the books she wants a husband who is a scholar and has a preferred field. I think introducing a man like that would have been good because we could also see another part of the ton come out rather than more balls with people who held the titles. Edwina could have also sparked a close friendship with Eloise for that matter, too. Speaking of Eloise, I have thoughts about her fight with Penelope at the end of episode 8, but I think I will wait to see what they do with their characters in season 3 before I state them.
I know this seems like I hated the season, but I really didn’t once I got over my initial distaste of the plot changes, I kept watching, and if you just consider what they have written for the show, it isn’t terrible. Going with the characterization they have made for Anthony, the moments after he realizes that love might be okay are very heartwarming, like his moment with Gregory in their father’s study. I also did enjoy when Anthony professes his love for Kate at the Featherington Ball and says her full name. As far as Kate’s characterization, it was pretty hard to see inside her head, but Simone Ashely did a great job playing her, and Lady Danbury’s relationship with Kate was one of my favorite additions to the season.
I would definitely re-watch the season, but there was just a lot of frustration going into the first watch expecting things to be as similar to The Viscount Who Loved Me as the first season was to The Duke and I. One of the main differences in getting Daphne and Simon together in the book versus the show was the addition of the Prince, but Daphne never promised her hand in marriage to him like Anthony did Edwina. Also, Simon’s internal conflict stemming from his father remained quite similar whereas Kate and Anthony’s conflicts differed. All in all, I am looking forward to what will take place in the world of Bridgerton for Benedict’s season.
