Bridgerton (Season 2)
Review of Bridgerton Season 2
I am going to shamelessly start this review off by saying I did not like the first season of Bridgerton, and could not finish it to save my life. I kind of get what it was attempting to do with its colorblind casting and the fact it was essentially reimagining the Regency-era England, which was a pretty stiff time when it came to fashion and morals.
I personally could not get on with the fact that it came across as pretty erotic in a time that was fairly sad—the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, which was when I almost lost my father to COVID—and so I couldn’t even make it past the first episode. That form of escapism was not for me.
And then Season 2 came out, and I saw how everyone was gushing about it and the fact that it was so much better than season one.
At first, I almost didn’t believe them because of what I had seen in the first season, but there was one person who completely changed my mind. Simone Ashley. I have a gay crush for Simone Ashley and I’m not even bisexual or a lesbian. And so I binge watched the entire second season in one day without taking into account the fact I had never seen the first season.
Let’s begin this review.
Kate Sharma and her sister Edwina have just moved back to England in pursuit of a suitor for Edwin, but things will not go as planned when they meet the Bridgertons.
Each of the Bridgerton novels focuses on a different member of the family, so while Season One may have been focused on Daphne Brigerton and her relationship with Simon, Season 2 shifts to Anthony.
I may not have seen the entirety of season one, but I remember what Anthony was like during that season and it seemed like to me that they completely rewrote his character for this season.
Don’t quote me on that because I didn’t see the entirety of the first one, but that’s how it came across to me. But all in all, I felt like I didn’t need to have seen the first season to understand the second season, since I didn’t feel confused at all.
Season two opens with the head of the Bridgerton family, Anthony, deciding that it is time to finally find a wife. He goes through the usual routines of trying to find one in society, but one day, while riding his horse, he runs into a newcomer in town: Kate Sharma.
The Sharmas have just arrived from India in order to find the youngest daughter, Edwina, a proper husband in English society. There’s a catch about this, though: the eldest daughter, Kate, has plotted with her estranged grandparents to allow Edwina an inheritance if she finds a suitable husband. So the stakes are high, of course.
Kate does not approve of Anthony Bridgerton and his ways, but somewhere along the way Edwina has decided that she is madly in love with Anthony and that he must be the one to propose to her.
So begins a classic trope: the love triangle between Kate, Anthony, and Edwina. I found this entire plot point to be very flimsy over the course of the season’s eight episodes, as Kate is caught between wanting to make her sister happy and the fact that Anthony and she have major sexual tension.
I think the reason this plot point didn’t sell for me is because it happens way too quickly. Edwina falls in love with him after a single conversations, and then it progresses to the point where she discovers Kate and Anthony’s relationship at the wedding altar. Obviously this tension is escalated by their grandparents revealing the circumstances of the deal that Kate made with them, but then she forgives her pretty quickly after that when Kate falls off the horse.
What I’m getting at is that this felt very rushed, perhaps. I would’ve preferred less time with the B plots and more focus on the Sharmas, although some people probably would have squealed with delight about the appearance of Daphne (but not Simon).
Anthony’s flashbacks also felt a bit unnecessary, I think providing them through more subtle means of dialogue or action would have hinted the full extent of his emotional trauma through a more nuanced means. It also could’ve been a bonding moment for Kate to realize that’s how his father died when she was stung by the bee.
At the same time, the B plot is all about Eloise in this season. In the first episode, she’s finally making her debut to society in front of the queen, but as the season progresses, we learn that she’s interested more in becoming an educated woman as she wants to learn about social causes and women’s rights rather than sitting at home and learning flower arrangement.
This oscillates between her friendship with Penelope, who is revealed to be Lady Whistledown, and Penelope’s endless pursuit for knowledge and gossip. Love this B plot, but could’ve been a season of its own.
Overall Thoughts
It’s better than the first season, that’s for sure. My gay crush only continued to escalate with each scene Simone was in—I’m going to watch Sex Education after this just for her. I will say I am typically not into romance shows but I dug this one enough to stick through it, but it definitely helped that it was only eight episodes.
Perhaps the eight episodes concept is both a boon and a bane when it comes to the grand scheme of things. I may stick around for season three—that’s up in the air. I’ll probably have to watch it for my job anyways.
