Yet another season of Netflix’s smash hit “Bridgerton” has been released, giving fans all the drama, angst, romance and sexual tension that made it so popular in the first place. Last season centered on the diamond of the season, Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor), finding love with the notorious Duke of Hastings (Regé Jean Page). This season focuses on Daphne’s older brother, Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) falling in love with Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley) while simultaneously attempting to marry her sister, Edwina Sharma (Charithra Chandran).
Season two is based on the book “The Viscount Who Loved Me” by author Julia Quinn. Lovers of the book knew heading into this season that the romance between Kate and Anthony is electric. And it is fair to say that Bailey’s and Ashley’s performances lived up to the hype of the beautifully written relationship that exists in the book.
Every scene between Kate and Anthony this season is perfect. They have all the right bickering, longing looks, yearning and much needed sexual tension to make a thrilling romance. Even though the show cut out—or significantly cut down—scenes such as sex scenes, Kate and Anthony’s story was just as beautiful as expected.
But as a book lover, I was sad to see so much of the season not explore Anthony and Kate’s beautiful love story. There were many times where I felt frustrated by how in-depth the show went into the Featherington family. The show is called “Bridgerton,” not Featherington, so any time spent with the Featherington family drags on.
Even though it distracted from Kate and Anthony, Eloise’s (Claudia Jessie) and Benedict’s (Luke Thompson) arcs this season were enjoyable. I was always interested whenever either of them were on the screen, and I’m excited to see how this will set up their romances in future seasons.
I also loved the development of Lady Danbury (Adjoa Andoh) and Violet Bridgerton (Ruth Gemmell). Lady Danbury is quite iconic both in the book and the show, and Andoh plays her brilliantly. It was also nice to have this season explore Violet’s difficult past and how that influenced Anthony’s responsibilities as head of the household and brought up his fears of falling in love.
Another important note is that the first season of “Bridgerton” was well received because of its racial diversity. In the second book, Kate Sharma is actually Kate Sheffield. Unlike the book, in the second season the Sharma’s have immigrated from India to attempt to get Edwina to marry an Englishman. I really enjoyed how this season incorporated Indian traditions like the uses of Tamil when Kate and Edwina talk, oiling of the hair and Haldi ceremony. As someone who isn’t Indian, it was really cool to learn more about Indian cultural practices throughout the season.
I also thought it was exceptional to see two dark-skinned Indian women as romantic leads. Even when there is representation of Indian women or any groups of women of color, colorism often keeps darker skinned women from these types of roles. Even though Bridgerton isn’t the most perfect and diverse show, I think this season made great strides in terms of representation.
Everyone should watch the second season of “Bridgerton.” It’s a fun and light watch, easy to get invested in. If you love romance, silly feuds and beautiful people, then season 2 of “Bridgerton” is the perfect thing to binge!
