- Creator: Chris Van Dusen
- Cast: Jonathan Bailey, Simone Ashley, Charithra Chandran, Nicola Coughlan, Claudia Jessie, Adjoa Andoh, Golda Rosheuvel, Shelley Conn, Luke Newton, Polly Walker, Rupert Young
- Genre: Period romance
- Rating: 18+
- 8 episodes, approx. 1 hour each
The second season of the megahit period show, ‘Bridgerton’, has finally befallen us. And once again, it is ranking high on Netflix. Countless fan edits of the show are being posted on YouTube and Twitter, and viewers are swooning at everything, from the gorgeous costumes and lush sets to the romance between Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) and Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley).
Based on the novels by Julia Quinn, ‘Bridgerton’ follows the well-to-do Bridgerton family: a household composed of the widowed Lady Bridgerton, and her four sons and four daughters. In Season 2, the eldest son, Anthony, is ready to find a bride and settle down as the head of the family, since his father passed away many years ago. But it is proving to be a difficult task for Viscount Anthony as he has incredibly high standards and specific qualities in mind for his future Viscountess. He also makes it clear that he doesn’t want love to be a part of the equation.
As the season of the socials begins, Kate and Edwina Sharma freshly arrive from Bombay, India. The two sisters, with their mother Lady Mary (Shelley Conn), are looking for a husband for the younger sister, Edwina (Charitha Chandran).
Almost immediately when Anthony meets the Sharma sisters, the reserved Viscount decides on courting the wide-eyed Edwina. But things get complicated when the jaded Viscount falls for the headstrong Kate instead. What follows is an entanglement of lies, deceit and self-tormenting.
The latest season of ‘Bridgerton’ seems lacklustre compared to the first Season. Even though I have not watched the first season, watching the recap videos was enough to convince me of the fiery chemistry that was between Daphne (Phoebe Dynevor) and the Duke, Simon (Regé-Jean Page). Compared to this couple, there is a noticeable lack of chemistry between this season’s couple: Bailey and Ashley as Anthony and Kate, respectively. Sure, there are steamy lines that Anthony utters, such as “You are the bane of my existence, and the object of all my desires”, or “Do you think there is a corner of this Earth that you could travel to far away enough to free me from this torment?” and most interestingly, “I am a gentleman. My father raised me to act with honour, but that honour is hanging by a thread that grows more precarious with every moment I spend in your presence.” Lines like these as well as “I have never known anyone like you. It’s maddening, how much you consume my very being” are uttered by Bailey to show his torrential feelings for Kate. But when it comes to watching the actions and the events which happen between the two, we don’t understand why such a stoic man would come to feel so strongly about any woman at all. The events which happen between them, in question, are mundane activities such as attending the horse race, visiting the Bridgerton estate, playing pall mall and hunting for a deer.
The so-called tug-of-war between Anthony and Kate, such as in the brilliantly entertaining pall mall scene, results in some cute and amusing moments that will make you chuckle. Their dynamic reminds one of Elizabeth and Darcy in Jane Austen’s ‘Pride and Prejudice’, with Edwina perhaps taking the place of the more cool-headed sister Jane. The fiery passion the Viscount expresses to Kate in the later episodes, in contrast, feels a little out of place in this kind of breezy romance, with the passionate dialogues uttered by Anthony belonging more to a gothic novel like ‘Wuthering Heights’ or ‘Jane Eyre’, and not in a Regency-era comedy of manners such as ‘Bridgerton’.
The acting in the heated confrontations between Anthony and Kate also seems pushed as the two actors do what is so obviously a forced “heavy breathing” to make the scenes tenser. It is this author’s opinion that perhaps the steamy lines uttered by both Anthony and Kate would fare better in the novel because the reader can imagine these characters saying them in their minds. However, Bailey and Ashley are mostly unsuccessful in displaying the more tormented side of their love in front of the camera, no matter how passionate the lines they speak were, while faring better in the lighter, cuter moments such as the aforementioned pall mall scene.
Simone Ashley comes off a little too stiff, with the awkwardness finding its way in her seduction scenes with Anthony. But she is still elegant and regal, and dare we say, stunningly beautiful as Kate Sharma. Jonathan Bailey does his best to look besotted by the newly arrived Kate, but very often their confrontation scenes have the two actors gaze at each other with the most pained expressions. Their relationship seems a little joyless too, even though it was in no way intentional on anyone’s part.
Charithra Chandran, much like her on-screen character, is a diamond. She shines in her role as a sweet, innocent young woman and it’s mesmerising how she matures as the show progresses. We even get a glimpse of her anger which could startle some of us. Chandran and Ashley should be commended also for their slight Indian accent which they maintain while speaking English, thus hinting at the many years that they spent in India.
Adjoa Andoh as Lady Danbury and Golda Rosheuvel as Queen Charlotte deliver strong and humorous performances, as do some of the older cast members who help in grounding this slightly wandering show, such as Ruth Gemmell (Lady Bridgerton) and Shelley Cohn (Lady Mary Sharma).
The Featherington storyline was also interesting as Lady Featherington and her daughters get into a financial bind that only their intolerable male relative can help get them out of. A special shout-out goes to Bessie Carter, as daughter Prudence Featherington, for her scene-stealing performance as the clueless daughter pressured by her mother to seduce the rich relative.
Nicola Coughlan as Penelope is stunning and we empathise with her for her secret life as the anonymous gossip writer Lady Whistledown. She manages to annoy some viewers while also being extremely relatable and multidimensional. Her subplot about her attempting to hide her identity as more people become suspicious of her is more exciting to watch at times than Kate and Anthony.
Eloise is a strong and entertaining character and Claudia Jessie excels in playing her. We are sure that when it is her turn to be the lead in a future season, as she goes about searching for, or dodging, her match, we are sure we will be gripped. However, her subplot with Thomas in this new season needed deeper writing as it was a tad under-developed. Hopefully, we will see more of them in the third outing.
The flashback scenes of Anthony witnessing his father’s accidental death are nerve-wracking to watch as we are immersed in their household and lives. These scenes provide extreme nuance to Anthony’s character, and we wish we had similar scenes for Kate and Edwina’s father who also passed away before the show commences. This could have added more dimension to Kate’s character as she is clearly influenced by her father; we constantly see her talk about her dear father, or just think about him when she is horse riding, hunting or observing the rain. The flashback scenes of the Sharma family in Bombay would have given the characters more flesh and layers the way we got for Bridgerton.
The second season of ‘Bridgerton’ is a little drowsy and rather slow, with Kate and Anthony spending much of their time getting pulled towards each other and then pushing away. This could either annoy the viewer or entertain them depending on whether the viewer loves the enemy to lovers trope or not. Besides the lavish costumes, sets and props and the mesmerising performances of the cast, there is not much else in this wandering show. Fans of the Regency period and Austenian romances will, however, adore this show.
The second season of ‘Bridgerton’ is now streaming on Netflix.
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