Dearest Readers, the town is abuzz now with the newest season of Bridgerton releasing on Netflix soon! It is my honor to report that season 2 is just as fun as the first, and the season offers so many surprises that are sure to delight you all! However gentle reader, before I proceed with my thoughts, be wary as there may be some light spoilers ahead.
From Shondaland and creator Chris Van Dusen, season 2 of Bridgerton shifts the focus from Daphne Bridgerton and onto her older brother Lord Anthony Bridgerton who’s out to find a suitable wife so that he can carry on the Bridgerton legacy. In comes the Sharma family. We are introduced to these new characters who hail from India, most notably Edwina and Kate Sharma, who are sisters and also looking to find the youngest daughter Edwina a suitable match. Anthony catches Edwina’s eyes, much to the dismay of her older sister Kate, who is overly protective of Edwina. She gets into some verbal sparring all season long with Anthony, and thus, a special kind of bond between them is formed.
Let me start off by saying I’ve not read the books for which this show is based off of. I’m purely coming off as a show only watcher. With that being said, I can gush about this new season all day! I really love how this season does a seamless job of changing the focus to our new leads Anthony and Kate (played by Jonathan Bailey and Simone Ashley)while also including the rest of the lovely cast of characters we were already introduced to last season. The show is really building on from the previous entry in such a nice and organic way. We’re already familiar with the world, so this season just feels like it’s having fun showing us more of it, and diving into it as opposed to having to introduce us to everything as they did in the first season. This allows room for more fun scenes and storytelling. Of course, the music, costuming, and set designs were once again amazing and add such a wonderful touch to the whole look of the world of Bridgerton. If you liked how the first season incorporated modernized orchestral versions of hit songs, then you are sure to enjoy this one too! Lots of wonderful moments that will surely make you smile from ear to ear when you recognize the songs being used. I know I did.
So about the new love story? I’m completely sold. Jonathan (Anthony Bridgerton) and Simone (Kate Sharma) have so much chemistry. Their banter and playfulness is easily one of the best things about this season. There’s so much tension in all of their scenes that with every passing episode, you’ll be wanting more and more. If a love story has you actively rooting for the two characters to finally get together, you know that the writers are doing something right. There’s a lot of rich storytelling here between these characters and their families, that as a non book reader took me in for loops. I’m not sure how close this season follows the events of the book, but as a show only watcher, I appreciated the twists. They really keep you on your toes all throughout. Besides the love story aspect, the sisterhood between Kate and Edwina is one of the central points of the season, and it’s so refreshing to see something new here and done so well. I just really think that the acting is excellent as well as the writing because it’s a compelling relationship to tackle and I’m sure anyone with siblings can relate, especially older siblings wanting the very best for their younger sibling.
I will say that this season suffers a bit of pacing issues in terms of the subplots happening around Anthony, Kate, and Edwina. Some things felt a bit rushed, such as the history behind the Sharma’s which I feel like should’ve definitely been fleshed out more. Also, it seems like the show doesn’t really know what to do with the other characters, so they kind of just keep them drifting around in the background until they need to use them for the future seasons. Sure, it’s great seeing them again, but I felt like I wanted to see their smaller and individual storylines to be more engaging than what we got. Benedict has a small subplot which is cute, and it does feel like they’re gearing us up for his season which is a pretty nice set up overall, but maybe we maybe could’ve used a bit more time here. Penelope and Colin have their small shared moments as well, that I’m sure everyone is rooting for, but once again, wish we had just a bit more there.
If you liked the first season for it’s characters, romance, cleverness, sexiness, fun and all around scandalous story telling, then you’ll surely enjoy this one too. This season is much more of a slow burn than the last which is refreshing, given how different the dynamics are. The story of Anthony and Kate is the best aspect of season 2, hands down. Seasons 3 and 4 have already been green lit on Netflix, so I’m definitely looking forward to seeing those in the future, as well as seeing which Bridgerton sibling they will be focusing on next. The show has left this reader wanting more.
The second season of the global phenomenon Bridgerton releases on Netflix on March 25th, 2022.
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