Bridgerton is back: Five things to watch out for in season two of the Netflix show
Simone Ashley as Kate Sharma, Jonathan Bailey as Anthony Bridgerton in a scene from season two. Pictures: Netflix
Bridgerton's resident Derry Girl had a star turn in season one as the friendly wallflower Penelope Featherington, with Nicola Coughlan’s character eventually being unveiled as Lady Whistledown herself. This season the stakes are higher than ever before. With her best friend Eloise Bridgerton now out in society, Penelope discovers she can’t slip away so easily to bring her words to the printers. She finds herself taking risks to ensure Lady Whistledown’s pamphlet gets published, but with Queen Charlotte and a prying Eloise both keen to uncover her identity, she may need to turn to someone surprising for help as the net closes around her.
One delightful surprise this season is Coughlan’s use of an Irish accent in some scenes. While the actor is from Galway, it is instead a thick Dublin brogue we hear when she is covering her tracks, disguised as a lady’s maid. It is so convincing that in one market scene where she barters with a trader for a better price, viewers could close their eyes and convince themselves they’re in Dublin’s famous Moore Street market. She’d fit right in with Mrs Brown. Perhaps a cameo in a future Christmas special is on the cards?
Ahead of the second season, Bridgerton sibling and Viscount, Anthony, played by Jonathan Bailey, declared his intention to find a wife and this is the romantic focus we find ourselves in, though romantic is not quite the right word. After being rejected by his opera singer lover Siena Rosso, he is adamant he will not marry for love, but to find an amiable match. He races through all of society’s debutants and finds flaw after flaw with each. Some are not accomplished enough, some are too accomplished. His method seems like a Regency-era Tinder as he swipes left, seemingly forever to find the perfect woman who, apparently, does not exist. Enter the dazzling Sharma sisters, who seem to tick every box. But is it a match?
In the first season, Regé-Jean Page made viewers weak at the knees when his character, Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings, declared his passionate love for Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor). His now-iconic words revealing he “burns for someone who does not feel the same” were the culmination of five episodes of longing and a classic ‘will-they-won't-they' storyline. And, of course, they led to some pretty steamy sex scenes. Anthony’s quest for love, however, just isn’t as thrilling in the beginning and there are far fewer moments of physical intimacy, though we have meaningful glances aplenty. It is obvious he and the elder Sharma sister, Kate (Simone Ashley) have feelings for each other, but without getting into the spoiler-filled details, Kate is not looking for a husband. His attentions instead are on the new ‘Diamond of the season’, her younger sister Edwina. Not awkward at all... Of course, the series is still utterly compelling and bingeable, but you’d notice the absence of the wonderful Duke before it really comes into its own in the latter half of the season. It's definitely a slow burn.
Almost a character in itself, the series’ soundtrack yet again gives popular songs a Regency twist. There’s probably a long German word to describe the uncanny feeling of recognising an instrumental ballroom dance tune, complete with string symphony, as Madonna’s Material Girl as the main characters enter the fray – if not, there should be. Is it Bridgenfreude? From familiar artists like Nirvana and Alanis Morissette to modern-day pop stars including Harry Styles and Miley Cyrus, viewers will spend much time trying to pin down whatever song the string quartet is playing. After the immense popularity of season one’s transformed tunes, there is no doubt that the newest soundtrack will appear on all of Spotify's most popular playlists.
