Bridgerton Season 2 Review: Between Scandals, Gossip And Twists, The Complicated Love And Hate Story
Starring: han Bailey, Simone Ashley, Adjoa Andoh, Julie Andrews, Lorraine Ashbourne
Director: Tricia Brock, Tom Verica
Streaming Platform: Netflix
Filmyhype.com Ratings: 4/5 (four star) [yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
Thanks to Netflix, I previewed Bridgerton Season 2, the second season of the acclaimed costume TV series based on the Julia Quinn novels that tells the story of a high society English family during the Regency Age. On the occasion of the arrival in streaming on Netflix of Bridgerton season 2, let’s find out together, in this preview review, what to expect from this television series which is dedicated to lovers of historical costumed TV series such as Downton Abbey and The Gilded Age. Bridgerton 2 is available on Netflix on March 25, 2022 with 8 episodes of approximately 60 minutes each and, therefore, in the next chapters, I will tell you about the plot of this second season, after which you can read mine spoiler-free review, so you know what I think of this TV series.
Jonathan Bailey and Simone Ashley are the new protagonists of Bridgerton 2. The two actors are at the center of the second chapter of the Netflix saga which will arrive on the platform on March 25th. Created by Chris Van Dusen and produced by Shondaland, the first season captivated audiences, telling the story of love, friendship and human bonds in the age of the English Regency. In Bridgerton 2, Viscount Anthony is ready to find a suitable wife for his life and responsibilities. Guided by his great and strong sense of duty in safeguarding the name of his beloved family, Anthony’s search for a woman who meets his impossible standards seems doomed to fail altogether. The new episodes of the series shock, surprise and are ready to color the souls of the spectators.
Bridgerton Season 2 Review: The Story
Bridgerton‘s season 2 storyline focuses on the love triangle between Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey), Edwina Sharma (Charithra Chandran) and her older sister, Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley). The story begins when the Sharma sisters arrive in London with their mother, Lady Mary Sharma (Shelley Conn). The reason is very simple: Edwina is of marriageable age but she is looking for true love and not just for a respectable person in English high society; she therefore she is ready to make her debut in the competitive “marriage market”.
Anthony Bridgerton on the other hand, intending to marry only out of duty to his family and without having the slightest confidence in love, wants for a wife a woman who can be worthy of becoming a Viscountess. Is it better to follow reason or to let the feeling go? Right from the start, albeit for different reasons, the Viscount inevitably feels attracted to both Sharma sisters, but when the Queen chooses Edwina as her protégé, the eldest of the Bridgertons declares his intention to win the love of the younger of the two.
However, to be able to ask her in marriage, the man must first deserve the trust of Kate who, intending to use all her energy in the search for true love for her sister Edwina certainly does not look favorably on the Viscount, known among the other for his libertine past Reason or feeling? Pride or prejudice? As in Jane Austen’s novels, Bridgerton is back to make us fall in love with her characters.
In the first season of Bridgerton, viewers accompanied Daphne Bridgerton on the intense and surprising journey that led her to know herself and discover love in all its forms. In the second chapter, we find the beloved English family together again. Now, it’s up to Anthony to go on an intense journey of discovery, between pain and duty, between failures and victories. Since his father died, the young man carries with him a silent burden, hides a rampant mourning in his heart. Over time, he has become an important point of reference for his mother and siblings: he is the person you can rely on, the surrogate husband for his mother, a father to his sisters and brothers, a captain of a ship that must continually navigate high society with honor and dignity. Anthony is the always respectful head of the family, always present, always ready and constantly able to protect and act as a shield.
He carries with him a baggage of pride he wears stable armor that protects him from feelings and good, constantly. But what happens when all this is no longer enough? What happens when the armor starts to have cracks that let some light in? The light is scary for those who, until now, have lived in the dim light and Anthony is afraid of living beautiful things. He thinks duty is the only thing he is allowed. In this new time, Viscount Bridgerton must change his world. He does not seek true love (as his mother so much hopes for his firstborn) but a worthy wife to accompany him in the duties and commitments that his family requires. Yet any woman he meets does not meet his expectations of him, his constant pursuit of perfection. Until, one day, the two sisters Kate and Edwina Sharma arrive from India. Anthony begins to woo Edwina, while Kate discovers the true nature of her intentions. For the Viscount, true love is not his top priority. The young woman then decides to do whatever it takes to prevent their union. The verbal skirmishes between Kate and Anthony are incessant and complicate matters between the two enemies.
Bridgerton Season 2 Review and Analysis
Bridgerton was the first Shonda Rhimes television series to arrive on Netflix but, what is regarded as a bold gamble by the writer of Grey’s Anatomy and Inventing Anna , turned out to be the most successful TV series in the history of ‘ streaming company. However, if with the first season no one would have signed up, the arrival of the second season will only confirm and presumably also overcome these milestones: watching Bridgerton 2 one cannot help but agree with the fact that the stories of Troubled love makes us daydream and that people appreciate being able to see themselves represented on the screen.
Among the main strengths of Bridgerton 2, in fact, there is greater diversity and greater attention to inclusion and, therefore, it is no coincidence that the story sees as the protagonist a family whose origins come from South Asia. Inspired by Julia Quinn’s novel The Viscount Who Loved Me, the second season of the television series aims to represent the society of another culture and brings the lives of three women of Indian descent to the screen. In their leading roles, the women of the Sharma family show the general public that there are people who not only have a totally different culture, but who also have different customs and traditions.
In Bridgerton 2, in fact, it is said that the mother of the Sharma sisters, Lady Mary, comes from a family of aristocrats but, even if the woman knows the habits and customs of London society and the marriage market, she has a completely different way of thinking, since, in the past, she has chosen to marry for love rather than to fulfill a duty. The second season of Bridgerton , in this sense, again tackles the theme of love as the antagonist of the duty that a woman has towards her family. What is marriage? Is it purely a contractual obligation between two people that is only useful for continuing one’s lineage? Or is it possible to find a compromise and get married for love, as well as interest?
Additionally, if Season 1 focused more on how women feel trapped in having to choose between love and duty when it comes to marriage, Bridgerton Season 2 also addresses the realization of a woman who, like Kate Sharma, she is determined not to want to marry and is determined to focus all her energy on her sister’s future. The bond between sisters is another important theme in Bridgerton 2 and it is precisely for this reason that this union between the two will be tested, with the aim of depicting complicated, but also imperfect and absolutely real.
But Kate and Edwina Sharma aren’t the only noteworthy characters from Bridgerton’s second season. In addition to Viscount Anthony Bridgerton, whose toxic masculinity is stopped being questioned in order to improve himself, in this new cycle of episodes, Eloise Bridgerton also plays a relevant role the girl, in fact, reluctantly makes her debut in high society, as it does not consider the search for a man to marry of interest. Over the course of the episodes, therefore, Eloise will approach feminist readings and movements they also find an affinity of thought with Kate Sharma.
Simone Ashley brings to the screen a modern, courageous, strong young woman who seems to belong to all of us. Kate Sharma comes from India and brings with her all her sense of duty and protection towards her mother and sister Edwina. This disarming and elegant creature is the pillar of an all-female family and hides in her soul the pain of her father’s death. The best way to honor him and keep him alive is to give her sister happiness, to try to build a happy future for her, where true love is what matters. In her gestures, in her actions, in her way of thinking, Kate represents a woman who wants to break the patriarchal system. She does not resist the rules of men and society that consider women as an ideal object to build a family, have children and respect the expectations of others. Kate is something else, she seems to be elsewhere even in her gaze.
Her strength exudes a sense of freedom and independence, when she rides with no one to accompany her, when she takes a stand, when she respects her duties. Yet, like Anthony, she wore armor that protects her from her feelings, from what the world really wants to offer her. She takes refuge in her obligations to her and in what she deems right for her sister and does not allow her heart to love freely . And what happens when her world of rules slowly collapses? She too has to face the inevitable, she too has to deal with what it is to finally find out what she is feeling.
Love And The Pursuit Of Freedom
Bridgerton 2 is a more mature and emotionally impactful season. The new episodes are introspective and delicate and allow us to go through the torments and feelings of every single character in the story. The love story between Kate and Anthony is built through obstacles, mistakes, failures, sufferings and sacrifices. From the beginning, the quarrels between Kate and Anthony are filled with passion, anticipation, fascination. They capture and upset and place the two characters transparently facing each other. In their constant warring, will they be able to take a necessary step to love each other and break down those defenses that both of them have been carrying around for too long?
The love they feel is a challenge that not only consumes and devastates them but allows both of them to free themselves, in every way, of those unbearable burdens that until now they have kept in their bodies. Through their love, troubled and poignant, we are faced with a love story composed of two souls waiting to meet and become one. Jonathan Bailey and Simone Ashley show penetrating, engaging and sensual chemistry. And so Kate and Anthony repel and attract approach and move away. Their passion is, moreover, characterized by hands that touch each other, looks that are sought, heart that beats without control and breaths that seem to resonate in the same moments. The two actors build two characters who seem perfect but who in reality have injured themselves, have fallen and been wrong and who, together, manage to experience something rare and powerful that breaks down and reassembles.
Over the course of the eight episodes, each character is engaging in an inner battle in which the soul rebels. Among the most interesting paths of Bridgerton 2 there is certainly that of Eloise, played by a truer than ever Claudia Jessie. Anthony’s sister continues her journey, which began in the first season, towards the conquest of her freedom. Eloise suffers, once again, from the way women are treated in the world she lives in. She wants more for herself and the women around her. He is not satisfied, this season more than ever. Initially suffering and trapped, he slowly finds a way to understand that he wants a space in which to freely desire different rights, the same possibilities that are granted to a man.
Benedict is another intense and flawless character. He too, like Eloise, has an inner battle. He analyzes himself, experiences his ambitions, wonders who he is and who he wants to become. In his actions and in his thoughts, he becomes a glimmer of truth and transparency. Also thanks to an actor like Luke Thompson who gives his character a great sense of clarity and sincerity, representing an imperfect human figure who tries to build himself, without ever forgetting others, listening to every person next to him, not setting aside any soul that meets.
The essence of Bridgerton 2 is contained in human bonds. In this season, the most powerful and indelible love materializes in family ties. Brotherhood and sisterhood are the strongest themes in the series. Kate and Anthony love their families deeply, what unites them is the great feeling of respect and protection they feel for their siblings. In the dialogues full of reference to the relationships between brothers and sisters, in the effective narration and in the choices of the characters, it is highlighted that the family is the starting point that helps each individual character to question himself to ask himself questions, to fight for it he believes in.
Through human ties, the characters’ lives are amplified they make space in the world. In many ways, the Bridgerton brothers, sisters and Sharma sisters manifest their love and sense of belonging to their families that generated them, formed within each of them values and dreams, hopes and strengths. Despite death and that unfair physical distance, Kate and Anthony’s fathers strengthen the roots of their children, encourage them to improve themselves, to seek the light in their dark rooms.
Bridgerton 2 brings with it and delivers to the audience important themes such as: love, life and death that question the inner world of each character, feminism, independence and the fundamental values of family and brotherhood. With maturity and elegance, this season is concrete and moving . Each episode places necessary points of reflection on the existence and essence of feelings. The dynamics between the protagonists are attractive and fascinating. The script is vivid and clear and the episodes are compelling. The only episode that is not convincing is, perhaps, the sixth which, in some moments, becomes chaotic. Still, the scenes are continually surprising. Bridgerton’s first season gave us great intimate scenes between the couple formed by Daphne and Simon, this season sex is definitely more sidelined. And perhaps, this is the only big lack of the second season. Inserting more intimate scenes between Kate and Anthony would have allowed viewers to further analyze their relationship.
Bridgerton Season 2 Review: The Last Words
Bridgerton Season 2 proves to be one of the most dynamic and interesting series of recent years. The story is modern and close to the most important issues that affect the life of each of us. Although the series is set in such a distant time, it never ceases to be close to the spectators and offers whirlpools of reality that enchant and envelop. We would like to be part of the Bridgerton family as brothers and sisters seem to be part of our homes. As we approach the conclusion of our Bridgerton 2 review, we confirm that when we arrived at the last episode, we would like to continue looking, again and again, at that colorful world, that window of light that overlooks the incredible panorama of our souls.
