Three episodes in, Sarah’s wondering why Bridgerton has suddenly gone a lot more better behaved…
We’re back in Regency London, hobnobbing with the social elite, for the much anticipated second series of Shonda Rhimes’ Netflix juggernaut Bridgerton. It’s deja vu as we reset to where it all began in series one: the start of the social season where eligible aristocratic bachelors must find equally eligible wives. Only with Regé-Jean Page’s dishy Duke absent (due to a limited one-season story arc) and his saucy wife Daphne bringing up baby we’re starting all over again with the B-team: background characters are now in the spotlight.
“Best of luck this season” Duchess Daphne tells her brother Anthony (Jonathan Bailey). Take a deep breath guys. We’re going to need all the luck we can muster.
Viscount Bridgerton wants a rich wife with childbearing hips who’s got to be as intelligent or slightly less intelligent than him
Anthony, aka Viscount Bridgerton, wants a rich wife with “childbearing hips and at least half a brain”. He’s approaching this task with logic and his little black book of London’s fanciest totty; an analogue version of LinkedIn. He’s the classic cliched male protagonist; difficult and contrary with a macho disdain for love. Cupid’s arrow is somewhere out of frame travelling towards his heart at 150mph. You can bet your bonnet on that.
The big excitement is the Sharmas, a South Asian family staying with Lady Danbury (the excellent Adjoa Andoh).
Kate (Simone Ashley) is beautiful, strong willed and hot-headed. She’s also outrageously unmarried and an old maid at the age of 26. Kate’s interest in the marriage market is exclusively for her little sister Edwina (Charithra Chandran). A mysterious family scandal is hinted at pointlessly for a couple of minutes then dissected loudly by gossips. Mum Mary Sharma married below her station and ran off to India. Kate is in fact Edwina’s stepsister, which for some absurd reason, is also scandalous.
Shonda Rhimes is known for colourblind casting. The first series of Bridgerton seemed a bit of a missed opportunity as black and minority ethnic characters were prominent but race was barely discussed or put into historical context. It’s refreshing here then that the Sharma’s long journey is referenced. There’s mention of the languages they speak, their home in Bombay and how they miss India “especially at teatime”.
Apparently, Lady Danbury, a woman of immaculate taste, only has PG Tips in the cupboard.
Unsurprisingly, the Queen grants lovely Edwina the title of Diamond of the Season (aka top totty), to “shake things up” by doing exactly what everyone expects. Anthony assumes he’s the fella who will sweep the Diamond off her feet. But Kate is set on Anthony, with that instant repulsion that will evolve into Austen style will-they-won’t-they romance.
But for all this, the returning character I want to spend more time with is Lady Whistledown. The long-anticipated return of her scandal sheet is exhilarating for the jaded aristocracy. This is the most exciting thing for me too. I’m here for Nicola Coughlan’s Penelope, who was the stand-out performance of the first series, long before the character’s secret identity was revealed. I love how she uses her Irish accent when she adopts the disguise of a servant dropping off her notes at the printers.
Penelope’s family here are scraping by (by the standards of their privileged class) after the death of patriarch and compulsive gambler Lord Archibald Featherington. We see them briefly in mourning dress then swiftly back to their trademark obnoxiously bright colours. They are in limbo awaiting the arrival of the new Lord, a distant cousin who has inherited Daddy’s title. There’s a mad rush to betroth all the girls so that Cousin Jack keeps his gentleman’s agreement to stump up their all-important dowry. No disgraceful old maids here! The reoccurring themes are of well-to-do families struggling without their main male breadwinner, in danger of destitution without the head of the family, however resourceful and hardworking the women are.
Speaking of female emancipation, it can’t be long before the lovely moments between Eloise (Claudia Jessie) and Penelope are gone forever. Penelope will eventually want to confide her Whistledown secret to her best friend, especially as she adapts her gossipy content to something more serious, pandering blatantly to Eloise’s forward-thinking interest in Mary Wollstonecraft and the rights of women. Eloise is very bright and will inevitably uncover the truth.
Still, just like poor Anthony’s prospects, the first couple of episodes are off-kilter and uncomfortable, with very little spark. I enjoyed Kate’s response to his locker room talk comparing the debutants to nothing more than breeding stock, but despite Simone Ashley’s plucky performance, the lustre is sorely lacking.
This season introduces the Sharma family from South Asia
It still looks very beautiful where it counts, with crystal chandeliers and flower arrangements so lavish they’d make Elton John blush. I loved the Queen’s sensational wig inspired by Mickey Mouse’s ears in the first episode, and I’m happy to report they only get more outlandish. The production design team pulls out the stops at the balls too and the fantastic classical music versions of pop songs (Madonna, Miley Cyrus and Nirvana to name a few) are perhaps even better than last series.
There’s some welcome levity in episode three with a croquet game where the motto among the gladiatorial Bridgertons seems to be “To the death!”. Kate and Anthony finally get down and dirty together, but not exactly in the way we want. Anthony says “I believe I underestimated you Miss Sharma”. Their frosty relationship is warming up and romance is around the next corner.
Is flirtatious courtship really all that stimulating? Are Bridgerton fans happy with anticipation or just desperate for climax? Do we fancy Anthony as much as the Duke? (Spoiler: we do not, but the writers giving him all the romantic appetites of a monk do him no favours).
Basically, are we here for the story or the shagging? I think it’s the latter, and series two is ghosting us. We’ve had it all last time around, so why so suddenly chaste? Is this some sort of tantric test with an orgy planned for the final episode? I wouldn’t blame you if you skipped ahead to find out.
