SPOILERS AHEAD DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVE NOT WATCHED BOTH SEASONS!

Dearest Gentle Reader,

We were graced with the presence of the favorited, Emmy-nominated Netflix show, Bridgerton’s, second season last Friday, March 25, 2022. Like that of the Duchess Daphne Bridgerton, the Netflix show’s success of the first season was something to be commemorated to be sure; however, it made the people of the “ton” and the viewers at home wonder what would be in store for this (social) season and whether or not it could live up to its predecessor.

The second season veered away from the lives of the newlyweds’ Duchess, Daphne Bridgerton and Duke, Simon Bassett, and focused on the Viscount, Anthony Bridgerton, and his interest in finding a wife during this social season. With the introduction of the new season came the introduction of new characters: Mary, Edwina, and Kate Sharma, hosted by my favorite character, Lady Danbury, who all played crucial roles in the life of the Viscount and his attempts to find a wife. 

This season had its hooks in me the second Eloise Bridgerton walked out in a white dress and feathered hat to meet the Queen of England. But I knew this season would be one to remember the moment Eloise’s presentation was interrupted by the distribution of gossip sheets written by none other than Lady Whistledown, claiming that she had taken time away to “sharpen her knives.” 

It was the Queen’s goal the entire season to unearth her “diamond of the season” and the real name of Lady Whistledown. I think that the true person behind that “Pen” name has had an incredibly difficult two seasons and it was evident in her attempts to keep up with her schemes. The number of times that our Lady Whistledown was almost caught, then actually caught, was astounding to me as a viewer. I wondered how she could continue this ruse with her sloppy and inconsiderate actions. These actions even impacted the lives of her closest friend, Eloise, and intentionally brought her friend inches from “social ruin”. 

These types of behaviors did not stop with Lady Whistledown, in fact, I believe I could not count how many times Viscount Bridgerton and Miss Kate Sharma made choices of a similar sort. Every single time these two attempted to help their family, it would produce fatalistic events, continuously pushing them further away from each other. Their infuriating actions were indeed so fatalistic that they almost “ruined” both families because they would rather bring shame upon their families than accept that they both deserve happiness and love. 

Although their decisions regarding their family made me question their judgment, nothing made me question their sanity (and mine) like the decisions they made regarding their relationship. Their decisions and lack of any true action vexed me to no end.  I could not stand the slow burn storyline. The slow burn is a trope that most romantic genre lovers particularly favor. I, on the other hand, have a low patience tolerance and have an issue when these choices are blatant enough to reveal that the writer just wants to create drama or a longer story. I think we were most fortunate enough to have the slow burn be incredibly entertaining and with just surface-level connections. These slow-burning moments revealed intimate details about the lives of the Viscount and Miss Kate. The connections that these two main characters shared continued my interest to see where they would end up at the end of the season.

What really threw me for a loop was that the Viscount decided to go through with the wedding to Miss Edwina despite the intense, romantic emotions he had felt towards Miss Kate. I was grateful Miss Edwina was the one to discover the deception of her sister and her fiance but I disliked the days that followed. Edwina acted as though Kate and Anthony did not have the best intentions for hiding their true feelings. They wanted to save Edwina from social ruin but in doing so they lied to her. I thought she was acting immature and only seeing the situation in black and white. Her immaturity stopped Anthony and Kate from being together, adding yet another obstacle. You can say a lot about the writers of the beloved show, but you cannot say they are not torturous. They have a tendency to torment the viewers through the actions of their characters. 

The scene that I cannot ignore has to be the one with the famous line “You are the bane of my existence.” This scene has won over the hearts of die-hard Bridgerton fans and has been compared to the famous line from the first season “I burn for you.” I was a bit captivated by this scene as well. The unchaperoned characters were yelling back and forth at each other, with no true line of reasoning, of course, only to have it finally revealed: they have had romantic feelings for each other the whole time. The actors’ chemistry was breathtaking (apparently it was for the actors as well). 

The season’s ending was climatic, to say the least. Lady Whistledown’s cover was blown by her best friend producing a result that, I am sorry to say, Whistledown had it coming. I am excited to see Season 3 but until then the first two seasons will continue to be rewatched. I will be reading the reviews and watching the content produced by avid fans, for one cannot be expected to sit and wait quietly.

Yours Truly,

Grace Rivera