Bridgerton Season 2 Tries to Add Substance to Its Fashion: Assessment
The Pitch: When it premiered in December 2020, Netflix’s Bridgerton supplied loads of steamy romance and escapism, each of which have been in brief provide because the world ready to enter the second yr of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Season 1 of the luxurious interval drama, tailored from Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton ebook collection, adopted Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor) and Simon Basset (Regé-Jean Web page), the reluctant Duke of Hastings, as they went from co-conspirators to marrieds, setting Regency-era London ablaze. Their exploits, and people of the remainder of the ton, have been chronicled by the acerbic (and nameless) Woman Whistledown, whose affect at occasions rivaled that of the Queen (Golda Rosheuvel).
The second season follows the custom of Quinn’s books and shifts the main target to a unique Bridgerton: this time, Anthony (Jonathan Bailey), who’s additionally ambivalent about his position as Viscount. After we final noticed Anthony, he appeared fairly disillusioned by love, however the brand new arrival of Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley) and her sister Edwina (Charithra Chandran) is certain to vary that.
There’s little question that Bridgerton may have many followers swooning once more; the actual query is, can some new faces and storylines convey higher thematic heft to the collection, which has at all times prized model over substance?
Pleasure And Prejudice and Delayed Gratification: Bridgerton has by no means shied away from the Jane Austen comparisons, however the brand new episodes make way more pointed reference to the British writer’s works — particularly, Pleasure And Prejudice. (The Season 2 trailer even prominently incorporates a recreation of the well-known “dripping Mr. Darcy” scene from the 1995 BBC One adaptation.)
Each Anthony and Kate are proud and pushed by their preconceptions of one another, which results in some spirited debate, adopted by one other spherical of spirited debate (sadly, that’s not a euphemism for something). The brand new season reveals the identical restraint that Austen did in writing a romance, which suggests there are many jaws clenched with need, heaving bosoms, sharp intakes of breath, and longing seems, however little, ah, consummation.
Manufacturing on Season 2 was shut down a number of occasions by COVID, which seemingly restricted the bodily intimacy on display screen — that was definitely the accountable resolution, although it does take a variety of the enjoyable out of a present like Bridgerton, which has at all times provided extra titillation than really sweeping romance.