Opinion - Bridgerton Season 2 (spoiler-y)

I loved the second season of Bridgerton as much as I loved the first season… if not more. It was entertaining, dramatic and I think the showrunners really met and delivered on the audience’s expectations relating to the heritage of the Sharma sisters.

Most would appreciate the authenticity and representation in this season - from the costume design and jewellery to the pre-wedding haldi ceremony and right down to the music with a strings cover of a much loved bollywood song. Also, the fact that Kate (Simone Ashley) is a strong lead with intransigence as strong as Anthony's (Jonathan Bailey) and fits in with the society immediately compared to a lot of shows who portray the Indian lead as 'different' or not necessarily revered in the same way. Kate did not have to prove herself in any way.

In terms of Kate and Anthony as a couple, I did not really gush over them as much as I found everyone else did. At least not until the final episode where they finally made solid steps towards acknowledging and accepting their feelings towards each other. I think that is partly because I felt their denial of their feeling for each other were slightly overboard and kind of outweighed any meaningful thing that they said to/about each other (prior to the final episode) - in addition to the fact that Anthony was engaged to Kate’s sister Edwina (Charithra Chandran).

I was quite focused on how oblivious Edwina was but I think, whether intentional or unintentional, it shed some light on her youth and naivety as a character and the way that marriage in those days can appear bizarre to us now when involving women as young as she was.

Eloise (Claudia Jessie) is a favourite of mine and I think it is very fitting that she is ignoring the social construct that is class boundaries with regards to relationships. Where most people were invested in the outcome of the love triangle between Kate, Anthony and Edwina, I was curious about Eloise and Theo Sharpe (Calam Lynch), as well as Eloise's determination to learn more about Lady Whistledown.

The discovery of Lady Whistledown's identity by Eloise was quite abrupt and I think the season would have benefitted from showing a bit more of the fallout from it considering it was a long-awaited development in the show. Particularly given the friendship between Eloise and Penelope (Nicola Coughlan).

However, in a way I assume it has left viewers equally eager to see what Eloise will do with the information that she now has.