Bridgerton Season 2 premieres March 25th on Netflix.
By Ariba Bhuvad
Words cannot express the joy I felt when Netflix finally announced the return of Bridgerton. The series took the world by storm at the end of 2020 when it came into our lives in all its Regency-era glory. The star of the show, Regé-Jean Page, who played the Duke of Hastings melted our hearts with his British accent and easy on the eyes appearance. Sadly, the actor revealed last year that he would not be in the second season, and I’ll admit, that had me a bit worried going into the second season.
However, I am happy to report that while Page is missed immensely, Bridgerton continues to be as amazing and glorious as it was during its freshman season. There is no sophomore slump here, folks! This time around the show focused on the eldest Bridgerton sibling, Anthony (Jonathan Bailey), who hit the marriage market to find himself a sensible and suitable wife. His journey encompasses the plot of Season 2 but does so in a way that you once again find yourself committed to every single moment and character.
This season also brings us some new characters in the form of Kate Sharma (played by Simone Ashley) and Edwina Sharma (played by Charithra Chandran) who were my favorite part of the new episodes. As someone who comes from a South Asian background, my heart was overwhelmed with happiness to see two women who look like me on the screen. Moreso, I was smiling ear to ear as I watched two South Asian women dressed up in Regency-era outfits perusing the marriage market as distinguished, intelligent, and sophisticated members of the ton. I love what Shondaland has done with the series in regards to race! Everyone is assimilated into the ton and the story as if it was always that way, and it just fills my heart with absolute joy. South Asian characters are often portrayed in a stereotypical way, but Bridgerton has gone and above beyond to squash those stereotypes and give us strong South Asian characters.
Apart from this, the story continues to be as intoxicating and exciting as the first season. The Lady Whistledown shenanigans continue (with the wonderful Julie Andrews narrating the voice), and it’s done in a new, innovative way since we learned her identity at the end of last season. The series also dives further into the Bridgerton family’s past–if you’ve read the second book in Julia Quinn’s series, you’ll know exactly where it is headed.
All in all, the second season is a blast and definitely lives up to the hype of the first season. Shondaland and Netflix somehow found a way to give more life to the series and prevent it from hitting the infamous sophomore slump, ladies and gentlemen! I’m confident you all will enjoy it just as much as I did, and will find new characters to crush on (sorry, they are no Duke of Hastings) and adore.
Let the binge-watching begin!
I give Bridgerton season 2 an A.
TV and City 