‘Bridgerton’ Season 2 Divides Critics

Is Its Second Effort Well-Developed and Romantic or Just Boring?

‘Bridgerton’ is back and as popular as ever, but it’s unclear whether the second season is a “first diamond” or a glass of bland champagne. While the first season was full of sex, drama, and period-inaccurate costume design, the second season is much lighter. Instead, it opts for a slow-burning relationship between Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley) and Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey). While some praise the increased focus on character development and interpersonal relationships, others miss the cheesy, guilty entertainment they once knew and loved. The big question is whether the second season’s execution is actually good enough to justify its new tone.

Let’s start with what worked in this second season. Kate and Edwina Sharma (Charithra Chandran), a pair of feisty sisters whose on-screen chemistry, both with each other and with the relatively flabby Anthony Bridgerton, made for a much more compelling half of this season’s main storyline. The show also included significant South Asian representation, as the Sharma family hails from Bombay (in fact, Simone Ashely and Charithra Chandran are both Tamil)—a welcome source of praise. The Sharma sisters wore South Asian-inspired jewelry, spoke to each other in Tamil, and participated in a Haldi ceremony before Edwina’s wedding. While the first season featured an ethnically diverse cast, the representation wasn’t on the same level as this new season.

Some beloved aspects from the first season return, much to the delight of fans. The Bridgerton family’s wholesome interactions are rare when it comes to banter, but seeing the siblings dance together after no one else shows up to their ball is heartwarming and shows a softer side to Anthony. The lavish set design and costumes give viewers something to look forward to despite the lack of steamy scenes from last season. Many of the dances and parties the characters attend are set to covers of popular songs like Madonna’s “Material Girl” and Jatin-Lalit and Lata Mangeshkar’s “Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham.” The show’s aesthetic, a Regency-era England with pastel tones, remains intact. You can definitely tell how much money was invested in this show, with a reported budget of $7 million per episode.

But in my opinion, the biggest disappointment of this season was an aspect that many people actually enjoyed — the romance. While not all is bad, the premise is predictable: Kate’s sister is determined to find a husband for her sister Edwina to secure their family fortune. However, even though the wealthy and well-placed Anthony Bridgerton would make a good match, she is determined to keep the young couple apart because of Anthony’s poor reputation. And what’s more, while Kate and Anthony say they hate each other, their anger only seems to add to the obvious romantic tension between them. So what’s the problem?

The most disappointing thing is that Anthony Bridgerton is not a likable character. Like in the first season, he starts out as bossy, stubborn, slightly misogynistic, and inconsiderate. He has a list of nearly impossible standards for his future wife, never admitting his own faults. And worst of all, instead of resolving any of these issues himself and growing as a character, he only progresses further because of his relationship with Kate. The writers seem to think that her accepting him as a couple is a sign that she misjudged him or that he has changed, but to me, that’s not enough. Because Anthony is hard to root for, it’s hard to root for him and Kate to get together; some of their scenes together end up dragging. I appreciate the slow burn, but this scene is a bit too long. There’s only so many times I can watch two people gasp in each other’s faces without starting to get annoyed, and Kate and Anthony certainly reached that point.

Worse yet, while Kate and Anthony are busy lying about their feelings, the other characters lack drama. Last season’s subplots included a secret pregnancy, a mysterious gossip columnist, dirty artist parties, thrown-out boxing matches, and a duel to the death, among others. This season’s subplots lack any comparison, and many are simply continuations of plots we’ve already seen. “Bridgerton” feels like it’s completely changed its audience, going from a show you’d watch with your friends for laughs to a show you’d watch with your mom, and not in a good way. It’s clear that the intention is for the show to be taken seriously.