Everything to Remember from ‘Bridgerton’ Season 2

Season 2 heralds the arrival of Jack, who unfortunately turns out to be a con man. Portia (Polly Walker) fires him (and turns down several of his advances), ensuring her family’s financial stability and proving—despite her own misguided obsession with marrying off her daughter—that the Featheringtons don’t need a man to survive. Penelope’s family remains indifferent if not outright hostile toward her, but how will that change when she decides to actively seek a husband—especially if that husband is Colin Bridgerton?

Although they’re never the main characters, the Cowper family has always been on the periphery of “Bridgerton,” with daughter Cressida (Jessica Madsen) making everything from a snide remark to marital warfare when it comes to getting what she wants. Cressida and Penelope have been out for the same period, both intent on getting married and increasingly frustrated as others pair up around them—and despite Cressida’s antics, Penelope herself is a formidable foe as the brains behind Lady Whistledown. If the girls and their families come to blows in Season 3, it will truly be a spectacle this author can’t wait to see.

Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel) is as tired as anyone of being manipulated by the Bridgertons, but she ultimately gives Anthony her blessing, forgives Eloise, and chooses to accept even marriages she didn’t initiate. While her role likely won’t be much different than in previous seasons, Season 3 will be the first “Bridgerton” installment since the charming spinoff “Queen Charlotte,” with audiences getting a better look at the Queen’s formation as she dominates society.

Eloise took it upon herself to expose Lady Whistledown in Season 2, and it backfired spectacularly. The Queen began to suspect her, and Penelope then published an urgent Whistledown article about Eloise to prove her innocence. It was supposed to be the end of Whistledown for Penelope (she even ceremoniously threw her quill into the fire), but after Eloise found out and ended their friendship, Pen picked it up again, finding solace in her notoriety and her work once again.

It’s officially Bridgerton season, which means catching up on all the gossip in high society as the Netflix hit returns. Who’s fighting, who’s winning, who’s marrying, and who’s getting a wife? All of this and more will be important when the Shondaland series premieres on May 16, with Season 2 slated for June.

Season 3 will focus on the relationship between Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) and Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan)—a.k.a. Lady Whistledown, one of the minor complications in the pair’s journey from friends to lovers. Before that, let’s take a look back at some of the major plot points from Season 2 that could play a big role in Season 3… Scandal hit the Bridgerton family quite a bit in Season 2, between Anthony’s (Jonathan Bailey) broken engagement and Eloise’s (Claudia Jessie) encounter with a working-class boy. Colin emerged as an unlikely hero when he discovered Jack Featherington’s (Rupert Young) shady dealings, but he also loudly declared to his friends that he would never flirt with a girl like Penelope. The famous last words of an unknowing suitor… Related stories