FINISHED Bridgerton season 2 - Spoilers please!

[BiscuitLover3678]

Finally done woohoo!

Ooh I quite liked it. I actually wanted to Anthony in the end, ahem.

I actually felt really sorry for Pen and omg Colin how could you!

And Eloise going through all her stuff!

This article has just appeared:

apple.news/AVcGh1z9GRVeWSFcfbHGx-Q

on Bridgerton and the Problem With Color-Conscious Casting.

Interesting but really needed to be longer - and with contributions from the creators - to make its points more forcefully.

I LOVED this series. Way more than the first. The slow burn, lingering looks and Anthonys obsession with Kate seemed way hotter than the constant sex of S1 to me.

Never found Anthony that attractive in series 1 but series 2...phew! That line “Do you think that there is a corner of this Earth that you could travel to far away enough to free me from this torment ? I am a gentleman. My father raised me to act with honor, but that honor is hanging by a thread that grows more precarious with every moment I spend in your presence. You are the bane of my existence. And the object of all my desires." Beats "I burn for you" any day.

I thought the chemistry between Kate and Anthony was amazing. I saw an interview and the Anthony actor says from the moment they had their chemistry read through for an audition it was like BAM.

Another massive fan of this season. Rege-Jean Page's acting couldn't hold a candle to Jonathan Bailey's. As a pp said, he's a total joy to watch and his chemistry with Simone Ashley was off the charts. I needed a hose down in the garden after some of their scenes. Sheesh.

I read the books years ago and they are way way better than the tv show. Very different. The tv show is a period drama with a lot of sex, yet the books are romance focused and very intensely on the growth of two characters who are perfect for each other but can’t see it.

Examples of deviations

• There is no Queen mentioned in the books
• In the books, Lady Danbury is elderly and enjoys being rude/mischievous to everyone. I found the age 50s Danbury tv character annoying, she’s just there to explain the plot to people who can’t follow it.
• In the book, Edwina never wanted Anthony. She dutifully goes along with the courtship, but spots early on that he would be perfect for Kate and is thrilled when they get together (not least as this frees Edwina to find the quiet scholar she’s always wanted). I thought it was such a shame they changed Edwina in the show to make her fancy Anthony and be angry with Kate. This is another way that it stopped being a romance and became a drama.
• In the books, Kate is phobic about storms and they give her a kind of panic attack. This helps her and Anthony find common ground because he knows he is irrationally convinced he’s going to die young. Their phobias make them equal. Hers is also explained (childhood loss of parent, same as Anthony) and Anthony helps her get over it. This makes it much more ‘real’ thet they fall in love. In the tv show it’s hot as hell but they get together because they fancy each other, we don’t really see them fall in love on tv.

I’d encourage anyone to read the books but I think they will confuse fans of the tv series, it isn’t the same story at all.

I tried to read The Viscount Who Loved Me and I thought it was absolutely dreadful. The characters are completely one-note and the sex scenes are horribly patriarchal. One of the things I really like about the show is that the sex scenes focus on female pleasure. There's a scene in the book where Anthony basically sexually assaults Kate, but it's clearly meant to be a turn on? No thanks.

Yes @Neverreturntoathread exactly the reasons I hated it this series. Hated how they made Edwina and Kate fight over Anthony, ruined it for me.
They had loads of content they didn’t use, Kate’s phobia of storms for one. They also didn’t touch on the fact that Anthony never wanted to fall in love because he believed he’d die at 39 like his father did.
That could’ve explained so much.
I really hated it.
Benedict’s story is my favourite (controversial I know) and I really hope they don’t ruin it too much. He’s quite serious in the book and his character this series has been quite silly. His talent for art is quite hidden in the books, it’s something he and Sophie bond over.
I’m trying not to get annoyed as they’re not going to be exactly the same, which is a good thing. But the whole wedding to Edwina was too much, in the books she is more than happy to step aside as she has no feelings for Anthony.
I’m interested to see what people loved about it though, happy to be in the minority. Especially would like to know how many readers liked this series. The first book and series is much more similar, apart from the whole Prince diversion.
Francesca’s story is good, can’t wait to see who they get to play Michael.

I’ve read the book and I liked it for what it was - fluffy romance. I also really enjoyed the series. I’ve got no real issues with the changes that they made. I would have preferred it if they didn’t make it a proper love triangle but I was also fine with it. I thought that they did cover Anthony’a fear of dying, when he spoke with Violet he said he couldn’t do that to her. I think that the series has a slightly different trajectory because Anthony loved Siena last series so has also had his heart broken. Certainly the final episode of s1 made it seem that he loved her anyway. I think the Queen is fantastic addition and glad they’ve given her more this series. I also see Lady Danbury as ‘old’ - the stick and wisdom she imparts etc. Over on the War and Peace thread Tolstoy describes the women over 40 as old and the time periods are similar, though of course Quinn is writing a very different thing where those historical details are not quite as important.

I enjoyed season 2 more than season 1 as I thought the chemistry between Kate/Anthony was much more interesting than Daphne/Simon and the acting was better.
Some of the books are very poor but I do like the Kate/Anthony and the Francesca/Michael books. I think of the books they are the two favourites of a lot of people.
Although I enjoyed season 2, some of the changes from the book were just silly. There's no Edwina/Anthony engagement in the book. Edwina was out of character, the Queen was irritating and they've put in far, far too much extra Featherington stuff to pad it out.

I do like the Benedict actor and I quite like the modiste character although she's not in the book.

The actor playing Sir Phillip doesn't have much charisma so not sure if they are planning to stick with the books and marry him to Eloise.
One problem is that in the books about 8/9 years pass after K/A marry before the marriages of Colin, Eloise and Francesca all happen really close together. That time gap allows Colin and Pen to mature, Francesca to grow up, marry, be widowed young and remarry, and Eloise to be considered a spinster/old maid before she eventually marries.
So unless in the TV version they also allow some years to pass by, I am not sure how they will make things work. But they seem to be going further and further away from the books anyway.
In the books, even Benedict doesn't marry until K/A already have three children.
I don't mind them changing stuff but I will be Very Upset if they mess up Francesca/Michael (and they need someone bloody gorgeous for Michael!)

@PoleFairy

That line “Do you think that there is a corner of this Earth that you could travel to far away enough to free me from this torment ? I am a gentleman. My father raised me to act with honor, but that honor is hanging by a thread that grows more precarious with every moment I spend in your presence. You are the bane of my existence. And the object of all my desires." Beats "I burn for you" any day.

This is spot on and made me laugh a bit.

To be honest I felt it was a bit wordy. If I were her, I'd have been thinking, "Get on with it." Well, actually that is what I was thinking even as a viewer.

"I burn for you" is far more succinct!

@TheMadGardener is Francesca in the Netflix series? I thought the little girl was Hyacinth. Where is she??

Oh no I loved every word of it.

@merrymarigold she was meant to be. She appears at the end of season 1. She was meant to be in season 2 more but due to the delays in filming it clashed with filming a show she stars in so she just disappears with no explanation

Much proffered the books.But still enjoy the the show. Wish they didn't cut out so much of their character developing scenes

There is no Queen mentioned in the books

But the Queen is the point of the TV adaptation. I can hardly bear to imagine how much we would have missed if the writers had not created her exactly as she is.

Obviously there are differing opinions as to the effectiveness of this decision - as discussed in the article linked above - but I wonder if a strictly faithful adaptation would have been worth making …

A strictly faithful adaption would have been very short and a bit boring.

The books have very funny scenes between the brothers which are only touched on or missed in the tv series.

I like the addition of the queen.

I enjoyed it again in a ridiculous way. I thought the smouldering was done effectively. I tried one of the books but couldn't get on with the style at all.

Of course it's set in a parallel universe, but I do wonder:

Is the Queen the regent then? I don't really see how they could get through to season 3 or 4 and suddenly say "oh here's the appalling Prince Regent, he's been ruling the country and having OTT parties and dominating high society scandal all this time, we just never mentioned him"

Do the King and Queen not have any children then?

Who is the heir to the throne?

Is Britain at war? Is the war with Napoleon in the books?

Personally if I were doing a Regency high society series I'd have Prinny and all his awful brothers as ongoing supporting characters, introduce Princess Charlotte the heir to the throne and the Nations' Sweetheart briefly early on, kill her off at some suitable dramatic moment and then have the royal brothers' race for an heir in the background as comic relief for the rest of the show.

Do the King and Queen not have any children then?

Is Britain at war? Is the war with Napoleon in the books?

I think the Queen mentioned having 15 children at one point? Possibly in the first series. Her and King George had a convo over dinner in one of his lucid periods about one of their children (Amelia?) who had died (he'd forgotten she was dead).

I think it was also mentioned that Marina Thompson's George was off fighting Napoleon in France, so yes they must be at war.

I love the Queen btw. She's a great character and I'm really looking forward to her prequel.

Thanks @ermagerdabear, I haven't rewatched series 1. The absence of Prince George is a bit strange then. Is he the regent?

Isn’t he busy with mistresses? Is he the one who gets married illegally to a commoner? I may have made that up.

Yes George IV went through a non legal marriage ceremony to Maria Fitzherbert. He was then forced to marry Caroline of Brunswick, his first cousin. They hated each other and notoriously he locked her out of his coronation at Westminster Abbey.

Seems I’m the odd one out, I much preferred season 1!
I couldn’t really get into Kate and Anthony. I didn’t find their attraction very believable.

@Rainydays200

Seems I’m the odd one out, I much preferred season 1! I couldn’t really get into Kate and Anthony. I didn’t find their attraction very believable.

Me too!

Hated the storyline of season 2 & didn't really like A&K.

Eloise was really annoying!

I was so looking forward to this season, i liked it for what it was but im sad that they didnt have the full library scene where he looks after her. It was my favourite bit of the book and i really wanted to see it in action. And im sad they didnt have the bit about Anthony being convinced he would die. I also didnt like how they characterised Edwina it was all wrong! Or Eloise and Pen falling out or all the Featherington stuff

But

I love the Mr Darcy moment (wish hed taken his shirt off 😁)

The Queen is a great character

I liked how Marianna and Sir Philips have been introduced (even if its a little different)

Where Anthony rescued Kate i am a sucker for a damsel in distress moment

The bit where Kate got stung im glad they changed it i found it very cringe in the books

His face when he found out she was ok (i cried)

You are the bane of my existence

And the object of all my desires..."

Such a good line.