By Karis Fields
Photo: InStyle – Source
Dearest gentle reader, it has been well over a year since season one of the hit Regency period drama Bridgerton graced our screens. Season two was released on Netflix on March 25 of this year. The show is entirely based off of the book series of the same name by author Julia Quinn, each season of the show being based on a particular book from the series.
Season one followed eldest Bridgerton daughter Daphne (Phoebe Dynevor) as she made her debut onto the marriage market in hopes of finding a love match just as perfect as the one her mother and father shared. The first season also follows Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings (Regé-Jean Page), the ever desirable bachelor among not only the young women participating in the social season but among their ravenous mamas as well. Daphne enlists Simon to pretend to be courting her so more suitors come her way and the other debutantes leave Simon alone. As with most stories that follow the trope of fake dating, this one results in the two developing actual feelings for one another and, well, you could probably guess what happens next.
By the start of season two, it is evident that Daphne is not the focal point of the season. Instead, the Bridgerton spotlight shines on eldest brother and viscount Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) who, at the end of season one, shares his intent of finding a viscountess during the next social season. Anthony’s search for his viscountess, however, is not a search motivated by love. Season one also left the eldest Bridgerton heartbroken over his affair with the local opera singer. He’s simply doing it as part of his responsibility, vowing to remove love from the equation. At the beginning of the social season, Anthony becomes interested in courting the season’s diamond Edwina Sharma (Charithra Chandran). Though, his attempts in courting Edwina become rather difficult when Edwina’s elder sister Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley) enters the picture. Kate, much like Anthony, holds most of the responsibility in her family, wanting what she sees as best for her little sister. Kate entirely disapproves of Anthony while Anthony is completely vexed by Kate. It seems the two have met their match. This then leads to a slow burn enemies-to-lovers storyline between the two.
Many fans of the show have heavily critiqued this season due in part to its lack of sex scenes, claiming that this has made the season a slow follow for viewers. Almost every episode in season one of Bridgerton included a sexual scene of some sort. Whether audiences saw Anthony messing around with the opera singer, one of the Bridgerton brothers participating in an artist occupied orgy, Daphne masturbating over the thought of Simon, or when Daphne and Simon first have sex, season one was absolutely filled with scenes that made audiences, to put in simpler terms, horny.
The closest thing viewers get to a sex scene in episode one of season two is actually at the end of one of Anthony’s sexual escapades. We see a naked Anthony Bridgerton under candlelight (as well as his bare ass at one point). Not one character is shown actually having sex this season until episode seven when Anthony and Kate finally give into their I-hate-you-so-much-that-I-want-you desires. They make out, order each other around while doing so, strip down, then Anthony fingers and performs oral sex on Kate. The next, and final, sex scene of the season happens with about seven minutes of the last episode left after Anthony and Kate have married one another, though we don’t really see much from this sex scene and it’s interrupted by the Bridgerton family waiting for them downstairs.
Now, at surface level, it can be easy to say that season two of Bridgerton is far less sexual than season one. Daphne and Simon’s sexcapades alone support this claim. What with them having sex at an inn, somewhat in public, on a staircase, on a desk, in the rain, and etc. However, when looking deeper at season two, it can be argued that it’s just as, if not more, sexual than its predecessor.
For starters, the love story shown this season is both slow burn and enemies-to-lovers. The beautiful and very convenient thing about slow burn romances is that the anticipation and waiting alone are what make these types of stories so much more enticing. Additionally, with the inclusion of enemies-to-lovers, there’s nothing that turns people on more than witnessing the sexual tension between two people who want nothing to do with one another upon their first interactions and then eventually watching as their desires blossom over time.
The sexual tension that both of these tropes provide is what makes season two that much more sexual than season one. From longing glances to grazing hands, the lack of physical sex this season works considering its plot and main romance this season.
As for next season, not much is known yet except that season three of the drama is said to focus on Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson) and his search for love. Though Benedict is not in the books, many fans speculate that his character in the show is bisexual and hope that his sexuality is explored more next season. Fans also hope that Benedict’s season holds the first place spot for sexiest Bridgerton season due to Benedict’s experiences in the past two seasons.
In the meantime, that trophy remains with season two and the viscount.