Friday, April 1, 2022

What I’m Watching: Bridgerton (Season Finale)

Bridgerton: Season 2, Episode 8 “The Viscount Who Loved Me” (B+)

It’s nice to see that Kate and Anthony were able to have a happy ending after all, even if it didn’t look that way given Anthony’s resistance to visiting and her initial dismissal of his proposal by saying she was heading back to India as soon as possible. Edwina was considerably more understanding than I might have imagined when she understood that Kate tried to suppress and rid herself of the feelings she had for Anthony, and Mary was warmly supportive of Kate when she said she didn’t deserve any happiness of her own. Queen Charlotte was quite understanding of the change in plans, and she was even ready to recommend another match for Edwina, eager to take credit for any romantic success and get the ton under control. Colin did manage to defend the honor of the Featherington family and get Jack to move up his planned departure, but he unfortunately said something he likely didn’t mean which Penelope overheard, and which won’t be easy to take back if he does ever finally see how much she cares for him. Eloise’s reaction to realizing that Penelope was Lady Whistledown was about as bad as it could have been, and it only got worse when Penelope called her out on never actually doing anything about the things she hated in the world. That falling out also seems to have sparked Penelope to only continue on with Lady Whistledown, potentially with a more pointed approach that could get her in trouble. The most biting betrayal that came in this finale was from Portia, who had led Jack on the whole time to think she was falling for him when in fact she was just concocting an exit strategy to force him out of her life and repair her family’s reputation in the process. This has been a great and engaging season, and I feel fortunate to have finished it right around the same time as everyone else rather than only getting into it much later like last year.

Season grade: B+
Season MVP: Simone Ashley as Kate

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