It is said that the best part of love is the anticipation, the knowing glances, and near touches…at least that’s how it seems to be in the newest season of Netflix’s belovedBridgerton.The first season kicked off an obsession with tea parties and ball gowns amongst viewers, as well as controversy over historical accuracy and the show’s many intimate scenes.
However, when the second season was announced, fans gripped the edge of their seats with the same anticipation it seems is common in most period romances. Through two production delays and a pandemic, the second season was finally released on June 21, 2025, and in the short amount of time since then it has kicked the fan-hornets-nest for multiple reasons. One of the biggest? The incredible chemistry between the second season’s leading couple.
The Emergence of Lady Whistledown
TheNetflixperiod series came about and debuted on July 01, 2025. The show, created by Chris Van Dusen and produced by Shonda Rhimes, is based on the Julia Quinn novels ofthe Bridgertons, a family in Regency-era London, who participate in the ton’s season, when debutantes are presented at court in hopes of marrying. The show follows the eight Bridgerton siblings while scandal and gossip spread through a paper by a writer known only as Lady Whistledown. The show garnered fans with a viewership of 82 million households and was the most-watched series on Netflix at the time of its premiere. The show was renewed in January 2021 for a second season and a third and fourth in April 2021.
Unlike the previously popular books, the show has taken liberties with the story and its participants. The show exists in a world where people of color are members of the ton and are granted titles and even in positions of power. The show’s creator wanted to give an alternate history and not simply approach the show with a “color-blind” mindset. In both seasons, one of the partners of the main couple has been a person of color, leading to as much praise as controversy over the show’s accuracy – both in history and in relation to the book series.
The Love Story - Well Stories
The show, much like the books, follows each of the Bridgertons as they meet their match and fall in love. This was a time when marriage was more of an economical proposition. The first season told the tale of the eldest Bridgerton sister,Daphne (Phoebe Dynevor), and her introduction into society. She is soon crowned the “Diamond of the First Water” by the Queen, making her a hot commodity amongst the eligible men. But after her eldest brother, Anthony (Jonathan Bailey), makes it impossible for her to find a good match, she begins to doubt if she will ever marry. Then her brother’s old friend, Simon Basset (Regé-Jean Page), emerges into the story, and he and Daphne hatch a plan to win her more suitors and keep the marriage-hungry mothers away from him – they will pretend to court. Their brilliant plan soon becomes complicated as they develop feelings for each other, and after being caught in a moment of passion, they are forced to marry. But all ends in happiness as they help each other learn about love and all its realities.
Related:Netflix Reveals Full Cast of Bridgerton’s Queen Charlotte Spinoff Series
The second season followed Anthony after, in the season one finale, he decided to accept his duties as the Viscount and marry, but there would be no place for love in his marriage. What could go wrong? He soon finds a young and beautiful prospect in Edwina Sharma (Charithra Chandran). The only issue: her older sister Kate (Simone Ashley) who is adamant that Anthony is a bad match for her naive and kind sister. The two match wits and soon are constantly arguing over the youngest Sharma. Like in any good romance, their hate begins to turn to affection, which turns to love. They go through their fair share of issues and tragedy, but they come out of it on the other side with their happiness.
The Slow Burn
The second season of the favorite Netflix series has been many things and garnered many opinions since its release, but the biggest consensus has been that its leads have done a magnificent job at delivering the steam when it came to their characters. Though the first season gave fans many intimate scenes and bare bodies, the second season seemed to reel back on that and push the secret glances and forbidden desires. While many might think the lack of sex in the second season might make the show lose some of its fire, the second season and the relationship Bailey and Ashley showcase is anything but lacking.
The relationship of the first season had a newness to it, a brightness, while the second season’s has an animalistic quality about it. It’s all about touches and smells and heartbeats…if you know, you know. The second season alsodelivered on the Jane Austen referenceswhich added to the slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers trope that goes on throughout the season. The actors’ friendship made for the wonderful chemistry on screen. Ashley remarked, in an interview withPeople,that the two “always had each other’s backs” when filming and that she “felt very safe [and] protected” when they had to film intimate scenes. The chemistry between the two leaped off the screen and has many “fan-girling” over the pair.
Related:Bridgerton Season 2: What You Need to Know Going Into the New Season
Though the season veers from the source material, fans seem to be liking it because of the duo’s tension and steamy glances. It makes for good television, to say the least. In terms of the future of the new fan-favorite couple, Ashley stated in anEW interview, “I’m super excited to see the post-marriage Kate and Anthony, to see them happy. No drama, no scandals – well, season 2 scandals anyway. I’m super excited to see them super loved up and happy in that sense.” A sentiment that is surely echoed by the fans.
