It's almost time for Bridgerton to sweep back into our lives in all its glory, but some of us could use a refresher on what happened in the addictive Netflix drama that premiered in Dec. 2020.
Each Bridgerton novel by Julia Quinn focuses on a different sibling's quest for love, but that means there's a whole lot of recurring characters rotating in and out of the periphery (including the youngest two Bridgertons, whom we are not ready to commit to memory). To keep things simple, we'll go by family, and we're only catching up with the Season 1 characters who play a significant role in Season 2.
Here's where everyone left off on Bridgerton.
We last saw the Bridgerton family gleefully welcoming eldest daughter Daphne’s (Phoebe Dynevor) son into the world. Now that she’s happily married to Duke Simon of Hastings and they ignored their communication issues and had a child, they’ll never have problems again! Regé-Jean Page will officially not be in Season 2, so if you’re planning to watch just for a glimpse of his Hotness, you’re setting yourself up for failure.
With Daphne settled, the focus has shifted to Eloise’s debut (Claudia Jesse) and Anthony’s (Jonathan Bailey) shocking decision to find a wife after things ended once and for all with Siena (Sabrina Bartlett). Anthony is an emotionally unavailable playboy who doesn’t believe in love, so everyone involved in this courtship has their work cut out for them.
Elsewhere, Benedict (Luke Thompson) grew increasingly interested in art (to say nothing of the attractive men teaching him about it) and Colin (Luke Newton) decided to travel the world after having his heart broken by Marina (Ruby Barker). Expect Colin to lean fully into his new persona as Guy Who Studied Abroad Once while Penelope grapples with her ongoing feelings for him.
Season 1’s biggest Featherington revelation by far was that none other than young Penelope (Nicola Coughlan) was the one behind Lady Whistledown. She’s kept this a secret from everyone until now, but Eloise was determined to learn Whistledown’s identity, even accusing fake French modiste Madam Delacroix (Kathryn Drysdale). If she wants to stay in the shadows, Lady Whistledown will have to get creative.
The Featheringtons also find themselves in a tight spot with no finances to speak of and no man of the house to bail them out. Lord Featherington (Ben Miller) ostensibly died off-screen in the Season 1 finale…but did he? And even if he did, will his financial mismanagement catch up with his wife and daughters?
Most of the ton does not matter in a show explicitly named after just the one family, but a handful of Season 1's key players are still in the mix.
Cressida Cowper (Jessica Madsen) came close to stealing the Duke from Daphne, and things didn't work out with the Prince so she's still very much in play. The queen herself gets more involved this season (probably because she's getting a spinoff), pouring herself into the social season to avoid the reality of her husband's deteriorating memory.
You don’t actually need a primer on Kate (Simone Ashley) and Edwina Sharma (Charithra Chandran), other than that they’re new to this scene, the talk of the town, and Ashley looks frankly out-of-this-world in teal Regency dresses. Everything else will be explained when Season 2 premieres.
Bridgerton returns to Netflix March 25.
