Bring your carriage around and fetch your dress from the modiste, because Bridgerton Season 2 is finally almost here! Based on the hit romance novel series by Julia Quinn, Bridgerton tells the story of the Bridgerton siblings as they navigate the drama and intrigue of Regency-era London high society. Season one, which largely focused on eldest daughter Daphne Bridgerton, held lots of twists and turns. It was a smash hit, but it was also released way back in December of 2020—which feels so long ago, dinosaurs may have still roamed the Earth. So, if you don’t remember every last detail of season one (ahead of season two’s Friday, March 25th premiere!), we’ve got you covered! Read on for a full recap of season one and everything you’ll need to know going into season two.
The Duke and the Diamond
The most tumultuous story in the ton was the love story between Daphne Bridgerton and Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings. Season one opens at the beginning of the London social season, with Daphne making her debut (and beginning her search for a husband). Queen Charlotte and the rest of the London aristocracy are blown away by Daphne’s beauty and grace, and the mysterious Lady Whistledown, author of the most popular gossip broadsheet around, proclaims her the Diamond of the Season.
But trouble was brewing behind the scenes! For reasons that still aren’t 100% clear, Daphne’s brother Anthony, flexing his power as the head of the family, drives away all of Daphne’s even remotely desirable suitors until Daphne and her mother begin to wonder if the diamond will end up tossed aside like a lump of coal.
Luckily, the fiercely handsome and highly desirable Simon has come to town, declaring that he’ll never get married. Together, he and Daphne hatch a plan: they’ll pretend to fall in love, making Daphne a desirable catch again, and as a bonus, this will discourage the ladies from pestering Simon. (Why would this idea have opposite effects for each of them? Shh. Have some more petit fours and don’t worry about it.)
The best thing about these kinds of plans is that they never lead to the couple accidentally falling in love for real. OH, WAIT, THEY DO ALL THE TIME. Simon and Daphne end up falling for each other—especially after Simon realizes that he’ll lose her to a Prussian prince if he doesn’t act—and after some brief logistical problems stemming from a pissed off Queen Charlotte (the prince was her nephew, see), they get married. The end!
Wait, no, there’s more! Simon had a rough childhood with an ableist, abusive father who spurned him because he had a stutter, and the reason he vowed never to get married was so that he could get back at his father by not producing an heir. Now that he’s married to the kindest, smartest, and hottest lady in England, though, he’s got a problem: they’re both horny and married, and that situation tends to lead to babies.
Good thing Daphne doesn’t know how babies are made! For a while, Simon fools her by pulling out every time they have sex (and they have sex a LOT, in a lot of different places and a lot of different positions), but she eventually finds out what’s happening. In one of the darker moments of the season, she assaults him by forcing him to ejaculate inside her, and they resolve never to speak to each other again. In the season finale, though, Daphne finds out about his childhood, they forgive each other, and then they give birth to a son named Simon’s-Chance-To-Be-A-Better-Dad Basset, future duke of There’re-Gonna-Be-Some-Changes-Around-Here Hastings.
The Featherington Brood
Oh, the Featheringtons. So flawed! So lovable! So brightly colored! Baroness Portia Featherington has three daughters all debuting at the same time, and the tricky task of finding them all husbands is compounded when Marina, their cousin, comes to stay with them. Marina is in love with a soldier named George, and she spends her days anxiously awaiting his letters. Portia has some doubts about this George fellow, though, since Marina never receives anything in return.
When Marina reveals that George got her pregnant before leaving to fight in Spain, Portia decides that he’s probably abandoned her. She tries to marry Marina off to anyone who’s bad enough at math to realize that he’s not the father of her eventual baby, and after a couple of failed prospects, Marina settles on the sweet and gullible Colin Bridgerton.
The only problem? I mean, aside from the overall horribleness of Marina and Portia’s plan? Penelope Featherington is in love with Colin, and she can’t bear to see him used and hurt this way. Just when it looks like Marina and Colin are going to seal the deal, Lady Whistledown announces Marina’s illegitimate pregnancy in her broadsheet. How did Lady Whistledown know? Because it’s Penelope! Penelope is Lady Whistledown! Those of us with sharp eyes caught on early in the season, but it’s okay if you didn’t find out until the very end, when her identity is revealed to the audience.
In any case, George’s brother Phillip arrives, tells Marina that George died in battle, and offers to marry Marina himself. Marina doesn’t love him, but she knows that the arrangement will secure a comfortable life for her, so she agrees. Meanwhile, Portia finds out that her husband has gambled away all of the Featherington’s savings, ruining the family. Oh, and he’s also been murdered.
Eloise Bridgerton, Private Eye
Of course, the question on everyone’s mind in the ton is who is Lady Whistledown? Eloise, Daphne’s younger sister, decides she’s going to find out. Penelope is her bestie and tries to be a good sport by going along with Eloise’s efforts, even though she doesn’t want Whistledown’s identity to be revealed, for obvious reasons. The two of them spend the season creeping around London, looking for clues and trying to figure out how sex works.
But there’s another problem lurking on the horizon for Eloise: her own upcoming debut. Eloise doesn’t want the life that Daphne has. She’s a free spirit who wants to pursue a life of the mind, but that kind of lifestyle is a big no-no for women in Regency-era England. The end of season one finds Eloise reluctantly preparing for her debut and causing a ruckus by accusing the wrong person of being Whistledown.
Queen Charlotte, Who Deals With a Lot
On the surface, Queen Charlotte seems pretty prickly. She’s obsessed with sniffing out the identity of Lady Whistledown, and demands that Eloise report to her the moment she figures it out … until she gets impatient, that is, and decides that she’s just going to have Lady Whistledown apprehended when Whistledown goes to drop off her latest broadsheet at the printer. This leads Eloise to run to Whistledown/Penelope’s rescue, yelling out a warning before the royal guards can stop her carriage.
Deep down, though, Charlotte deals with plenty of drama of her own. Her husband King George, whom she used to love, is descending deeper into dementia, and Charlotte struggles to keep up appearances while dealing with her grief at his decline. Plus, Charlotte’s ascension to queen paved the way for other people of color to enter the nobility, so she carries a lot on her shoulders.
The Brothers Bridgerton
Lady Bridgerton has a lot of kids, and three of the boys—Anthony, Benedict, and Colin—are all grown up and navigating the ton on their own. Colin is understandably stunned by Marina’s deception, and at the end of season one, he decides that he’s going to leave London and travel the world. This, of course, leaves Penelope heartbroken, since she’s come tantalizingly close to professing her love for him (and they would make such a cute couple!).
Benedict, second in the Bridgerton line of succession, is an artist who has no interest in leading the family, and he has a brief scare when Anthony tells him he might flee London after a duel with Simon over Daphne’s honor, and leave the Viscount title to Benedict.
Meanwhile, Anthony himself spends the season secretly seeing Siena, an opera singer whom he can’t marry because society sucks. At the end of the season, Siena dumps him for good.
What Will Season 2 Hold?
There are eight Bridgerton siblings, and according to showrunner Shonda Rhimes, there will hopefully also be eight seasons, each one focusing on a different sibling like the book series the show is based on.
Season two, based on the novel The Viscount Who Loved Me, will focus on Anthony, presumably reeling after his breakup with Siena. Anthony will try to find new love in Season two, bagging himself a fiancée with an overprotective big sister. Will Anthony get a taste of his own medicine after throwing so many wrenches in Daphne’s search for a suitor? Will he maybe pull the stick out of his butt and relax a little? (I mean, yes, being a Viscount is no doubt hard, but this guy. Come on.)
Of course, many of Season one’s characters are returning (although, alas, not Regé-Jean Page as Simon), and they’ll no doubt bring their drama with them. How will Penelope keep her alter ego secret from her friends and family? How will Eloise deal with being a debutante who doesn’t actually want a husband? What’s to become of the Featherington women? And will we get any more steamy sex scenes!?
What burning questions do you have going into Season two? Let us know in the comments!
(image: Netflix)
