Dearest gentle viewer, season 2 of Bridgerton is practically abuzz, or should I say awash,
with scandalously hidden easter eggs and secret details you might have missed.
And this author has been honing her skills to reveal the most truly delectable morsels
to you.
Be forewarned: spoilers ahead!
There's a sneaky reference to author Julia Quinn, who wrote the Bridgerton novels, in
Anthony's list of potential brides to interview.
Among the names he's written in his notebook is Lady Julia, who's characterized as "a romantic"
and Miss Quinn, who he's noted down as "an exceptional writer";
both of whom, like the other ladies, are amusingly struck off the list by the incredibly exacting
viscount.
Bees have been buzzing around Bridgerton since the show began, and they're back this season,
and not just in flashbacks to Edmund's death.
At the races, Anthony claims to bet on a horse named Nectar as it's
Well-bred, highly trained, and well-favoured while Kate thinks he simply picked the same
horse as everyone else, but really it's another example of the show's persistent bee imagery.
Nectar is the sugary fluid plants produce that bees collect to make honey.
So, given the strong connection between the Bridgertons and bees, it's no wonder that
Anthony was subconsciously drawn to a horse by that name.
And, of course, Anthony's fear of bees is what leads to that scandalous situation with
Kate in both the show and books.
As well as that, nectar is associated with the idea of immortality as it's said to be
the drink of Greek and Roman gods, but in the books Anthony is convinced that he will
die at a young age just like his father.
This season, fans get to see one of their best-loved scenes from the books: the Bridgertons'
croquet-like game of pall-mall, which "is less about winning than making sure the other
players lose".
It is a poor player who plays the game, and a wise one who plays their opponent.
The TV show takes two different pall-mall matches from the novels and mashes them up
to create their own version of this fan-favourite moment.
While The Viscount Who Loved Me, the book this season's based on, has Kate intentionally
knocking Anthony's ball down the hill and into the lake, an epilogue that takes place
15 years later sees her deliberately create a muddy puddle with her tea in order to mess
up Anthony's game, only to end up covered in mud herself.
As in the books, Kate is the player who gets to wield the black mallet, nicknamed the 'mallet
of death' by the Bridgerton family.
The mallet of death.
Would you look at that, Brother?
But there's an interesting extra layer of meaning to this in the TV show as Anthony
calls the game to an end after Kate's mallet of death accidentally hits her ball over towards
Anthony's dead father's memorial stone.
Notice this painting in Lord Featherington's study of a shipwreck in progress which is
a nice hint to the state of the Featherington family and their finances in much of Season
2, as well as how terribly Jack's business ventures
went overseas in America, and it also foreshadows the disastrous outcome of his and Lady Featherington's
scheme to make money in London with fake rubies.
After revealing Penelope as Lady Whistledown to us at the end of last season, this season
we get to see exactly how she goes about running her society gossip business, including how
she masquerades as Lady W's maid to bargain with the printer of her scandal sheet.
Printers in this town are ten-a-penny.
But there's only one Lady Whistledown.
And the accent Penelope puts on as she pretends to be Whistledown's maid is a nod to actress
Nicola Coughlan's Irish roots.
Speaking of Penelope's secret outings, notice that the blue hooded cape she wears to disguise
her identity during her visits to the printer is a look that's mirrored on occasions by
Eloise when she visits the printers, for example, to try and uncover Lady W's identity in the
final episode.
Not only is that pale blue in total contrast to Penelope's usual style, enforced by her
mother, but it also emphasises Pen's close connection with Eloise, whose family's signature
colour is blue.
On top of that, that Eloise and Pen are dressed alike highlights the fact that in both the
books and the show, some characters believe Eloise is actually Lady Whistledown.
I know it is you.
Lady Whistledown herself.
There's a nice bit of foreshadowing during the ball the Bridgertons throw in the seventh
episode.
When no one turns up except the Sharmas, Anthony decides they should still make the best of
the evening.
There shall be dancing.
And as the two families dance together, they do so around the Bridgerton crest, whose Latin
motto means "Family Before All", a nice nod to the fact that these two families will actually
be united by the end of the series, after Kate and Anthony marry.
The tulips that Anthony brings Kate after she recovers are an interesting choice of
flower as last season his mother Violet told him that:
Tulips.
They symbolize passion.
Perhaps your bride would like the same.
That bouquet of tulips is also a hat-tip to the novels where Anthony plucks a tulip for
Kate from the Aubrey Hall gardens, which his mother has filled with them as they're one
of her favourite flowers.
Given the showrunner's love of the '90s BBC adaptation of Pride & Prejudice, it's hardly
surprising that, just like the Duke Simon in Season 1, this season's leading man Anthony
also gets a Mr Darcy-style scene when, after sharing a moment with Kate, he trips over
her dog and lands in the lake.
Refreshing indeed.
Come now.
It is not proper to stare.
The whole scene is also a hat-tip to the Bridgerton books where Newton accidentally knocks Edwina
into a lake and Anthony wades in to help her out.
Oh, and, Anthony gets a bonus Mr Darcy moment when, like the Pride & Prejudice star,
I shall conquer this. he works out his troubles about his leading
lady during a fencing match.
It is time for me to secure my final victory for the day.
Bridgerton's trip to the Royal Races channels the mid-60s movie musical My Fair Lady.
The way Kate's excitement at seeing the horses fly by breaks through her usually very controlled
demeanour Come now, High Flyer!
Steady!
[whistles loudly] Should we separate them?
It's all in good spirit. is a homage to how Cockney flower seller Eliza
Doolittle reacts at the racecourse: Come on Dover, move your blooming a!*$!
That kind of behaviour also gets Prudence Featherington rebuked by her mother:
Stop hollering like a newsboy.
At the start of the season, Kate's appearance reflects both her uncompromising character
and the pressure of ensuring her younger sister makes a good marriage match for herself and
to save the family from ruin.
So, generally, she has a more buttoned-up look, her outfits are very structured and
made of heavier fabric such as silk taffeta, and her hair is more controlled in contrast
to her slightly lighter and freer look as she opens up and relaxes more as the season
progresses.
Costume designer Sophie Canale has said she took cues from India for some of the Sharmas'
outfits, from colours and prints to jewellery design.
Compared to the more demure Edwina, who favours softer, paler outfits, Kate's clothes are
much bolder in colour, reflecting her personality and tendency to speak her mind.
Anthony's sideburns were trimmed down this season to signal how he's changed since his
rakish days in Season 1 and is taking a more mature view of his role as viscount with all
its responsibilities including his search for a wife.
For Penelope's gown at the Diamond Ball, the show's designers have said they channelled
princess of pop Kylie Minogue's showgirl look from her Greatest Hits/Homecoming tour.
Like Kylie's outfit, Penelope's shimmering dress has a wealth of stars across the torso
and there are even more in her hair.
While Pen's costume is in her signature yellow, rather than blue like Kylie's, curiously in
the moonlight, some of the stars on Pen's dress do actually look blue!
Just as each of the show's families has their own distinctive colours for their costumes,
the same is true of their houses.
Check out the Bridgertons' home and you'll see that the palette of blues, silvers, and
pastels in their outfits is also reflected throughout their house, from the sofas and
chairs to the rugs, curtains, ornaments, tea sets, much of the clothing in various portraits,
the fireplace, and even the family carriage!
When it comes to the Featheringtons, their ostentatious fashion choices are all about
standing out Look at me, everyone!
and so is their home, with its emphasis on lots and lots of gold, and that includes their
social gatherings.
Gold flowers, gold drinks, gold everywhere.
And their home also features rich greens and plenty of citrus tones, especially yellows.
Then there's Lady Danbury's house which complements both her own style and her guests, the Sharmas,
with shades of pink, peach, and gold.
Season 2 finds Eloise settled in her sister Daphne's old bedroom.
So, there's plenty of books, as she's much more interested in literature than the marriage
mart; Might I go and read now?
And you'll also spot a portrait of Mary Wollstonecraft, whose early feminist works Eloise has been
reading, preferring them to Whistledown's gossip:
My own sex, I hope, will excuse me if I treat them like rational creatures, instead of flattering
their fascinating graces.
Wollstonecraft.
Despite her protests, Eloise begins the season trussed up to make her society debut, but
she still manages to maintain a sense of her more rebellious nature in her everyday attire.
We often see her in striped or checked patterns as well as waistcoats and spencer jackets,
giving her costumes a more "masculine" twist, according to the show's designer.
There's a sneaky little meta-joke hidden among Lady Whistledown's Society Papers when the
queen of gossip takes a moment off from reporting the ton's tittle-tattle to write a book review.
When Lady W describes the difference between the author's previous books compared to his
latest, it's almost as if she's describing the difference between the two seasons of
Bridgerton itself.
So, Season 1 was more elusive and subtle, leaving viewers "constantly guessing" Whistledown's
identity.
However, with that already unveiled to the audience, in Season 2 there's considerably
"less guessing and more waiting for the other characters to become aware of the events"
that we already know!
Well that would explain the ink all over her fingers.
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So, what did you think of season 2 of Bridgerton?
And did you notice any little details or easter eggs?
Leave your comments below!
Next, tap left to discover all the clues and secret bees you missed the first time around
in Season 1.
And if you enjoyed this video, do leave a thumbs-up and share it with your friends,
I really appreciate it.
Thanks for enjoying this show with me and hope you have a marvellous movie-loving week!
Yippee-ki-yay, movie lovers!