Bridgerton season 2 came, we saw, and it conquered our hearts once again. Despite the lack of as many steamy scenes as we got between the Duke (Simon Basset played by Regé-Jean Page) and Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor) in the first season, the palpable chemistry and slow-burn romance between Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) and Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley) carried the second installment of the show.

In addition to another love story, we also got to see the female characters of the ton continue to reclaim their agency in an otherwise patriarchal world throughout the season. Racial equality has been achieved, but this revisionist Regency-era London is still pretty divided when it comes to gender and wealth parity. From Kate indulging in premarital sex, Edwina breaking off state-endorsed nuptials, to questioning the very place of unmarried women in society – the ladies are raising hell this season. Marriage may still be the end goal, but these women can choose between love and practicality. Some (like Genevieve Delacroix and Penelope Featherington) even get to work on their non-marital legacies.

How the Women of the Ton Are Reclaiming Their Agency

The Queen - Bridgerton season 2
Netflix

Because of King George and Queen Charlotte’s union (a story that is getting its own spin-off on Netflix), the high society of this series is dotted with people of all kinds of ethnicity. King George’s (played by James Fleet) historical counterpart was the so-called "Mad King." Here, he is portrayed to have an illness akin to dementia. In the light of his absence, Queen Charlotte takes on the role of the grand matriarch of all and sundry. But she doesn’t spend her time inflicting war or unreasonably high taxes on her subjects. Instead, she gets busy every social season looking for the next great love story of the ton. This is, after all, an escapist fantasy, not a lesson in harsh reality.

Much like our Queen, we have the formidable Lady Danbury (Adjoa Andoh) and Violet Bridgerton (Ruth Gemmell) teaming up once more to defy the rules of society to help two young lovebirds find their way to each other. In a world preoccupied with social status and wealth, Lady Danbury and Violet Bridgerton’s allegiance to love above all else is revolutionary in its own way.

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While the Queen’s search for the Diamond of the First Water ends up reducing the young debutantes to mere appearances, her imaginary opponent Lady Whistledown takes every opportunity to call her out. Of course, we know that Lady Whistledown is none but the nom de plume of Penelope, who is defying more than one social norm to live her double life as a writer and businesswoman. This season Penelope is reporting on more than just gossip; she is also pivoting to social commentary. Through Lady Whistledown, Penelope questions the very institution of marriage and how it is tangled up with a woman’s very identity. Her sentiments are echoed by Eloise as well as Kate.

Eloise is our budding feminist who ends up following in the footsteps of Lady Sybil Crawley (from everyone’s other favourite British period drama Downton Abbey). She stumbles upon underground feminist spaces and ends up consorting with the printer’s assistant. All of this leads to her getting labelled as a burgeoning radical element.

The Sharmas and Viscountess Who Loved Her Tea, Consistently

Simone-Ashley-Kate-Sharma-Bridgerton
Netflix

This season’s leading maiden, Kate Sharma, is every bit the tradition-denouncing, masala chai-loving (spiced milk tea) rebel icon. She is the Shakespearan shrew who doesn’t get tamed but does the taming (of the raging stick-up-his-arse Anthony). In his obstinate pursuit of duty, Anthony views marriage as merely transactional. His stubbornness also makes him seem misogynistic, a point not missed by Kate, who actively tries to resist his advances toward her sister and herself.

Kate’s sister Edwina (Charithra Chandran) may be the more amiable one, but she has a mind of her own, too. Her attraction to Anthony blinkers her vision, so much so that she becomes the only one who cannot see the sizzling chemistry between Anthony and Kate. But once she does see it, she has a very human reaction and displays her anger appropriately. In this regard, Shondaland manages to subvert the trope of the “nice girl” who always steps aside and lets her tormentors off the hook.

Mary Sheffield Sharma, mother of the Sharma sisters, also rebelled against societal norms back in her day for love. She married beneath her station to a widower with a child (Kate) from a previous marriage. She moved with him to India (we aren’t told if it was still being occupied by the imperialist East India Co., of course).

Mixed Bag of Heritage

Haldi Ceremony in Bridgerton Season 2
Netflix

Despite being nonconformists, most of the ladies of the ton enjoy social access and privilege due to their connection to nobility. The Sharmas, in particular, technically belong to upper caste North Indian clans. The concept of caste may baffle the world (and any sensible Indian), but back in India, belonging to a lower caste with aspirations of upward mobility can get one lynched, even in modern times. Even though people from many other regions have adopted these surnames now, the older associations still remain.

Further, the Sharmas of Bridgerton are shown to be from Bombay (which is in western India), and the actors who portray them on-screen call their father 'appa' and have Tamil roots (who belong to the south of India). Edwina calls Kate ‘didi’ (a term for elder sister in east, west, and north India), and Kate calls Edwina ‘bon’ (a term of affection for younger sister in mostly eastern India). Even though they pronounce ‘bon’ more like ‘John’ due to their very British accents, ‘bon’ in the Bengali language sounds more like ‘bone.’ Kate proudly declares Edwina is adept at speaking French, Latin, Greek, Marathi, and Hindustani (Hindi and Urdu). Tamil is not even mentioned. So their heritage is all very hodgepodge, very deliberately done so.

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It's almost as if to say that the Sharmas owe it to no one to represent Indian culture and identity with absolute accuracy. As it is, Indian identity contains multitudes. One person (even three) cannot and should not have to shoulder the burden of representing the heritage of more than a billion-strong population, most definitely not in a show that is not about the history but all about the chemistry anyway. Bridgerton does not even try beyond validating our obsession with a well-made cup of masala chai (not the makeshift way Kate resorts to concocting it, of course), and that is just alright. And for that, the entire cast of Bridgerton deserves proper Indian tea, the one made by simmering a whole pot of full cream milk with cardamom, clove, cinnamon, ginger, and actual loose-leaf teas of the finest variety.