Well, well - I have to admit I am one of the many (?) who just inhaled the Bridgerton 1 season. Short nights, red eyes, imbroglio in my head, not even meditating helped to distance myself from Daphne, Simon, Pen, Eloise and the rest of the ton. This is not to say that I loooved every scene. Even I have found some of the dialogue and the depictions hard to believe - but overall I was in the magic and dreaming of those pastel colors, poetic lines, the wit of Miss Danbury, Eloise and Pen, the breath taking landscapes and the opulent costumes, the very credible acting off all the actors. It was a joy for the eye even if in parts a bit too much.
Now comes season 2. I could hardly wait for it. Boooom, it is here! Well, even the trailer did not wake the interest I was prepared for. Again some intense watching but not the same addiction as for season 1. Why? I keep asking myself what I was missing or what I would have wanted to see.
I have read some of the originating novels by Julia Quinn and there is some kind of continuation in the style: kitschy, some mind-contorting-in-order-to-imagine-them scenes, extremely romantic and detailed love scenes, 19th century language. So, I read the story of Anthony and Kate and of course I had some expectations: romantic, some "attraction is in the air" feeling, genuine inner conflict between duty and love. And the new Bridgerton is failing at this "attraction is in the air" poorly. I find although both Anthony (Jonathan Bailey) and Kate (Simone Ashley) are gorgeous and playing greatly, this time the director was asking too much of I-cannot-love-truly-I-have-a-duty-and-I-am-angry-without-being-able-to-admit-it of Anthony and I-do-not-exist-outside-my-duty-of-older-sister for Kate. In this context I could not believe there was indeed attraction and then love developing between them. There is no chemistry between Anthony and Kate, the dialogues lack the sparkle from the first series and seem even meaningless at some points.
Thanks to Lady Featherington - wonderfully played by Polly Walker - who has some surprising and fun scenes for saving the otherwise too plain and artificial story in season 2.
So, I am very sorry for the missed opportunity to see Jonathan Bailey - my favorite of all the male actors in Bridgerton - in a memorable performance where the heart manages to melt the wall of duty around it and to enjoy the unconscious courtship to Kate. I am sure he is capable of delivering a more credible role using the clenched jaws, intense gazes, piercing eyes and shaky breaths - all of which he provided abundantly in the series but missing the romantic sensation forte that was supposed to lye beyond.
