Try Bridgerton Season 2 with Fresh Eyes

This is a bald faced and unapologetic plea to get you to watch Bridgerton Season 2 and get you to love it, even if you think you won’t.

If you weren't a fan of Bridgerton season 1, or you thought the show wouldn’t be your cup of tea, I really encourage you to give season 2 a try. It is a much deeper and more mature season. It is unbelievably beautiful both visually and emotionally. It pays incredible homage to the stories that formed it (Jane Austen references abound) and to the romance novels and tropes that are such a beautiful, fun, emotional, and even zany part of the genre.

I suggest giving it a try again because these 8 hrs of TV are some of my favorites I've ever seen. It is absolutely not perfect, but the love, the chemistry, the entire story, is amazing and so worthwhile. The first season was a joy, but it was missing the nuance and depth I usually look for in my television viewing. It felt like a YA romance, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but it isn’t for everyone.

Season 2, however, brings some powerful emotion, mature themes, and depth of feeling that season 1 largely didn’t. The character backstories are deeper and more deeply explored. The vulnerabilities become central. It’s all written from theme and comes back to the relationships of the characters that are so dynamic and nuanced. It does not spoon feed the audience, relying on looks, unspoken communication, and filling in the blanks to carry a lot of the story between moments of explosive passion and emotional catharsis.

In short, it’s a masterpiece of feeling that allows complex and flawed characters to create something difficult and beautiful, and immensely gratifying to watch.

If you love the book and felt betrayed by the season, I understand your feelings. But again, I encourage you to come at it with fresh eyes.

Try to see what this season, separate from the source material, brings to the characters and the story. It is different. In some ways, perhaps worse, in other ways, perhaps better. But it does things the book never could, just as the book did things the show did not. Personally, though it added drama, I believe it enhanced the characters and added beautiful, nuanced emotion. I believe it matured the book and matured from the first season. Please try to see it as it's own entity and appreciate the many things it brings to the table.

This season was a revelation for me. It’s some of the best television I’ve ever seen for so many reasons. It’s still Bridgerton, still exists in the world of romance novels and tropes, is still beautiful and funny, light and fluffy at times, but the undercurrent of this season was simply more mature. The leads rule this season, their acting and chemistry about as good as I’ve seen. It is so worth the watch.

So even if you didn’t like season 1, even if you don’t think you’ll like this one, even if you are nervous because it departs from the book, I really encourage you to give it a try and watch with fresh eyes.