From a sexy R-rated duke to a … buttoned up G-rated viscount.
When Netflix’s steamy hit “Bridgerton” first came out in December of 2020, it became one of the platform’s most watched shows ever, roping in 82 million households, thanks in part to its notorious sex scenes — and highly suggestive bits, including a key moment between star Regé-Jean Page and a spoon. Season 2 started streaming on Friday, but audiences looking for hot, explicit action are mostly left high and dry.
“[I have] deep feelings of betrayal and unfulfilled expectations,” Bridget Chun, 35, the Chicago based host of the “Romance at a Glance” podcast, told The Post.
“In Season 1, the first person you see have sex is Anthony. The sex is hot, furious, taboo, and wonderful. So in Season 2, I expected, nay, I needed him to give it to Kate,” she said. “He says in one of the episodes, ‘Oh, the things I could teach you.’ But then, he never teaches her anything. All we get is a montage. We miss the intimacy of them talking during Kate’s first time, the intimacy of Anthony admitting how much her giving this to him means. And him dirty-talking the ever-loving corset off of her! I was deeply unhappy that they got together so late in the season, because it really robbed us of the time with them as a couple, in a sexual way, but more importantly in a loving way.”
Claire Fallon, 33, a New York based writer/podcaster, was left so lukewarm that she went so far as co-write a Substack piece called, “Bridgerton should be hornier.”
“It should be hornier because I would enjoy that, and there aren’t many other places to get it,” she told The Post. “‘Bridgerton filled a niche in the TV landscape: It’s sexy but not gritty or violent. It’s for adults, but in a decadent way.”
Fallon, who’s also a fan of the “Bridgerton” books, said that the first season of the show set viewers up to expect a certain amount of steamy content, and the second season didn’t deliver.
“The show didn’t replace it with much except for intense looks,” she said. “Eight episodes is a very long time to focus on the sexual tension of two people who rarely interact except through breathing heavily and staring at each other … I think one of the joys of a smutty romance novel or TV show is that it is unafraid and unembarrassed to explore how sex can be part of learning each other, growing closer, and falling in love. It’s idealized and cheesy, but there’s also something true and beautiful about it.”
The show (which has been renewed through Season 4) is set in Regency-era England and is based on a series of historical romance novels by Julia Quinn. Season 1 followed Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor) and Simon Basset, aka the Duke of Hastings (breakout star Regé-Jean Page), who took frequent romps in the bedroom. After that couple’s happily ever after, Season 2 shines the spotlight on Daphne’s brother, Viscount Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) as he sets out to find a wife for sensible reasons rather than for love.
He hones in on sweet-natured Edwina Sharma (Charithra Chandran), who checks all of his boxes: She’s polite, cultured and plays instruments. The only problem is that along the way, he has more chemistry with her fiery older sister Kate (Simone Ashley). Anthony and Kate have a slow-simmering love that builds through the season. As a result, they get a lot less bedroom action than Daphne had with her Duke.
Hannah, 31, a New York-based receptionist and “Bridgerton” fan who declined to share her last name, told The Post that she missed the sex because it felt unique. “Watching the first season, the sex, [both] cinematically and the way it is written, [felt] as though it was created for the female gaze,” she said. “There are very few moments in contemporary cinema that cater to the pleasure of someone other than a cis man.”
However, not all “Bridgerton” fans feel let down.
Show fan Keiley Kaiser, 21, who’s from Canada and works in retail, was happy with how it played out.
She said: “Showing the emotional side of the relationship and slow burn is sometimes more effective than shocking sex scenes.”