BRIDGERTON
’Tis the season for period romance! Raise your hands if you’re in the mood for prolonged eye contact, steamy dialogue, and a messy web of love triangles that, let’s face it, is usually completely avoidable. I’m of course talking about the second season of BRIDGERTON (trailer here). This go-round is missing the gorgeous Duke (love you, Regé-Jean Page) and a lot of the steamy, sexy stuff of Season 1, but there is absolutely no shortage of wildly attractive people falling in love. Shoutout to all my fellow Bollywood fans for the ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham’ rendition that overlays the haldi ceremony. In fact, the whole premise of Season 2 is swimming in Bollywood tropes—from the eldest son feeling the pressure to uphold his own perceived notions of dutiful obligations, including marrying someone worthy of his title (like sir, calm down), to the eldest sister being called a spinster at the mere age of six and twenty. We even have progressive auntie Whistledown reporting on the key societal players’ every move, and the queen attempting a grand reveal of her identity to take her down. This season is a win for representation, and the slow-burn romance is made believable by the incredibly talented Simone Ashley, who proves to the world that South Asian women are worthy, and deserving, of being leading ladies.
—Nimarta Narang, Digital Fellow
