An Unthinkable Fate
Episode 5 of Bridgerton Season 2 starts with Anthony doing his utmost to put his feelings for Kate aside. That’s not easy, given the glances the pair are exchanging, as Queen Charlotte decides to play host to their marriage. The Queen is going to oversee every single detail, intending to figure out who Lady Whistledown is once and for all. The thing is, Kate is clearly flustered but she plays the role of sister well, despite how painful this may be. Meanwhile, issues at the Featherington household reaches fever pitch. Debts are piling up and those inside the house are in real danger of falling down the social ladder. So naturally, Lady Featherington brings in a man named Mr Brookes to look over her jewelry and gain an evaluation. Only, they’re complete counterfeits and Jack is worried this could come back and blow up in her face. For now, they pass the initial evaluation without a hitch, with Brookes believing the necklace is real. Back at the Bridgerton household, Anthony and Kate find themselves at tea together, where Kate questions Anthony’s motivations. He decides to just ignore everything that happened, dismissing the incident at Aubrey Hall as nothing. However, when Mr Brookes arrives and helps fit Edwina’s ring (using Kate’s finger) the pair touch hands. That is until Edwina shows up. The pair are flustered and even more so when they learn the Sheffield’s have arrived to oversee proceedings. And they’ve also been invited to dinner too. Lady Danbury can sense that Kate’s feelings are conflicted and reassures her that the wedding is pretty much all but done now. Only a big scandal would stop that. Interestingly, Mr Dorset arrives to take Kate out onto the lake the following day. Anthony ends up looking on from afar, an envious look in his eyes. When the pair dock again, Anthony helps Kate out the boat but they linger while holding hands… and then he trips over her dog and falls in the water with Dorset. The sisters can’t help but look at Anthony’s see-through shirt. Eloise arrives at a Women’s Rights rally where she ends up talking to Theo Sharpe. Another Bridgerton who’s starting to make headway in his life is Benedict, who finds himself taking a fancy to the model at his art class. That night, Violet speaks to Anthony and points out that he should be happy about his marriage. Anthony’s mopey attitude makes it seem like he’s going to the gallows instead. Anthony can’t go back on his word of course, but he does perk up when Violet suggests Edwina could call off the marriage. If that were to happen then no one would really bat an eyelid. Violet wants him to make the right choice but also doesn’t want him to live the rest of his life in regret. Lord and Lady Sheffield meet Edwina over dinner, where everything kicks off. Lady Sheffield revels in telling everyone about the trust fund set up, and how Edwina must marry a man of good English breeding to inherit it. Unfortunately, neither Mary nor Edwina have been informed of Kate’s deal and it leads to an awkward bit of misunderstanding. Anthony eventually speaks up and forces Lord and Lady Sheffield out, promising not to let them inherit a single penny now. When Anthony looks to leave too, Kate takes him aside and urges him to understand that Edwina is innocent. Bearing in mind the door is open while they talk, Anthony points out that she’s the bane of his existence… and also the object of his desires too. Kate too feels the same way as their love looks set to become all-consuming. As they’re set to kiss, Anthony pulls away and points out that this marriage must not go ahead. If it does, he’ll spend the whole time thinking and dreaming of Kate rather than Edwina. Unfortunately, this whole affair is made all the more complicated by Edwina speaking to Kate later that evening. She admits she’s in love with Anthony, especially after his valiant display of honour at dinner, and it causes this whole messy affair to become that much more difficult going forward. With a scandal on the horizon, Anthony rides out into the woods and speaks to Kate about what he intends to do. He’s going to call off the wedding completely. Kate urges him to reconsider as their feelings will pass over time. She doesn’t want to see his honour besmirched and also doesn’t want Edwina to be unhappy either. Kate’s passionate plea is enough for Anthony to have a change of heart and decide to get married after all. When he rides off, Kate can barely hold back her tears.
The Episode Review
This whole drama between Edwina, Anthony and Kate has been really fascinating to watch play out. Unlike the fairytale romance of the first season, this time there’s a lot more scandalous behaviour and interesting ties between characters. And that’s before mentioning the very clear chemistry between our two leads. There are still subplots here that don’t really add much to the story though, while the issues involving Colin and Benedict don’t add much to the story – at least not yet anyway. These could well become more prominent going forward to be fair. In the meantime, Bridgerton continues to deliver decent drama, setting things up for an intriguing second half of this season to come.
