Bridgerton Season 2: Are These 5 Key Changes from The Book Justified? Let's Discuss

Here are 5 of the key changes that Bridgerton Season 2 made from its source material.

1: Edwina falling for Anthony

The second Bridgerton novel features the 'love triangle' of Anthony, Kate, and Edwina – but in the books Edwina has no particular interest in Anthony, and is cheerfully amused when her suitor falls for her sister. The obstacles on the way to love have nothing to do with Edwina, and everything to do with Anthony and Kate's own particular traumas and trust issues.

Infamously, Netflix decided to dial up the drama by having Edwina fall head over heels for Anthony, with the two of them actually making it to the altar before his passion for Kate is revealed. The result is a horribly uncomfortable love triangle, with Kate and Anthony suppressing their feelings and Edwina eventually humiliated at the altar.

Is the change justified? No, no, a thousand times no. There were so many other ways to create tension, why did they have to go with this?

2: Penelope's Secret is Uncovered.

If you were to read the novels, you would have no idea who Lady Whistledown is until you reached Penelope's story in Book 3. However, Netflix let the cat out of the bag early, with Penelope revealing herself to the viewer in the final moments of Season 1.

The creators of Bridgerton decided to solve the Lady Whistledown mystery early when they realized that any fan could just google 'Who is Lady Whistledown?' and solve the puzzle.

Is the change justified? Yes. Although there would have been some merit in playing with the mystery for longer, the reveal kept Penelope active in the story while letting us enjoy the complications of her double life.

3: Eloise falling for Theo.

Eloise Bridgerton is a snarky and independent heroine in the books, and she turns down half a dozen proposals before deciding on a marriage of convenience to Sir Phillip Crane.

By having Eloise experience a passionate young love with bookseller Theo, the Netflix adaptation gave the heroine an opportunity to show that she is indeed interested in romantic relationships… as long as they are based on mutual interests rather than political alliances. However, by doing so the show accidentally let down some of its fans.

Eloise was celebrated as a woman who had no interest in love, but rather wanted to serve her own ambitions. Had she stayed stubbornly unromantic, her eventual slow-burn connection with Sir Phillip (which is based on a mutual passion for learning) would have been much sweeter. Instead, she comes off as naive and a bit love-crazed – the opposite of the fiery feminist character that we fell in love with.

It should be noted that many fans thought Eloise might be an asexual or otherwise queer character. Perhaps Netflix threw Theo in the mix so that fans didn't spend too many years with the wrong impression, only to be disappointed in the end.

Is it justified? This one is a coin flip. As the story evolves and Eloise continues to grow, we'll learn whether or not adding Theo was the right call.

4: The Bee Sting.

Anthony's panic attack at Kate's bee sting stems from his past trauma: as a young man, his father died of a bee sting. In the television show, Anthony's vulnerability and Kate's ability to calm him down creates a charged, lovely, and sexy tension. In the book, none of that is true. Instead, Anthony grabs Kate and tries to suck out the bee venom from her bosom (don't try this at home!) resulting in the couple getting caught in a compromising position and forced into marriage.

Most fans believe that this plotline was changed because it's too similar to Daphne and Simons 'caught-making-out-and-forced-to-wed' tale from Season One. Personally, I think it got changed because it's completely ludicrous.

Is it justified? Absolutely! The show took a silly and trope-y moment and made it great.

5: Cutting Kate's Phobia.

In both book and television show, Kate Sharma/Sheffield is a prickly and stubborn woman who gives as good as she gets. But in the books, Anthony discovers Kate having a panic attack in the library during a thunderstorm, and learns that she has a very serious chink in her armour. Later, it's revealed that Kate witnessed her mother's death during a thunderstorm and developed a phobia that reduces her to a quivering mess when it storms.

The Netflix version of Kate never comes close to this kind of vulnerability. She does have her moments of weakness, and it's clear that her heart is closely guarded, but she never has to be protected. Perhaps that was the goal – to prevent her character from ever being the kind of 'wilting flower' that needs to be saved by a hero.

Is it justified? No. We understand the logic, but seeing a strong and highly intelligent woman struggle with fear is part of what makes the book version of Kate so unique and compelling.