Fans Call Out Bridgerton's Love Triangle for Ruining the Characters' Development
Even something as exciting as a love triangle can become boring and contrived.
A love triangle is a favorite trope of every romance novelist. It's certainly capable of holding the reader's attention and creating suspense, but it is not always the best way to move the romance forward. In the case of Bridgerton, fans feel that the creative team is a little too addicted to love triangles, some of which are completely unnecessary and can even ruin character arcs.
Over its two-season run, the show has featured at least three major love triangles: Daphne/Simon/the Prince, Colin/Penelope/Marina, and of course, Anthony/Kate/Edwina. The last one was the main driving force of Season 2 and, according to fans, it was not executed in the best possible way.
People claim the key love triangle in Season 2 felt too drawn out and ruined the character development of everyone involved in it, so cutting it off mid-season would be much better for the main storyline.
Fans believe that the best moment to draw the line came in Episode 5 after the engagement dinner with the Sharma family. The dinner blew up, giving Anthony a perfect out, and then he literally told Kate that she was the object of all his desires right after.
If the love triangle ended then, that would offer an opportunity for the redemption arcs of Anthony and Kate to begin. Also, Edwina could grow as a character and find herself another love interest, which is what actually happened in the books.
Instead, the writers decided to drag the love triangle into the wedding ceremony, which was difficult to watch, and all the characters suffered as a result. Kate has become a martyr, sacrificing her own happiness for her sister's future; Anthony is perceived as self-centered and stubborn; and Edwina is just childish, spoiled, naive, and bordering on stupid for not noticing the palpable sexual tension between her sister and Viscount Bridgerton.
Fans think that the whole love triangle drama got in the way of revealing Kate's character. After all, she is the protagonist of the season, and viewers wanted to get to know her and her backstory better.
If the writers continued with the romantic arc instead of the drama at some point, they would have time to dive into it.
What's more, there would be time to show the main couple's happy wedding instead of Edwina and Anthony's failed one, which was (and still is) a heartfelt desire of many fans.