Kanthony Was Ruined by Bridgerton Season 2 Deviating From the Book Too Much

After the second season of Bridgerton premiered in 2022, it was only a matter of weeks before it became one of the most-watched shows in the history of Netflix. But while it may have broken records, Season 2 also left many fans of the book series feeling let down. One of the biggest disappointments? The way that the show deviated from Julia Quinn's novel The Viscount Who Loved Me.

In the books, the relationship between Kate and Anthony is slowly built on a foundation of witty banter and mutual respect. While Anthony does intend to court Edwina, she isn't particularly interested.

And while 'Kanthony's' interactions start off with an adversarial tone, it takes very little time before they grow to like each other – and even less time before they are caught in a compromising position and forced to marry. (They weren't kissing, like Daphne and Simon. Anthony was caught trying to suck bee venom out of Kate's bosom, which has to go down as the weirdest first kiss ever.)

The dynamic between the two characters is dramatically different in the Netflix show. Anthony pursues Edwina very seriously, and she reciprocates. Meanwhile, Kate is remarkably hostile towards Anthony, and their interactions lack the witty banter that made their book counterparts so appealing.

The biggest obstacle to their happiness is the fact that Edwina falls hard for Anthony, and the two actually get engaged – a huge and somewhat cringey departure from the books.

While Kate and Anthony have as much on-screen time as Daphne and Simon did, they spend a lot of that time talking about Kate's sister. Why take up so much time with the third point of their love triangle? Even the advertisements for the show seemed unusually hung up on Edwina, who appeared in many of the promos alongside K&A.

While Bridgerton focuses mainly on Anthony's insecurities, it largely fails to tell the story of Kate's own issues. Gone are the scenes where she has panic attacks during thunderstorms, and needs to be comforted. Gone also is the revelation that Kate watched her mother die – which is surprising, given that it creates symmetry with Anthony's own experiences.

Shondaland thrives on soapy drama, so many of the changes from the book are understandable.

However, by making Edwina fall in love with Anthony and stretching out Kanthony's will-they-won't-they tension, we lost out on the beautiful, blossoming love that made their book one of the most popular in the Bridgerton series.