Why Bridgerton Should Have Ended that Love Triangle in Episode 2x04
It was said before, and I'll say it again: the wedding episode of Bridgerton Season 2 (aka episode 6, 'The Choice') is a cringefest and I never want to experience that much secondhand embarrassment again.
While I adore Kanthony and will happily rewatch most of Season 2 til the day I die (or until they make more Sanditon happen), there's no doubt that Bridgerton should have cut the love triangle shenanigans way, way shorter than this. In the 8-episode arc that makes up the Kate Sheffield / Anthony Bridgerton romance, it takes until the end of 'The Choice' for the two of them to kiss.
Why? Because until that point, Anthony was courting – and nearly marrying – Kate's sister Edwina.
Up to a certain point, the drama is understandable. Anthony is not looking for love, but for a demure young woman to be his Viscountess. Kate, who's never been demure in her life, wants nothing more than to see her sister settled with a wealthy man. The more Anthony and Kate spark off each other the more terrified each of them is of the vulnerability that comes with falling in love.
All of this is pretty par for the course in terms of television drama. But by the end of episode 4, everyone except Edwina knows exactly how the wind is blowing.
Kate and Anthony share not one, but three near kisses in that episode alone. He expresses the depth of his feelings to her, and she is only prevented from doing the same by a sudden interruption from Daphne. Like everyone else with eyes, Daphne ships it.
So why push the love triangle on through two more agonizing hours of television? It makes all three of the players look a bit stupid, and it makes Anthony and Kate seem a little cruel.
In a season that *almost* manages to celebrate the strong bond between sisters, dragging the love triangle out also means that we have to endure Kate and Edwina nearly becoming estranged over a man they've only known for a few weeks.
Not to mention the fact that the at-the-altar wedding breakup was absurd, and the Queen suddenly getting over the perceived slight was sudden and stilted.
The Anthony/Kate/Edwina love triangle could have come to a very natural conclusion at the end of 2x04 when Anthony declared 'I know what I must do.' There would have been plenty of drama left to carry us through to the end of the season.
Just for starters, we had Anthony's deep-seated fear of falling in love; Kate's fear of hurting her sister's feelings; and the revelation that Kate was manipulating events in order to appease Edwina's grandparents.
All of these character-driven problems would have kept us engaged until the very end – and fans wouldn't have a cringey wedding to skip over on every rewatch.