WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Bridgerton Season 2, now streaming on Netflix.
Bridgerton Season 2 is here, and Anthony Bridgerton and Kate Sharma are on everyone's mind. The romance series' newest couple is the talk of the ton -- as they should be. Anthony and Kate's journey to happily ever after is challenging and lengthy, but it's equal measure rewarding and romantic. Through exceptional performances from Jonathan Bailey and Simone Ashley and incredible work from Bridgerton's creative team, Anthony and Kate's relationship evolves from enemies to lovers on a foundation of emotional intimacy.
Debuting on Netflix in 2019, Bridgerton commenced the series' mission to follow each Bridgerton sibling's romance. This anthology series takes direct inspiration from Julia Quinn's romance books. Season 1 followed Daphne Bridgerton as she fell in love with the Duke of Hastings, Simon Basset, like in Quinn's The Duke & I. Season 2 follows Anthony Bridgerton's journey to a love match with Kate Sharma after an epic enemies-to-lovers arc, similar to Quinn's The Viscount Who Loved Me.
Anthony and Kate's meet-cute in the Season 2 episode, "Captial R Rake," is one of the first and most notable differences from the book. Bridgerton lets the pair meet outside, not at a ball, where they can be equals without societal pressures weighing them down so heavily. This sentiment is true mainly for Kate, who rides Lady Danbury's horse astride and without a chaperone. Anthony and Kate form impressions of each other unattached to the personas they maintain in the ton, and it's significant for such a moment to happen outdoors.
Their first scene creates a pattern; it sets a precedent. Anthony and Kate share some of their most vulnerable moments outdoors throughout the season. In that episode, Kate steps up to Anthony's sexist ego while outdoors, and he literally takes a step back for the first time ever. It's fleeting, but Anthony's guard falls for a second because Kate already challenges him. Building emotional intimacy can start from a place of honesty — however unfiltered. Their perceptions of each other evolve (or devolve) in that scene, and it's from there that they grow.
Without either of them expecting it, their emotional intimacy heats up in "Bee in Your Bonnet." Anthony and Kate match each other's frustration and wit. They bicker as if they are already a married couple. Furthermore, they can't help but see each other. All the while, the words of Anthony's father ring throughout every inch of Aubrey Hall's land: "You cannot show someone your best without allowing them to see your worst." A competitive game of Pall Mall brings out the best and worst in both of them. So much they get stuck in the mud together.
Bridgerton weaves beautiful metaphors and symbolism throughout its narratives, and the Pall Mall scene is no different. Kate hits Anthony's ball so far that it goes near, unbeknownst to her, Edmund's grave. That action foreshadows how Kate will be the one who indirectly and directly helps Anthony finally grieve his father. Of course, that escalates when Kate is stung by a bee right in front of Anthony -- the same way his father Edmund died. Jonathan Bailey and Simone Ashley are sublime in this scene that leans so heavily on emotional intimacy.
This scene is more explicitly physically intimate in The Viscount Who Loved Me. Bridgerton chooses a different route, lending itself to these versions of the characters. Anthony and Kate deny and suppress any form of intimacy, let alone the emotional kind. So, a vulnerable moment such as this brings them closer than they ever wanted or imagined possible. Kate places one of Anthony's hands over her heart and the other on his own to sync up their breath and calm him during his panic attack. It's romantic, sure, but it's incredibly intimate, too.
So, who's to say emotional intimacy can't be as sexy as physical intimacy? Until this moment, they move so quickly to be one step ahead of the other. In this scene, Anthony and Kate slow down long enough to see each other and feel the other's heartbeat. Not to mention, Anthony's panic attack at the sight of a bee even near Kate is a sign of his emerging feelings. His demeanor and tone reveal what's truly going on in his heart, regardless of what he may say. The subtle changes in how he later delivers a two-lettered word ("Ah") as Kate retells the bee sting tale is proof enough.
That example only sets up what occurs when a rainstorm falls over Aubrey Hall. It's then that Anthony and Kate accidentally meet in Edmund's library and Anthony explains how the books in that room were some of Edmunds' most prized possessions. Still, Anthony hands the book back to Kate; he trusts her with something that is precious to his father, elevating their emotional intimacy. It's a good thing the fire is already lit the next time they are in that library because their tension would light it otherwise.
The scene that follows conveys how significant emotional intimacy can be with the right person. Anthony thinks his situation is different from Daphne and Simon's in the garden because nothing physically happened between him and Kate. Daphne is wise to know that is only a deflection because Anthony feels just as much as he would if anything physical did happen — he feels love. It's quite exquisite to watch Anthony reject the word as soon as it falls from Daphne's lips, straighten his back, and become the unfeeling Viscount, again.
In turn, Bridgerton leans into excruciatingly wonderful angst as Anthony and Kate yearn for each other through longing stares and pinkie fingers almost touching. It's in their desperation for each other in direct conflict with their duty that their emotional intimacy becomes even stronger. Anthony divulges the origins of Violet's ring to her when the family heirloom gets stuck on Kate's finger in perfect, romantic-comedy fashion. That's a level of personal information that Anthony doesn't give to anyone else, let alone Edwina.
Even, Bridgerton's direction finds special ways to create private moments for the pair. Tom Verica does so in "The Choice" when Anthony follows Kate into her closet of refuge. Their hands touch, and it's packed with tension. Nevertheless, their conversation is as equally as meaningful, and it's theirs. The camera stays behind the objects on the shelves, granting them privacy. The beautiful thing is that Anthony and Kate's connection is so strong that they can create those private moments in a room full of people.
Their bond makes Lady Danbury's suggestion that they stand on opposite sides of the room laughable. In "Harmony," Anthony and Kate are on opposite sides of the Square, and they're still saying everything with a look. But, when they speak, they finish each other's sentence — thoughts, even. So it's only fitting that when Anthony and Kate are physically intimate, it's outside (where they are more of equals) and set to Kiris' cover of "How Deep Is Your Love." Anthony and Kate's love is far deeper than any bounds of physical intimacy.
By the season's finale, "The Viscount Who Loved Me," Anthony and Kate are beyond denying their feelings or their emotional connection. They hit a few more bumps in their epic love story, but ultimately, they embrace how love can change someone. The relief in Anthony's entire expression when Violet tells him that Kate is awake after her accident is not a reaction that comes from simply physical attraction. Anthony and Kate change and challenge each other throughout the season to accept that love is not a weakness but their greatest strength.
Bridgerton Season 2 is available to stream on Netflix.