Over the course of the past seven episodes, Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley) and Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) have had their fair share of misfortune. That’s not to say that nothing good has ever happened to them, after all, the pair did get to enjoy at least a couple of pleasurable moments in each other’s company. But, between Anthony’s tumultuous engagement to Edwina (Charithra Chandran) and Kate’s accident, it’s safe to say that their story is short on light, cheerful chapters. Thankfully, now that the season has come to an end, they will finally get their happily ever after. However, not all members of the ton get to share the viscount and viscountess’ good fortune. For Eloise (Claudia Jessie), Penelope (Nicola Coughlan), Portia (Polly Walker), and Benedict (Luke Thompson), this season finale is packed with disappointment and painful goodbyes.
Named after the Julia Quinn novel that inspired Season 2 of Bridgerton, “The Viscount Who Loved Me” picks up from where “Harmony” left off. Anthony rushes towards Kate after seeing her fall from the horse to find her unconscious and bleeding from her head. He carries her back to Lady Danbury's and leaves as soon as the doctors arrive, blaming himself for everything that happened to Kate and the Sharmas. Kate spends an entire week in a coma, and, when she wakes up, she’s disappointed to find out that Lord Bridgerton has not come to visit her. Unbeknownst to her, Anthony is struggling with his own feelings regarding death, duty, and love. It takes a long conversation with Lady Bridgerton (Ruth Gemmell) about the past to convince the brooding viscount to come out of his cocoon.
But let’s take a step back before we get to Anthony and Kate. During the whole week Miss Sharma spent recovering from her injuries, Lady Whistledown (voiced by Julie Andrews) has not said a word. The last issue of her Society Papers was the one that accused Eloise of associating with political radicals from a lower class. London is abuzz with questions about what could have happened to the Regency period’s favorite gossip columnist, and even Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel) can’t take the silence anymore.
The only ones happy with Whistledown's disappearance are the Bridgertons, who can at least sigh in relief that there are no new scandals to damage the family even further. Though Lady Bridgerton is trying her best to pretend the situation isn’t as terrible as it truly is, the household has lost three servants over the past week and all other high society families have been avoiding them. Lady Featherington, for instance, has forbidden Penelope from visiting Eloise. The poor young lady is left to wallow in her own loneliness, having been shunned by her dear friend Theo (Calam Lynch) as well. Thus, it is with some surprise that Eloise receives a package from one of her footmen containing a note from the printer’s apprentice inviting her over for a visit.
At the shop, Theo apologizes to Eloise and gives her a precious clue for her hunt for the real Lady Whistledown: the information that the Society Paper manuscripts were delivered not in wraps, but sewed into fine fabric. Once more, Eloise suspects that Madame Delacroix (Kathryn Drysdale) is hiding something else besides her invisible stitches. Still, when she confronts her, the modiste simply tells her to stop acting foolishly lest Lady Whistledown publish something even more damning about her. Her advice is echoed by Penelope, who warns her friend that there are rumors going around about her involvement with Mr. Sharpe. At first, Eloise pays them no mind, but after almost sharing a kiss with Theo, she is forced to forsake both her investigation and her first love all at once.
Eloise’s secret affairs aren’t the only thing causing a ruckus at the Bridgerton residence. Upon close inspection of the family’s books, Anthony discovers that Colin (Luke Newton) has withdrawn a large sum from their bank account that he plans to invest in Jack’s (Rupert Young) ruby mines. Mondrich (Martins Imhangbe) tries to warn the young man about Jack’s schemes, even owning up to his own dirty dealings with the former Lord Featherington (Ben Miller) to prove that he’s being 100% honest. Alas, Colin ignores his advice, and it seems like Jack and Portia will succeed in their attempt to rip off the entire ton. So much so, in fact, that they’re hosting a ball.
There is, however, a tiny flaw in their plan: soon enough, the investors will ask for their returns. In order to circumvent this issue, Jack proposes to Portia that they escape to the Americas, where they can start a new life away from the strict rules of British society. Portia could even fashion herself into a queen of the New World! With an almost kiss, Jack leaves his partner in crime to consider his suggestion.
Meanwhile, Anthony finally musters the courage to visit Kate and finish what he started when he went looking for her in the park. But Miss Sharma isn’t inclined to accept his marriage proposal. Believing him to be proposing only out of duty, and not out of true love, she tells him she shall return to India as soon as she sorts everything out with her sister. Anthony tells her that she’s merely running away, but Kate doesn’t want to listen. As usual, all she cares about is fulfilling her duty to Edwina.
But Edwina is tired of living in this world of duties and lies. She asks Kate to tell her the truth about her feelings for the viscount and states that, from now on, there shall be no more secrets between them. All is forgiven, as long as Kate agrees to be herself and not the terrible person she’s been pretending to be. Likewise, Mary (Shelley Conn) tells Kate that she was the one in the wrong for allowing her stepdaughter to take over the family after Mr. Sharma’s passing. She assures Kate that she has always loved her as her own and that she never needed anything from her. More importantly, she asks Kate not to run away from difficult things, like, for instance, her love for Anthony.
The Bridgerton siblings also share some sweet moments among themselves. Eloise comforts Benedict after he discovers that he was only accepted at the Royal Academy because Anthony made a large donation for the institution, and he, in turn, offers to accompany his sister to the Featheringtons’ ball to get her mind off the gossip and heartbreak. In a rare moment under the limelight, young Gregory (Will Tilston) has a conversation with Anthony about the late Lord Bridgerton (Rupert Evans), forcing the viscount to open up about the softer side of his father.
Unfortunately, none of this family love is enough to stop the Sharmas and the Bridgertons from being received with dirty looks at the ball. Eloise even feels the urge to run back home, but Lady Bridgerton is quick to tell her daughter that she would not be true to herself if she cared about what others have to say. And so she goes looking for Penelope to inform her that she has ceased hunting for Lady Whistledown and that they can finally talk about other things. Penelope grabs the opportunity to tell her of the hottest gossip she’s just heard around the corners of the ballroom, and, suddenly, something dawns on Eloise.
Something dawns on Penelope, as well, when she sees Colin dancing with Cressida Cowper (Jessica Madsen), but, thankfully, it's not what it looks like. The young man merely wanted an opportunity to get the lady’s ruby necklace and prove, once and for all, that Jack is a con man. However, Colin believes he is acting alone and taking advantage of the Featherington women. He tells Jack that he will deal with the matter privately out of consideration for the family and orders him to leave London. Alone with Portia, Jack gives her a passionate kiss and warns her that they must leave that very night, leaving her daughters behind. Back at the dance floor, Colin asks Penelope to dance and tells her that he will always look out for her. After all, she is very important to him.
At the other corner of the room, Edwina catches Kate looking at Anthony and tells her to stop avoiding him on her behalf. Having received the green light from her sister, Kate accepts to dance with the viscount. Under the scornful eyes of the ton, always looking for a new scandal, the pair moves around the dance floor to an orchestral version of Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball”, and the sight of them is so beautiful that the Queen herself can’t help but smile. She tells everyone that she was the one to call off Edwina’s marriage, and with the royal seal of approval stamped on the new couple’s faces, there’s nothing Lady Featherington’s guests can do but agree that they do look lovely together. As for Edwina, the Queen has a princely nephew in need of a wife.
When the music stops, Portia calls everyone outside for a fireworks show. Penelope goes to her room to get some air before the big finale and finds Eloise going through her things. After their brief conversation at the beginning of the ball, Eloise put two and two (and two, and two…) together and figured out the true identity of Lady Whistledown. She confronts Penelope and accuses her of using everyone else for money. Rightfully mad and feeling betrayed, Eloise states that she never wants to see Penelope again and storms off, putting an end to their friendship.
After a moment of anger, Penelope goes looking for Eloise, but is unable to find her. In the garden, though, she overhears Colin telling a group of fellow young men that he would never dream of courting her. Heartbroken and friendless, Penelope goes back to the only thing she has left: Lady Whistledown.
Much like her youngest daughter, Lady Featherington also had her fair share of heartbreak in these final scenes. Holding back tears, she tells Jack that he is to leave for the Americas alone with just enough money to start over his life. She will tell the ton that she also fell victim to the new Lord Featherington’s schemes and no one will believe otherwise. As for the estate, Mrs. Varley (Lorraine Ashbourne) has a great talent for forgery and has prepared a document passing on the title to Lady Featherington’s firstborn grandson, whenever he may come. Between running away with Jack and the money and staying with her daughters, Portia chose the best of two worlds: the money and the girls.
Before Lady Featherington’s fireworks can go off, there is still one story that needs its final act. After a brief encounter with Benedict in which his brother informs him that he will leave the Academy, Anthony finds Kate and confesses her love to her once more. This time, however, she accepts his words and his marriage proposal. The two kiss beneath the show of lights, and the episode jumps to some time in the future, in which they are now happily married, stalling in bed before a game of pall-mall with the rest of the family at Aubrey Hall.
Another season of Bridgerton comes to an end, and now it’s time for a different Bridgerton sibling to try their luck at the marriage mart. Based on the order of Julia Quinn’s books, Benedict is next in line, as he is the protagonist of the third installment of the series, An Offer from a Gentleman. And, indeed, Benedict’s Royal Academy dropout is Bridgerton Season 2's biggest loose thread. Now, all there’s left for us to do is wait and see what sorts of scandals Season 3 will have to offer.