“Bridgerton” Season 2 is based on Julia Quinn’s novel “The Viscount Who Loved Me”, but the show has made some significant changes to the original plot.
Bridgerton is back for its second season and the raucous lives of the Ton are certain to delight fans, especially now Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) is the focus of the series. The season is based on Julia Quinn’s novel “The Viscount Who Loved Me” and it follows Anthony as he goes in search of a wife to fulfil his familial duties as the Bridgerton heir, only for his pursuit of Edwina Sharma (Charithra Chandran) to be thwarted by her sister Kate (Simone Ashley). However while fans of the book might expect the story to go in one direction, they will be surprised to learn how different the show actually is from its source material. Showrunner Chris Van Dusen spoke about the changes made at a press conference for the show held in London on Monday, March 21, teasing: “Fans should expect a wild, wild ride this season. “I mean, we work really hard to bring everything that fans fell in love with about season one, into season two and I think we did it. It’s amazing, it’s emotional and romantic, and sexy, and scandalous, and I think we’re bringing back even greater escapement into 19th century Regency London.” Here, Newsweek reflects on the changes made from the book to the show, and why some work and some simply fall short. **Warning: This article contains spoilers for both ‘Bridgerton’ Season 2 and ‘The Viscount Who Loved Me’** In The Viscount Who Loved Me, Anthony does start out pursuing Edwina but eventually his feelings for Kate become too strong, and vice versa. The pair are actually caught in a rather precarious position when Kate gets stung by a bee and Anthony uses some unexpected methods to save her from the venom, which he does in a panic because it was a bee that killed his father. Once married, Kate and Anthony still bicker but they slowly come to realize how much they care for one another, and fall deeply in love. In the show, the writers do away with their forced marriage and instead Anthony and Kate pine for each other constantly, until the eldest Bridgerton does the one thing he never did in the book: He proposes to Edwina regardless.
