Simone Ashley Is The Diamond Of An Otherwise Lackluster Courting Season

A significant obstacle arises in Kate’s younger sister, Edwina — the Sharma sister who Anthony quickly declares his perfect match. Rather than searching for love, the viscount wants a woman who will suit him well as a wife. Edwina —sweet, lovely, and able to play multiple instruments — meets all his requirements! The only problem is her shrewd older sister, Kate, who is determined to stop the union upon discovering he has no interest in love. And once they clash in tried and true enemies-to-lovers fashion, we’re thrust into a love triangle that might be even minutely compelling, if only Simone Ashley weren’t carrying the whole mess on her back. Wonderfully empathetic in her role, Ashley wears conflict well as Kate navigates the rocky waters of loathing, then develops feelings for a man her sister wants to marry. Meanwhile, beyond her determination to marry Anthony, Edwina’s other personality traits include being sweet and lovely, with zero-depth to keep us afloat. As for Anthony? There’s much to unpack.

“Bridgerton” took the world by storm because for all its flaws, it arrived fizzy, joyous, and easy to love. To some extent, those things are still true — except for the issue of Anthony, who proves increasingly difficult to even like. In case you do find yourself getting swept up in the easy charm of Jonathan Bailey, the series makes the questionable choice to snap us back to an awful reality with some misogynistic insight from the mind of Anthony Bridgerton, a man we’re supposed to buy as the object of two women’s affections despite him spending a whole season struggling to make sense of basic human emotions. Just like that, you’ll remember that this is in fact the same guy who nearly ruined Daphne’s life last season by scaring away all her decent prospects then trying to marry her off to a lecherous man twice her age. Or better yet, you’ll remember him as the guy who, upon learning his younger brother had fallen in love, sighed, “I should’ve taken you to brothels when you returned from Eton.” Bad news, folks, Anthony may have lost the sideburns but he’s still lacking in charm.

I’m all for a redemption arc, but oddly “Bridgerton” isn’t especially interested in making their lead likable, beyond introducing some past traumas and allowing him to catch the eye of the lovely miss Kate Sharma.  Alluring as they may be in their isolated moments, with so much of the season spent selling us on a less-than-compelling love triangle, I spent most of the time wondering why in hell I would want either Kate or Edwina to end up with a man who might look great when climbing out of a lake, but also has the personality of misogynistic sand.