Daphne and the Duke may be happily married, but luckily for Lady Whistledown, the ton is never short on relationship drama.
The second season of Netflix’s hit “Bridgerton,” which returned Friday, finds eldest Bridgerton brother Anthony (Jonathan Bailey) ready to settle down — or whatever his version of that looks like — with a wife like he was literally born to do. With his eye set on newcomer Edwina Sharma (Charithra Chandran), Anthony finds himself squaring off against her older sister Kate (“Sex Education” alum Simone Ashley), who only wants what’s best for her sister, or so she says.
Set to another soundtrack of orchestral remixes of Madonna, Alanis Morissette and Rihanna, this year’s smut-fest is again the story of those who have and those who want. And at the top of that food chain is not the Queen of England, but rather the town’s anonymous gossip writer, who to viewers is no longer anonymous.
But while Penelope Featherington’s secret identity was spilled at the end of last season, she’s managed to keep her byline confidential from everyone else. That doesn’t mean she’s still the same stealthy sleuth she was last time we saw her, Nicola Coughlan promised.
“She’s definitely grown up somewhat. She’s gone through some very adult things: she’s lost her father, she’s betrayed her cousin. She’s definitely matured a little bit,” the 35-year-old Irish actress told the Daily News.
“She’s also sort of realizing how powerful she is. There’s a level of arrogance to her that we didn’t see last time, like, ‘I can do all this stuff and they’re all obsessed with me.’”
Penelope’s arrogance has made her reckless, but self-aware. At times, she pauses to consider the consequences. She usually charges ahead anyway.
“She knows when she has to make a difficult decision or write about something that she doesn’t want to write about, she now gets it a bit more,” Coughlan said.
And yet, at the same time that she’s realized the power of the pen, Penelope still shamelessly seeks reassurance from best friend Eloise (Claudia Jessie), who somehow has not figured it out even as the Queen sends her on a mission to unmask Whistledown.
“Every time Claudia and I shot that we’d be like, ‘Oh God, this is terrible. She is so bad. Why is she saying this? She’s poking the hornet’s nest!’” Coughlan said with a laugh. “She loves the danger of it a little bit.”
For Coughlan, it makes sense: the most overlooked daughter from a family constantly ridiculed around town would need to be reminded that she matters. That she’s smart and clever and important. The only way for her to prove that, unfortunately, is to spread whispers.
While Whistledown takes people down, Penelope has finally found a good use of her writing prowess, trading letters with Bridgerton brother Colin halfway around the world. He still doesn’t see her like she wants to be seen, but at least she’s not invisible, because in print, she is smart and clever and important.
Whistledown, again, gives Penelope that self-assurance, even if no one knows her name.
“Penelope’s a super smart kid with no street smarts,” Coughlan said.
“She’s lulled herself into a false sense of security thinking, ‘I can really control things if I need to. I can pull this string.’ But that’s not really the way the world works. She’s putting herself in an awful lot of danger this time ‘round.”
In the second season of “Bridgerton,” too many people are hunting the town narc. Penelope’s delicate balance between her two worlds seems destined to collapse, even as she grows bolder and louder.
“She’ll be slightly hardened. This season is her pride-comes-before-the-fall season,” Coughlan told The News.
“She’s becoming herself but she’s got to realize she’s really screwed up … and it’s going to cause her to screw up even more.”
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