Bridgerton season two recap: What happened at the end of the Netflix series as fans prepare for season three

With the release of Queen Charlotte in between, it’s actually been a surprisingly long gap between series two and three of Bridgerton. But now, fans are eagerly anticipating the third season’s release on Netflix, which will be live on the streaming platform tomorrow (May 15).

The second series of the period drama ended with the culmination of an electric love triangle story between two sisters and one of the titular Bridgertons. But fans and newcomers alike may wish for a quick recap of the show ahead of the new series.

Fear not - much like Lady Whistledown herself, we’ve got the lo-down on everything that’s been going on in the ton.

Anthony Bridgerton got married

Throughout series two, Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) is seen to be courting Edwina Sharma (Charithra Chandran) and all looked set for the young diamond to wed the viacount. However, standing in Anthony’s way was Edwina’s older sister Kate (Simone Ashley), who proved to be a thorn in their side throughout the season.

But the enemies shared an undeniable chemistry and found themselves fighting off their feelings for one another, with everything coming to a head when Anthony is with Edwina at the altar. Their wedding is called off and Anthony eventually married Kate, before the pair set off on travels around the world.

Edwina ended the series stood alongside her mother Mary Sharma and Lady Danbury. Her fate, and whether her storyline will be continued in season three, is unknown.

Penelope and Colin

Season three will revolve around Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) and Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) as their romance looks set to explode. In the show, the pair have been close throughout most of their lives, with Colin often referring to “Pen” as such.

Unfortunately for Penelope, it seems their romance looks set to begin on the wrong foot. At the end of series two, at the Fetherington Ball, Colin was with a group of friends when he said: “I would never dream of courting Penelope Featherington. Not in your wildest fantasies.” Pen overheard the conversation and, distraught, fled from the ball.

Season three is based on the novel “Romancing Mr Bridgerton” - so no prizes for guessing where the story is likely to turn next...

Lady Whistledown enigma continues

At the end of season one, the writer of gossip pamphlets distributed throughout the ton was also unmasked. Lady Whistledown was confirmed to be none other than Penelope Featherington herself.

While the Featherington family struggles through financial hardship following the death of Lord Featherington, Penelope has amassed a small fortune through her escapades as Lady Whistledown. But with the Queen and others - including best friend Eloise Bridgerton (Claudia Jessie) - keen to solve the mystery of the writer’s identity, there is only so long she can hide the truth.

Having investigated every avenue, including the printing house where Lady Whistledown’s work is published, Eloise ransacks Penelope’s room and the latter finally confesses that she is indeed Lady Whistledown. Eloise had been trying to enlist Penelope’s help in tracking down the writer and was furious that this secret had been kept from her. She declared that Penelope was no longer her friend, wishing never to see or hear from her again.

Lady Whistledown continues to write though season three, and as Penelope writes, “this author cannot keep quiet for long”. But she will have to be far more careful in order to preserve her alter ego - especially while fuelling her romance with Colin.