‘Bridgerton’ Season 2 Episode 8 Recap: Don’t You Ever Say I Just Walked Away
Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley) and Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) have had their fair share of misfortune over the course of the last seven episodes. That’s not to say nothing positive has occurred to them; after all, they did get to spend some time together. Between Anthony’s turbulent engagement to Edwina (Charithra Chandran) and Kate’s injury, their tale is devoid of light, happy episodes. Thankfully, now that the season is over, they will finally be reunited. The good fortune of the viscount and viscountess is not shared by all members of the tonne, however. This season finale is filled with disappointment and heartbreaking goodbyes for Eloise (Claudia Jessie), Penelope (Nicola Coughlan), Portia (Polly Walker), and Benedict (Luke Thompson).
The Viscount Who Loved Me” starts off where “Harmony” left off and is named after the Julia Quinn book that inspired Season 2 of Bridgerton. After watching Kate fall off the horse, Anthony runs over to her, finding her unconscious and bleeding profusely. He returns her to Lady Danbury’s and departs as soon as the medics come, blaming himself for all that has occurred to Kate and the Sharmas. Kate is in a coma for a week and is dismayed to see that Lord Bridgerton has not been to see her when she wakes up. Anthony is battling his own sentiments about death, duty, and love, unbeknownst to her. The gloomy viscount is persuaded to come out of his cocoon after a lengthy chat with Lady Bridgerton (Ruth Gemmell) about the past.
Before we get to Anthony and Kate, let’s take a step back. Lady Whistledown (voiced by Julie Andrews) has been silent the whole time Miss Sharma has been healing from her injuries. Eloise was accused of mingling with political extremists from the lower classes in the final edition of her Society Papers. Even Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel) can’t stand the hush any longer about what happened to the Regency period’s favorite gossip writer.
The Bridgertons may at least breathe a sigh of relief that Whistledown’s absence hasn’t resulted in any fresh controversies that would further hurt the family. Despite Lady Bridgerton’s best efforts to make it seem as though the situation isn’t as bad as it is, the household has lost three servants in the last week, and other high society households have avoided them. Penelope has been prevented from seeing Eloise by Lady Featherington, for example. The sad young girl is forced to languish in her loneliness after being rejected by her best friend Theo (Calam Lynch). As a result, Eloise is taken aback when one of her footmen presents her with a parcel containing a message from the printer’s apprentice requesting her to visit.
At the store, Theo apologizes to Eloise and provides her with a crucial piece of information in her search for the actual Lady Whistledown: the fact that the Society Paper manuscripts were sent stitched into the fine fabric rather than wrapped in paper. Madame Delacroix (Kathryn Drysdale) is concealing something more than her invisible sutures, Eloise thinks once again. When she confronts her, the modiste just advises her to quit behaving stupidly, or Lady Whistledown will print something even worse about her. Penelope echoes her advice, cautioning her friend that rumors about her relationship with Mr. Sharpe are circulating. Eloise ignores them at first, but as she comes dangerously close to kissing Theo, she is compelled to abandon both her inquiry and her first love at the same time.
Eloise’s private relationships aren’t the only source of commotion at the Bridgerton mansion. Anthony finds that Colin (Luke Newton) has taken a substantial quantity of money from the family’s bank account, which he intends to invest in Jack’s (Rupert Young) ruby mines, after closely inspecting the family’s accounts. Mound rich (Martins Imhangbe) attempts to warn the young man about Jack’s machinations, even admitting to his own shady connections with the previous Lord Featherington (Ben Miller) to establish his honesty. Unfortunately, Colin disregards his warning, and it seems like Jack and Portia will be successful in stealing the full tonne. They’re so enthusiastic that they’ve decided to throw a party.
However, there is a little weakness in their strategy: the investors would want their money back sooner or later. To get around this problem, Jack suggests that they go to the Americas, where they may establish a new life free of the severe constraints of British society. Portia has the potential to become a New World queen! Jack leaves his companion in crime to evaluate his offer with an almost kiss.
Meanwhile, Anthony summons the confidence to pay Kate a visit and complete the task he began when he went seeking her in the park. Miss Sharma, on the other hand, isn’t interested in marrying him. She assures him she’ll return to India as soon as she settles things with her sister, believing he’s proposing out of obligation rather than pure love. Anthony tries to persuade Kate that she is just fleeing, but she refuses. She’s just concerned with doing her job for Edwina, as she always is.
Edwina, on the other hand, is fed up with life in a world of obligations and deception. She demands that Kate tell her the truth about her love for the viscount and that they would no longer keep secrets from one other. Everything is forgiven as long as Kate decides to be herself instead of the horrible person she’s been playing. Similarly, Mary (Shelley Conn) informs Kate that she was the one who made a mistake by letting her stepdaughter run the household following Mr. Sharma’s death. She tells Kate that she has always treated her as if she were her own child and that she has never required anything from her. She also tells Kate not to run away from tough situations, such as her feelings for Anthony.
The Bridgerton siblings have a lot of fun together. Benedict is consoled by Eloise after learning that he was only admitted to the Royal Academy because Anthony made a significant contribution to the university, and he offers to accompany his sister to the Featheringtons’ ball to distract her from the gossip and sadness. Young Gregory (Will Tilston) gets a rare time in the spotlight when he talks to Anthony about Lord Bridgerton (Rupert Evans), causing the viscount to speak up about his father’s gentler side.
Unfortunately, no amount of familial love can save the Sharmas and Bridgertons from getting filthy glances at the ball. Lady Bridgerton quickly tells Eloise that she would not be true to herself if she worried about what others had to say, and Eloise feels compelled to return home. So she goes in search of Penelope to notify her that she has stopped searching for Lady Whistledown and that they can now speak about other topics. Penelope seizes the opportunity to inform her of the latest ballroom rumour, and Eloise realizes something.
When Penelope watches Colin dancing with Cressida Cowper (Jessica Madsen), something occurs to her as well, but it is luckily not what it seems to be. The young guy was just looking for a chance to take the lady’s ruby necklace and establish that Jack was a con artist once and for all. Colin, on the other hand, thinks he’s acting alone and exploiting the Featherington ladies. He informs Jack that, out of respect for the family, he would handle the situation quietly and orders him to leave London. Jack kisses Portia passionately alone and reminds her that they must depart that night, leaving her children behind. Colin invites Penelope to dance and assures her that he will always be on the lookout for her. He values her, after all.
Edwina notices Kate avoiding Anthony from the other side of the room and urges her to stop. Kate accepts the viscount’s invitation to dance after getting permission from her sister. The duo dances around the dance floor to an orchestral rendition of Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball” under the judgmental eyes of the tonne, who are constantly hunting for a fresh controversy, and the sight of them is so lovely that even the Queen can’t help but grin. Lady Featherington’s guests can’t help but agree that the new pair looks great together when she tells them she was the one who called off Edwina’s marriage. The Queen’s royal nephew is looking for marriage, and Edwina is the perfect match.
Portia summons everyone outside for a fireworks display after the music has stopped playing. Penelope rushes to her room for a breather before the big finale and discovers Eloise snooping through her belongings. Eloise put two and two (and two, and two…) together and found out Lady Whistledown’s actual identity after their short talk at the opening of the event. She confronts Penelope, accusing her of exploiting others for financial gain. Eloise, understandably enraged and deceived, declares that she will never see Penelope again and rushes out, thereby ending their relationship.
Penelope goes hunting for Eloise after an outburst of rage, but she cannot locate her. She overhears Colin telling a group of other young guys in the yard, however, that he would never date her. Penelope returns to Lady Whistledown, heartbroken and friendless.
In these closing episodes, Lady Featherington, like her youngest daughter, had her share of heartache. She informs Jack, holding back tears, that he would be alone in the Americas, with just enough money to start afresh. No one would believe her when she tells the tonne that she, too, was a victim of Lord Featherington’s plots. Mrs. Varley (Lorraine Ashbourne), who has a gift for forging, has created a paper transferring the title to Lady Featherington’s firstborn grandchild whenever he may arrive. Portia chose the best of both worlds: the money and the girls, over sticking with her daughters.
There is still one narrative that has to be completed before Lady Featherington’s fireworks may go off. Following a short meeting with Benedict, during which his brother tells him that he will be leaving the Academy, Anthony seeks out Kate and professes her love for her once again. She accepts his words and marriage proposal this time, though. The two kiss underneath the display of lights, and the story skips to the future, when they are happily married and lying in bed before playing pall-mall with the rest of the family at Aubrey Hall.
Another Bridgerton season has come to a close, and it’s time for a new Bridgerton sibling to try their luck at the marriage market. Benedict is the protagonist of the third volume in Julia Quinn’s series, An Offer from a Gentleman, according to the sequence of Julia Quinn’s novels. Bridgerton Season 2’s largest loose thread is Benedict’s Royal Academy dropout. All we have to do now is wait to see what kind of controversies Season 3 will bring.
Also, Read Bridgerton Season 2: Who is Lord Jack Featherington?
