“Bridgerton” star Jonathan Bailey is teasing what fans can expect to learn about his character’s backstory when the Netflix period drama returns for season two.
In an interview with GQ published on March 9, Bailey revealed that the new season of "Bridgerton" will address Anthony’s fear of assuming the “patriarchal position.”
The first season introduced Anthony, the eldest Bridgerton son who is considered the head of the family after his father’s death, as a well-known playboy in the Regency era. But Bailey said the second season will explore why his character, and the other men on the show, can be closed off.
Bailey shared that he watched period dramas as a teenager and noticed “you never really get behind the men," adding that viewers rarely get to discover “why they’re avoidant and toxic.”
The actor said that while Anthony can sometimes come across as superficial, his character's actions are a reflection of the pain he feels over the loss of his father and the fear of taking over his position.
Show creator Chris Van Dusen also spoke with GQ, saying that in the first season, he wanted to "fully break Anthony" so they could "put him back together" in the second season."
Netflix’s latest trailer hinted at the love triangle Anthony will navigate in season two as he searches for a woman to marry.
In the upcoming season, Anthony meets the Sharma family and courts their youngest child, Edwina, played by Charithra Chandran. But, he seems to also have a connection with older sister Kate, played by Simone Ashley.
Throughout the three-minute clip, Anthony struggles to figure out who has “won” his heart, as younger sister Daphne, played by Phoebe Dynevor, says during their conversation.
Season two will also likely show flashbacks of Anthony’s relationship with his deceased father. Netflix announced in May 2021 that Rupert Evans joined the cast to portray the late patriarch as Edmund Bridgerton.
“After your father died, a wall went up inside you as if love had become some weakness instead of your greatest strength,” Lady Violet Bridgerton, played by Ruth Gemmell, tells her son in the trailer.
Looks like fans will get to see a new side of Anthony Bridgerton when the show finally returns on March 25.