'Bridgerton' season two treads familiar, frivolous ground

Viewers expecting the same sultry and scandelous offerings as season one may well be left slightly crestfallen with this return to the Ton.

'Bridgerton' season two continues to follow the long line of Bridgerton children, this time around swapping out the jewel of last season Daphne (Phoebe Dynevor, who appears as a frequent supporting character this time around), for the eldest of the siblings, Viscount Anthony (Jonathan Bailey). Anthony is on the look-out for a young woman who will fulfil her marital duties, raise his children, have some interesting hobbies and keep his house in check; there's no need for a love connection for this former player.

When we first met Anthony in season one, within the first few minutes of the opening episode in fact, he was getting down and dirty with a woman behind a tree. Now it appears that the young Viscount has grown up a great deal since, and the series suffers slightly because of it. Will wanting a woman who ticks all of his boxes rather than rings his bell work out in his favour? With all of the to-ing and fro-ing that goes on this season, it's enough to turn you into a Jane Austen character.

Making sure Anthony's head is kept spinning for the entirety of the season is a brand new family, the Sharmas. Edwina Sharma (Charithra Chandran) is the youngest member, hoping to be considered as this year's Jewel, who will be chosen by The Queen (Golda Rosheuvel). Joining her is mother Mary (Shelley Conn) and older half-sister Kate (Simone Ashley), who is unfortunately dubbed a "spinster" at the grand old age of 26. Kate is unceremoniously protective of who Edwina might consider as a potential match while in town, which riles onlooker Anthony up no end.

From their first encounter, however (and from pretty much all of the promotional material released by Netflix), Anthony and Kate engage in a head-to-head to compete for Edwina's trust. But are they enemies, or is there something bubbling underneath the surface between the two? This storyline simmers for the majority of the season, so much so that it becomes quite repetitive. It echoes season one's storyline between The Duke (Regé-Jean Page, who skips this season entirely) and Daphne, who didn't see eye-to-eye for the majority of their season either.

What's different this time around, however, is the significantly reduced sex scenes. 'Bridgerton' took viewers by surprise with its less-than-conservative look at the sex lives of its characters, and it seems that season two is going for a much broader appeal. If you were hoping that you might be able to watch 'Bridgerton' with your parents this time around, then you are in luck because the steamiest of scenes are left until the final couple of episodes, and are over before you know it. What we get then is a season much more sexually muted, much more about "what-ifs" and "should I's?" than one's viewing power can handle.

Irish viewers will be happy to know that the secondary substantial storyline revolves around Lady Whistledown. Revealing her true identity during the final moments of the season one finale turns out to have been the right choice for series creator Shonda Rhimes, as we catch Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) struggling to keep her pen name under wraps. With best friend Eloise Bridgerton (Claudia Jessie) still adamant at finding out who this mystery gossip writer is, and The Queen also hot on her heels, Pen must make drastic changes to how she goes about doing what she does best.

Various other subplots wind their way in and out of the season, but these narratives remain the crux of season two. With the latter plot becoming the more interesting of the two, due to the repetitive nature and all-around predictability of the former, it's a shame then that there's nothing really all that new here except for endless anticipation.

All in all, 'Bridgerton' season two is more of the same, with less hanky panky and more longing looks shared between the central characters. With seasons three and four already in the pipeline at Netflix, things will have to get a dramatic shake-up to ensure that one of the most-watched series on Netflix doesn't become the stalest of the streaming service.

'Bridgerton' season two premieres on Netflix on Friday, March 25.