Bridgerton Season 2 Pays Homage with a Stunning Recreation of an Iconic Pride & Prejudice Moment
Following a short teaser last month, the full trailer for Season 2 of Bridgerton has finally dropped, promising another round of steamy escapades, lavish production design and even a game of pall mall lifted directly from Julia Quinn’s novels. But, for all of the delights promised in the trailer, one scene in particular has fans anxiously awaiting the series’ March 25 drop date.
About halfway through the trailer, Anthony Bridgerton, flustered by the touch of Kate Sharma, trips over Kate’s corgi (Newton, another fan favorite from the novels) and falls into a lake. As he emerges, soaked to the gills with his physique visible beneath his white shirt, Kate pauses to take a lingering look. The scene represents the possible turning point in their relationship, which, in the early part of the trailer, is both rife with bickering and brimming with sexual tension. It’s also a nod to a classic moment in the 1995 BBC adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.
In the fourth episode of that adaptation, Colin Firth’s brooding Fitzwilliam Darcy goes for a swim at the lake at Pemberley, his estate. Afterwards, Darcy, wet clothes still clinging to his body, encounters Elizabeth Bennett, played by Jennifer Ehle. Bennett, not used to seeing Mr. Darcy in this state, seems rather flustered. It’s a disarming moment for both characters and serves to ease some of the tension between them.
Although the lake scene is not featured in Austen’s original novel, it has now become inextricably linked with Pride and Prejudice, and Colin Firth himself. At the time, Mr. Darcy’s impromptu swim fanned the already-burning flames of “Darcymania,” which saw fans of the BBC miniseries swooning over Firth’s portrayal of the character. The actor has even gone on to reference the lake swim in such films as Love, Actually, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason and St. Trinian’s.
Today, nearly 30 years later, Mr. Darcy’s lake swim still ranks as one of the most popular moments in British TV history and helped propel Andrew Davies’ version to the top of Pride and Prejudice adaptations. So, with that in mind, it’s no surprise that Bridgerton, a series that no doubt owes a debt to both Davies and Austen, has decided to pay homage to the moment in its new season. Much like Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy’s romance shaped Pride and Prejudice, Season 2 of Bridgerton seems like it will devote a good amount of screen time to the enemies-turned-lovers arc of Anthony and Kate. If Anthony’s dunk in the lake generates half the attention that Mr. Darcy’s did back in 1995, things in Regency-era London are about to heat up big time.
